Slash Marshall AFD100

Guitar legend Slash and Marshall Amplification announce the new AFD100 project at a special press conference at the 2010 NAMM Show.

More info at AFD100.com

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Slash Les Paul Goldtop Limited Edition(s)

I didn't get a chance to post this the other day, but you knew there was no way I would miss this. Yet another Limited Edition Goldtop on it's way, this time featuring my main man Slash. Maybe I should name this site SlashToyBox... ooh that sounds wrong.

Anyway, here is the lowdown:

Two models, Gibson and Epiphone.

Epiphone:

• mahogany body (with maple top) and neck
• Slash neck profile
• rosewood fingerboard
• 22 frets, 24.75″ scale length
• Tune-o-matic bridge
• LockTone stopbar tailpiece
• 2 Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro-II humbucker pickups
• 3-way pickup switch
• 2 volume and 2 tone controls

Gibson:

• Slash neck profile
• skull and crossbones and top hat logo with his signature headstock
• Plek system setup
• Custom Slash Electronics
• rosewood fingerboard
• 22 frets, 24.75″ scale length
• Tune-o-matic bridge
• LockTone stopbar tailpiece
• 2 Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro-II humbucker pickups
• 3-way pickup switch
• 2 volume and 2 tone controls

The Gibson is limited to 1000 guitars, and the Epiphone is not as limited at 2000.

If you go to the Epiphone website there is a contest where you can win the guitar, a hat, and a special certificate. Needless to say I have already entered.
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Slash’s Rig Explained

As if I couldn't post this. Super guitar tech Adam Day, Slash's #1 guy for the past 16 years, goes right through the rig of the man himself... SLASH!!

I always wondered how someone got a job like that. I know my stuff, but these guys are amazing.

Do you know what you want?

Please tell me you are a fan of Slash? He has got to be my favourite guitarist of all time. So I'm going to go on a rant here about Slash, but stay with me, there is a point to all
this.

When we think of innovation and talent in the guitar world, Slash is usually at the top of the list. With many years in the spotlight as the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses, Slash left the band in
1996 to pursue a solo career after the band had musical disagreements.

Since then, Slash and two other members that left Guns N' Roses with him (Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum) have formed the very successful band, Velvet Revolver. If you want to know the whole story from the man himself than you should grab his biography from here.

Slash hated to replicate any guitarist, rather, he let their style influence his. That's why he wrote so many fresh licks, because he wasn't trying to be anybody but himself.

As far as scales are concerned, he relied many on the minor/major pentatonic scales in addition to some mixolydian and Dorian scales for his solos. This may come as a surprise to some, considering how
overused these scales have become. The trick to keeping your sound and solos original is to use a variety of techniques coupled with your own ideas.

Slash favoured vibrato and using hammer on/ pull off's to create speed. His right picking hand isn't used for speed. Instead, he uses his picking hand to add a percussive feel to his solos.

The more you change the rhythms in your solo, the more unique and intricate it will become. The solo will take on a life of its own. The bottom line is this: put your heart into the solo, add in some
ordinary techniques and cool effects and you have yourself a world class solo.

The key ingredient here is practice. Regardless of what techniques you use, you have to know how to apply them in such a way as to move your audience.

I know exactly what I want to achieve with my guitar playing. I would love to combine the blues rock of players like Slash, Gary Moore, Joe Bonamassa, shred like Zakk Wylde, and have the quirks of
Jack White.

So, what about you?

Why do you play guitar? What makes you tick? What drives you to become a better player? What can help you get there? You need to know what you want before you can get it.

Think about that for a second...

YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE YOU CAN GET IT.

Sure, you want to get better at playing guitar. But what about your playing do you want to improve? You picking hand technique? Your fretting hand? What about a particular style - blues, rock, metal?
You need to sit down and think about that before you start to practice.

When you do know, then you need to find something that can get you there. There are plenty of resources out there that can help you. But don't bother looking till you know exactly what you need.

So before you do anything else. Sit down, relax and really evaluate where you are with your playing, where you want to be, and how you are going to get there. It's a long road, so you may as well start now.

Best laid plans…

Wow, what a few weeks. So busy and no time for anything. At least I got my new web site design solution business up and running with a snazzy new website (and if that sentence looked weird, I was dropping keywords for you net SEO savvy people). So after some delay I'm back with some guitar stuff.

As mentioned in a past post about learning my favourite guitar songs, I've hit a snag and had a rething. One song I cannot find a tab for, the other is in an open tuning and I would rather stick with standard for now, and the other is possibly a bit ahead of myself. So I'm changing the tracks. I'm still using the same guitarists.

Slash : was Paradise City, now Sweet Child O' Mine.
I love Paradise City, but this is such a memorable solo, I really just want to learn it.

Gary Moore : was midnight Blues, now Still Got The Blues
Again, an obvious choice, but for the same reasons as above

Rich Robinson : was Sting Me, now Hard To Handle
I can already play Hard To Handle, but I usually ad lib the solo with some references to the original. It's time I learned the way the solo should be played.

So there is the new list. I got my trusty GuitarPro fired up and ready to go. Now the fun begins. I've just got some new audio software so as I progress I'll record the improvements.

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