SMG’s Oscar Jordan talks with Michael Anthony at Rock Camp!

Have you ever dreamed of jamming with rock stars? Well now you can! Share My Guitar spent a day at the Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp in North Hollywood, California. On site were rock legends Dave Mason, Michael Anthony, Billy Sheehan, and Gary Hoey.

According to their website, Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp™ is the ultimate music experience, that allows musicians and enthusiasts alike the once in a lifetime opportunity to jam with legendary rock stars, play live on stage at major concert venues, and live their rock ‘n’ roll dreams. Simply stated, our mission is to bring people’s musical fantasies to life! Learn more about the camp here.

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Taken from HeXx Henderson’s website: musical influences include rock guitar heros like Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Roy Buchanan, Jeff Beck, The Ventures, and Lonny Mack. Great Lap Steel Guitar players like Leon McAuliffe, Santo and Johnny, Buddy Emmons, Alvino Rey, and Little Roy Wiggins, pioneering lap steel Blues players Hop Wilson and Freddy Roulette, and jazz organ great Jimmy Smith also had a big impact on HeXx. Through his study of Rock, Blues, and Country’s greatest masters, and by playing with musicians of the highest caliber, HeXx doggedly earned a profound knowledge of music which enables him to weave many influences and styles together to form a very distinctive new sound. Rock, Jazz, Blues, Country, and Hawaiian music, with threads of Gospel, Pop, Surf, Heavy Metal, and Funk, all color the final, masterful design….

Previous Podcasts:

• Podcast 10: Interview with Gretchen Menn
• Podcast 9: Interview with Josh Gooch
• Podcast 8: Interview with Bob Wootton
• Podcast 7: Interview with Margaret Scranton
• Podcast 6: Interview with Steve White
• Podcast 5: Interview with Tom Stanton
• Podcast 4: Interview with LA Jones
• Podcast 3: Interview with Luke Mulholland
• Podcast 2: Interview with Tallan ‘The T-Man’ Noble Latz
• Podcast 1: Interview with Anthony Contreras

Show Notes:

1. Bob Wills
2. Beatles
3. Hendrix
4. Bass Guitar
5. Frederick’s of Hollywood
6. Acoustic Control Corporation 126
7. Johnny Winter
8. David Allan Coe
9. Steel Guitar
10. Eddie Van Halen – Eruption
11. Tribute to Hendrix – Star Spangled Banner
12. Dimebag Darrell
13. Dimebag Darrell killed in shooting
14. Carol Kaye
15. Bo Diddley
16. NAMM 2010
17. Joe Bonamassa
18. Asher Guitars
19. Trailer Trash Pedal Boards
20. ‘73 Fender Super 6 Reverb
21. ‘72 Fender Twin Reverb
22. ’78 Lab Series L11
23. ’37 Rickenbacker Model B
24. Bakelite
25. Leo Fender
26. Standard Lap Steel Tuning
27. Dolly Parton Signiture Series Guitar
28. Epiphone Les Paul 100
29. Foxrox Wah Mod
30. Seymour Duncan’s Twin Tube Classic Overdrive
31. Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
32. Boss TU-Tuner
33. HeXx Website
34. HeXx Myspace
35. Men who look like Kenny Rogers
36. HeXx Youtube Channel

This week’s review brings me to the special edition Fender Jaguar with Rock/Grunge modifications. This modified Fender Jaguar comes with an alder body giving it a beefier tone but adding a little extra weight. The neck remains the same just as the 65’ jaguar using the shorter 24” scale neck for easier string bending.

The “U” shape neck lends for extra grip while the gloss urethane finish adds a swift feel. This special edition Jaguar has a rosewood 7.25” radius fretboard with 22 vintage style frets. The Fender Jaguar also comes with two special design MIJ Dragster humbuckers to reduce noise and produce fatter, darker tones, making this new Jag perfect for Grunge, Punk or Rock music.

The special edition Fender Jag has a modified pickup switching system for unique coil taping configurations. The Jaguar has two on/off switches one for each pickup. It also comes with a vintage style adjusto-matic bridge with an anchored tailpiece.

The Jaguar uses Fender/Gotoh vintage style tuning machine heads with a chrome finish. The axe comes with the classic 3-ply black pickguard as well as black control knobs. The special edition Jaguar also comes with Fender Super 250R nickel plated steel strings.

