
Slash and Myles Kennedy have been teaming up since 2010, when Kennedy was chosen to front Slash’s touring band. Since then, they’ve made four studio albums together.
Despite almost the entire band getting Covid while recording in Nashville, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators refused to be stopped. The result, 4, is their best album to date.
When you think of Slash (born Saul Hudson), several things immediately come to mind. There’s his signature top hat, his flowing curly locks, his killer solos and bluesy riffs, and, of course, the Les Paul—the iconic axe that’s been by his side since the mid ’80s when he broke ground on Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction with timeless classics like “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle.” There’s some controversy surrounding the actual guitar used on that album, with speculation that it wasn’t actually a Gibson but rather a replica made by luthier Kris Derrig. No matter the origin of that guitar, Slash popularized the Les Paul at the time when pointy-headed super strats ruled the world.
In fact, he single-handedly brought the Les Paul back into vogue, and rare models began fetching unheard of sums. With supergroup Velvet Revolver and his solo project, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, the Les Paul has remained Slash’s inseparable partner-in-crime. Gibson named Slash their global brand ambassador and has collaborated with him on 17 signature Les Pauls since 1997. So, it’s not surprising that when Gibson Records launched, Slash was the first artist they contacted.
The new album from Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, 4, is Gibson Records’ inaugural release. It features Todd Kerns on bass, Brent Fitz on drums, Frank Sidoris on rhythm guitar, and Kennedy on vocals. Kennedy is also known as the lead singer for Alter Bridge. It’s less common knowledge that Kennedy is a monster guitarist with a degree in jazz studies and commercial music. In his formative years, Kennedy led Cosmic Dust, a fusion band that was the vehicle for his Frank Gambale meets Mike Stern pyrotechnics. Kennedy doesn’t play guitar on 4, but when they’re on tour, to avoid straining his voice, Kennedy locks himself in the hotel room and sheds endlessly.
Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators - The River Is Rising (Official Music Video)
Spirit Animals
The songwriting process for 4 began during the Living the Dream tour in 2019 in the dead time before and after shows. “It’s not a rule but I always write stuff for the next record while we’re on the road with the previous,” says Slash. “A lot of this new record was initiated in that process. In dressing rooms before the show, on the bus sometimes—though usually not on the bus because everybody is all over the place—and definitely in the hotel rooms. Because I never really go anywhere. I just stay in my room. I record stuff onto my phone—the cat’s out of the bag [laughs]. When I bring something to soundcheck and the band starts to jam on an idea, I record from the board.”
Slash is a self-taught zookeeper and has housed and cared for countless wild animals, so it makes sense that animals served as inspirations for some of the songs on 4. He got his first pet rat, a black-and-white creature named Mickey, from disco/funk legend Sly Stone. One of Slash’s anacondas, Sam, resides at the Nashville Zoo, and whenever Slash is in town, he’ll go visit him. Once, Slash snuck his mountain lion, Curtis, into the opulent Four Seasons hotel after the Northridge earthquake displaced him.
Given that history, it’s fitting that the album closer, “Fall Back to Earth,” began while Slash was on safari in South Africa at Kruger National Park, inspired by the sounds of monkeys and hippos he heard in the nighttime as he looked up at the stars in the majestic sky. “I took my guitar to the park, yes [laughs],” says Slash. “I just came up with this melody, which was the main theme of ‘Fall Back to Earth,’ and I stuck with that. I loved it because it came from a place of inspiration because of the environment that I was in.”
“For me, as a sort of semi-insecure guitar player, there are things that I did want to go back and fix, but Dave was like, ‘Come on, man.’ I was like, ‘I know, I know.’” —Slash
Kennedy, a self-proclaimed softie, also took inspiration from an animal. He wrote “Fill My World” from the imagined viewpoint of his Shih Tzu, Mozart. “It was a few years ago and I was on tour. My wife had come out to see me, and we were both trying to get home. We have a little dog named Mozart and he usually stays with friends or a dog sitter. They dropped him off thinking we’d be back in an hour or two. Unfortunately, a storm rolled in, so we basically got stuck. As the storm hit, we were freaking out because we were watching on the cameras. He was at the house by himself and the thunder and the lightning—which the dogs just hate—were just scaring the hell out of him. You could see it. It was kind of heartbreaking so I thought it would be interesting to write a song from his perspective. What might have been going through his head at that point.” At one point in the song, an audible crack in Kennedy’s voice can be heard.
Enter Dave Cobb
After the songs were written, it was time to make studio arrangements. “I talked to a couple of trusted executives in the industry that I know, and I said, ‘I’m looking for a good rock ’n’ roll producer,’” recalls Slash. “And, of course, the list was very short. I had four guys to look at. Two of them were interesting, two of them were, no.”
Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb easily got the gig. “We just talked about records we loved,” recalls Cobb. “We talked about how records used to be made where you came into the room and recorded to tape with no separation and played as if you were a band playing live instead of making it a big procedure. And that’s how we hit it off. I remember growing up and learning how to play guitar, and Slash was huge to me. I was a little nervous to talk to him.”
TIDBIT: Slash and his band, Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, recorded 4 at Nashville’s iconic RCA Studio A. Dave Cobb produced the album, which is also the inaugural release for Gibson Records.
“He wanted to record a rock band live in the studio and I wanted to be a rock band that recorded live in the studio, so we hit it off right away,” says Slash. The band set up at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, a legendary space that Chet Atkins’ built where every country music luminary from Dolly Parton to Waylon Jennings has recorded. “The vibe in that place is so inspiring, I have to say … everybody’s recorded there,” says Slash. “Steve Cropper’s got an office upstairs. I never got to meet him but just the fact that he was in the building was just so cool.”
Guitars, bass, and drums were recorded live in one room, and Kennedy did his vocals live in an adjacent booth. Everyone was at ease, just rockin’ out, which made for a particularly stellar vocal performance from Kennedy. “I thought I was just laying down vocals for scratch tracks. I thought I was just helping guide the band, so they know, ‘Okay we’re on the verse, or we’re on the chorus.’ Then I assumed that in a week or so we’d go in, and I’d re-cut the vocal,” says Kennedy. “But Dave was happy with them. That’s the way they get a singer to relax—tell him it’s just a scratch track (laughs).”
Cobb’s ability to embrace the moment also relaxed Slash’s usual quest for perfection. “For me, as a sort of semi-insecure guitar player, there are things that I did want to go back and fix, but Dave was like, ‘Come on, man.’ I was like, ‘I know, I know,’” Slash says.
Slash’s Gear on '4'
One of the most expressive combos of all-time: Slash and his inseparable Les Paul. He wrote one of the songs from 4 while at a game park in Africa. “I took my guitar to the park, yes,” he says with a laugh.
Photo by Annie Atlasman
Guitars
- Gibson ’59 reissue Les Paul (2)
- Gibson ’68 reissue Les Paul Custom
- Gibson ’69 reissue Flying V
- Kris Derrig Les Paul replica (1986)
- Most of Slash’s guitars are outfitted with his signature Seymour Duncan APH-2 Alnico II Pro Slash humbuckers
Strings & Picks
- Ernie Ball Slash Signature (.011–.048)
- Dunlop custom picks 1.14 mm
Amps
- Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555 JCM Slash Signature 100-watt head
- 1960 Marshall 4x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s
Effects
- MXR EVH Phase 90
- MXR CAE Boost/Overdrive
- Dunlop Heil Talk Box
- Hammond Leslie
- Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere
Dangerous Times
When Slash was in Guns N’ Roses, they were called “The Most Dangerous Band in the World” because of their hedonistic excesses. Now, older and wiser, Slash isn’t quite as carefree. For the recording session, to avoid public exposure and reduce the chance of getting Covid, the band hired a tour bus to bring them from Vegas to Nashville.
The bus first picked up Slash in L.A. and brought him to Vegas, where most of the other band members live. Myles drove into Vegas from Washington. Upon arriving in Sin City, they met up at a clinic, and after all testing negative, got on the bus and headed to Nashville. After a night’s rest, they got straight to business the next morning. At a breakneck rate of two songs per day, 90 percent of the record was done in five days. And then on the sixth day, when Slash was gearing up for some guitar overdubs, he got an unexpected call from Kennedy.
“He called me on my cell phone, which was odd to begin with,” recalls Slash. “Then he said that he had tested positive. Because we had to do regular testing, I was like, ‘Oh fuck.’ I couldn’t understand how that could possibly have happened because we hadn’t gone anywhere. Consequently, Brent, Todd, and one of the engineers at the studio were positive as well.”
Slash is synonymous with vintage Les Paul guitars and has collaborated on 17 signature models since 1997. Here he’s playing a ’59 reissue at the Fillmore Detroit with Myles Kennedy in 2015.
Photo by Ken Settle
Kennedy was also baffled. “The first time we tested was like three days before we got there and the next time we tested was the morning we walked into the studio. Everybody was fine and I was fine,” Kennedy recalls. “Then about 24 hours later I started to notice some strange symptoms. I thought they were allergies initially and, especially since I just tested, I thought, ‘There’s no way it’s Covid.’ But unfortunately, as the symptoms continued to evolve, I realized it was something a little more serious.”
