UGHHHHHHH

I own an LP jr. It can only make manly sounds. It turns any wimpy amplifier, into a MANplifier. You play an E chord on it, and you grow a beard...all over your body. It was the guitar of choice for Leslie West (when he had good tone), for a period Steve Marriott used a double cutaway version. Also favored by lumberjacks, firefighters, secret agents, x-men, sasquatch, Han Solo, Danny Trejo, Dale Earnhardts ghost, Optimus Prime, Rosie O'donell, and the guy that landed that plane in the Hudson saving all of those people. This one, is perfect. I will have nightmare's about this guitar. I will be making a full on adoration post, with about forty photo's of these tomorrow. Until then, try and keep your monitor clean, ponyboy. 

Bw0o0o0o0ong

A very young Robert Smith with a rare custom color BassVI

There are certain sonic colours that I have always had an abnormal attraction to, most of which I find criminally under utilized. Amongst these timbres, and at the very top of the heap, would be the sound of the androgynous long scale "bass guitars" originally produced by Danelectro in the mid 1950's, and perfected by Fender in the early 1960's.

Featuring a shorter scale length and a lighter string gauge than standard bass guitars, they are truly the final hermaphroditic product of a bass/guitar Punnett square. The Fender version was used by George Harrison (and occasionally John Lennon) on the songs where Paul could be found playing guitar or keys (check that awesome descending THWACK on "Helter Skelter") to maintain the bottom end, while often still performing a melodic task. It was also favored by Robert Smith of The Cure and a laundry list of other players, however my personal favorite example of the Bass VI is that MASSIVE riff Joe Perry kicks out in Aerosmith's "Back In The Saddle Again". There is a natural chorusing to the strings that I believe is really specific to a 30" scale 6 stringed instrument, and it's really quite epic through a big fat clean amp with a bit of reverb and a lot of head room. It's a much more nimble feeling instrument than a regular bass, sort of the SUV that drives a bit more like a sedan? I'm not quite sure how else to describe it if you haven't played one, but it's an experience and I drool over vintage and custom shop reissues pretty consistently in my internet window shopping. They also feature the same trem system you'd find on a Jaguar or Jazzmaster, which is super sensitive to the touch, however, I have a feeling it may be a bit less so with those beefy string gauges. Suffice to say that this feature set in the right hands can make for an incredibly expressive instrument.

So much ass.

Here are the issues: they're exorbitantly costly these days. They're rare because there isn't much demand for them, so new ones are only produced by Fender's Custom Shop, and vintage ones are VERY collectable. So if you feel the need to get your "bwongs" on, be prepared to shell out pretty hard for the real deal, in the $3-4k range for a reissue, which always appear to have Fender's Relic'ing treatment (artfully distressed to look and feel vintage), and in the $5-6k range for a vintage sunburst example, and finally in the $20k range for a custom color example. 


The cheaper alternatives are sundry Danelectro reissues from the 90's, or one from Jerry Jones, who makes great Dano style instruments like the Bass VI for around $1200 new, think $7-800 used. These are very similar to the vintage Dano's, like the one I believe you hear in the hands of Vincent Bell on Angelo Badalamenti's theme from Twin Peaks (uncredited as he preferred). The Jerry Jones reissues are made with MUCH improved construction methods and materials in comparison to their Dano cousins (both vintage and reissue), while retaining that look and tone. USA Custom Guitars is now making these bodies and necks, so it is possible to build a partscaster version, however, to do it right you're still in the $12-1500 zone if you're painting it professionally. This might be a cool route for a more personalized one than the JJ's or Custom Shop Fender's. Finally, the cheapest route to a bass VI comes from Rondo Music in Nj, in a very cool pseudo-Rickenbacker shape. These are made in a factory they own overseas, and probably have a bit different tone as they're semi hollow, but Rondo is known for a quality piece at a ridiculous (::cough::sweat shop::cough::) price. 

