Paul Gilbert warming up

We've done numerous lessons with Paul Gilbert over the years, but none as extensive as the one we did here at Guitar World headquarters today! We flew Paul in just for this lesson with Andy Aledort, which will be used for a series of columns in the near future.

Paul was a true gent and came in fully prepared for a day of guitar teaching...he brought his full pedalboard, a dry-erase marker board for some visual aid, and of course his signature Ibanez PGM301 electric guitar.

A Paul Gilbert pick

Paul even hung around a bit after the lesson was done to talk technique with some of the multimedia crew, showing them various exercises that might improve their playing and imparting some of the fretboard wisdom he's acquired over the years.

The Guitar World office guitar as of July 2008

And of course, we couldn't let Paul leave without letting him sign the Guitar World office guitar. As you can see from the photo, the guitar is filling up fast...actually, it might be time to retire this baby and find a new axe for people to sign. This Les Paul Studio has been signed by such ace players as Rudolf Schenker & Matthias Jabs from the Scorpions, Yngwie Malmsteen, Glenn Tipton & K.K. Downing from Judas Priest, Dave Mustaine, John Petrucci, Michael Angelo Batio, Steve Howe, Slash and others.

Special thanks to Paul Gilbert for spending the day with us--watch for his new Guitar World column soon! Click on any of the thumbnails to see the photos full size.

Matt (left) and Corey warming up

On Monday, July 14, Guitar World was treated to a visit by two of our (now) old friends, Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu from Trivium. The boys came up to the office studio for a photo shoot with ace photographer Justin Borucki, as well as a brief interview with writer Kory Grow and a lesson with Guitar World's own Matt Scharfglass.

Heafy dialing in his tone

They were in town to promote their forthcoming Roadrunner Records album, Shogun, which is due out on Sept. 30. For the lesson, Matt had them deconstruct the album's first single, "Down from the Sky."

Beaulieu getting ready

As always, Matt and Corey were terrific subjects for our team and handled everything like true professionals...they gave us hours of their time, and for that we appreciate them.

Matt had his signature Dean Rising Sun guitar with him, so I figured I'd snap a few pix of it...it really is a striking guitar when you see it in person. Corey had his signature Dean CBV guitar in tow...and played a flawless version of Dokken's "Mr. Scary" while warming up. Corey was wearing his now customary Death T-shirt, which we always enjoy seeing. No doubt he would have gotten a kick out of playing the new Chuck Schuldiner B.C. Rich Stealth guitar that we just got in, but I forgot to show it to him! Next time for sure...

Watch for the story and lesson with Trivium in an upcoming issue...and thanks to the guys for coming by once again. Always a pleasure.

Matt's Rising Sun Dean

Close up of Matt's guitar

Reunion Blues has expanded its line of leather gig bags with a natural fabric Designer Series.

Designer Series bags are handcrafted with fine-weave canvas and feature full-grain chestnut-brown leather trim. The fabrics are offered in three colors: Royal Navy, Earth and Nutmeg.

Designer Series bags are available for guitar and bass instruments, as well as trumpet, alto sax, drum sticks and cymbals.

The Super-Vee is the first “drop-in” double-locking vibrato system of its kind. Designed exclusively for the Stratocaster, it requires no modifications to your guitar’s body or neck.

The Super-Vee uses patented Blade technology that, unlike the typical pivoting-fulcrum design, provides frictionless action. As a result, it won’t wear out and always returns to perfect tune.

The system has individual height-adjustable saddles, deep fine tuners for quick drop-D tuning, a low profile for ease of playing, heavy nickel plating and a side-locking nut to eliminate string pinch.

Prices for the Super-Vee range from $229 to $259, and component parts can be purchased separately. The system comes with do-it-yourself installation instructions, or Super-Vee will install the system and set-up your guitar for $85, shipping included, with a three-day turnaround.

The SuperVee system can also be adapted for other models. Check out the company’s web site for more information and options.

Delores Rhoads, April 2008

For our feature story on the new Marshall 1959 Randy Rhoads Signature amp, which is in the August issue, on sale now, Guitar World was granted special access to a private area of the Musonia School of Music--the music school owned by Randy's mother, Delores. As you can see from the pix in the August issue, reporter Alan di Perna was shown such Rhoads artifacts as his very first guitar (a Gibson Army & Navy flattop acoustic), a set list from the final Rhoads/Osbourne tour, his Super Lead head and more. Present at the photo shoot were Randy's mother, as well as his brother Kelle and sister Kathy.

As photographer Travis Shinn took so many photos throughout the day, I figured this would be a good opportunity to show you some of the ones we didn't use in the issue. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger version.

Thank you to Mrs. Rhoads and Kelle for helping us put this story together...we are forever grateful.

Delores Rhoads, April 2008

A miniature version of Rhoads' tomb

Delores Rhoads with Randy's Jackson

Delores and Kathy Rhoads

Kelle Rhoads, April 2008

Allen & Heath has begun shipping the two latest additions to its ZED FX range of small-format USB mixers for live performance, recording and production.