Everyone had to go into quarantine, but that didn’t mean the music making had to stop. “I started to do what little guitar overdubs I had—I had some harmonies, and some sitar parts,” says Slash. “Then two days later I tested positive. It was inevitable because we were all living in the same house and sharing a communal kitchen. The house was now effectively called ‘Covid Manor.’” Only Sidoris avoided getting Covid.
Luckily, the setup of their accommodations made it possible to quarantine and still be productive. “It was perfect,” says Kennedy. “I had a little separate house outside the house. I think it was like a pool house or something. I ended up recording Todd’s vocals because Todd ended up getting sick as well. He would come out during the day, and I would set up my DAW and we would do the backing vocals.”
“Spirit Love,” “Whatever Gets You By,” and “Fall Back to Earth” were all finished in the pool house, and then the files were sent to Cobb.
“Seeing him actually in the studio, it was a ‘Holy Shit’ level of guitar playing. I knew he was incredible, and I knew he was a legend, but he’s way better than that when you see him in person.” —Dave Cobb
Dumble Destiny
Cobb’s gear inventory is impressive, and during the sessions Slash crossed paths with a true bucket-list item. “It was the first time I consciously knew I was playing through a Dumble amp. I’ve been hearing that name forever, but I didn’t know what it was,” admits Slash. “[Cobb] introduced me to a Fender that Dumble had customized, and it sounds fuckin’ amazing. I didn’t actually record anything with it, but it just sounded really good.”
Cobb recalls, “You know, Slash sounds good through a lot of things. He sounded great through that Dumble. When he plugged into it, it sounded like Slash—rock ’n’ roll, over the top, classic. It sounded like a great rock ’n’ roll amp when he played through it.”
Sadly, Alexander Dumble passed away in January, a few weeks after this PG interview with Slash took place. It seems almost like fate that their worlds collided shortly before Dumble’s passing. Slash commissioned Dumble to build him an amp, which may be one of the last projects the famed builder completed. “I got in touch with Alex after the session and he actually did a Fender for me,” Slash says. “It sounds really great. He’s not easy to get in touch with or to get him to do something, it became very apparent. So it was an honor to have him do something for me. But I didn’t know the history before. There was some discrepancy over the cost of it for a second, but he and I got to be good friends as a result of that. I didn’t know how much it cost, I thought five meant five-hundred bucks [laughs].”
Photo by Annie Atlasman
While Slash enjoys his Dumble amp—the new discovery—he stuck to a tried-and-true formula for 4. His iconic Marshall Silver Jubilee 100-watt heads into a 4x12 straight cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30s was the rig of choice.
For guitars, Slash had his staples at the ready. “I used my Kris Derrig replica, which is like my go-to guitar for recording,” he says. “But I also used a ’69 reissue Flying V, which I got last Christmas, that sounds great on a couple songs. I used two ’59 reissues, one apiece on two different songs, a ’68 Custom reissue on one song, and that was basically the setup.”
As Cobb put it, it doesn’t really matter what the gear is: Slash is going to sound like Slash. “Slash’s tone—the way he plays through a Silver Jubilee—is the ideal tone for Slash, you know what I mean?
“I’ll tell you what’s really cool. I know from being a fan, how good he is as a guitar player, and as a writer, and all of that,” Cobb continues. “But seeing him actually in the studio, it was a ‘Holy Shit’ level of guitar playing. I knew he was incredible, and I knew he was a legend, but he’s way better than that when you see him in person. I mean the solos on the record are live and he’s going for it, and it came out so classic and timeless. And his playing has so much feel and heart and soul. I didn’t realize how much better he is than I even thought he was. That was probably the biggest revelation. When he plugs in, it’s like, “I know why he’s Slash.” I was in the room with the engineer and the assistant in the control room, and we were all like, ‘Holy shit. This is way bigger and better than we even thought it was going to be.’”
Slash ft.Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators - Anastasia | Live in Sydney
Slash is a master of coaxing an impressive array of sounds out of his beloved Les Pauls. In the intro to “Anastasia,” he gets an acoustic vibe by using a fingerstyle approach combined with the Les Paul’s rhythm pickup setting. Once the distortion kicks in, he launches into a post neo-classical, pedal-point riff, before launching into all-out carnage once Myles Kennedy’s vocals enter.
- Rig Rundown: Guns N' Roses - Premier Guitar ›
- Gibson Slash Appetite Les Paul Electric Guitar Review - Premier ... ›
- The Legend of Slash's Appetite for Destruction Les Paul - Premier ... ›
- Our Favorite Songs of Summer 2022 - Premier Guitar ›
- Slash's Sixth Solo Album Set for Global Release May 17 ›
- Slash's Blues Album: Orgy of the Damned ›
- Blues Ball Band Tour: Slash's 2024 Pedalboard Unveiled - Premier Guitar ›
A terrific twosome or a terrible twinning? It all depends on how you tame your treble.