The Fender Jaguar HH specifications:

• Controls
• Lead circuit
• 2-Position tone switch
• Volume
• Tone
• Rhythm Circuit
• Volume
• Tone
• Circuit Selector Switch

My over all opinion of the special edition Jaguar is that of mixed feelings. Although I am not partial to Fender guitars for reasons of personal playability, that does not mean I do not like Fender guitars. Everyone has a different feel to a specific guitar style. I will start with the guitar tone. The Jaguar’s tone is specially designed for dirty tones found in rock and grunge music, this is fine if you are only playing these genres of music. I found that when playing the Fender Jaguar Special Edition distorted it had a very chunky and dirty sound, great for that style. When played through clean channels at low volumes it was pretty smooth, however when played at high volume it gets very distorted. This is not necessarily a bad thing as that specific tone is highly sought after. I do like the unique circuits connected to the pickups as they can get some pretty interesting tones. The special edition Jaguar is a little heavy for my taste but it’s what the guitar needs for its dark tone. Compared to most Fender necks, this neck is a little bit easier to get around on. It feels thinner then the Stratocaster type necks.

If you are looking for the Seattle style grunge tone, then this is the perfect guitar for you. If you are looking to buy this model because of the looks then be warned that you are limited to what you can play, as this is not a clean sounding guitar. It is meant for distortion tones. All in all, the Fender Jaguar Special Edition is not a bad guitar at all, it just lacks in versatility. But don’t let that discourage you from trying one out, not every guitar has to meet your every need. Till next week, Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year from all of us at Share My Guitar. Keep on Shredding and thanks for reading.

P.S If any of our readers would like me to review a specific guitar that you are interested in, drop me an email and I will gladly review that instrument. Cheers Nick.

Alice in Chains perform live on Conan O’Brien 10.30.09

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Taken from Margaret Scranton’s myspace page: I started playing guitar the day after seeing Van Halen at the Cow Palace in 1982. I was a baby. Having four older brothers and sisters listening to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix, I grew up on major rock bands. When I started playing, Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen were my greatest inspiration. Today I have new favorites, but those two guys bring me back to my roots. I was fortunate to meet Randy’s mom and give her a song I had written about him. She is a beautiful woman. When I set out to be a solo artist, I wanted to play with the best musicians I could find. The music was and is the most important thing. Tom Hunting formerly of “Exodus”, played drums. Brian Templeton, formerly of “Karma Coda”, played bass guitar. Then I did something I got from “Moby”. I had 4 singers come in to each sing a song. They are Chrissy Barlow, Katherine Sawyer, Diane Ahern and Ronda Najera. I wanted to use voice as an instrument, not have the singer define the music or it’s identity. Carlos Santana was also an inspiration to go in this direction. I included my first instrumental, which I think came out great. In 2007, I recorded another album, “Genuine Article”, with a new band. We are now “Scranton ” and are currently booking shows in the Bay Area. In my spare time, I play with the Hormones, an all-girl Ramones tribute band. In addition to my music, I teach guitar to kids, which brings me closer to music. I’m a fine art “film” photographer, and show my photography online and do gallery shows a few times a year. You could say Ansel Adams and Randy Rhoads gave me life.

Rock guitarist extraordinaire Margaret Scranton, lead guitarist of Scranton. Photo By Jane Tyska

Previous Podcasts:

• Podcast 6: Interview with Steve White
• Podcast 5: Interview with Tom Stanton
• Podcast 4: Interview with LA Jones
• Podcast 3: Interview with Luke Mulholland
• Podcast 2: Interview with Tallan ‘The T-Man’ Noble Latz
• Podcast 1: Interview with Anthony Contreras

Show Notes

1. Margaret Scranton in Nov 09 issue of Guitar Player Magazine!
2. Eddie Van Halen
3. Tallan Noble Latz
4. Jane Tyska
5. Benny Goodman
6. Randy Rhoads
7. Ozzie Osbourne
8. Led Zeppelin
9. Rush
10. Pink Floyd
11. Wendy Russell
12. Freddie Freelancer
13. The Hormones
14. Bonnie Raitt
15. Female guitarist who ROCK!
16. 1960 Reissue Les Paul Classic
17. Martin Acoustic Guitars
18. Fender Jazz Bass
19. 1971 Fretless Fender P-Bass
20. 1967 Gibson J45 Acoustic Guitar
21. Jaco Pastorius
22. Open Mic’s
23. Randy Rhoads CSUN Scholarship
24. Margaret Scranton Photography
25. Ansel Adams
26. Jane Tyska: Photojournalists Oakland Tribune
27. Motown Studio A
28. James Jamerson
29. Marvin Gaye

Be sure to check out Scranton’s links:

http://www.myspace.com/margaretscranton
http://www.sonicbids.com/scranton
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Margaret-Scranton-Band/37754801897
http://www.reverbnation.com/scranton
http://www.imeem.com/scranton
http://www.ourstage.com/epk/scranton
http://www.bandsofthebay.com/band/Scranton
http://www.bebo.com/scrantonband

The ESP LTD Deluxe EC-1000 guitar

This weeks review brings me to the crunch machine ESP LTD Deluxe EC-1000. The first thing that caught my eye was the factory EMG pickups and quilted tops. The EC-1000 comes standard with EMG 81 and 60 pickups. The EC-1000 is very lightweight and comfortable in feel with its Mahogany body and Rosewood fret board. The metal given tone of this fine guitar will melt faces without melting your pocket book.

