Slash’s new album Apocalyptic Love is out now and it’s a cracker. Not as prettied-up as his last one, and with only one vocalist this time (the wildly talented Myles Kennedy). Here’s the first single, “You’re A Lie.”

And for those of us here int he Antipodes, here’s a press release about Slash’s Australian tour. Great to see him playing arenas!

PRESS RELEASE

Recent Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee and one of the greatest exponents of the electric guitar, SLASH, returns this August for an unmissable tour in support of his new album ‘Apocalyptic Love’.

On his last visit SLASH sold out all of his Australian shows in under 10 minutes. Those shows were moved up to much larger venues and promptly sold out again.

So this time around, he will come not only armed with the most gifted rock vocalist of this generation, Mr. Myles Kennedy and the band of Conspirators, but with an arena production to deliver his fabled show; just as the rock gods intended.

SLASH & Co are set to perform an all killer career spanning set from early Guns to Velvet Revolver and 2 amazing solo albums, the latest of which, Apocalyptic Love, has garnered praise from fan forums to broadsheet newspapers and all points in between.

“Like some kind of rock ‘n’ roll kaleidoscope, the album evinces the legendary guitarist at his best from all angles. There are soft and subdued moments. There’s danger. There’s mayhem. There’s blues. There’s shred.” – Artistdirect

Like the new album, and the debut before it, the perfect rock marriage of Gibson and Marshall comes to life in SLASH’s live show. “In front of a wall of Marshall amps Slash in top hat, leather pants and sleeveless shirt played his guitar like a man possessed racing from one side of the stage to the other” Triple M

Tickets go on sale Friday 1 June, 9am.

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 1 JUNE, 9AM

THURSDAY 23 AUGUST BRISBANE, THE RIVERSTAGE– Lic A/A www.ticketmaster.com.au

SATURDAY 25 AUGUST SYDNEY, ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE – Lic A/A www.ticketmaster.com.au

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST MELBOURNE, HISENSE ARENA – Lic A/A www.ticketek.com.au

TUESDAY 28 AUGUST ADELAIDE, THEBARTON THEATRE – Lic A/A www.oztix.com.au / www.venuetix.com.au 

THURSDAY 30 AUGUST PERTH, METRO CITY – 18+ www.oztix.com.au

Vocal effects and harmonies can really add to the professionalism of a live performance, but they’re hard to implement, especially for the singing guitarist. It’s difficult to get harmonies happening between band members sometimes: bad monitor mix, one or more vocalists having an off night – and that’s before you start to think about how this will all sound to the audience. Well just like on one of those infomercials that show someone struggling with some particularly mundane and cumbersome housework chore, TC-Helicon has taken the idea of the singing guitarist and simplified it so even a so-so singer like myself can make listenable music with it.

VoiceLive Play GTX is a multi-effects unit dedicated the singing guitarist, whether they play electric or acoustic guitar, solo or in a band or duo. It features professional-level TC-Helicon effects, including state-of-the-art harmony processing. And let’s not forget that TC-Helicon is associated with TC Electronic, one of the finest guitar effect makers in the business and the company behind legendary units like Stereo Chorus Flanger, TC 2290 Digital Delay and G-System. So Play GTX is also overflowing with guitar effects and amp simulations. It features more than 200 presets which include both a vocal and a guitar component, many of which are inspired by popular songs (with subtle and not-so-subtle preset names to hint at what songs they’re based on). And every preset can be enhanced with the dedicated HIT button, which adds additional vocal effects as you need them. For instance, if you only need a harmony in the chorus, or if you need a megaphone effect for three words in a verse, you can add those effects to your existing sound via the HIT button without having to dial in an entirely new preset. And you can store selected presets as ‘favorites’ to make setup easy.

Everything about VoiceLive Play GTX is geared towards ease of use. There are essentially two levels of menu screen, one which covers the basics only (which will suit singer/songwriters who need the occasional harmony or ambience effect but don’t want to go overboard with parameter editing) and then there’s the deeper level for tinkerers like me who like to really get down into the furthest corners of edit-dom. This extends to the guitar effects and amp models too.