Rein in those icy high frequencies with these handy tips.
Classic vintage Fender amps are renowned for their clean, shimmering tones. However, dialing in the “sweet spot” isn’t always straightforward, especially when you're playing on a new or borrowed amp. Pair these amps with Fender guitars—also known for their brightness—and the combination can sometimes result in ear-piercing treble and overwhelming volume. An amp that’s too powerful or an unsuitable guitar pairing can easily derail the musical moment you’re trying to create. So, controlling treble is crucial, particularly with louder amps.
In this article, I’ll share my experiences with Fender amps and how I’ve tamed treble issues through guitar tweaks, speaker swaps, amp modifications, and pedals. My goal is to help you achieve those glorious vintage Fender tones without losing your ears—or your audience—in the process.
Backline Bargaining
I’m extra cautious about bringing my brightest Strats or Teles to gigs with rented backline amps. Newer Deluxe Reverbs, for example, can be particularly tricky with dialing in a smooth tone. These amps often feature bright ceramic speakers and the EQ options are limited—there’s no bright switch to dampen the top end and no mid knob to add warmth.
Here’s what I do: I start by turning down the tone knob on my Okko Twinsonic overdrive pedal, which is very transparent. My old Ibanez Tube Screamers naturally rolled off much of the high end, making them easier to pair with brighter amps.
I also adjust the microphone placement set up by the sound crew. The tone gets brighter the closer the mic is to the center of the speaker cone. I angle the SM57 slightly and aim it closer to the outer edge of the cone, leaving a 3–4 cm gap from the grill cloth. Larger 12" or 15" speakers are more forgiving in this process, while smaller 10" speakers are less so. I’ve encountered challenging amps, like a Super Reverb loaded with 10" JBL speakers featuring aluminum dust caps. These amps sounded much harsher through the PA than they did on stage, making mic placement even more critical.
Dimming the Bright Caps
Bright caps are key components in shaping an amp’s treble response. On the Deluxe Reverb, the bright cap is always enabled, which can make brighter guitars sound harsh, especially at low volumes or when using fuzz pedals. Cranking the amp helps by adding more upper mids to the mix.
For my own Deluxe Reverbs, I sometimes disable the 47 pF bright cap or, more often, install a 25k mid pot on the back panel to add warmth. It depends on the tones I’m chasing.
Smaller amps like the Fender Champ and Princeton don’t have bright caps, which naturally gives them smoother tones. But if they sound too dark or muddy, you can add a bright cap. I installed a 100 pF bright cap on my 1966 Princeton Reverb (which has a Jensen C10N speaker from the same year, though not original to the amp). After experimenting, I settled on a 47 pF cap for just the right amount of clarity.
If you’re up for a bit of DIY, experimenting with bright cap values can significantly shape your tone. Black-panel and silver-panel Fenders typically use 120 pF bright caps, with exceptions like the Deluxe (47 pF) and the Princeton and Champ (none).
Guitar Tweaks for Warmer Tones
Your guitar’s setup can also make a big difference. Thin strings combined with pickups set too close to the strings can result in a thin, overly bright tone. Here’s how I address this:
● Lower the pickups slightly. I start with a 2–2.4 mm gap on the high E string and 2.4–3.3 mm gap on the low E, measured between the pickup pole and the string when fretted at the highest fret. Then, I fine-tune by ear to balance output across pickup positions.
● Use thicker strings for a warmer, fuller tone. I tune my guitars down to Eb to deepen the sound and increase sustain. Keep in mind, though, that this can create a looser, flabbier bass response on smaller amps.
● Hotter pickups add mids and bass, naturally reducing treble dominance. Alternatively, lowering the resistance of the volume pot can smooth out the tone by filtering high frequencies. However, changing pot or cap values will alter how your guitar responds when rolling down the tone or volume knobs.
Speaker Swaps
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, speakers play a huge role in shaping your tone. Swapping speakers or experimenting with extension cabinets is one of the most effective ways to adjust treble, mids, or bass. I’ve written extensively about this in previous articles, but it’s worth emphasizing here: The right speaker pairing can make or break your tone.
I hope these insights help you conquer any treble troubles and coax balanced tones from your Fender amps. Happy tinkering!
Roger Waters is set to release a Super Deluxe Boxset of The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux on March 14, 2025. The Boxset includes a live album from his sold-out London Palladium shows, gold vinyl, CD, Blu-ray, and a track-by-track video interview.