With its screaming high’s and deep mid’s and warm bass tones the EC-1000 will steal the show. Along with the amazing pickups, the EC-1000 houses a 24-3/4″ set neck with a thin U contour. The Rosewood fret board is sleek and fast to the touch. The EC-1000 come standard with 24 extra jumbo frets and abalone flag fret markers. The TonePros locking tune-O-matic bridge will keep you in tune through your entire set. Another unique feature of the axe is the 42mm Earvana compensated nut lending to the perfect tuning of this beastly instrument.

One unique detail about this guitar is with different colors you get different components. Such as Seymour Duncan JB/59s on the EC-1000 flame top. On the Black and Vintage models you will get gold hardware, yet on the amber burst you will get chrome hardware.

My over all opinion is the EC-1000 is a great metal, hard rock and classic rock guitar. It is very easy to play and feels great, however I would point out that due to the pickups you are limited in the variety of tones you are going to get. Don’t get me wrong I love EMG’s but certain EMG pickups are made specifically for metal playing such as the 81 and 60 models. Definitely a great rock guitar for a great price, but keep in mind that this guitar is made for metal and rock. Till next week, ‘keep on shredding.’

This week I will be reviewing the Ibanez S series 520ex. This sleek looking, mind numbing piece of weaponry is a must have for those looking for an array or tonal possibilities. With its ultra thin mahogany body the Ibanez S520 is super light weight while still maintaining a soothing warm tone. The 25.5″ scale Wizard II neck is lighting fast and very pleasing to the touch. The Wizard II is a 3pc Maple neck with a bound Rosewood Fingerboard. The jumbo frets eliminate string buzzing and give the player a better grip on the strings.

Some players may find it difficult at first to keep track of what fret you are on as the S520 does not have fret markers on the fingerboard. Do not “fret” my friends, there are fret markers on the top side of the guitar neck to keep your noodling in line. There is a 12th fret claw scratch inlay on the S520 giving it a very metal flavor.
One of the great things about this guitar is the Ibanez ZR (zero resistance) Bridge. This New Tremolo system improves on the older style tremolos giving it greater stability and string tension. The ZR bridge is very low profile giving the player more room to move the picking hand as the fine tuners are sunk down out of the way. One great thing about this tremolo is it sits on ball-bearings which provides better tuning stability. If one string breaks the other five strings stay in tune!

The Pick-ups:

The S520 comes with two Ibanez infinity pick-ups, one volume and one tone knob. In the bridge position houses the INF2 and the neck position the INF1. Although only having two humbucking pick-ups the S520 has a 5-way selector switch. The tonal possibilities are vast and beautiful. In my opinion the clean tone options on this guitar are nothing short of astounding. The unique switching system splits the pick-up functions in a different way then normal. In position one you get the solo sound of the INF2 bridge pick-up. A very bright and forceful sound with screaming harmonics and string clarity. In position two you get a coil tap crossing the top half of the bridge pick-up and the lower half of the neck pick-up. This combo lends for a warm bluesy sound. In position three you get the full effect of both bridge and neck pick-ups. I compare this to a SRV type tone with its super warm tone perfect for chordal melodies. In position four you get the INF1 pick-up (parallel connected) giving you a single coil tone without the buzz. In position five you get the INF1 pick-up in the neck position by itself perfect for all you soloing needs. The INF1 humbucker houses a ceramic magnet giving you that classic tone with excellent dynamics. The INF2 humbucker houses an alnico-5 magnet lending excellent lows enhanced mid range with a higher output for string clarity.

My thoughts:

The Ibanez S520 is an excellent guitar for every style of music. Although presented as a heavy metal guitar, The S520 is really meant for all genres. The clean tones are amazing with so many options to choose from you will definitely find the tone you are looking for. The blazing tone of the guitar while over driven will make your face melt. I usually swap out factory pick-ups right away but there is no need to on the S520, the pick-ups are perfectly matched in every way.

