svl

Nah, just funnin' y'all. My pentagrams are just right. Basically just not in any major hurry to sell- finally realized I'm a player, not a collector, and having too many geets (along with other gear) I never play but only stare at lovingly, polish and maintain doesn't do me much good other than cluttering up my studio and pissing off my better half. If they find new loving homes and hands awesome, and if I hold onto 'em a while longer that's cool, too. My pricing is right in line with what I paid for 'em and what I see like pieces go for and in some cases (like the Axe FX Ultra) it's lower than the market currently grabs.

Come on, HFC, you've left em high and dry on all my recently posted sales. I'm startin' to think ya don't like me...

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Classic! After seeing TMS on Saturday, I felt for Tate. After reading that entire article, my opinion changed. LSD is a bitch.

Tate was on That Metal Show and Saturday and discussed this pretty freely (at least his side of it).

Kidz dig the flash, it's gotta be the Star!

That's why I only do reserved seating events. Still get douchebags, but it's a shit ton better...

I've been using it live for over a year and a half, and upgraded recently from the Ultra to the II. I was using straight guitar cabs, but just went FRFR (passive, still use my Velocity power amp but just for straight power, no "tweak" controls used on it). At every show people have been blown away by my tone, and it is such a pleasure to have such versatility and power in such a small package (one 8 space rack that holds the Axe, wireless, Velocity and a two space rack drawer for my necessities, an EV ELX112 monitor wedge which I have on a "throat level" monitor stand and my MFC controller). It was so good it even blew away guitar great John Ivan, who is now using my Ultra rig in Off Broadway after decades of being a hardcore vintage amp man. Our show this past weekend was a huge success on the guitar front- the two Axe's sounded unbelievable together, the soundman was blown away and thrilled because he didn't have to tweak shit, just plug 'm in (which saves TONS of time in set-up and soundcheck) and my guitar pals in the audience who were at the debut show commented on how much better Ivan's tone was and how well the guitars worked together this time. Also, with the MFC (Fractal's midi controller) I have the world at my tootsies in a two by two, very sharp looking package. During "Hang On For Love" I turned the guitar into bagpipes for the ending solo piece with no lag, brought up an auto Wah during "Full Moon" which had one guitarist come up to me after the show and freak out on how unbelievably "real" and "natural" the auto Wah sounded and behaved, and went from crunchy gain to smooth as silk OD to uber clean acoustic tone and more seamlessly. I've invested a good amount of dough into Fractal, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. From studio to live it beats 'em all, hands down.

The answer is simple- NOTHING compares to the Axe FX, and every penny of the price tag is worth it.

That is one bizarre line-up, but very cool. Break a leg, Kev!

Had one. Jay ruined it.

It sucks getting old, I know from personal experience. But at least they have the balls to recognize and deal with it properly. Looking forward to Round 2 and the "Monster Truck Pull"!

Cover the headstock face with the pick guard material...

They got along just fine at the two Chicago shows I saw them at in the last coupla months, and the album is faaaaaar from thrown together old riffs (the album took almost two years from beginning to final mix, and is brilliant). This was a hard thought out and pre-meditated sonic assault, and it was a massive success. All good as far as I'm concerned, though I am hoping for one more pass thru Chicago. I'd buy tix again in an instant- they fucking ROCKED!

If it's because of bickering, then that's really a shame. But I hope that's the reason and not a remission for Ed (either illness, take your pick). The writing was probably literally on the wall, though- when we had the VIP passes for the second show, I pointed out to my son that Dave had his own dressing room, and the 3 VHs had one room together. Segregation, Van Halen style.

You should see it from my vantage point.... And God help you if you played it- I had this baby refretted and Pleked last year, she is just unbelievable.

Hey1 could be Kim's Krew's first make over! Kim is probably really swell, Jay, but I only have eyes (and a checkbook) for you...

Not a big blonde fan...

Too funny, Serial. I replaced the middle knob with a black to match the theme!