The Super Deluxe Boxset includes:
- The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux on gold vinyl (2LP), CD, Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos Mix, 96/24 Audio.
- The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux Live on gold vinyl, CD, Blu-Ray, 96/24 Audio
- Roger Waters Track by Track video interview on Blu-ray
- Four 4 x 10-inch Vinyl from the original Redux album cut at 45 RPM for: Money, Time, Speak To Me/Breathe and Us & Them, each with an artwork etched B-side.
- A 40 page Commemorative Book of Photographs from The Making of the Album, Rehearsals, and Roger Waters Redux Live at The London Palladium.
- Initial Boxset orders from the official store include a signed print by Roger Waters
Waters Quote:
“All that is gone, all that’s to come? Looking back or looking forward, Dark Side of the Moon offers you choice. The choice is yours. Darkness or the Light”.
Track listing:
The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux studio album and Roger Waters Live album:
“Speak to Me”
“Breathe”
“On the Run”
“Time”
“Great Gig in the Sky”
“Money“
“Us and Them”
“Any Colour You Like”
“Brain Damage”
“Eclipse”
The Dark Side Of The Moon Super Deluxe box set Redux credits include: Roger Waters: Vocals / Gus Seyffert: Bass, Synth, Backing Vocals / Joey Waronker: Drums, Percussion / Jonathan Wilson: Guitars, Synth / Johnny Shepherd: Organ, Vocals / Via Mardot: Theremin, Vocals / Azniv Korkejian: Vocals, Percussion / Jon Carin: Keyboards, Lap Steel, Synths, Organ, Vocals / Robert Walter: Piano, Harpsichord, Synths / Strings: Gabe Noel: String Arrangements: Gabe Noel
Recorded live at The London Palladium // Produced by Gus Seyffert and Roger Waters // Mixed by Sean Sullivan, Darrell Thorpe, Roger Waters and Gus Seyffert // Mastered by Dave Cooley, Elysian Masters // Art Direction and Design: Sean Evans // Photography: Kate Izor.
For more information, please visit rogerwaters.tmstor.es.
Roger Waters - THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON REDUX SUPER DELUXE BOXSET - YouTube
Each night of a G3 tour ends with an all-out jam and on Reunion Live, the trio hits classics by Cream, Hendrix, and Steppenwolf. “When you hear each guy solo, you can hear how we’ve changed through the years,” says Vai.
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson reflect on their groundbreaking tour with a fiery live album that took nearly 30 years to make.
“When you’re young, you’re attracted to all these [guitar] ideas—do this, do that,” says Eric Johnson. “You’re like a sponge. If you get yourself out of the way, get rid of the ego, and stay open, you remain a student your whole life. But at the same time, you get to the point where you’re like, ‘There’s only so much time, and I don’t need to learn this and that.’ There are things that Joe [Satriani] or Steve [Vai] do that I’ll never be able to do.”
Some guitarists would find that notion depressing—of finally extinguishing the naive youthful fire to master every technique on their instrument. (It’s probably easier to find peace when you’re one of the world’s most revered players, with platinum sales and Grammys on your résumé.) But when Johnson looks at Satriani and Vai, his fellow virtuosos on the 2024 G3 reunion tour, the idea of “letting go” puts a smile on his face.
“Although we stay open, we define some of our journey,” says Johnson. “We can’t be everything to everybody. Then you start appreciating what someone else is doing even more.”
That sense of refinement is crucial to the story of G3, the triple-guitar tour conceived by Satriani and launched alongside Johnson and Vai in 1996. Over the years, the event has morphed to incorporate players from just about every style: from blues-rock (Kenny Wayne Shepherd) to prog-metal (Dream Theater’s John Petrucci) to hard rock (Uli Jon Roth) to the eerie soundscapes of King Crimson’s Robert Fripp. Far from a rote shred-fest, it’s a celebration of the electric guitar’s unlimited possibilities. And Satriani’s been thinking a lot about that idea following the G3 reunion tour, which ran for 13 dates last January, spawned a new concert album (Reunion Live), and will eventually birth a documentary helmed by his son ZZ.Recorded live at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, Reunion Live documents the culmination of a 13-date tour that brought the trio together for the first time since the original tour in 1996.
“He had an interesting idea for a film,” Satriani says. “Our first G3 show happened the week he turned four, and we decided we were always going to take him with us. He wanted to do a film not only about that and about G3 but also his whole point of view growing up with a very strange father and this community of guitar players. He wanted to know their perspective on guitar playing and music and this life he’s been a part of.”