The ZED-12FX and ZED-22FX retain the same professional feature set as other models in the range with the addition of a comprehensive section of in-house designed effects. The 12FX has six mono and three dual-stereo channels, while the 22FX features 16 mono and three dual-stereo channels.

The ZED mixers feature four types of effects: tap tempo delays, short reverbs, long reverbs and modulation. All effects are controlled by three buttons for easy navigation and editing, allowing the parameters of each effect to be quickly dialed in.

The effects are designed by the same team that writes the algorithms for A&H’s large digital pro-touring mixers. The quality of the effects makes the ZED range ideal for the amateur or semi-pro who wants high-quality effects without requiring an additional piece of gear.

Other features include a three-band swept-mid EQ on mono channels, a two-band EQ on stereo channels, 100mm long-throw faders, four aux sends (two pre- and two post-fade), a USB send and return for PC or Mac recording or playback, a unique dual-stereo input capability and advanced monitoring facilities.

Connections are placed on the top surface for easy plug-in and patching, and the construction is identical to Allen & Heath’s professional touring mixers, with individual circuit boards nutted to the top panel.

ZED FX mixers also feature A&H’s new high-performance DuoPre padless pre-amps, which use a two-stage design with carefully controlled amounts of gain in each stage, offering high headroom and a clean low-noise signal path.

ZED’s USB output can be configured to allow different signals to be sent to USB, from the LR master or the aux busses, with the USB return signal available as a stereo return. Cakewalk’s SONAR LE music production software is bundled with the mixers, to enable the user to perform many different tasks, for live performance, live recording, studio recording, or studio mixing.

More information is available from info@ah-usa.com

by CHRISTOPHER SCAPELLITI

Dunlop Strings has introduced its new Kerry King (KFK) Icon Series strings, designed to withstand punishing treatment without losing their tone.

The KFKs are made of high-grade nickel-plated steel and come in 010-.046 sets, with an added .052 for drop tunings.

King turned to the company to create a string set that could stand up to his aggressive full-throttle picking style. According to Dunlop, KFK’s sound clear and defined and stay crunchy, even in milk. (Okay, I added that last part.)

List price on these puppies is $10.99.

 

Fishman’s line of Aura pedals have made it possible for acoustic musicians to reproduce the sound of their instruments as miked in a professional recording studio—and to do so anywhere, most importantly onstage.

Now Fishman is expanding its lineup with the first Aura for players of resophonic guitars. The Jerry Douglas Artist Series Aura Imaging pedal was created in collaboration with Douglas, a multiple Grammy Award–winning artist who has been influential on bluegrass and related genres.

The Jerry Douglas Aura pedal uses 16 custom Fishman Aura images created and used by Douglas specifically for resophonic guitars. These one-of-a-kind "signature" sounds were recorded using premier vintage microphones and Class A discreet mic preamps.

The pedal’s main features include volume, blend, input trim and Image Select controls; a phase switch to fight feedback, and a bypass/mute foot switch. It employs 24-bit ADA and 32-bit internal processing for superior audio quality, runs on a nine-volt battery or power adapter and features a clip/low-battery indicator.

Fishman will give the pedal its official debut at Summer NAMM and begin shipping soon after. No word yet on pricing.

Stetbar has added a hard tail model to its line of no-mod, surface-mount floating-bridge tremolo systems.

The hard tail was primarily designed for non-trem Stratocaster-style guitars and certain Squier Telecaster models, but it will also fit other models with the same bridge specification. The base plate has the familiar five-hole pattern to allow users to add Stetsbar functionality to their guitar without drilling new holes.

The hard tail unit adds to the number of guitars that can take advantage of the Stetsbar's range, stability and feel.

Jay Turser Guitars now features Graph Tech NuBone nuts and saddles on its instruments to deliver improved tuning performance and tone, as well as precision string slotting.

Nuts and bridges made of NuBone contribute enhanced harmonic sustain and rich, uncolored tone, and they can be manufactured to exact specifications within .002 of an inch. Graph Tech will custom make each NuBone nut and saddle for Jay Turser to ensure a perfect fit.

"If you really care about the sound of your instruments, then you need to be very discerning about the about the materials you use,” says Dave Lee, head engineer/designer at Jay Turser Guitars. “NuBone saddles and nuts produce a beautiful clarity and tone, and we are passionate about tone."

Located in British Columbia, Graph Tech Guitar Labs is the world’s leading guitar nut and saddle maker, with products that include Tusq and Black Tusq manmade ivory, String Saver saddles, String Saver Classics steel saddles and Ghost modular pickup systems. The company’s products are currently in use by Taylor Guitars, Martin Guitars, Larrivee, Ovation, Carvin, Fender, Fernandes, Godin, Ibanez, Peavey, Samick, Schecter, Gibson, Tacoma and Yamaha Custom Shop.

Jay Turser Guitars was developed in the Nineties with the goal of designing and building great-sounding and –playing guitars that the average musician could afford. The company’s current product line includes acoustic, electric, bass, and jazz guitars, as well as a line of amplifiers. Jay Turser guitars are distributed world wide. In the United States they are distributed exclusively by American Music and Sound at americanmusicandsound.com and in Canada by Coast Music at coastmusic.com. Available at leading music stores in every city.