So how does it do it? VoiceLive Play GTX features inputs for microphone and guitar (Guitar In and Thru jacks are included, in case you want to send the modelled sound to its own amplifier or bypass the effects completely). Why would you want to plug the guitar in only to bypass the unit, you ask? Because VoiceLive Play GTX has the ability to sense the note or chord you’re playing and create a harmony based on what it hears! Play a D chord, sing a note over it and you’ll get a luscious harmony, then change to a Dsus4 and part of the harmony will shift too. The effect can be surprisingly complex, and it really aids in creating the illusion of several singers. Further solidifying this illusion is the ability to morph the gender of the voice – male to female, female to male, even fairy, robot and monster effects are included for those rare moments when such a trick is called for. VoiceLive Play GTX also includes pitch correction, which you can use for everything from the most subtle tidying up of errant notes to the full-on Kanye effect. There are also doubling effects which can be made to sound more natural or more artificial at your discretion. The guitar effects are good, although it can take some tweaking to make the amps sound natural. They’re certainly useful in a cover band or duo situation, and great for demoing song ideas, but it’s nice to have the option to bypass them too if you’d rather use your own amp. And embedded stereo RoomSense mics allow you to detect the pitch of instruments nearby, replace the cabled mic for headphone practice, or give you some much-needed ambience in your headphone mix.

There are some other handy features as well: MIDI jack (yes, you can ‘play’ vocal melodies on a keyboard), foot pedal jack for adding even more control, an auxiliary in for practicing or taking control of your live backing tracks (with a useful Vocal Cancel mode for singing over existing recordings), a 1/8″ headphone jack, stereo outputs, and a USB connection which you can use to update the software and to share new patches. In fact, there are some pretty entertaining official Mastodon patches available which are great fun. But the stock sounds are great too, and I’m only a little embarrassed to say I must have sang “Moves Like Jaggar” (with that song’s inspired preset) a good four or five times just because it sounded so good. Like TC Electronic guitar gear, part of what’s great about the VoiceLive Play is that the presets aren’t ridiculously over-the-top like some other multi effect units. Some presets have very subtle effects on the ‘Hit’ button – a little doubling here, maybe some reverb there – which give your music a little extra push for a big chorus or a moment here and there. The megaphone effect is especially fun for those post-rock moments or covering Faith No More’s “The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies.”

The pitch correction feature is handy, but personally I found that for all the limits of my own vocal range, I preferred the natural sound of my voice, occasional pitch wobbles included.

Although there are plenty of great features here for the singing guitarist, I can also imagine some singers preferring to put control of their vocal processing at the feet of their duo partner or musical director so they can focus on performance. And even singers who don’t play guitar or have a guitarist to work with can use the aux input to detect the pitch of backing tracks. Ultimately, anyone who needs to create harmonies from a musical source can benefit from this great little gadget.

Paul Gilbert is coming to Oz for a master class tour! Paul is a great instructor (as you’ll soon see if you check out his ArtistWorks course) and he’s full of advice for players of every level.

More info over at Thump Music, but here are the essentials:

Dates & Times

1. Brisbane – Monday 8th of October 2012 – 7.30 pm till late – Book now
2. Sydney – Wednesday 10th of October 2012 – 7.30 pm till late – Book now
3. Melbourne – Thursday 11th October 2012 – 7.30 pm till late – Book now
4. Hobart – Saturday 13th October 2012 – 10am till 12.45pm – Book now
5. Adelaide – Monday 15th October 2012 – 7.30 pm till late – Book now
6. Perth – Wednesday 17th October 2012 – 7.30 pm till late – Book now

Standard ticket pricing is $80 per person. However for Thump’s loyal clinic attendants they are opening up an early bird price of $69.00 per person. A Thump Music Show Bag will be supplied to all pre-paying customers, with over $50.00 worth of goodies, which judging from the pic below includes the Pickmaster Plectrum Cutter (which I review here) and Australian Guitar magazine (which I write for).