The younger Satriani grew even more ambitious, proposing that the OG G3s [OG3s?] get together for another tour. “ZZ wanted to see what it was really like, after decades of traveling with me and the different bands, to get onstage and play,” Satch says. “It all sort of happened in those last two shows at the Orpheum in Los Angeles. ZZ came on and played a song, and that sort of brought the film full-circle—from the four-year-old to the 32-year-old playing onstage with his dad. The [as-yet-unreleased] film has really developed into this epic story about guitar players. Eric and Steve have been so generous with their time, letting ZZ interview them about music, guitar, and what it means to them. But that’s really how the whole thing got started this time around.”
“30 years later, you can really see more of the dynamic difference in our go-to notes and riffs. Joe is more Joe now; Eric is more Eric now; and I’m more me now.”—Steve Vai
Reunion Live unfolds like the actual G3 shows, with miniature heavy-hitter sets from each artist (you get Vai’s “For the Love of God,” Satriani’s “Surfing With the Alien,” Johnson’s “Desert Rose”), followed by a trio of generous, triple-guitar cover-song jams—in this case, ripping versions of Robert Johnson’s blues staple “Crossroads,” Steppenwolf’s open-road proto-metal anthem “Born to Be Wild,” and Jimi Hendrix’s hard-psych powerhouse “Spanish Castle Magic.” The latter, fronted by Johnson, is the album’s centerpiece: 11-plus minutes of instrumental fireworks that perfectly showcase each player’s distinct flavor. Toward the end, the groove lays back into a quiet, funky simmer—the perfect platform for an onslaught of tasteful flourishes and ungodly shredding.
Back in 1996, the trio barnstormed across the country and laid waste to guitar nerds everywhere with a scorching version of Zappa’s “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama.”
Photo by Ebet Roberts
“The thing I liked about that [choice] was that it’s very common to play a Hendrix song in a jam, but most people play the usual suspects,” says Vai. “Eric’s Hendrix catalog runs deep, and he’s played ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ on multiple occasions, and I’ve played it in the past. When it came up on this G3, I was very excited because it’s a great song to play. It’s just got a great feel to it, and the groove for soloing is very open. I was very happy to see that.”
“I hate the word ‘competition.’ But if we didn’t want to challenge each other, we wouldn’t have agreed to do the tour.”—Joe Satriani
“I remember doing so many cover songs over the past few decades, and every once in a while you come up with an all-purpose song that anyone, from any walk of life, can come join you on,” says Satriani. “And then you have these other songs that really shine a light on an individual’s foundation as a player and some of their early inspirations. I know that all three of us were so into Jimi Hendrix. I love doing that song. I’d do any Hendrix song. Eric and I have a lot of experience going out with the Experience Hendrix [tribute] tour. He figured into our early musical lives—even before I played guitar, I was a big Hendrix fan.”
“Crossroads” is also fascinating on many levels. Sure, it’s hard for any good rock band to screw this one up, and it could be the most obvious pick for any guitar jam, but the song’s simple blues structure also allows for a delicious whiplash, magnifying the vast differences in tonality and note choice between each guitarist.
“At first, when ‘Crossroads’ came in, I was like, ‘OK, it’s this classic rock song.’ But once you’re onstage and playing it, the riff is so great,” says Vai. “It’s robust. When you hear each guy solo, you can hear how we’ve changed through the years. Not just us—any guitar player who sticks with their craft goes through various evolutions into different directions. Some can stagnate, but you’re usually inching toward something different. Most of the time physicality is involved in that. When I hear ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ or ‘Crossroads,’ the stuff on this jam, my ears are listening to 30 years ago, in a sense, when we would trade. Today, 30 years later, you can really see more of the dynamic difference in our go-to notes and riffs. Joe is more Joe now; Eric is more Eric now; and I’m more me now. I’ve abandoned trying to sound conventional in any way.” The more they sound like the definitive versions of themselves, as on this G3 tour, the more in tune with each other they seem to be.Joe Satrian's Gear
The G3 mastermind would never use the word “competition,” but feels like his fellow G3ers wouldn’t show up if they didn’t want to be challenged.
Photo by Jon Luini
Guitars
- Various Ibanez JS Models (tuned to Eb standard)
Amps
- Marshall JVM410HJS
- Two Marshall 1960B 4x12 cabinets
Effects
- Vox Big Bad Wah
- Boss OC-3
- DigiTech SubNUp
- MXR EVH Flanger
- DigiTech Whammy
- Boss DD-8 (in effects loop)
- Voodoo Lab Pedal Power
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario XL110 (.010–.046)
- D’Addario Satch Grip Picks
“I would listen to Joe and Steve, and I would marvel at the guitar playing and the consistency of how great it was, but for me, it was [also] an opportunity to look beyond [it],” says Johnson. “It was a bit of an epiphany doing this tour because I tuned into the energy they had, the songs they were writing, the sounds they were getting, the shows they were doing. It even made the guitar playing more interesting because there was another dynamic I was tuning in to more. Not that it wasn’t always important, but as you get older, you try to see the whole hemisphere and what that means to the audience. It’s a win-win because it doesn’t take anything away from the guitar—it makes it more interesting to have encased in that bigger thing. I noticed that more this time, which made me feel good.”
