JAMES HETFIELD takes Pie in the face for 46th Birthday
August 7, 2009 by Chaz · Leave a Comment
Video footage of METALLICA frontman James Hetfield getting covered in cream pies for his birthday at the conclusion of the band’s performance at the Sonisphere festival on Sunday, August 2 at the legendary Knebworth Park, United Kingdom can be viewed below. Read more
ESP Guitars – EX, EX Diamond Plate & FX
June 12, 2009 by Chaz · 2 Comments
ESP Guitars is proud to announced 12 new models to be released this fall 2009. The new Standard Series models include some juicy updates to the Eclipse, EX, and V lines, plus two new 7-string guitars and a whole new body style for ESP: the Phoenix-II. Click the hyperlink to view pictures and the specs of each new Standard Series ESP guitar models. p://gear-vault.com/esp-guitars-phoenix-ii-phoenix-ii-bass” title=”ESP Guitars Phoenix-II & Bass” rel=”dofollow”>Phoenix-II. Click the hyperlink to view pictures and the specs of each new Standard Series ESP guitar models.
EX, EX Diamond Plate & FX
The ESP EX/EXP models have been the source of some great music in the past. Down through its development, this model has been the favorite of many great players including James Hetfield of Metallica. Well it’s time to bring the EX back into the ESP family! The new ESP EX comes in the classic 24.75” scale and features a mahogany body, maple neck and rosewood fretboard and EMG 81 and 60 pickups. Black nickel Gotoh tuners and bridge look sweet on the black finish.
Now, take that same guitar, beef it up with an anodized aluminum diamondplate body shield and you have the EX Diamond Plate! This guitar is so metal, it’s actually made from metal…at least the top, anyway.
If you’re into the EX shape and a natural finish, check out the ESP FX. It’s a natural mahogany-finished guitar in the EX body style, with the headstock shape from our F series. It features Sperzel locking tuners, a Gotoh bridge, and those amazing EMG 81/60 active pickups.
EX
Spec:
- Set-Neck
- 24.75” Scale
- Mahogany Body
- Maple Neck
- Rosewood Fingerboard
- 42mm Bone Nut
- Thin U Neck Contour
- 22 XJ Frets
- Black Nickel Hardware
- Gotoh Tuners
- Gotoh TOM Bridge & Tail
- EMG 81 (B) / 60 (N) Active p.u.
- Finish: SW, BLK
EX Diamond Plate
Spec:
- Set-Neck
- 24.75” Scale
- Mahogany Body
- Maple Neck
- Rosewood Fingerboard
- 42mm Bone Nut
- Thin U Neck Contour
- 22 XJ Frets
- Black Nickel Hardware
- Gotoh Tuners
- Gotoh TOM Bridge & Tail
- EMG 81 (B) / 60 (N) Active p.u.
- Finish: BLK w/Diamond Plate
FX
Spec:
- Set-Neck
- 24.75” Scale
- Mahogany Body
- Mahogany Neck
- Rosewood Fingerboard
- 42mm Bone Nut
- Thin U Neck Contour
- 22 XJ Frets
- Black Nickel Hardware
- Sperzel Locking Tuners
- Gotoh TOM Bridge & Tail
- EMG 81 (B) / 60 (N) Active p.u.
- Finish: PBS (Padauk Brown Satin)
Metallica To Emphasize ‘Magnetic’ On Tour
October 10, 2008 by Chaz · Leave a Comment
Lars Ulrich of Metallica promises that fans will hear “a lot of new songs” from “Death Magnetic” on the band’s upcoming tour, which begins production rehearsals this coming Monday in San Francisco and kicks off October 21 in Glendale, Ariz.
“These new songs are a lot of fun to play,” says Ulrich. “Traditionally I think we’ve been a little conservative when we’ve started off with two songs, three songs (from the new album). We’re going to hit the ground running here. We’re probably gonna learn all of them and play, I hope, at least five a night and probably rotate ‘em so we get a lot of new songs in. That’s one thing I’m definite about.”
Metallica is happy to have dates booked as late of August of 2009, will again be playing in the round, though Ulrich says the production will be “a completely different thing than what we’ve done before.” He says that there will be “a big-ass fuckin’ lighting rig above us, and there’s some pretty cool stuff up there. There’ll be some shit that turns on and off and some shit that blows up… the usual stuff.”
Ulrich says the band is also similarly enthused about the reception to “Death Magnetic,” Metallica’s first set of new material since 2003’s “St. Anger.” The album topped The Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks and has sold a million copies already in the U.S. and 2.5 million around the world.
“It’s just an overwhelming, positive thing,” Ulrich says. “You couldn’t have told me a month ago or six months ago that we would have a record that would be this well-received. It seems like it’s so universal this time and it’s all over the world and everybody’s so into it on so many different levels–the fans, press, the peers… everybody.”
“I’m a little overwhelmed, humbled… and certainly appreciative. When you put out a record twice a decade, which is kind of what we find ourselves doing these days, you bask in it a little bit.”
Of course you are Lars, you’re selling lots of albums and have shows booked into August 2009. Glad the album is a success.
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Kirk Hammett talks about his Gear and Sound for Death Magnetic
October 7, 2008 by Chaz · Leave a Comment
When Kirk Hammett, the lead guitarist of Metallica, was asked about his gear and tone for their new Death Magnetic album, this is what he had to say.
“I’ve added more midrange to my over sound. I can still appreciate my original scooped sound, but I need to feel the ground shake when I hit a chord. It hasn’t been any radical change in gear as much as it’s been a change in EQ. For Death Magnetic I used what I always use, which is my standard touring rack, which is filled with some [Mesa] Boogie stuff and a Marshall that I’ve had forever. I also used the new Randall amp that I helped design and Greg Fidelman, our engineer, turned James [Hetfield] and me onto Ampeg heads. Ampegs made incredible guitar heads in the early Nineties and then stopped. And I don’t know why. The one we used had a nice clean, warm sound, and it blended well with the other amps that were in the studio.
I’m a total vintage freak and would have liked to use more of my collectible amps, but we got the sound that worked for the sonic context, and I really didn’t want to make it more complicated. The same goes for guitars. I used a few vintage guitars here and there. I think I used a ’58 Paul and a ’59 Tele on some clean stuff, but overall, almost everything is done with my ESP Mummy and Caution guitar, which is the original “Skully” [KH-2 Kirk Hammett signature] guitar—the very first ESP guitar, from 1987.”
And that’s what Hammett has to say about that!
So, now let us ask the Gear-Vault readers. Do you like Metallica’s Death Magnetic Guitar Tone?
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Sweet Voices of EV 368 Electro-Voice 468
September 23, 2008 by Chaz · Leave a Comment
A few decades ago, Electro-Voice set the audio industry on its ear when they introduced the NeoDymium (N/DYM) line of durable and affordable dynamic microphones, which boast response and performance characteristics comparable to costly condenser mikes. Read more