Check out the guest post Paul wrote for I Heart Guitar in 2009.

Can’t make it to Paul Gilbert’s Australian Master Class tour? Or maybe you can, but you want a little extra instruction? Howzabout this?

DOORS OPEN FOR INTERACTIVE ONLINE ROCK GUITAR SCHOOL FROM LEGENDARY SHREDDER PAUL GILBERT

Students of All Ages and Ability Levels to Watch, Question, Respond, and Learn With Legendary Mr. Big/Racer X/G3Guitarist

(May 23, 2012: Los Angeles) ArtistWorks, the first collaborative global learning community comprised of master artists and ambitious amateurs, announces the May 23rd launch of the online, interactive Rock Guitar School with Paul Gilbert. Most noted as a member acclaimed Heavy Metal band Racer X, platinum-selling Hard Rock band Mr. Big and a recent member of the G3 guitar super tour, “guitar deity” Paul Gilbert’s distinctive playing has influenced and inspired an entire generation of guitar players across the globe. Gilbert’s new Rock Guitar School will feature a complete course of beginner-to-advanced guitar lessons – ranging from classic riffs and guitar licks to Paul’s signature blazing arpeggios and string skipping.

World-renowned guitarist Paul Gilbert, is one of Guitar World‘s “50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time and one of Guitar One Magazine‘s “Top 10 Fastest Shredders of All Time.”

“I know there are people out there who are hungry to learn the guitar, or just want to improve, or get back to playing,” says Gilbert. “But there are so many things that can keep you from it – lack of time, money or even access to great teachers – my Rock Guitar School really eliminates all of those barriers and lets me have a real conversation with people who are passionate about playing guitar.”

The Rock Guitar School with Paul Gilbert utilizes ArtistWorks’ patent-pending, breakout video technology to create a direct, personalized educational experience. Subscribing students view Gilbert’s lessons and submit video questions/performances directly to Gilbert via webcam or smart phone for critique and guidance. Gilbert then reviews and responds personally to each student with a personalized video response. This Video Exchange Learning™ Platform is available in the Rock Guitar School for all subscribing students to view and subsequently learn from Gilbert – and from watching each other – creating a “virtual classroom” with an ever-evolving curriculum.

ArtistWorks students study in a guided, self-paced environment that allows them to drive the learning process according to their schedule and access instructor guidance and feedback at their own pace. Multiple camera angles allow students to see lessons from alternate viewpoints so they may analyze techniques from different vantage points. In addition, students can slow lessons down, and loop lessons to allow them to break lessons down and focus on every detail.

The Rock Guitar School with Paul Gilbert www.paulgilbertguitar.com is open to guitar players at all levels of proficiency. Subscription fees are reasonably priced at $90.00 for 3 months, $150.00 for 6 months and $240.00 for a 12-month subscription.

Go to www.artistworks.com/paul-gilbert NOW to be one of the first to be admitted to The Rock Guitar School with Paul Gilbert

Founded in 2008 by former AOL executive David Butler, ArtistWorks, Inc is a Napa California-based technology and music education company that has created a proprietary, patent pending, online Video ExchangeTM interactive education platform which allows virtuoso musicians to “teach the world” by presenting their full method, technique or curriculum in HD video to subscribing students. Utilizing simple web cams, iPhones, iPads and more, students are able to submit videos through the site to the ArtistWorks’ instructors for individualized feedback and guidance – creating a two-way, individualized educational experience. ArtistWorks currently offers schools from such world-class, virtuoso artists as: guitarist Andreas Oberg; harmonica artist, Howard Levy; guitarist Martin Taylor; DJ Qbert; pianist Christie Peery; drummer Thomas Lang, drummer, Billy Cobham, percussionist Luis Conte as well as the ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass with banjo player, Tony Trischka, double bassist Missy Raines, flat pick guitar player Bryan Sutton; dobro player Andy Hall; mandolin player Mike Marshall and fiddle player Darol Anger.