“We can’t be everything to everybody.”—Eric Johnson
The G3 tour, and particularly the encore jams, are fascinating at the conceptual level: taking players largely renowned as soloists, and forcing them to share stages and trade licks—working to compliment each other’s playing instead of simply flexing their muscles and drawing on some primal competitive drive.
“The ego is the definition of competition,” says Vai. “Its perspective is, ‘How do I stack up? How do I rise above? How do I sell more, make more, have more, be more than anyone else?’ This is nothing personal to me—this is in the collective of humanity. Ego can wreak havoc in your life and cause a lot of dysfunction and stress. You don’t know it because you’re unconscious of the way the ego can be competitive. More in my earlier days, in the background, there was a perspective of competitiveness. This doesn’t just go for G3, but it was never in a playing way. I felt, ‘My playing is so abstract and bizarre that there’s no one else doing this weird stuff.’ Of course, this is still ego.”
Steve Vai's Gear
“When I hear ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ or ‘Crossroads,’ the stuff on this jam, my ears are listening to 30 years ago, in a sense, when we would trade,” remembers Vai.
Photo by Jon Luini
Guitars
- Ibanez mirror-topped JEM “BO”
- Ibanez John Scofield JSM
- Ibanez JEM 7VWH “EVO”
- Ibanez Universe 7-String
- Ibanez Hydra Triple-Neck Guitar
- Ibanez JEM 7VWH “FLO III”
- Ibanez PIA (tuned to Eb standard)
Amps
- Synergy SYN-2 Preamp
- VAI Synergy Module
- B-MAN Synergy Module
- Fractal Audio AXE-FX III Turbo
- Fryette LX-II Tube Power Amp
- Carvin V412 cabinets with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers
Effects
- Lehle A/B Box
- Dunlop 95Q Wah
- Ibanez Jemini Distortion/Overdrive
- DigiTech Whammy DT
- CIOKS DC-7 Power Supply
Strings, Picks, & Accessories
- Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy (.010–.052)
- Ernie Ball Regular Slinky (.010–.046)
- Ernie Ball Super Slinky (.009–.042)
- Ernie Ball 7-String Set (.009–.056)
- DiMarzio Cables
- Electric Fan
- InTuneGP GrippX Picks (1.14 mm and 1.50 mm)
“But when it came to Joe, it was a very different dynamic because he was my [guitar] teacher—he taught me how to play,” remembers Vai. “Joe was my mentor. I admired him. We were joined at the hip throughout our careers. In the earlier days, you listened to the other guy, and there’s the perspective. One is a very egoic perspective, which sees things as competition. The other perspective is, ‘What can I learn here? What can I get from this that’s going to improve my tools?’ Boy, there’s plenty of that in every G3 tour, every situation I’ve ever been in. But it’s a perspective only you can choose. The feeling of competition, I don’t like it. If someone is selling more records or playing faster or tastier or their songs are better, it behooves me to see how I can gain on a personal level from that. If I was the coach of a basketball team, I’d say, ‘It doesn’t matter if you win this game. It’s not as important as doing your very best.’ In reality, the only one you’re ever competing with is yourself—your bar.”
“If someone is selling more records or playing faster or tastier or their songs are better, it behooves me to see how I can gain on a personal level from that.”—Steve Vai
Satriani shares a similar sentiment—that being “complimentary” in a project like G3 is a real talent and a gift. Working on the documentary has put him in a retrospective mode, thinking about past tours and how they’ve worked to be more expansive and, perhaps, even provocative in their presentation.
Eric Johnson's Gear
“We can’t be everything to everybody. Then you start appreciating what someone else is doing even more,” says Johnson.
