Zakk Wylde’s Wylde Audio is a step closer to bringing its products to market. On Tuesday, December 8, Wylde announced his company has inked a distribution deal with Schecter Guitar Research.
Schecter will sell Wylde Guitars worldwide through its distributor network covering 70 countries, including the U.S.
The first offering will include three guitar models, all of which Wylde will debut in January at NAMM 2016: the Odin, War Hammer and Viking.
“We are extremely proud to be working with Zakk and Wylde Audio on this endeavor,” says Schecter Guitar Research executive vice-president Marc LaCorte. “Zakk has been incredible in recognizing what he wanted in his own brand and bringing the best possible product to the market.”
For Wylde, the news is the culmination of a busy year that began with the announcement of Wylde Audio during the NAMM 2015 show. The Black Label Society frontman showed off prototypes of his guitars at an off-site location and talked about his expansive plans for company. Guitars are just one aspect of Wylde Audio’s product line. He expects to eventually offer amps, effects and more.
“Eventually, it’s gonna be everything, down to studio outboard gear, Pro Tools stuff, plug-ins, microphones…everything,” Zakk explained in an interview with BackstageAxxess, provided below.
Pictured left to right above: Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (Mercenary Mgmt.), John Gaudesi (Schecter Custom Shop), Zakk Wylde, Michael Ciravolo (Schecter president), Marc LaCorte (Schecter EVP)
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Wylde has been using the guitars at live shows, and if his past words are any indication, he’ll be putting his Les Pauls and Marshall amps out to pasture in the near future.
“Basically once it goes into production, what I’ll do is just eventually retire my Gibsons and retire my Marshalls,” he told BackstageAxxess. “But then it’ll be nothing but Wylde Audio.”
Visit the Schecter Guitar Research booth 210D during the 2016 winter NAMM show to see the new Wylde Audio guitars in person.
Wylde will also be conducting a private press conference inside Schecter’s NAMM booth at 5 p.m. January 22, 2016.
Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.