Check it out! Here’s your first taste of a completed track from Steve Vai’s forthcoming album, The Story Of Light. Preorder it from his site!

I just interviewed Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares about the band’s kickass new album The Industrialist. The full interview will be on I Heart Guitar when the album is released, but here’s a snippet we’re using on the Seymour Duncan blog. Enjoy!

Australian manufacturer Maton is perhaps best known internationally for their stunning acoustic guitars, which are regularly seen in the hands of one mr. Tommy Emmanuel. But Maton has a long history of great electric guitars too, such as the BB and Mastersound series, and some really funky vintage models. Even so, the MS T BYRD is a fairly unusual guitar for Maton to make. It seems to bring together a few disparate but equally historic elements: design cues from the Maton Mastersound and classic Tele-style guitars, along with an even earlier pickup design and a more modern-feeling fretboard adapted to current playing styles.

So, the most obvious marriage visible in the MS T BYRD is that of the Mastersound and the Telecaster. The Mastersound angle is covered by the curvaceous body shape, as well as a semi-hollow design which incorporates a sexy soundhole on the bass side body bout. The biggest giveaways as to the latter are the dot-inlay maple fretboard, the bridge, the single coil pickup and the controls.

The body is made of Quandong with a rock maple cap. The neck is made of rock maple and it’s not overly chunky, but its profile fits in the palm nicely. It’s not a particularly vintage-feeling neck but it’s very comfortable. The fretboard radius is a flattish 12″, a more modern rather than vintage appointment, and it makes playability a breeze, especially if you’re into huge bends or speedier playing styles, be they based on country flatpicking, fusiony shredding or blues-rock wailing.

As for hardware, the tuners are Grover minis which do their job well. The ashtray-style bridge by Wilkinson features three intonation-compensated brass saddles, while the controls are the typical master volume, master tone and three-way pickup selector switch. The bridge pickup is a Lollar Special T, a familiar-looking Telecaster-style unit featuring a flat pole design with graded Alnico 5 magnets and vintage style cloth covered lead wire. The neck single coil is a Lollar Charlie Christian pickup, based on a very, very early pickup design that you certainly don’t see very often these days. It’s wound with 38 gauge wire like the originals, with a nickel-plated blade pole piece and alnico bar magnets.

Aside from a cold solder joint on the review guitar’s tone control which caused the signal to cut out a bit (a very easy fix and one that any guitar store worth their salt would correct for you before letting you walk out the door with the guitar), construction quality was of a high standard.

Incidentally, that sound hole is the source of something incredibly addictive about the MS T BYRD that I haven’t encountered on any other thinline/semi-hollow guitar: its shape and location means that if you’re playing it unplugged, you will hear strangely beautiful phase-shift effects as your hand covers and uncovers the sound holes. It’s a really striking sound, and I wish there was a way to capture it through an amplifier. It helps to create an extra layer of interactivity and tactileness for the instrument. I guess if you really wanted to capture this sound for the ages, you could do so by micing the guitar up in the studio, much as you would an acoustic guitar.

The first thing you’ll notice about the MS T BYRD is how clear and musical it sounds, even when unplugged, but especially so once you plug into a nice tube amp. There’s a great treble ring and tight bass, along with a slight bloom to the notes, thanks I’m sure to the semi-hollow construction. This helps the tone to sit somewhere between the attack and snap of a bolt-on and the warmth and sustain of the classic mahogany/maple set-neck designs, and this tonal voice makes it an especially great fingerpicker’s axe, whether you play rhythm or lead, because it offers great note detail and separation. Complex chords maintain their definition, double-stops sound gritty, and single notes are articulate.

The bridge pickup sounds bright and sweet, and stays that way when you add overdrive. The almost pedal steel-like sweetness is maintained even when you really lay in with the pick, and it allows for a terrific amount of cut when playing through a higher gain setting.

