Recently the legendary Appetite for Destruction guitar visited Seymour Duncan as Slash was experiencing increasing problems with microphonic feedback. The video below chronicles the process of Seymour personally examining Slash’s guitar and working his magic on the pickups.

This guitar was the Les Paul clone used to record Appetite for Destruction. After receiving the guitar back, Slash posted the following message on Twitter:

On our continuing search for brutal and heavy tone we turn to Emil Alstermark of October Tide to find out how he achieves his expansively dark tone.

Tell us about your band October Tide.
“Well, the band history is a story to be told by Fred since he’s the only original member of October Tide, but I’ll give you the short version. It’s been 13 years since the debut album Rain Without End came out and back then there was only Fred and Jonas Renkse in the band. I guess there were no plans in touring at all since they both were busy with Katatonia. After the second album Grey Dawn was released in 1999, it seemed like the band was dead and buried. But ten years later Fred was making some new stuff that didn’t fit to the sound of Katatonia and had this idea of releasing it as a new October Tide album. I was partly involved in the demo writing process but the album is pure Norrman’s. On the album Fred is doing all the guitars, along with Robin Bergh on drums, Tobias Netzell on vocals and Jonas Kjellgren as session bass player. Jonas also did the engineering, mixing and mastering on the third album released on Candlelight Records as A Thin Shell in 2010. We are currently writing new stuff and are hoping to do some recording in 2012.”
Which bands influenced you growing up?
“I’ve always been listening to a lot of music, and not metal exclusively. When starting to play the guitar at age 10, I was banging my head to Metallica albums. Loved to play along with them early thrash metal albums. “Searching – Seek and Destroy”. Metallica was with me until the release of Load, but I can actually listen to the album nowadays. Other bands I could mention as a big influence would be Opeth, Kent, Nitin Sawhney, A Perfect Circle and The Cure. So, not metal exclusively as you can see.”
What kind of gear do you use?
“When playing live I exclusively play my Framus Diablo Progressive. It is equipped with original Seymour Duncan pickups: AHB-1 Active Blackouts (neck), AHB-2 Active Blackouts Metal (bridge) which both have a great tone.  On the floor I use Boss GT-10 as an effects pedal and use Blackstar HT-dual valve distortion pedal. I also have some other guitars which I use at home recording. One of my dearest guitars has been Seymourized with the classic Invader SH-8 just a year ago, and I’m yet to find a suitable guitar for the Parallel Axis Trembucker PATB-2 sound.

Any tone secrets you can share?
“Not really, the two SD pickups let me go from heavy, lead distortion with great gain and sustain to smooth, bright clean sound with just a switch. I don’t use that much effects on my signal chain, except some delay and reverb.”
Do you enjoy touring and performing live?
“Yes, that’s the best part being in this band, haha! Well actually we haven’t been touring that much since most of us have family with kids and stuff. But the shows we’d accomplished have been really awesome. Last weekend we got our poor asses to Ireland for a one show only and it turned out great. And the beer. Oh my! Love that country.”

October Tide is currently focusing on recording their next album. For more information on October Tide, please visit: http://octobertide.net/

Jarrell Guitars has just

announced a line of Monte Pittman Signature guitars that are designed for maximum versatility. Monte Pittman is the guitarist for both Madonna and Prong – which speaks volumes to Monte’s need to have a guitar that allows him to go quickly from one style to another. Through his colloboration with Phillip Jarrell they have developed a guitar full of tonal control.

This guitar is loaded with the Custom Shop Seymour Duncan MPS set

Neck Pickup: P-Rails-N

Middle Pickup: STK-S7 Vintage Hot Stack Plus

Bridge Pickup: Custom SH-13

You can learn more about this guitar by watching the video below.

To learn more about the MPS, click HERE.