I am pretty rough on guitars and I have to say the ZR tremolo is by far the best I have used to date. It is really easy to fine tune and it stays that way even after the most brutal of solos. The S520 is an A+ in my book, affordable and versatile. However if you are interested in picking one up, I suggest that you are comfortable with your chord and scale positions. In low light its is easy to get lost on the fretboard. Alright, that’s my rant for the week.

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Guest Post by Jennifer Gamble

OK, so you finally bought a guitar with a floating tremolo and locking nut. You are STOKED! No more out-of-tune strings when you do a dive bomb. You figure you will put a brand new set of strings on it because who knows how old these strings have been sitting on it before you bought it. You proceed to unlock all the clamps, remove all the old strings, and replace them. WHOA!!! Three hours later and it still won’t go back into tune. You are thinking this really sucks and maybe you should just return the damn thing. What you really need to do is the following:

First, go back to your local music store or any place that offers guitar repair. You need to start by having your guitar “set up.” This means that when you purchase a new instrument you should take it to a professional (unless you are the all-knowing type and capable of doing this yourself) to get the bridge and intonation set. Your guitar shop may recommend that block your floating tremolo (a wood block inserted underneath the bridge). This will keep the guitar from going out of tune if you break a string (and it will – horribly) but there is a down-side to all good things, it will drastically limit the mobility of the tremolo. Please also note that it’s important to have a backup guitar for your live performances should you travel down the Floyd Rose highway.  Once properly set up, the bottom of your floating bridge should lie parallel to the body of your guitar and your strings should stay in tune all the way up the fret board, and that helps the rock!
Now that your guitar is setup and intonated properly, the best way to approach changing your strings is to only replace two at a time.

• Remove one nut clamp.
• Loosen both strings from under that clamp.
• Loosen the bridge screw from both of the strings until you can pull them out from the bridge clamp.
• Replace the strings one of two ways:
  • Clip the bridge end of the string off and reuse it – the strings ALWAYS break at the bridge so if you take the weak, clamped portion off you can often reuse the string.
  • Put a brand new string on threading the string so the ball end is at the head of the guitar.
• Stick the end of the new strings back into the saddle block clamp and tighten the screw to hold them in.
• Make sure that the fine tuners are set in the middle of their range.
• Wind the two strings back up, stretch them, and then tune them to the rest of the strings.
• Now you can replace the nut clamp and repeat on the next pair of strings.
• Finally, after all the strings are in place and clamped. Give your guitar a couple of whammies and tune all the strings with the fine tuners. If anything is way out of whack, loosen the nut clamp and tune from the machine head.

If you tend to sweat a lot, take the time to wipe off your Floyd Rose after playing so it doesn’t rust. Eventually, the locking screws will get stripped. It is easy to order replacement parts online if you can’t find them in your local store.

Now go forth and rock the world!

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Over the years I’ve listened to countless hours of rock and roll radio.  When I would hear something I liked I would purchase the album, on vinyl, later on cassette tapes, and then on CDs.   One of the first songs that caught my attention was, Fire On High by ELO.  It’s an odd tune for a few reasons.  First it’s an instrumental, (if you don’t count the strange back-masked voices), and last because it just sounds really frantic, but at the same time very cool.  It’s one of my all time favorite instrumentals.

Photo of Jeff Lynne by Dan Steinberg

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed that song I mostly ignored ELO and Jeff Lynne for many years.   About two years ago I picked up a double CD collection called, Light Years, that consisted of their greatest hits, and I was blown away by their sound.  I had no idea what I’d been missing.  Before that, I’d enjoyed Jeff Lynne in the Traveling Wilburys and his various other projects, including his production of Tom Petty’s Full Moon Fever, and Into the Great Wide Open.

ELO had lots of hit singles but they never had a number one hit.  However, they do hold the record for the most top 40 hits of any band in US history.  Lynne has a loyal following, but for the most part his music has always been underrated.  I would say the closest sound to ELO was a mixture of The Beatles and Queen who were much more popular and more successful.   I would not say Queen was better then ELO by a long shot, and I think that much of ELO’s music holds up better with time.  With the artistic direction and production talents of Jeff Lynne, they created some very original and unique music.

Jeff Lynne spent time with The Beatles in the recording studio during the recording of the White Album.  The experience greatly influenced Lynne in his musical direction.  I cannot think of another lead guitarist who has more respect for making and producing music.  Even his idols, The Beatles, choose Lynne to produce their last two songs, one of which, Free as a Bird, won a Grammy.   John Lennon called Lynne the son of The Beatles.

Don’t overlook ELO, or Jeff Lynne’s other projects.  To do so would be to miss out on one of the great sounds in rock and roll history.  Enjoy the music.