The neck pickup sounds very full, with a singing quality and great harmonic overtones. It’s a really addictive playing experience, and it makes you want to play Santana licks or something equally expressive and bendy. It drips with bluesy harmonics through amp or pedal overdrive, while clean settings bring out a full, round, warm, atmospheric quality which reminds me of Jeff Buckley’s rhythm tone but with more muscle.

The combination pickup setting predictably presents the best of both worlds: the fullness and vocal quality of the neck pickup, with the top-end sweetness of the bridge one. I’d love to be able to blend the volumes of each pickup for the perfect balance in the middle setting, but it’s already pretty damn close to perfect as-is.

Aside from being a very attractive guitar to look at, the MS T BYRD plays great and sounds exceptional. The neck pickup is a real surprise – it’s so damn usable! It’s a real left-field decision to use a pickup like that in a guitar like this, but it works spectacularly. And the various design elements – the Mastersound shape, the sound holes, the Quandong body, the unusual pickup configuration, the player-friendly fretboard – all add up to a guitar that simply sounds like no other.

Maton guitars are available from Sky Music. In Europe you can buy Maton guitars from Guitar Gas Station.

And here’s a bonus: check out this video of John Butler giving the MS T BYRD a test-drive at Maton.

Here’s something incredibly interesting that I just saw on the excellent Effects Database: the latest DigiTech Whammy V Pedal. And get this: it’s finally operated by a 9V DC adaptor (rather than AC). That feature alone is bound to sway some on-the-fencers, but the Whammy V also offers True Bypass (a popular aftermarket mod) and a new chordal shifting mode.

Here’s the press release.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – HARMAN’s DigiTech today introduced its next-generation Whammy pedal, building upon one of the most iconic guitar pedals recognized by guitarists around the world. The new Whammy features the classic Whammy sound that guitarists have embraced for over 20 years, and moves to the next level by introducing chordal Whammy pitch-shifting, additional Whammy intervals, and true bypass.

For over two decades the Whammy pedal has been known as the ultimate pitch-shifting pedal in the world, used by everyone from Jimmy Page to Tom Morello and heard on songs like “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes and the Black Keys’ recent hit, “Lonely Boy.” The introduction of new possibilities with the Whammy pedal reinforces its legendary status of the pitch-shifting realm.

“The release of the new Whammy is the latest chapter in the pitch-shifting revolution. Bringing together the best of the original Whammy with the latest developments offering both classic and chord shifting modes, we are giving guitarists a reason to rediscover the unrivaled tone that makes this pedal a legend in the first place,” stated Rob Urry, vice president, HARMAN Professional Division and general manager of Signal Processing and Amplifier Business Units.

The Whammy lets guitar and bass players raise and lower their tuning by up to two octaves, to create pitch shifts from subtle to extreme and dramatic musical effects not possible with any other pedal. The Whammy now incorporates new pitch-shifting technologies that enable the player to bend entire chords up or down while keeping all the notes in the chord perfectly in tune. The Whammy also keeps its signature Classic single-note mode that has made the pedal one of the most recognizable in rock and contemporary music, along with nine Harmony 2-note interval settings and two Detune modes.

Offering true bypass means that the signal from the guitar is completely unaffected by the Whammy when it’s switched off, maintaining all the purity of the guitar signal when the player doesn’t want anything altering his or her sound. This can be especially important when using a lot of pedals on a pedalboard. The Whammy won’t alter your sound – until you want it to!

The Whammy also includes 1/4-inch inputs and outputs, a MIDI input that allows control of the pedal from an external MIDI device, and a 9-volt DC power input. The Whammy employs high-quality 24-bit/96kHz analog-to-digital and digital-to analog converters for clean, smooth pitch-bending sound. An on/off switch engages and disengages the Whammy effect, and a “Classic/Chords” switch lets players select either mode. The Whammy is built to withstand the rigors of the road, with a rugged all-metal chassis, pedal and footswitch with a bold “Whammy” logo proudly displayed.

The DigiTech Whammy will be available in May 2012 at $299.95 MSRP.