Jay, you can try to hide from the truth, but "godlike" is more than just a KMFDM song. It's you in a nutshell. We all know that Jay is also the most down-to-earth, humble guy ever, so it's no surprise he plays down the complements. None-the-less, he is THE most incredible builder/technician/luthier/tinkerer around, BAR NONE, and his work isn't just purty to look at, it's also the cat's PJs when it comes to playability. To answer the questions, indeed, those are my beloved Kahlers holding down the trem fort- the checkerboard one is sporting the new Teflon glass rollers, and though I haven't had a chance to ride 'em in the full-on rodeo yet, they do seem to make a difference in sustain and clarity. The sunburst Sunburst will be getting them as well, I'm pretty damn sure. The sunburst Sunburst also has the heavier springs onboard- I'm givin' 'em a shot at Jay's suggestion as I have always used the standard springs in my Kahlers. The checkerboard is my trusty #1 formerly black 1982 Sunburst, whose new finish just has me blown away. We decided to do this as a "vintage" finish that left the mojo of the last 30 years intact, and man was that a great move (again, Jay's conception). You can still see the checking, the dings are still there, the "white" aspects of the checkerboard are properly aged to match the binding and PUPs yellowing and it totally looks like it was done this way at the factory in '82. So SHHHHH- don't rat out our little secret and let's see if Uncle Dick makes a nasty call to Jol after he sees it! The sunburst Sunburst is a beautifully topped and finished 1980 bound and crowned, which I grabbed for a ridiculously low price late last year. It had a very ugly neck break close to the heal, and evidently (according to the cat I got it from) wasn't played much after the break (which happened long long long ago). Makes sense to me, as the guitar was in amazing shape except for the break repair- it was sold to me as "playable" but incredibly ugly (it was also ridiculously bumpy and annoying to play around). No finesse was used in the repair and it looked and felt like ass, but the worst part was the thing was completely unstable and warbled like a guitar snob whining about me slapping a Kahler on it. Our "guitar lord and savior" stabilized the neck break, making it a MONSTER to play- I knew the tone was fantastic, but the rods he inserted (insert your own dirty joke here) not only killed the warble but also increased the sustain tenfold. And as you can see, I also had Jay rout it for a Kahler (the '82 was Kahlered when I bought it, which is WHY I bought it). I've already laughed my ass off at the people bitching on the "Expert" board about me "ruining a vintage guitar with a hunk of shit", but figured a response here could be fun. I use Kahlers because I LOVE them- I'm not a Floyd cat, but I am a trem cat (it's part and parcel of my playing style), and I've used Kahlers on almost all my guitars since the '80s. I'm not a guy to "ruin a vintage instrument", but I am a guy who will adapt a tool to fit my needs. The neck break on the '80 Sunburst made it the perfect candidate to become my back-up #2 main axe as it would never have the collectibility or value an "intact" guitar would have, but would always remain a "player" guitar for anyone lucky enough to have it (which is me, and will someday be either my son, daughter or both). I would never do a major renovation on a guitar with the collectible aspect attached to it (my '82 Namm show Hamer Phantom Doubleneck is safe, as are all my other unbroken, near mint toys), but I am a guy who's playing for the ducats, and I need guitars that fit me, are ones I love to play and do what I need them to do. In my case it's original Dimarzio, setneck mahogany pre-1984 Hamers, Sunbursts and Specials in particular. What really pushed me to send this to Jay and get 'er done was the "accident' that happened to me three songs in at the debut Off Broadway USA concert last month. I had just finished a song, thought something sounded off on the '82 (again, my #1) and went to do a quick tune check and realized my D saddle was off. This was a no break, two hour straight concert setting, so I couldn't call timeout and pull out the tools. Had to switch to my '81 Vector (Kahlerless, for those keeping score) for the rest of the show, and even though it is an amazing guitar which I deeply love, it screwed me for various parts of the concert (ever try to play a V behind your head, or even with your teeth? It's a bitch in any event, and sometimes impossible. And doing a guitar battle with a god like John Ivan without my trusty trem is liking taking a plastic butter knife to a gunfight- I'm not a slouch, but with a guy at that incredible level of skill I need every advantage I can get). So, long story longer I decided to keep that sitch from ever happening again and give myself a duplicate back-up to solve the prob. Again, many many many many many many many thanks to the master, who is often imitated but NEVER duplicated, the God, the undefeated and undisputed champion of the guitar world, the one AND ONLY Jay Kolanda. Love ya, bro, you are the best! Edited to answer the question- 1/2 inch checkerboard squares.

Why? Stay tuned to find out...

It's hard to stand behind your word when you have a dog in a horse....

They know not to use them. That's right- only MEN can handle the mighty Kahler.

It looks good on you, though... Classic!

From the Off Broadway USA 35th anniversary debut a couple weeks ago- Checkerboard Doc Marten boots? Check. Checkerboard tie? Check. Checkerboard cabs, mic stand and straps? Check. Bad ass '81 bound body Vector? Check. Old geezer sportin' 'em all? Check. Nope, you are NEVER too old to rock the V, or anything else...