Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy take PG through their Alter Bridge road rigs.
PG’s John Bohlinger hung with Alter Bridge’s two-man guitar army, Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy, before their sold-out show at The Orpheum Theater in Memphis. Tremonti and Kennedy showcased some beautiful signature Paul Reed Smith guitars, as well as a not-yet-released PRS signature amp.
Thanks to techs Dave Pate and Scott Davis for their help with the details.
Brought to you by D’Addario Strings.
Brown Sound
Not surprisingly, Tremonti exclusively plays his Paul Reed Smith Mark Tremonti Signature.
The first is an early model from around 2002, sporting a signature brown burst with a tremolo bar. All guitars have D’Addario strings, though gauges vary by tuning. This one is tuned to Eb with 49–38– 28–17–13–10. Tremonti uses Dunlop Tortex 1.3 mm picks.
Spare Some Change?
This is Dime—short for Dimebag—Tremonti’s second PRS single-cut with a whammy bar.
Don't Call Me Daughter
This is Stella, named after Tremonti’s two-year old daughter. Tremonti and Paul Reed Smith came up with the body design together. PRS isn’t set up to mass-produce this shape, so there won’t be a wide-scale production.
Bearded Beauty
This “Fenton” graphic guitar is one of 20 produced. This was a 20th anniversary model with original art painted by Joe Fenton.
Outlaw Style
H.A. (Hell’s Angels) was the second prototype Tremonti signature made by PRS. The pickups are early prototypes.
Mark Tremonti's Pedalboard
Tremonti’s signal starts with an Evidence Audio ‘The Reveal’ cable from his guitar to his pedals, and Mogami W2319 and Square Plug SP5 plugs for patch cables. Pedals include a Morley “Mark Tremonti” Signature Wah, Ibanez TS808HW, Boss TU-3, Boss OC-5, Digitech The Drop, MXR Smart Gate, Mark Tremonti prototype signature chorus/vibrato, and a Lehle Little Lehle III true bypass loop pedal. There’s also a G-Lab SD-1 running into the amp’s effects loop.
The Big Reveal
The PRS MT 100 Mark Tremonti Signature 100-watt three-channel head has not been officially released yet, but Tremonti has been touring with it for a while, as a shake-down cruise.
Crushin' Cabs
He runs this tube-driven beast into two oversized Mesa 4x12 cabs, loaded with Celestion British V30s wired at 8 ohms. The amp uses a Kikusui PCR1000M voltage regulator/power conditioner, plus there’s a Lehle P-Split for splitting signals to main and backup heads.
The Four Horsemen
Kennedy tours with four of his new PRS Signature guitars. The ones finished in natural and white are both tuned to Eb or Eb with a dropped C#, depending on the song. The signature is a bolt neck, T-style guitar with 10” radius, and Narrowfield pickups. All guitars are strung with D’Addario Light Top/Heavy Bottom Strings (.010-.052).
Dr. Hoo
Kennedy reveres owls for their wisdom and adaptability. PRS has a long-standing tradition of using bird silhouettes for inlay markers, so it only made sense that Kennedy and PRS would incorporate their collective avis admiration in the signature model.
Green Machine
Kennedy’s green Signature is tuned to A#–G#–C#–F#–A–#D#, and G–#G–#C#–F#–A#–D#, depending on the song.
Back(up) In Black
Kennedy’s black Signature is strictly a backup in case there are problems with any of the others.
Diezel Power
Kennedy runs two Diezel heads: a Diezel VH4 and a Diezel Herbert. The amps run into two Diezel 4x12 cabs loaded with green Tone Tubby Hempcone 40/40 Ceramic speakers.
Myles Kennedy's Pedalboard
Kennedy runs his MXR Carbon Copy and an EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master in the VH4’s clean loop. Over on his pedalboard, there’s a Dunlop MC404 CAE Wah, Boss TU-2 tuner, Electro-Harmonix’s Nano POG, Lizard Queen, and Freeze, a Ceriatone Centura, Strymon Deco, Line 6 MM4, and a Boss RV-6.