"Diane, I'm starting to think Laura Palmer was murdered by KILLER TONE"

Rondo's 30" Ri(ck)p-off

The only other Bass VI's worth mention are the Gibson EB-6's, which were actually produced prior to the Fender. They're very cool, but again, very expensive as they were produced in even smaller amounts than the Fender's, and only available in a vintage format. Cool stuff, but not really as useful and I presume the inherent thickness we all love in a Gibson standard scale electric translates to 'mud' in a Bass VI. They were originally made in a 335 style, and then an SG style in the mid 60's.

This EB-6 is currently going for almost $7k at The Chicago Music Exchange (though they are biased high on everything)

Hopefully this post has inspired people to get a little more interested in this oft overlooked freak of bwong-y nature. Get into em, but whatever you do, don't look at Nigel's!

edit: here's a vid of Phil X playing the ONLY other seafoam green Bass VI, the sister guitar to Nigel Tufnel's! 

-DVB

Pixels vs. Decibels

I believe the world would be a much nicer place if in order to graduate from whatever overpriced certificate program a front of house sound engineer goes through, whether it's SAE, or Full Sail, or Bucky's Knob Twiddlin' Academy, they were all instructed on the proper fingering for an open A chord, handed a guitar mated to a cranked Marshall, and forced to strum it. Just one open A chord, held out for a few seconds, possibly to the point of feeding back. I think it would really change the world. 

I live to create moments like this one. 

FOH guys, please stop it with the sonic blue balls, I'm over it.

Yours,

DVB

Sign Of The Times

Friday greetings, stringed soldiers of the interweb. Tonight, I reveal the first monthly project for Guitar Punisher.

I find a large cross section of my younger peers seem to shun the idea of forging an identity for themselves as a guitarist, which really is a shame when the guitar and the music made with it hold such an abnormally diverse and well documented history. The fact that there are people who play the guitar, but don't identify themselves as a "guitarist" is something I will never quite understand. On the other side of that coin, there is a very large community of people who barely play, but obsess over the instrument and spend astronomical amounts of money on guitars and amps that will simply be fondled and tinkered with in a bedroom or basement, rubbed down with a special cloth, and placed lovingly back in it's case, or in some sad instances, relegated to the sad realm of decoration on a wall hanger. While there is nothing particularly wrong with either of these extremes, I do feel that those who play and perform frequently should really take a bit more pride in what they're doing, and who has impacted them as a player. What does this have to do with my project?

As mentioned in the Gary Moore post, I'm fortunate enough to have a guitar playing father. He is responsible for my growing into the musician I've become, and for introducing me to the arists' who sunk the hook in deep. Some of my absolute fondest childhood memories are of trips to NYC with the family, and breaking away with him to spend a few hours in the shops on 48th street. As integral as his support for my playing and his cultivation of my tastes were, when I hit my teens, rebellion manifested itself in me as it does in any young man. This would be the appropriate time for most people to find the guitar, or if you were a real asshole, the drums. I couldn't pick up an instrument to rebel as I was already playing, but I sure as hell could get into some music that I thought my Dad would never approve of. In his defense, he was NEVER critical in a negative way of the stuff I was listening to.

I found myself attending hardcore punk shows in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale with my older friends, and it became a huge part of my life. South Florida boasts a strong scene, and though it see's its cycles like any other, I was fortunate enough to catch the tail end of a great period and witness some very scary shows, though I know every guy from any generation before mine will immediately say something along the lines of "you didn't see shit, this band was around at (insert date) and did (insert crazy shit) at (insert defunct club)" but, I met most of my best friends at these shows and those times really helped to shape me as an individual. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH A PROJECT?!?

Hardcore fans have a very strong sense of reverence for the founding fathers of the genre, and for good reason; they were all REALLY good. Black Flag, Minor Threat, The Misfits...you get the drift, however, being pretty enamoured with the instrument already, I found the cross-over bands with flashier guitar players really struck a nerve, and it was a lot easier for my yet undeveloped punk rock palette to get excited about the guys playing shreddy solos than the more subtle genius of people like Greg Ginn. The players I found myself really into were Parris from Cro-Mags, Doc Know from Bad Brains, and at a later age, I became a very very (very) big Danzig, and more importantly, John Christ fan. These guys all shared something other than being great players: they all used B.C. Rich guitars. Unfortunately, It's not particularly en vouge to play one these days. They look like cartoons, the current production models are all built in Korea and generally play like it, and most of the people I know who listen to and play hardcore seem to buy Norlin era Les Pauls when they spend the money a vintage USA Rich commands. They are too expensive for me to justify, however, I was lucky enough to have a friend donate a perfect project guitar for me!

I just picked the thing up and my sleeves and pants disappeared. The 80's must've ruled!

He purchased it out of sheer irony a few years back, however, this bubblegum pink 80's NJ Warlock happens to be a nice sounding and playing guitar. Not quite the same stellar quality I've found in most 1980's Japanse made guitars, this thing will still be really cool with a little TLC, and is a great step up in quality from the current Korean made Rich's. The idea here is to make it look era specific, with-out paying specific homage to any of my favorite Rich players as none of them were Warlock users. I'm going to be gutting it, doing a full refin, and I'm considering plugging the neck pick-up route and covering it with a small pickgaurd to add my own little twist. I'm really looking forward to getting started on it!

For a great read on Parris Mayhew's red B.C. Rich, check out the link below to Double Cross; this blog is really great if you're into hardcore AT ALL!

http://doublecrosswebzine.blogspot.com/2010/06/parris-mayhews-red-bich.html

If you've got a show to play, knock em dead, and otherwise, have a great weekend!

-DVB

Mid week instrument p0rn

HEY! I figured I would do a short entry tonight to keep my promise about consistent posting this week. I assure you I've waited until mid-week to drop something fresh due to the planning and plotting of some serious content for the coming weeks. Included in the planning is my first monthly gear project! I'll be unveiling the project on Friday, but I'll give you a hint tonight: It's one of the most ridiculous abortions to have survived being pulled from the warm womb of the nineteen eighties, and if it was a person, it would have teased hair, white high tops and a SERIOUS coke problem.

I have a "NGD" looming in the next few weeks, and I'm really uncontrollably excited about it. It's a Gibson VOS 1954 Les Paul Custom Reissue, and the past few months have been every bit the Wayne's World cliche' of driving to the store weekly, and having them remove it from the proverbial glass case (in this situation it's a room in back) for my conjugal visit.  It's definitely what I've always wanted from a Les Paul, and while not everyone's cup of tea, I'm a p-90 fanatic and find the p-90/alnico set up on 54 style customs to be immensely versatile. Drool with me, if you please, and check out this video of Phil X abusing one.

This is a SUPER clean vintage 54

a Norlin era 70's reissue

A Delayed Start, And An Early Ending

While it's been quite a while since GP's introductory, and possibly overzealous first entry, I've returned to the URL-realm in the hope that I may entertain and enlighten with the unbridled guitar nerdom I find myself "punishing" friends and family with far too often in the IRL-realm. I apologize for the wait, however, I promise I will keep up you stocked with guitar relative content from here on out. I will underline what I intend to maintain as a post schedule in the next day or two, however, there are more pressing matters at hand: last night, we lost another hero from the ranks.

Irish guitarist Gary Moore passed away in his sleep last night. An IMMENSELY talented individual, Moore was an on again off again member of Thin Lizzy, an apprentice to the criminally under-appreciated Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, and had a major impact upon the guitar lexicon via both his own playing and his blues preservation efforts.

While his playing has proven to be massively influential for Europeans, he is oft overlooked in the United States, though Reaganomics may have something to say about the trickle-down effect of the black rose tattoo on Axl Rose' arm. Rather than waste my time with an entire biography, as there are plenty of those available, I'll simply recommend you pick up copies of the Thin Lizzy album Black Rose: A Rock Legend and his solo album, Still Got The Blues. For my 8 year old self, my Dad's copy of Still Got The Blues was a very digestible introduction to blues music, thanks to Moore's pension at the time for the slutty saturation of Michael Soldano's SLO amps and the exciting clustered salvos of pentatonic dominance he was so great at. It was certainly a wonderful gateway drug to the world of blues music. As such, it was also my introduction the playing of two very important Alberts, just like hiding your dog's  pill in a piece of cheese, their cameos were placed in a context that less mature ears could appreciate, while still shining a light toward the roots of what I was enjoying.

Rest In Peace Gary, and thanks for the riffs.

-DVB