Axesrus "Totally Tappable" Telecaster Blade Humbucker Pickup test

I recently picked up a REALLY cheap Telecaster copy which actually played OK. It was an attempt at suppressing my desire for a Fender Richie Kotzen Telecaster model. That may or not happen but I think I'll be slowly upgrading this cheap one to resemble the Kotzen model albeit on a vastly reduced budget.
So, first things first...let's get a humbucker in this bad boy. The Kotzen model has a Dimarzio DP384 Chopper T in the bridge so I had a look out for budget versions of this and once again those great guys at Axesrus came through. Like the Dimarzio, it's a rail type humbucker in a single coil size enclosure but it differs in that the magnet is Alnico 5 (not ceramic) and the resistance is around 13.5k (as opposed to 9.19k) .

I got it wired in and gotta say that I'm really pleased with it. I made a short video of it, which is embedded below. Enjoy.

Signal chain: Axesrus "TT73" Pickups in a no-name Chinese fake telecaster into Focusrite Saffire LE into Guitar Rig 5.
Wired straight (but they can be coil tapped)

Video shows:
1. Clean Country type twang
2. Driven amp
3. Cranked Marshall
4. Zeppelin-like Marshall
5. Van Halen type gain
6. Slayer - yes, Slayer!

Note: I have no association with Axesrus. This video  is for demonstration and entertainment purposes only.

Passive pickups EMG HZ4 and 4A vs active pickups EMG-81 and EMG-85

Quite a few years ago, I obtained a very nice Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom. This came as standard with EMG HZ4 and 4A pickups which are the passive version of the popular active EMG-81 and EMG-85.
Being a typical guitarist, I had to have what Zakk had, and bought a set of active EMGs. Luckily in the interests of science and improving mankind's musical progression, I had the foresight to record a sample of the sound prior to the pick-up swap. I was then able to record and compare this to the new pick-ups after installation.
The samples were recorded on the same day, with the same settings and strings.
I'll not tell you which pick-up is which in the sample, but I was surprised at the result. Enjoy!

10 things I learnt from Carl Verheyen

I was very fortunate to attend a fairly intimate workshop by LA guitar wizard Carl Verheyen. By my own admittance, I had never heard of Carl in the past, even though I have been playing and following the world of guitars for over 25 years.

His mainstream guitar media presence is limited and overshadowed by the more excessive and hence media friendly names. Not that he is wants for success. Indeed, I would suggest he is financially and artistically doing just peachy and is one of the top go to guys in LA for sessions and sidemen work.

Perhaps he needs a public drug overdose/addiction or a spat with a big public name to climb his mainstream profile. Or perhaps he is doing just fine. I think it's the latter.

Anywho, here's 10 things I learnt from Carl's workshop.

1. Take a scale (say C major pentatonic ; C D E G A).  Go from the lowest note that's (possible to play on the guitar) in the scale,  E in this case and climb the scale to the highest pitch note you can. Repeat this for each mode and scale.

2. Don't climb (or descent) scales in a fixed pattern, move along and across strings in random ways
3. Create a lick/riff book with musical idea's that sound like You. Constantly add and review this book, building up your Own voice.
4. Learn every note, every position on the fretboard.
5. Learn and experiment with chord voicings and inversions to change or add to the colour of the song and even sit better in the band mix, example take the third of a major triad and raise it an octave.
6. If you hear something you like, no matter what instrument it originated on, learn it. 
7. Transpose songs to different keys. This tests your knowledge and puts you in a great position for playing along with others who prefer a different key
8. It is possible to be very successful, musically and financially in the guitar world but be relatively unknown in the popular media world.

9. TV and advertisement work can earn really good money
10. And finally, Carl Verheyen is an exceptional guitar talent and a an all round nice bloke! Oh, yeah and "tab is for pussys" (his words, not mine).

  

Be sure to check his website and music out, and if I had to compare him with another player, I would gravitate towards Guthrie Govan,  due to the sheer encyclopedia-like knowledge and ability to play fluidly in any style he likes.  Breath taking.

http://www.carlverheyen.com/

Thanks to Amped Promotions and Livewire Workshops for bringing Carl to our little City. Kudos.

New Carcass album teaser - surgical steel and Bill Steer's Les Paul Custom

A huge influence to me growing up, Carcass have a new album ready to ship in mid September and it sounds jolly good!

And to keep this guitar related, check out Bill Steer's latest squeeze which appears to be a very discoloured Norlin-era (1977?) Gibson Les Paul Custom. 

Looks pretty stock (sans pickguard off course!) and sounds great tuned to B!

Check out some information about Carcass in the studio, their recordings and gear they used in the RESOURCES section of Martysguitar.co.uk here

What should rock guitar sound like? Exactly like this......

I like the Phil X videos on Youtube, he's a great personality and plays some mean guitar, but this one in particular caught my attention. The clarity yet huge amount of balls that he gets in this video is my idea of the perfect rock guitar sound. Awesome stuff! 

Suffragette City by David Bowie/Mick Ronson - Guitar cover/lesson - MG005

Having left the Classic Rock cover band I’d been playing in for a few years, I thought it would be useful to document the guitar parts of the songs as we had arranged for the line-up of single guitar, bass, drums and vocals.

When learning tunes for bands my preference is to do lots of research, learn the parts as close to the original and then tweak to either suit the band arrangement or my playing style.

Steve Vai to play Mandela Hall, Belfast on August 29th 2013!

Hi guys, I don't normally announce gigs, but this one is kind of special.
Apparently Mr Vai will be playing our humble city (Belfast) in the Mandela Hall, on August 29th 2013!
It's not on his website http://www.vai.com/ but is on scumbag monopoly ticket-tax corporation TicketM*st*r.

Whilst instrumental guitar albums are something I enjoy only ocassionally, Mr Steve Vai is light years beyond the label of "instrumental guitarist". His playing is immediately identifiable and his passion and dedication to pushing his playing, writing and artist boundaries seem never ending. On top of that, the man has charisma oozing from him!

Oh yeah, and he pracically invented the modern superstrat along with Ibanez, in the form of the Ibanez Jem along with it's workhorse siblings in the RG range.

My personal Vai choices would include the Crossroads movie scene (see below), the first Dave Lee Roth Album and of course Passion & Warfare.

Here's hoping he's bringing the excellent Dave Weiner along as his right hand man. If you've never heard of him, ask Mr Google. He's quite good!

In the meantime enjoy one of my favourite Vai moments

And some Dave Weiner