Shop Alter Bridge's Rig
PRS Mark Tremonti Signature
PRS SE Mark Tremonti Signature
Taylor 514CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Lehle Little Lehle
DigiTech Drop
MXR Smart Gate
Ibanez TS808HW Tube Screamer
Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner
Radial Big Shot ABY
Electro-Harmonix Freeze
Strymon Deco
EHX Micro POG
EHX Lizard Queen
PRS Myles Kennedy Hunter Green Signature
PRS Myles Kennedy Natural Signature
PRS Myles Kennedy Tri-Color Sunburst Signature
PG Editors pick their top gear from the final day of NAMM.
PG Editors pick their top gear from the last day of NAMM. See everything from day 4 in our photo gallery.
Universal Audio Apollo Twin
Universal Audio's new Apollo Twin recording interface features two high-quality XLR preamps, a 1/4" guitar input, a suite of 14 included plug-ins—from guitar amp and effects to reverbs and models of classic UA studio units—as well as available plug-ins from partnerships with Boss, ENGL, and more. Most notably, all plug-in processing happens with SHARC chips built into the unit itself, which translates to low-latency tracking. The one-processor Solo goes for $699, and the Duo goes for $899.
Z.Vex Fat Fuzz Probe
Z.Vex Effects put their Fat Fuzz circuit into the new Fat Fuzz Probe. The theremin control governs the stab parameter, and there are also drive, comp, gate, and volume knobs, as well as a 3-position voicing toggle for standard Fuzz Factory sounds, and "deep" and "deeper" subharmonic modes. It'll be available in late summer for $369 street.
Seymour Duncan Vapor Trail
Seymour Duncan's new Vapor Trail delay feature 600ms of completely analog delay with two mini pots for modulation, a transparent delay knob with an embedded rate LED, and a cool wet insert that you can use with an expression pedal to control volume of repeats or to use with a y-cable to loop in any other effect and have it only affect repeats. It goes for $149 street.
Empress Tremolo2
Empress Effects reinvented its famous Tremolo pedal. The Tremolo2 has an all-analog signal path with incredibly powerful digital controls, including an innovative new multi-colored LED system for identifying up to eight presets. Also new is the control port which can be used with an external tap-tempo footswitch, an expression pedal (to control almost any function), or even with Empress' MIDI Box to recall presets or sync the pedal with time code. $249 street.
Diezel Lil Fokker
Diezel’s new 100-watt Lil Fokker is its simplest design to date. Powered by a quartet of KT77s, it features clean and dirty channels, a series effects loop, and a two-button footswitch for switching channels or between two different master volumes. $2,499 street.
Walrus Audio Descent
Walrus Audio's new Descent reverb goes from lush, dreamy soundscapes to twisted and trippy. Modes include hall, reverse, and shimmer, and -1 and +1 knobs add low and high octaves to the reverberations. There are three available presets, plus manual mode. Jacks include a mono input, stereo outs, and an expression-pedal input that lets you control reverb time or wet mix. $300 street.
Wire Instruments Supercollider
Former Nirvana tech Earnie Bailey is building absolutely beautiful guitars under the Wire Instruments name. These instruments are inspired takes on the old Gretsch Astro Jet profile called the Supercollider. The one on the left is a Korina bodied specimen with Lindy Fralin Pickups Plus P-92s. On the right, an Alder body with Railhammers.
Fano Alt De Facto RB6
Fano Guitars' newest, beautiful Alt De Facto RB6 mutation unites Rickenbacker, Kay, and Jazzmaster cues including Gold Foil pickups, Mastery bridge and vibrato, and checkerboard binding. Definitely one of the most fun guitars at Winter NAMM 2014.
Buzz Osborne Electrical Guitar Company
Glorious resurrection!!! Travis Bean Guitars is back! This particular all-metal marvel is an Electrical Guitar Company (the company resurrecting TBG) Buzz Osborne signature model, loaded with EGC humbuckers.
