Biz Prof

Oh, my. I think I'd like mine to be bound and crowned, and to have that top, but in emerald green.

Boo-ya! Nice score.

Thanks for the follow-up. Unless the Alumitones are radically different in design than the original Lace sensors, I think you have discovered the traits common to all sensors. The have some nice qualities when played through brightly-voiced clean amps and low-gain applications, however they tend to compress to an extreme when used to play distorted leads (think late 80s/early 90s Clapton). I gigged a red/silver/blue set for about six months and eventually switched to a set of Bill Lawrence twin blades. That Lace set still sits in a box 23 years later.

A few years ago, I found a tab online for Vai's made-for-cinema piece, "Eugene's Trick Bag" and discovered that with regular practice, mere mortals can get to the point where they can play it at a slow speed cleanly. It really is a good practice piece for improving dexterity up and down the board. http://www.guitaretab.com/s/steve-vai/29631.html

Is it my vision, or are those pickups faded? I know that faded bobbins are very common for guitars from that era.

Yep. A key reason why "Headbangers Ball" looked like a two-hour TV commercial for Ibanez.

That is THE guitar that marked the beginning of Ibby's shredder dominance. Saw one the first run, autographed pieces in LNG when the delivery truck driver brought it into AL&M in Raleigh. I think it was priced at around $1,500? Personally, I liked Vai's Mean Greenie much better.

My point exactly. The timing just wasn't there. Bill Schultz was about four years too late, but for Hamer and MM, that was a good thing.

One would have hoped that she could have worked out a reasonable deal with Fender to produce a legacy model. Avarice to the extreme (on either side) would lead to a dealbreaker, I'm confident. There are a few lost opportunities out there for FMIC, regardless of interest or fault. It would have been cool to see the brand market signature models for Jimi, Brent Mason, Steve Morse, Albert Lee, and even Glen Tipton.

Agree with Steve. Charlotte shows draw a crowd from South Carolina and parts of N. Georgia. Greensboro shows draw from the Triad and Triangle, as well as points North and East. By the way, does anyone have that famous photo that purports to show the lines, respectively, at the men's room and ladies room during a Rush show? ETA: Found the photos here: http://blog.sfgate.com/parenting/2011/06/27/the-womens-bathroom-at-last-nights-rush-concert/

That is interesting, and it supports both Cynic's and my points. The latest generation of Axe FX is so good that it may be relied upon as a suitable replacement for a complex touring rig that has, at its heart, Lifeson's preferred means of amplification--tube amps.

That day passed with the Axe II. I dunno - tube output and dynamics is another variable to the 'dark-art' equation that I'm not sure the sterile, digitial realm can bring to the table. To me, a tube amp is a 'living-thing' that offers different expressions dependent upon careful tube selection and bias adjustments - a single computer algorithm has captured all-that? I doubt it. It's good enough for many international acts including Metallica and U2. Fair enough, but it is obviously not good enough for the majority of recording artists.... yet.

I don't think that zoot suit agrees with him, however the Soloist looks fine in his hands. ETA: His opinion at that time was quite positive on the orange one: “I’ve got a Grover Jackson which is pretty nice — it’s a bit heavy metal looking but it’s bloody good”. (Jeff Beck Discusses Gear, Technique and Hendrix, Guitar World, 1985). But later (in an interview), he seemed to sour on it a bit, with what I think was an oblique reference to the Floyd: DJN: Did you use a Jackson Soloist on "Flash"? JB: Yeah. DJN: Why was that? JB: I dunno - I liked the look of it! It just didn't work out, you know, it's , umm...It's a fairy guitar, really! It's too soft and spongy and even when a power chord is hit I could feel the vibration in the bridge. And it was just...You couldn't hit it too hard because it would go all over the place. The neck's too long but, uhh, nevertheless, umm, by staying with it for that whole project I managed to get some sounds out of it. The "Ambitious" solo was the Soloist, the Jackson, and I can't play that on any other guitar so, you know...There's some notable things that came out of it.

Nice Charvel. It's like 1983 all over again!

Superb player. Wish he had adopted the Standard as his standard.

The Rhoads tone debate usually centers around how the roaring LP-->MXR-->Marshall sound for which he was known somehow morphed into what I've read described as a "Crate practice amp on 11" rhythm sound on Blizzard of Ozz. His live work with Ozzy clearly showed a significant difference between the tone of his typical live rig and the recorded rhythm tone as produced by Max Norman. It's all in the ears of the beholder, but to me, the album version of "Over the Mountain" is a much more faithful rendering of Rhoads' tone than anything on Blizzard.

You're spot on. Grover really understood the importance of image, but it also helped that the first Jackson customer was a fleet fingered shredder considered to be the the best of the young rising guitar stars AND the fact that his firm was located in So Cal--a relatively short driving distance from the L.A. studios and music scene.

I think "Cult" has Vernon using a cocked wah. I don't hear any wah modulation at all. He does make liberal use of a Floyd to affect the attack of certain notes...but that's not a wah.

It speaks for itself that a slew of really good players had/have Soloists in their arsenal. And it's not just metal players. Hell, Jeff Beck, of all people, got really excited about his custom 3 SC Soloist. It was and is a groundbreaking design. Those wide/thin necks aren't for everyone, but they've sold a ton nonetheless.

Hold on there; I'm actually a fan. Inexplicably, I freeze whenever I find that movie while flipping channels. Like Smokey and the Bandit, it almost demands to be watched. Back in '97 and early '98, I was traveling a great deal for work and found that Road House and Bandit could be found playing on TNT or TBS nearly any weeknight. There simply aren't many lines in those flicks that I don't know by heart!

"Pain don't hurt." "Right boot." "He's quick out of the gate, but he's not much for stamina." "Dalton! I see you've found my trophy room. The only thing missing is....your ass!!!"

"Be nice until it's time to not be nice."

Road House has some of the best "worst" one-liners in cinematic history.

Nope, doesn't count. Next thing you know, you'll be telling me that some had Kahlers on 'em. I like that one, but...would it have killed the boys from Kalamazoo to install two more dots on the fretboard? I mean, it looks a tad incomplete, as is.

This/\ I leave that shit to my co-guitarist. He digs the beef and bombast of 10's and 11's and I like my 9's for the slinky, spongy action. Makes for a killer combo, IMO. I cover the searing highs and chewy mids, he gets the growl of the lows and girth of mids that I don't hit. Fits our soloing styles as well. Good summary. Applies to me, as well.