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 | Download Example 1 Clean |
| Download Example 2 Dirty |
I had just started playing guitar that year, and there were plenty of guitar heroes to look up to at that time. This band had two guitar players, but one was definitely the lead guitar hero of the group. So there I was in the front row watching this band rock out, and standing right in front of me was this tall, skinny guitar player. He was playing notes so fast that they were a blur! I couldn’t believe the sounds and tones coming out of this cool-looking guitar. He switched guitars many times that night, and all of them sounded great. He had cool paint jobs on every guitar, and the graphics kept getting better with each one he played.
The band was Ratt, the guitar player was Warren DeMartini, and the guitar was a Charvel. I didn’t really know about Charvel guitars at the time, but this was the year that I was introduced to them. (Yes, Eddie Van Halen played them first, but he had already switched to Kramers by that time!) Two of my favorite guitar players that year were Warren DeMartini and Jake E. Lee from Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Both guitarists were from L.A., both played in Ratt (Warren actually replaced Jake) and both had incredibly innovative styles, not to mention tone. They both played hot-rodded superstrats and their guitars of choice were Charvels. I also learned that year that those cool-looking Jackson guitars that my ultimate guitar hero Randy Rhoads played were actually Charvels as well.
The company has gone through a lot of changes since its inception. I was happy to hear that Fender had bought Charvel a few years ago, and the intent was to return to the high quality American-made guitars that they were originally known for.
When I heard they were releasing a line of Warren DeMartini signature guitars, I knew I had to get my hands on one! The Warren DeMartini - San Dimas line consists of three guitars with the same basic platform, but three different graphics to choose from. The platform is an Alder body and the bolt-on neck is one-piece quartersawn maple with a 12˝ – 16˝ compound radius and jumbo frets. The hardware includes an original black Floyd Rose tremolo, black Schaller tuners and NOS Charvel brass strap buttons. It has a signature, custom-designed Seymour Duncan humbucking pickup controlled by a single volume knob—just like every guitar Warren plays.
I often pick up new guitars and immediately think of what I would do to change it to fit my preferences, whether it is string height, pickups, the feel of the neck, etc. Fortunately, this guitar looked and felt great right out of the box. I was impressed by the overall craftsmanship of the guitar, with high quality parts and flawless artwork.
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The body is made of alder, so it’s definitely a resonant, well-rounded tone with incredible sustain. The DeMartini is available in three different graphics: Crossed Swords, Bomber, and Skull and Blood. Crossed Swords has always been my favorite design—probably because that’s the guitar that I saw Warren use the most in the early Ratt videos and concerts.
The neck is silky smooth and has a nice feel. It has the original San Dimas neck shape, with a medium thickness “D” profile. It’s slightly wider than I prefer, but overall the playability is great. You’ll have no problem shredding some hot licks with this guitar! The black locking nut and Schaller tuners are a nice touch, and it’s very pleasing to see the Charvel logo with “Made in U.S.A.” underneath it! The back of the headstock sports a removable sticker reminding the player that the headstock is the registered trademark of the parent company Fender. It’s nice to see Charvel guitars can finally and legally include the Strat headstock like the originals— without having any trademark issues. The headstock also has Warren’s signature on the back, but unfortunately it’s only a facsimile. If you want this guitar signed, you’ll have to track him down yourself and have him personally autograph it! (The case candy does include a photo card with a real Warren signature, however.)
I really like the guitar’s Seymour Duncan humbucking pickup, which is a custom-designed signature model that can only be found on these Charvels. It’s a well-rounded tone, definitely chunky with a fat, full sound. It also provides screaming highs for a clear, crisp tone, and I love the way it sustains. This pickup was definitely built for rocking out, but even when you back down on the volume with a clean tone, it doesn’t thin out the sound at all. What this guitar and pickup configuration may lack in terms of versatility, it definitely makes up for with chunky, aggressive tone.
The custom features of this guitar, especially with the pickup and graphic design, make it a unique instrument that definitely stands out among other superstrats. It would have been interesting to see even more of Warren’s favorite specs incorporated into this guitar, such as his preference for triangle frets and “Big Block” tremolo systems [Editor’s note: see the Big Block on page 188]. Still, the Charvel DeMartini is a well-built, well-designed, high-quality guitar.
Some may argue that this guitar isn’t worth the high retail price. They may say that you can just custom make a replica that can look, feel and sound as good as this guitar for half the price. This was also the argument when Charvel released the Eddie Van Halen Art Series guitar a few years back. I will agree that these guitars aren’t for everybody, and definitely not for the naysayer. This guitar is aimed at fans and collectors like me, who have dreamed about owning a guitar like this since childhood. There is a definite nostalgia factor involved. Just like a lot of other iconic eighties guitars that are now being reissued, I’m thankful that I now get the opportunity to get a guitar I always wanted, and can now afford! It doesn’t hurt to have Fender supporting the Charvel brand name financially, with better manufacturing technology, proper marketing and access to higher quality materials. Thanks to the acquisition from Fender, Charvel is now regaining its reputation as one of the true pioneers of the original hot rod guitar.
Buy if...
You’re a fan of the original Charvels and/or Warren DeMartini
Skip if...
Nostalgia isn’t your thing or you’re expecting all of DeMartini’s specs
Rating...
MSRP $2400 - Charvel - charvel.com |
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
In this episode, we’re celebrating the thrill of guitarmony, sick riffs, and driving 8th-note rhythms by talking about Judas Priest. Before getting ready for this episode, neither of your esteemed hosts had ever delved into the Priest discography beyond the rock-radio hits and Beavis and Butthead—though we’d both spent our time with Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Since so many of the GOATs hold the band in the highest of regard, we knew that K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton belonged on this list, so we embarked on a journey to find out why.
After hours of listening and watching, we’re happy to report that we get it. From their debut, 1974’s Rocka Rolla, through 1980’s British Steel, deep into the ’80s-production era with 1986’s Turbo, and through the speed-metal bravado of 1990’s Painkiller, plus live videos and records—the super-loud US Festival performance and the crushing Unleashed in the East record—we found a lot that we love.