Brubaker Musical Instruments
Brubaker Musical Instruments brought bass No. 1 of a brand new series called the JXB Standard. This J-style, handcrafted axe has an alder body, maple neck, and East Indian rosewood fretboard. Outfitted with a traditional JJ configuration, Brubaker chose Aguilar AG 4J-HC hum-canceling pups for the JXB.
DBZ Maverick
Among their numerous new offerings at NAMM, DBZ Guitars introduced a new vintage-inspired body shape to their line with the Maverick. The Maverick SM variation shown here has a mahogany body topped with spalted maple, and a mahogany neck capped with a rosewood fretboard. For electronics, the Maverick SM is packed with a Pearly Gates/'59 Seymour Duncan combo.
Phil Jones Suitcase Compact
Phil Jones just unveiled the 300-watt Suitcase Compact bass combo. This small yet powerful 2-channel amp houses four of Jones' 5" PJB Piranha speakers and weighs in at a back-friendly 40 pounds.
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein
PG associate editor Chris Kies ("Last Caress" was the first song he ever hammered out) with his hero, former Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein at NAMM 2014.
The Diezel D-Moll is a 100-watt powerhouse that delivers crystal clean tones and smoldering overdrive from six ECC83 preamp tubes and a quartet of KT77 power tubes.
Specs
Tubes: Four KT77 power tubes, six 12AX7 preamp tubes
Output: 100 watts at 4, 8, or 16 Ω
Channels: Clean, OD1, OD2
Controls: Master presence, deep, mid-cut intensity and level, and two master volumes; independent gain and volume on each channel, shared 3-band EQ for channels 2 and 3, independent 3-band EQ for channel 1
Additional Features: Switchable series and parallel FX loop with parallel Return Level control, compensated recording out, MIDI switching, 7-button footswitch
Ratings
Pros: Incredible note separation. clean tones with humbuckers sound surprisingly clear. Drive channels have a perfect balance of girth, punch, detail, and cut.
Cons: Channels 2 and 3 share an EQ section. Expensive.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street: $2,999
diezel.typo3.inpublica.de
The Diezel D-Moll is a 100-watt powerhouse that delivers crystal clean tones and smoldering overdrive from six ECC83 preamp tubes and a quartet of KT77 power tubes. Each of the three channels—clean, crunch, and lead—has dedicated gain and channel volumes. The clean channel uses a dedicated 3-band EQ, while the crunch and lead channels share a 3-band EQ.
Diezel also threw in their highly regarded variable mid-cut circuit, along with two master controls, a series/parallel effects loop, and a pair of presence and deep knobs for tweaking the highs and lows. The amp’s channel-switching, midcut, effects loop, and muting functions can be activated from the front panel, a standalone MIDI controller, or Diezel’s own Columbus footswitch.
Diezel amps have always been known for refined tone and smooth response, and the D-Moll does not disappoint on either count. The clean channel does a bang-up job at delivering massive body and warmth from the dark-toned humbuckers in a Les Paul, but also adds a beautiful piano-like chime in the upper mids and highs. Few high-gain amps have clean tones on par with a great Fender or Vox, but the D-Moll’s exquisite clarity could easily bump it onto that exclusive list.
Channel 2 delivers the smooth and highly detailed overdrive that the third channel from Diezel’s VH4 made famous, but with spongier lows and a more rounded top end. Both single notes and riffs have monstrous body, and the midcut circuit yanks back the low mids for supremely vicious metal tones.
The third channel has considerably more gain than the second, but except for a stronger upper-mid focus, their voices aren’t that different, and channel 3’s fluid lead tones are a perfect compliment to channel 2’s ripping onslaught.
The ferocious nature of the D-Moll’s overdrive makes it pretty intimidating, But it’s the remarkable note separation, midrange detail (which is present across the entire gain range), and refinement at even high-gain settings that make the amp truly special in its class.
Watch Ola Englund demo the amp:
See more Monsters of High Gain 2013 reviews and videos: