Guitar Noize - guitar news, crazy guitar designs and cool guitar videos

This is a cool video as it shows something that I have not seen mentioned yet. We all know that Dean Guitars have a few Dave Mustaine models including the new Dean Zero but I had no idea that Dean were building a Dave Mustaine signature acoustic guitar called the Mako. As you will see in the video above the guitar is called a Mako because it has shark gill shaped soundholes, shark tooth inlays and a sharp cutaway, the Mako also has a built in tuner which I find really useful on my own Takamine.

The Mako comes in either Classic Black or Transparent Black which has a Flame Maple top which looks really cool and works better with the Shark theme. For more info head over to the Dean Guitars Mako product page.

Framus are perhaps more famous for their Amplifiers than their guitars these days, at least to me they are, but the brand have been around since the 1940’s in Germany although they went bankrupt in the 70’s only to be revived in 1995 by Warwick. They have a nice range of Vintage guitars drawing on their early classic designs which you can check out on their Framus Vintage site. These days Framus have a number of modern guitar models available as well as a custom shop.

For 2010 Framus have announced a slew of new models from 2 base models shapes, the Diablo and the Panthera. Above left is the singlecut style Panthera Supreme which features set neck Mahogany construction with an Ebony fingerboard, Mahogany body with AAA carved Flamed Maple top, Seymour Duncan SH-1 ’59 model (neck), SH-14 Custom 5 (bridge) pickups, Framus locking machine heads and TonePros tune-o-matic bridge. The Diablo Supreme pictured above left has similar features except it has a Rosewood fingerboard. There are many variations on these 2 guitar types including a Panthera 7 String and Diablo 7 String and for those of you who need a Floyd Rose trem the Diablo Progressive X.

You can check out the full range of 2010 additions on the Framus site here.

Nadia (Jeff Beck ‘You Had It Coming’)

This is a cover of Nitin Sawhney’s beautiful track from the 1999 album Beyond Skin. Nitin Sawhney is definitely one of my favourite artists, I adore his work. And in fact he’s one very, very fine guitar player too and he nearly made it in to one of the earlier 5s. Anyway, I should get back to Jeff! The melody in the original is an incredible and heavenly vocal. Frankly Jeff Beck does an astonishing job of capturing that vocal on a guitar. Until I saw him play this live I had absolutely no idea how he had managed it. Was it whammy bar? Was it a slide? Watching the video it’s like “ah, ok… it’s both!”.

Loose Cannon (Jeff Beck ‘You Had It Coming’)

I totally loved this track when I first heard it. It’s been “borrowed” so much since by guitar players that obviously felt the same way! I adore the melody and how it’s played. Jeff has this way of getting stuff going on that no-one else seems to be able to do. But my favourite thing with Jeff’s playing is that he is one of the few who is absolutely unafraid of playing with a massive dynamic range. The solo on this is an amazing example lightly picked fuzzy harmonics. Just awesome.

Thinking about it now, this album is jammed full with great guitar. Some of my highlighst would be, erm… Roy’s Toy has a ring modulator and stuff in the solo. I love ring modulators. It deserves an entry just for that. I love the riff on the track Dirty Mind. What an amazing riff that is. Suspension is haunting. Anything by Jeff would be recommended to guitar players so I won’t even state it.

Schism (Tool ‘Lateralus’)

I think Schism was a riff that Tool bass player, Justin Chancellor, took to rehearsal and it obviously evolved into this massive multi layered piece. Adam Jones has featured a few times as an inspiration of mine and I think Schism is a fine example of why. He knows how to join the band, weld his playing together, work against, drop off into the background, come to the foreground and he writes some pretty fine parts too. It’s so easy to miss just how this style he has of evolving his layered guitars throughout a piece helps to build the unique sound of Tool.

Aerials (System of a Down ‘Toxicity’)

Toxicity is an absolutely awesome album. This album made me depressed for a while! The truth is the whole of Toxicity is fantastic. I picked out Aerials just because I love the song.

Believe (King’s X ‘Manic Moonlight’)

A great riff from Ty Tabor. He really has a great gift for building this amazing understated grooves.

Have a great weekend!
Paul.

I think I said something similar last release, but I can’t believe Joe Bonamassa is only 32 and Black Rock is his 10th, yes you read that correctly, 10th solo album release. That doesn’t include the Bloodline album either… crazy. Last year Joe released in my opinion his finest album to date, The Ballad Of John Henry, not only that he sold out the Royal Albert Hall which he filmed for an awesome live DVD. You would think after such extensive touring and appearances on shows such as Jools Holland he would take a break, but no, not only is Joe currently recording an album with his new project Black Country with Jason Bonham but he has somehow found time to record a new solo album!

Black Rock was recorded at Black Rock Studios, Santorini, Greece hence the album title. It has a few greek influences thrown in such as on the track Bird On A Wire, one of the outstanding tracks on Black Rock, which has a Clarino I believe in the intro and it sounds like a Bazouki and maybe Mandolin in the background fused with drums that sound like John Bonham. This track is actually a cover of the Leonard Cohen track and yet again Joe Bonamassa shows his excellent arrangement skills by transforming not only this track but also Jeff Beck’s Spanish Boots and Otis Rush’s Three Times A Fool.

One of the highlights on this album is Joe’s cover of Willie Nelson’s Night Life featuring the always incredible B.B. King, the man who recognised the talent of Joe at an early age. Joe and B.B.‘s playing compliment each other well, as do their vocals. I love hearing how different their styles of playing are, B.B. is tasteful and soulful and Joe has more of an aggressive attacking style with a smoking tone.

There are a couple of tracks on this album, Three Times A Fool and Look Over Yonders Wall that reminded me of Clapton, both in tone and playing. It is amazing what a Chameleon Joe is. Joe plays slide on a track called When The Fire Hits The Sea which at first I thought he sounded like Derek Trucks on then I realised, no he sounds like Joe Bonamassa with thick creamy tone and phrasing that draws on classic blues slide players mixed with modern influences.

I can’t review this album without making some Led Zeppelin references, Joe is obviously a fan and has even recently formed a band with the late Zep drummer John Bonham’s son Jason as I have already mentioned. There are a few tracks on this album that obviously draw inspiration from Led Zep and he even seems to replicate some Jimmy Page tones on certain tracks. The opener Steal Your Heart Away for instance, which is a cover of the Bobby Parker track, has a Jimmy Page kind of stomping rock riff and tone but then launches into a solo that would make Eric Johnson himself put his guitar down and weep. Also Blue and Evil, another great track has with some breath-taking guitar playing and a riff that wouldn’t be out of place in Kashmir. I’m not saying that the album is ripping off Led Zeppelin I can just hear a lot of influence in Joe’s playing, tone and writing which not many people could achieve with such originality and style.

The Ballad Of John Henry was quite an album to try and follow, Black Rock is a great album and an example of great songwriting, arrangements and of course guitar playing and tone. Joe experiments with guitar tone more than most which brings a nice quality to each track, you never tire of hearing that same sound although and yet it is always unmistakably Joe. Is this album better than The Ballad Of John Henry? Well it is difficult to compare because this album has a totally different feel to it. I love The Ballad Of John Henry, it was my favourite album of 2009 chock full of incredible covers and originals. Black Rock doesn’t quite have the same initial impact for me but grows on you with each listen and after 10 or so listens start to finish I can say that this is probably going to be one of the most played albums in my iTunes this year.

UPDATE: after being asked whether it is a “...heavy-blues album? or a more melodic one such as the last one?”
Well the answer is a bit of both but it definitely has more of a rock vibe than the last album and has some great dirty heavy blues tracks such as When The Fire Hits The Sea, Three Times A Fool, Wandering Earth (very “Since I’ve Been Loving You” - Zep). Also a folky old school acoustic blues style track called Athens To Athens. But then it has moments of Rock Blues that will knock you off your feet.

I hope Joe pulls a few of these new tracks out when he plays Sydney next month!

You can pre-order your copy of Black Rock here.

Joe Bonamassa Official Website

I received the following press release today:

The Rockerverb series has long been regarded as a masterpiece of guitar amplification and Orange amps are proud to announce the launch of the new Rockerverb II, which builds on the classic proven Rockerverb formula and improves the specification and range available.
Over the years Orange has listened carefully to feedback from their endorsers and players around the world and they are now ready to launch the next generation of world class guitar amps.

The New Rockerverb II series includes the following new specifications and changes:

Enhanced valve F/X loop offering a totally transparent sound
Improved reverb tone which delivers an unforgettable sound across all levels
New middle control on the clean channel
Re-designed combo’s with new front mounted controls
Range now includes new Rockerverb 50 watt 1x12 model with new spec 2xEL34 valves

All models and built using tried and tested top quality components and deliver the legendary orange sound. From Chiming tube driven reverbs to sparkling tube driven effects loops and ultra high gain distortions these are rightly regarded as the most versatile guitar amps on the market delivering some of the purest guitar tones in the business.

The Rockerverb 50 head, Rockerverb 100 head and Rockerverb 50 (2x12 and 1x12) combo’s will be launched in March 2010 with the new upgrades.

For further details and to see these great new amps check out http://www.orangeamps.com

Ok so let me start out by saying as Gibson Les Paul’s go, this one minus the headstock is a mighty fine example. The Cabernet finish on the Flame Maple top is stunning and the Zebra ‘57 Classic humbucker in the neck and Zebra Burstbucker 3 in the bridge look cool although I wonder what gold hardware would have looked like? But a signature Sammy Hagar Gibson Les Paul? Fair enough Sammy getting a custom guitar from them, and even having his own private signature template that they can reproduce but a signature Les Paul available to the public for the RRP of $3894? I personally wouldn’t buy it just because of the headstock, the Chickenfoot and Red Rocker logos just make it look cheap and tacky, plus as far as I can remember I have never seen Sammy play a Gibson let alone a Les Paul. I’m not saying he hasn’t but if you scour the net you will find him playing a Yamaha Sammy Hagar Signature model and plenty of photos of him playing a Dean but no Gibson. I fear Gibson may have made yet another strange marketing decision thanks to Chickenfoot’s recent success. Also, no offence to Sammy, but he isn’t really classified as a legendary guitar hero. Does he really stand up against the signature models of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Slash? Sorry but the answer is no. I respect that he has had a long prosperous career in the US but ask anyone in the UK or Australia if they have heard a Sammy Hagar solo record the answer will most likely be no, most people probably don’t even know he can play guitar.

This isn’t a personal attack on Sammy, I just think that Gibson are making a series of very poor decisions and devaluing their Signature models that should be saved for special cases.

For more info about the Sammy Hagar Red Rocker Les Paul head over to Gibson.com.

Credit: Image donated by Bob Sebago