Brent Mason has picked for the biggest and best names in country music: Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Brooks & Dunn, Blake Shelton, and George Strait are just a few of the country stars on whose records you can hear Mason’s Fender-on-Fender fretwork. But his solo on “Southbound Train,” the closing track on Travis Tritt’s 2000 record Down the Road I Go, might be his hottest work of all.
As Mason explains, the song scoots along at his favorite country tempo—a Cajun two-step, Mason says—which provides the rhythmic framework for his face-melter lead. Mason says the melodic and structural components came in part from his familiarity with jazz, and the mixing of jazz and blues with his usual twangy conventions. In fact, Mason’s furious note barrages occasionally earned him some raised eyebrows (and some choice words from Conway Twitty) in the more traditionalist Nashville studio system.
This might be the toughest solo our host has taken on so far on Shred With Shifty. The key to wrestling it? “You gotta keep playing [it] til you wanna pull out all your teeth and hair,” says Mason. Which Nashville producers and stars would let Mason off-leash in the studio? How does a session ace deal with hand injuries? Listen on, shredders. And if you’re brave enough, send in your take on Mason’s solo.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Nashville's historic Gruhn Guitars give PG an exclusive look at a very early amp that is a piece of rock history that preceded the heralded JTM45. Amp builder and reverb aficionado Eric Borash of Ebo Sounds shares his expertise on this rare amp's lineage, while John Bohlinger plugs in Dan Auerbach's old '60s ES-335 to test it out.
Beetronics FX Tuna Fuzz pedal offers vintage-style fuzz in a quirky tuna can enclosure.
With a single "Stinker" knob for volume control and adjustable fuzz gain from your guitar's volume knob, this pedal is both unique and versatile.
"The unique tuna can format embodies the creative spirit that has always been the heart of Beetronics, but don’t let the unusual package fool you: the Tuna Fuzz is a serious pedal with great tone. It offers a preset level of vintage-style fuzz in a super simple single-knob format. Its “Stinker” knob controls the amount of volume boost. You can control the amount of fuzz with your guitar’s volume knob, and the Tuna Fuzz cleans up amazingly well when you roll back the volume on your guitar. To top it off, Beetronics has added a cool Tunabee design on the PCB, visible through the plastic back cover."
The Tuna Fuzz draws inspiration from Beetronics founder Filipe's early days of tinkering, when limitedfunds led him to repurpose tuna cans as pedal enclosures. Filipe even shared his ingenuity by teachingclasses in Brazil, showing kids how to build pedals using these unconventional housings. Although Filipe eventually stopped making pedals with tuna cans, the early units were a hit on social media whenever photos were posted.
Tuna Fuzz features include:
- Single knob control – “Stinker” – for controlling output volume
- Preset fuzz gain, adjustable from your guitar’s volume knob
- 9-volt DC operation using standard external power supply – no battery compartment
- True bypass switching
One of the goals of this project was to offer an affordable price so that everyone could own a Beetronicspedal. For that reason, the pedal will be sold exclusively on beetronicsfx.com for a sweet $99.99.
For more information, please visit beetronicsfx.com.
What are Sadler’s favorite Oasis jams? And if he ever shares a bill with Oasis and they ask him onstage, what song does he want to join in on?
Once the news of the Oasis reunion got out, Sadler Vaden hit YouTube hard on the tour bus, driving his bandmates crazy. The Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit guitarist has been a Noel Gallagher mega-fan since he was a teenager, so he joined us to wax poetic about Oasis’ hooks, Noel’s guitar sound, and the band’s symphonic melodies. What are Sadler’s favorite Oasis jams? And if he ever shares a bill with Oasis and they ask him onstage, what song does he want to join in on?
Check out the Epiphone Noel Gallagher Riviera Dark Wine Red at epiphone.com
EBS introduces the Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit, featuring dual anchor screws for secure fastening and reliable audio signal.
EBS is proud to announce its adjustable flat patch cable kit. It's solder-free and leverages a unique design that solves common problems with connection reliability thanks to its dual anchor screws and its flat cable design. These two anchor screws are specially designed to create a secure fastening in the exterior coating of the rectangular flat cable. This helps prevent slipping and provides a reliable audio signal and a neat pedal board and also provide unparalleled grounding.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable is designed to be easy to assemble. Use the included Allen Key to tighten the screws and the cutter to cut the cable in desired lengths to ensure consistent quality and easy assembling.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit comes in two sizes. Either 10 connector housings with 2,5 m (8.2 ft) cable or 6 connectors housings with 1,5 m (4.92 ft) cable. Tools included.
Use the EBS Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit to make cables to wire your entire pedalboard or to create custom-length cables to use in combination with any of the EBS soldered Flat Patch Cables.
Estimated Price:
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: $ 59,99
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: $ 79,99
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: 44,95 €
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: 64,95 €
For more information, please visit ebssweden.com.