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Alastair Greene has been a mainstay of the Southern California music scene for over 2 decades. Alastair was born April 18th, 1971 in Santa Barbara, CA. Best known for his blues-based, soulful, and melodic guitar playing (as well as one of a rare-breed to play slide guitar), Alastair can be heard on CDs by Alan Parsons (2006 Grammy Nominated ‘A Valid Path’); Aynsley Dunbar (2008 SPV Records release ‘Mutiny’); blues singer, harmonica legend, and former member of WAR, Mitch Kashmar (2005 ‘Wake Up and Worry’ on Delta Groove Records), as well as French Blues Guitarist Franck Golwasser’s 2007 release ‘Bluju.’ Alastair has put out 5 of his own CDs and has also appeared on countless independent CD releases ranging from blues to southern rock. Alastair’s song ‘The Long Way Home’ appeared in a 2007 episode of the TNT hit TV series ‘Saving Grace’.
Whether with his own band or as part of others, Alastair has opened shows for The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robin Trower, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Lonnie Brooks, Chris Thomas King, Lucky Petersen, Jonny Lang, Billy Boy Arnold, Joe Bonamassa, Mike Campbell’s Dirty Knobs, and many more. Alastair continues to perform an average of 100 live dates a year with his own band as well as with Mitch Kashmar, Franck Goldwasser, Shari Puorto and a host of other Southern California bands.
Why did you change out your stock pickups?
“When I first started playing guitar in high school, I would read interviews in guitar magazines with all of my early influences and favorite players, and they said they were all using Seymour Duncan pickups. That got me interested in the first place. I mean come on, if Jake E. Lee, Warren DeMartini, Vivian Campbell, and George Lynch are using them, then I probably should as well! When I heard that Seymour lived in my home town it was a no brainer. Seymour came to the very first gig I played with my first rock band, so I got to meet him early on in my musical development. He was friends with the bass player’s girlfriend’s friend’s father if I remember correctly. He has been supportive of me for a long time which I am very grateful for.”

Tell us about your band.
“My band (The Alastair Greene Band) has been a trio for most of its 14 year existence. I have a few different players in the rotation based on availability, but the guys on my recent records and who I play with the most are Tom Lackner (drums) and Jim Rankin (bass). We’re able to cover a lot of ground insofar as we play traditional electric blues as well as full-on classic hard rocking material.”
How do you approach a solo differently when playing slide versus standard guitar?
“When I’m playing with my band, I tend to play in open tunings for slide, which automatically gives me access to certain melodies and chord voicings that have deep blues roots. So in that context, my approach tends to be more of a traditional one mixed in with whatever Duane Allman and Lowell George melodies I can muster. I have tons of “regular guitar” influences but a much smaller number of slide guitar influences. When I play with other artists and play slide my melodic and tonal approach may be somewhat different than what I normally play, but by the nature of playing slide it tends to sound blues based regardless on the musical style.”
Which pickups do you use and for which guitars?
“In my cream colored Fender “mutt” Strat, I have a set of Custom Staggered. I also, on occasion, use a Little ’59 in the bridge of that guitar. In my main gigging Strat (an early ’80s ’57 reissue Fender Stratocaster), I have what I believe is a set of Texas Hot pickups but they’ve been in there so long I could be wrong. Maybe I could bring it out to the shop and find out! In my early ’80s Les Paul Standard, I have a Pearly Gates in the bridge and a Jazz model in the neck.”
“With my Seymour Duncan pickups I have higher output with more punch and cut. For the humbuckers in my Les Paul everything seems smoother and fuller. I’ve never been good at describing tone. I’m more of a thumbs up or thumbs down kind of guy, and all my experiences with Seymour’s pickups have been 2 big thumbs up.”
“I think the biggest advantage is having the confidence that my guitar is going to sound as good as it possibly can with Seymour’s pickups in them. I know that regardless of the gig, if there is shared backline, or I am using an amp I’m not used to playing through, whatever the situation is, I’m not worried about whether or not my guitar is going to sound good. They enable me to play fearlessly with conviction and authority.”
“What a lot of people don’t know is that Seymour Duncan is not only a great guitar player, one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, but he also happens to make the best guitar pickups in the world. I am proud to say I’ve been using Seymour Duncan pickups in my guitars for over 20 years.”
How would you describe your playing?
“I’m a blues based player that’s lucky enough to enjoy and get to play a lot of different styles of music besides blues. I don’t consider myself a very technical guitarist compared to a lot of guys out there, but I can usually execute what I hear and feel when I’m improvising. I play a lot of slide guitar, as well, which these days is a bit of a rarity in the rock world. I try to stay true to the musical moment that I find myself in, but regardless of whether I’m playing with my band (The Alastair Greene Band), an R&B band, a Roots Rock band, or with Alan Parsons, the listener is going to hear the blues influence, which I suppose has to do with feel, phrasing, vibrato, and lots of bent notes.”
How would you describe your music?
“Well, my 2009 CD was as close to a Chicago blues sound as I can probably get but with a bit of my rock playing element mixed in. My new disc (Through The Rain, released 11/11/11 on LeRoi Records) is much more of a hard rock record. My writing is fairly eclectic, but if there’s a common thread, I would say my writing and playing is influenced by late ’60s and early ’70s rock, which would include most the blues-based music from that time, but also some early metal, southern rock, and progressive rock influences as well.”

How did you come to work with Alan Parsons?
“A buddy of mine who knew Alan through working in radio asked me to play some guitar on his county rock record. He was doing overdubs at Alan’s home studio, which was in Santa Barbara at the time, and had a mutual friend of his and Alan’s engineering. Alan started popping his head into the studio while I was tracking, and finally came in and started producing me a little. I remember at the time really trying not to think about his recording history and just to stay focused on my “A” game. Eight months later, Alan called me to play on his solo CD he was working on (2004’s A Vaild Path). After I was done tracking guitar on 2 of his songs, I asked him what other guitar players had played on the CD, and he said with a smile, “Oh, just some guy named David Gilmour”. I’m glad he told me that after I had tracked my parts! Anyhow, I sat in with his band on a few occasions and opened a show solo acoustic over the next few years. In August 2009, I subbed for his guitarist at the time (Godfrey Townsend), who was out on tour with someone else. In January of 2010, he told me he was revamping his band and asked if I’d like to be the guitarist. Needless to say, I said yes.”
What 3 things have you learned from him?
“Firstly, I have learned how to be calm in the face the crazy and unpredictable things that happen in a live performance environment. Or at least, I make attempts at being calm! Alan is very relaxed and easy going which I think in turn makes the band more relaxed. Secondly, there are a couple studio tricks I’ve learned as far as tracking guitar, one of which really is to trust your ears when placing a mic in front of a guitar amp. The third thing would be that this really is a crazy business and to make sure to pay attention to what is going on around you at all times. Alan is always paying attention to the business end of things and that is something we all have to do as musicians regardless of where our careers are.”
Whose career would you most want to pattern yours after?
“Eric Clapton and Gary Moore. Those guys changed styles and directions so many times yet maintained an identity. That’s so rare nowadays as people like to put artists into a category and keep them there.”
What bands or artists influenced you and your career?
“As far as having a career influence that would be my late grandfather Chico Alvarez. He toured and recorded with Stan Kenton’s jazz band back in the ’40s and ’50s. He got his break early on, and then when it was over, he went back to playing bars, clubs, and private events. He kept his passion for playing long after his “spotlight time” was over, but he never stopped playing regardless of the gig. That is so inspiring to me because it seems like it would be easy to stop and do something else after the glitter and glory is gone. You have to love playing to try to do this for a living. Another big influence was Stevie Ray Vaughan. In addition to his playing, which of course was amazing, he would always talk about the players he was influenced by in interviews. That was huge for me because a whole world opened up to me. I have gotten into so many great guitar players because of him like Hubert Sumlin, Albert Collins, Jimmie Vaughan, Ronnie Earl, Lonnie Mack, Albert King, the list is endless.”
Advice from Alastair:
“Get a stage tuner and keep that thing in tune as much as you can. That may sound obvious, but it’s one of the most important things we, as guitar players, have control over. Maybe because of how I bend notes or whatever I have found it challenging to stay in tune all night. Do it as fast as possible between songs so as not to interrupt the flow of the show. Dig deeper into the music and catalogs of players and bands you like instead of just a few songs or singles. Find out who your favorite players and bands were influenced by and check them out. That’s a big challenge for the iTunes generation, but because of the access to information on the internet it’s a lot easier to do that today than when I was young and learning. I do a lot of teaching as well, and one thing I can’t stress enough is that young players should try to learn songs by ear as much as they can. When you get stuck, then go to YouTube or try to find some tabs online. Develop your ear, as that will be the tool that enables you to really wield the fury.”
Tour dates:
Alan Parsons Live Project:
March 3rd, 2012, Boulder Station Las Vegas, NV
Europe Summer 2012, Tour Dates TBA
South America 2012, Dates TBA
All dates posted at: http://www.alanparsonsmusic.com
To visit with Alastair please go to:
http://www.agsongs.com
https://www.facebook.com/AlastairGreeneBluesRockGuitar
http://www.myspace.com/alastairgreeneband
http://www.reverbnation.com/alastairgreene
http://www.youtube.com/agbluesband
https://twitter.com/AlastairGreene

We are currently hosting a contest on our Facebook page to win an Amplitube StealthPlug and a 3 pack of Dunlop medium gauge strings. Click here to enter.

You can download the Amplitube Custom Shop for free by clicking here. You can also purchase the digital models of the Shape Shifter & Power Grid at a special discount of 33% for a limited time.

Contest Rules: Only one entrant per person. Contest is open only to individuals who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry. Contest is void where prohibited by law. By entering, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and to comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. No purchase necessary to enter. Employees of Seymour Duncan or any of its subsidiaries, affiliates or agencies, or members of their immediate families, or persons living in same household of each, are not eligible to enter or win. Prizes will be shipped to winner by Seymour Duncan at no cost. Winner is responsible for the payment of all applicable federal, state and local taxes and customs fees. The potential prize winner will be notified by email,  if a winner is unreachable for seven (7) days after being contacted by Seymour Duncan, or if that winner is otherwise unavailable for prize fulfillment, that potential winner may be disqualified and an alternative winner may be selected by random drawing among all remaining eligible contestants. Acceptance of a prize constitutes the winner’s consent to the use of his/her voice, name, likeness, biographical information and/or photograph by Sponsor for promotional or advertising purposes in connection with the Promotion. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the Promotion if it cannot be operated, conducted or completed as planned, for any reason. Prizes listed may be substituted for other first prizes of equal value, based on availability.

Each week, we go on a search for some of the hardest hitting and brutalest heavy metal we can find. In this weeks edition of Voices of Metal, we turn away from the guitar and turn towards the brutal stylings of Suffocation’s bass player Derek Boyer. From Long Island, New York – Suffocation has defined itself as a high-intensity, blisteringly fast explosion of orchestrated sound.

Why did you choose to be a bass player?
“I started out playing guitar as a teenager with a major thrash influence. I initially switched to bass because there were no good bassists around. Immediately fell in love with playing bass because the instrument was so percussive and dynamic! Locking in with your drummer and providing a solid foundation is what it’s all about!”
How did you come to be in Suffocation?

“I became friends with the guys in Suffocation back in the mid ’90s. When Suffocation bowed out of the industry in 1998, everyone was shocked. They reformed after a 5 year hiatus and it was so great to see Suffocation back in the game! At the time I was performing with Vital Remains and we co-headlined the 2003 Milwaukee Metal Fest with Suffocation. After we closed out the show they pulled me aside and asked me if would be interested in joining. It was such an honor to be asked to play with one of my favorite bands! I accepted the offer and the rest is history!”
Your sound has some serious intensity and brutality, which basses, amps and pickups do you use to get your tone?
“I love my sound! It starts with fresh strings and my 18-volt Seymour Duncan active electronics!!! I play a custom handmade American B.C. Rich Warlock bass. Below are my live and studio setups.”
LIVE– “The only thing between my bass and my amplifier is a Tech21 SansAmp Bass DI (great tool!). I am currently using KUSTOM Amplification’s Groove 1300 HD amps with the G-810H cabinets (10 inch speakers are a must, they’re faster and tighter than larger speakers). The last trick is that I use 2 signals. Example: I use the SansAmp direct output to supply the compressed lower frequencies and I use a Sennheiser 421 microphone on a cabinet to provide the attack and dynamics of my finger style.”
STUDIO– “As for recording or writing in a studio environment I use Studio Devil’s Virtual Bass Amp Pro. It’s by far the best computer based product I’ve ever used! Whether you’re going for a compressed glassy tube sound or something completely different, you can really get whatever tone you’re looking for. Check it out! Really another great tool!”

For more information on Suffocation, visit: http://www.suffocation.us/

Born and raised in Paris, France, U-Nam began playing the guitar at age 12, and studied for three years at the Paris-based CIM – the first European school for jazz – between 1986 and 1989. At age 19, he turned professional, becoming a fixture at Paris studio sessions. Since his move to the US from Paris in 2007, U-Nam has three album releases as a solo artist. The Past Builds the Future (2005) was #2 on SolarRadio UK (the largest soul radio station in the UK.) The album had significant radio airplay in Europe and made it into the Top 47 on the US charts. Back from the 80s (2007) was the number one album of the year on Jazz FM, Steve Quirk’s Fusion Flavours, as well as a #1 on the US Billboard Charts. His latest release Unanimity (2009) has reached the Top 30 on the US Billboard charts with his hit single “Shine On”.
U-Nam has written, produced for, worked and played with such artists as Barry White, Billy Paul, Kool & The Gang, Luis Fonsi, Alsou, Rahsaan Patterson,Maysa Leak, Phil Perry, MC Solaar, Myron, Marva King, Cindy Daniel, Jeff Lorber, The Last Poets, Najee, Paul Jackson, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Stokley ( Mint Condition ), Eric Benet, Dave Koz, Euge Groove, Jonathan Butler, Paul Jackson JR, Ronnie Foster.
Why did you change out your stock pickups?
“I had heard of Seymour Duncan and had owned a few Seymour Duncan pickups in the past, but I wasn’t using them in my jazz guitars. A close friend of mine, Vernon Neilly, told me a lot of great things about them and I decided to make the switch. My decision was set in stone when I started my current project (the first ever George Benson Tribute Album) and I found out that George Benson used Seymour Duncan pickups. When I started recording with my new pickups, it was a revelation. I’m very happy with my new pickups and I plan on recording my entire album with them (as well as any future albums.)”
Which pickups do you use and for which guitars?
“I’m using the Johnny Smith Pickguard Mount. I use them on all of my Ibanez hollow bodies (the GB10, GB15 and GB100.) I definitely plan on switching my other guitars over to Seymour Duncan soon. I am really impressed by the clarity and definition of the sound. As an audio and mix engineer, I find sound to be super important. I could immediately hear a huge difference in my sound. Each note I played was clearer and more defined; the high-ends on these pickups really sound amazing – I think it’s great. I’m really happy with the response and clarity.”
“With my Seymour Duncan pickups I have clarity, definition and fast response both in the studio and on stage. I think those things are really important. The Seymour Duncan pickups’ tone is beautiful and they produce a really warm sound. I feel like my playing can really “shine” now. Seymour Duncan pickups combine warmth and precision with a soulful sound that you can’t get anywhere else.”


How would you describe your playing?
“My playing is emotional, energetic, soulful and acrobatic.”
How would you describe your music?
“That’s a great question and one that I think everyone is still trying to figure out. I love so many things and different types of music and I always try to bring each of those influences into my music. I love music from the 80’s (which is why one of my albums is titled ‘Back From the 80s’), heavy metal, electro-dance, neo-soul, jazz and everything in between – even mainstream pop. My music is really a reflection of all these different tastes – a little bit funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, pop, gospel, and electro.”
“My goal is to mix the groove of funk with jazz harmonies and improvisation, R&B,/pop songs/melodies/vocals with rock energy and electro-dance sound production.”
Tell us about your George Benson tribute album?
“George Benson is my hero and one of my favorite artists of all time; he is also a good friend. I have always loved his guitar playing, but I also really appreciate his music and his musicality. Since the success of my version of “Street Life” in 2007, I’ve often been compared to George Benson (a great compliment by the way) and many music reviews have dubbed me the “new George Benson.” Ironically, at that point in my career, I had yet to do any George Benson covers (with the exception of “Turn Your Love Around” as an instrumental.) At some point, the connection seemed unavoidable due to my admiration and appreciation for George. I felt like it was the time for me to pay a tribute to my hero. My first thought was that before I even started to record any music on this project, I needed to call George, to let him know about the project and ask for his blessing. I got more than I expected when he told me this, ‘Man, for sure you have my blessing and anyway whatever you’re gonna do it’s gonna sounds fantastic.’ After that I felt relieved and incredibly motivated to do a great homage to GB!”
How did you get all those artist guest appearances?
“When I released my second album “Back From The 80’s” with Trippin’n’Rhythm / Sony in the US in 2007, the single “Street Life” went to the top of the charts (it reached Top 3 on the US Billboard Charts in the Contemporary Jazz genre and remained in the Top 10 for a whole year). Because of that hit, I started to perform in a lot of Jazz festivals all throughout the country (and the world) as a solo artist. I met so many artists and musicians at those festivals and once they saw me play live, I feel as though I gained respect right away from everyone. It was through these festivals that I had the opportunity to build relationships with people like George Duke, Stokley (lead singer of R&B band Mint Condition), Patrice Rushen, Paul Jackson Jr., Phil Perry, et al.”
What bands or artists influenced you and your career?
“My greatest influence is the great “George Benson” (that’s why I’m doing that tribute album.) George Benson has greatly influenced my guitar playing and career for many reasons; I have enjoyed learning his musical repertoire and adapting it to fit my style, listening to his music and the way he sings and plays, etc. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet him and he is a really sincere guy – he was always willing to offer career advice. There are many other artists that I’ve been influenced by – mostly R&B/Soul artists like Stevie Wonder, EWF, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and many of the ’70s motown and all the ’80s funk. Additionally, Herbie Hancock, George Duke and some younger artists like Musiq Soulchild and Mint Condition (Stockley from Mint Condition is one of my favorite singers). As a guitar player I’ve always been a huge fan of Nile Rodgers, Grant Green and WhaWha Watson, as well as one less known but fabulous guitar player named David Williams. I also occasionally listen to Gypsy Jazz Guitarists; Bireli Lagrene is a great Gypsy Jazz guitarist.”
About the album: Week End In L.A (A Tribute To George Benson) will be released in March 2012.  It features George Duke, Phil Perry, Paul Jackson Jr., Patrice Rushen, Ronnie Foster, Mike White, Tim “Tio” Owens, Stokley Williams, Andreas Oberg among many others. You can pre-order the album as well as get exclusive incentives on the pledge music website :
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/unam

The single “Give Me The Night” featuring Tim “TiO” Owens is available everywhere.
Tour dates with”Grafitti” featuring U-Nam, Dennis Chambers (drums), Gary Grainger (bass), and Haakon Graf (keys):
01/09/2012 : Jazz Alley, Seattle WA
01/10/2012 : Jazz Alley, Seattle WA
Jan. 13: Baked Potato, Los Angeles, CA
Jan  14: Nokia Theater ,Los Angeles, CA
Jan. 15: Yoshis, Oakland, CA
Jan. 17: Marquee 15, Corona, CA
Jan. 19: Cohibas, Long Beach, CA
To visit with U-Nam please go to:
http://www.unamprod.com
http://www.atributetogeorgebenson.com
http://www.youtube.com/unamprod

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On November 26th, the next stage of interplanetary exploration is set to take place with the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory. Following the successful rover steps of Spirit & Opportunity, the Mars Science Laboratory is a vastly upgraded and larger rover that is designed to peer deeper into the mysteries of the red planet. While Spirit & Opportunity descended using parachutes and an airbag, the Mars Science Laboratory is designed with the most advanced and precise landing systems ever attempted. These systems, rely in part on a radar system to determine how far above the ground the module is and to tell it when to fire its parachute and rockets. This system was developed in part by Wayne Rothermich, who is a member of Seymour Duncan’s Research and Development team.

How did you get started working with the Mars Science Laboratory?
“It came through a friend of mine who was setting up a small company to do consulting for NASA and he asked me to come along and help him out with that. This was several years ago and we put together a little company to do consulting for NASA.”
Tell me about the part you worked on for the Mars Science Laboratory.
“I worked on the lander, which lands the rover down on Mars. They do various things at various altitudes, like launch a parachute or deploy the rover out from under the crane. What I was working on was the landing radar that figured out how high the lander was from the surface of Mars. That’s the good part, the funny part is that once the rover is on Mars, the lander goes off and crashes on Mars and becomes space junk. That was one thing I did, another thing I did was work on a probe that went to Jupiter called the Juno probe. What that is going to do is probe the atmosphere of Jupiter and look at the gasses at various heights and try to figure out how the weather works on Jupiter. I worked on a part called a Microwave Radiometer, which basically looks at the emissions of various layers of cloud banks and by looking at those and comparing the radio emissions at different radio frequencies, you can find what the clouds are made of.”

“Another thing I have worked on is an upgrade to the Deep Space Network, which are the big antennas that listen to all the spacecraft that are out there. So not only do I have parts on the spacecraft, I have parts on the ground that will be listening to the spacecraft.”
When did you start working for Seymour Duncan?
“It was about 8 years ago and I worked here for 3 years, took a year off and worked for NASA and I’ve been here for another 3-4 years now.”
What areas do you tend to focus on in R&D?
“I do a little bit of everything. My main thrust here is the electrical design of the stompboxes and the active pickups.”
How do you feel about having something you worked on go to another planet?
“It’s really exciting, it’s one of those gee-whiz things. Everybody says wouldn’t it be fun to work for NASA, it’s really interesting work but quite frankly it’s much more fun to work here. We have a really good crew of people here and it’s always fun to work with good people.”

We would like to welcome all the new artists who have joined us and the search for the perfect tone for the month of October.

Clive Gregson: 3Boxes

Witt McKay & Grant Vogel: Memphis High

Marcos Gonzalez: Made In March

Pete Larios: Pitbull Toddler

Siberia is known as a large remote expanse of the earth that is unforgivingly cold. Even among this cold landscape, there can be hard metal with a brutal tone. This week we discover dedication, drive and death metal in Siberia with Dmitry Sukhinin of Defect Designer.

In 2007 Defect Designer started with their 4-track promo recording W even though the reaction to W was very positive, the band still did not have a label so in 2008, the band took a giant leap of faith and decided they must record a full album in a proper studio. On their own initiative and without any support, they went to the closest proper place to record – Hertz studio in Poland, (Dmitry and the band flew to Moscow, then took a train to Warsaw, and then another train to Bialystok- about 3,000 miles from their hometown) and recorded their full-length CD now released by My Kingdom Music – Wax. Defect Designer started as a 5-piece monster; now Defect Designer is a quartet. Their 4-track promo recording W was released worldwide by Forces Of Satan records in 2009. They work tirelessly and gig through the endless winters and continue to work on making the best of the new Defect Designer.
Which guitars do you own that has Seymour Duncan pickups?
“Currently my main axe is my custom Mayones 7-string Setius with Blackouts. Best guitar I’ve ever seen with an amazingly brutal sound!”

“Also, our full-length CD was recorded also with Seymour Duncan pickups – 99.9% of the parts were with my Jackson RR loaded with the SH-2 and SH-4. These pickups are not manufactured specifically for extreme metal but they sound just perfect with our stuff! We also have a stick with active Mick Thomson pickups. You know that when you ask any guitarist how many guitars are enough, the reply is always something along the lines of, “one more.” It is the same with Seymour Duncan, I’d like to have more.”
Listen to a track off their album: when your face doesn’t melt snowflakes
How would you describe your playing?
“Well, it’s always hard to describe your own stuff. First of all, it is more complicated than one might think when one listens to it for the first time. The tuning is quite low, the debut album Wax is sometimes really cold and sometime full of rage but it is always full of speed. Defect Designer is a challenge to its members and every member works hard at it.”
What difficulties did you encounter being a rock musician in Russia?
“Only passionate people may be musicians. It is the same is in Russia, but the music business is more complicated here. If you play metal and especially death metal,  you must prepare for war! However, it is all worth it- nothing can compare with the feeling of when you hear your music live, and the audience appreciates it – this sensation is the perpetual motion engine! ”
“Russia is the biggest land on our planet, that’s why if you’re tour, the distance of your travel may become enormous. In Russia, there are tons of problems from the very beginning. Music gear is very expensive here – especially from foreign manufacturers. The stocking level of local dealers is very low and the choice of instruments and amps is not very large. I think that this is the main reason for the small amount of bands in our country.”
What is your worst gig experience?
“The worst gig is no gig. We have had such experiences when a promoter fails to organize the event properly and the gig is cancelled. Unfortunately, in Russia this is all too common. To prevent this you must make sure that you work with the proper people. People whom are your friends. People whom are responsible with burning eyes who stay up all late to make sure everything is working properly.”
What is you favorite musical experience?
“I yet hope it is in the future and connected with my band! I have plenty of ideas, we will go further with new stuff, it’s going to be different, our sound will grow. Our next album will not be the second Wax CD. ”
To visit Dmitry and Defect Designer please check out:
http://www.myspace.com/defectdesigner
http://twitter.com/#!/defectdesigner
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Defect-Designer/53339995510
http://www.mykingdommusic.net/band_defect_designer.htm
http://stigia.es/banda.php?id=15&banda=Defect%20Designer