Photo by Jim Summaria
Guitars
- 1958 Fender Stratocaster
- Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster
- Fender Stratocaster with internal preamp
Amps
- Fender Bandmaster Reverb
- 50-watt Marshall JTM45 Super Tremolo
- 100-watt Marshall JTM45 Super Tremolo
- Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature
- ’60s stereo Marshall cabinet with Electro-Voice EVM12L speakers
- ’60s Marshall cabinet with vintage 25-watt Celestion Greenback speakers
Effects
- EP-3 Echoplex
- TC Electronic Chorus
- Ibanez Tube Screamer
- Dunlop Fuzz Face
- MXR M-166 Digital Time Delay
- Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
- BK Butler Tube Driver
- Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
- Bill Webb Fuzz Pedal
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario Pure Nickel (.010–.046)
- Dunlop Jazz III picks
“Yesterday I was searching for an original print of a photo from [the G3 tour] in ’97,” he says, “where Robert Fripp was opening the shows, unannounced, hidden behind a wall of gear. That was his request—to play as people were filing into the venues. I found this great photo of Robert onstage with his guitar and four-year-old ZZ standing next to him holding a plastic pail—I think it was at Jones Beach. It reminded me of how crazy the notion was at the time of Robert joining up with the tour. But he was so excited about it and wanted to do it. We had fantastic times traveling together and hanging out backstage and getting to know each other on that particular tour, and that set the tone for me—knowing that, not only did I have comrades like Eric and Steve, who felt the same way that I did about collaboration in a live setting, but now there was Robert and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and the concept of G3 started to really catch fire. It was really heartwarming to know that this sort of gunslinger attitude that existed in the ’80s about guitar players could be challenged. We could create something really inclusive about different styles and generations of players and take it on the road. That came back to me when I saw that photo.”
“I hate the word ‘competition,’” Satriani says elsewhere, surveying G3 history. “But if we didn’t want to challenge each other, we wouldn’t have agreed to do the tour. We get to hear each other’s sets, which is great—we don’t often get to do that when we’re off on our own tours. And then we get to stand next to each other and see what just pops out of nowhere, what each artist decides to throw out as an improvisation. Every night is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If you can somehow work that into your musical life, you’re really lucky—so I count myself really lucky.”
YouTube It
Watch Satriani, Johnson, and Vai tear through Cream’s classic interpretation of “Crossroads.” In this video, directed by ZZ Satriani, you can get a feel for the history the trio shares with vintage G3 clips and more.
Meet Siccardi Number 28: a 5-ply, double-cut solidbody tribute to Paul Bigsby’s “Hezzy Hall” guitar.
Reader: Mark Huss
Hometown: Coatesville, PA
Guitar: Siccardi Number 28
May we all have friends like Ed Siccardi—along with a rare stash of tonewoods and inspiration to pay tribute to a legendary luthier.
I have too many guitars (like at least some of you I’m sure), but my current No. 1 is a custom guitar made for me by my friend Ed Siccardi. Ed is an interesting and talented fellow, a retired mechanical engineer who has amazing wood and metal shops in his basement. He also has an impressive collection of tonewoods, including rarities like African mahogany and some beautiful book-matched sets. He likes to build acoustic guitars (and has built 26 of them so far), but decided he wanted to make me an electric. The fruit of this collaboration was his Number 27, a Paul Bigsby tribute with a single-cut body—looking very much like what Bigsby made for Merle Travis. Note that Bigsby created this single-cut body and “Fender-style” headstock way before Gibson or Fender had adopted these shapes. This was a really nice guitar, but had some minor playing issues, so he made me another: Number 28.
Number 28 is another Paul Bigsby tribute, but is a double cutaway a la the Bigsby “Hezzy Hall” guitar. This guitar has a 5-ply solid body made of two layers of figured maple, cherry, swamp ash, and another layer of cherry. The wood is too pretty to cover up with a pickguard. The tailpiece is African ebony with abalone inlays and the rock-maple neck has a 2-way truss rod and extends into the body up to the bridge. It has a 14" radius and a zero fret. Therefore, there is no nut per se, just a brass string spacer. I really like zero frets since they seem to help with the lower-position intonation on the 3rd string. The fretboard is African ebony with abalone inlays and StewMac #148 frets. The peghead is overlaid front and back with African ebony and has Graph Tech RATIO tuners. The guitar has a 25" scale length and 1.47" nut spacing. There are two genuine ivory detail inlays: One each on the back of the peghead and at the base of the neck. The ivory was reclaimed from old piano keys.
This is Number 27, 28’s older sibling and a single-cut Bigsby homage. It’s playing issues led to the creation of its predecessor.
I installed the electronics using my old favorite Seymour Duncan pairing of a JB and Jazz humbuckers. The pickup selector is a standard 3-way, and all three 500k rotary controls have push-pull switches. There are two volume controls, and their switches select series or parallel wiring for their respective pickup coils. The switch on the shared tone control connects the bridge pickup directly to the output jack with no controls attached. This configuration allows for a surprisingly wide variety of sounds. As an experiment, I originally put the bridge volume control nearest the bridge for “pinky” adjustment, but in practice I don’t use it much, so I may just switch it back to a more traditional arrangement to match my other guitars.