Plays: Heavy Core Guitar, 10 – 48

…

…

…

For guitarists, Steve Stevens is a bona fide player’s player. He gained notoriety as the lead guitarist for icons like Billy Idol, Michael Jackson and Vince Neil, cemented his place in the pantheon of guitar heroes as with Atomic Playboys and Black Light Syndrom (with Terry Bozzio and Tony Levin), and is an in-demand session player. Steve recently took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to take the Dunlop Strings: 5 Questions quiz…

When you were young, what artist and/or song inspired you to become a musician?

The early ’70s english prog scene was a huge influence on me. My absolute favorite guitarist at that time was Steve Howe of Yes. I think Yes’ Fragile album was the most profound and influential record for me.

Out of all the music you’ve written, recorded or performed, which piece of music best represents you as an artist?

It’s a bit tough to narrow it down to just one, but “Eyes Without A Face” covers a lot of Steve Stevens ground — acoustic guitar, which is a real passion of mine, as well as my signature electric rhythm guitar style. Throw in a bit of guitar effects, and you’ve got the SS essence.

When it comes to strings, what’s the most important thing that helps you decide on which Dunlop strings to use?

Gauge. I definitely favor a string set that has some resistance. I love the Heavy Core 10-48 set. You can shred on them without sacrificing a strong chording string. They’re perfect for me.

Which Dunlop set(s) do you use?

I’m currently using the Heavy Core 10-48 set.

What one thing about you, would surprise people the most?

I grew up playing folk guitar only for the first five years — stuff like James Taylor and Joni Mitchell.

***************************************

…

…

Use the comments section below to tell us which Steve Stevens song is your favorite, and why, and you’ll be entered to win a 6-Pack of Dunlop Heavy Core Guitar Strings, a Dunlop Guitar Road Pro String Winder, and a Formula 65 Polish Kit!

…

On Thursday, January 19, to kick off the first night of the 2012 Winter NAMM Show, Dunlop was out in force at the first ever Rock & Roll Roast, put together by Guitar World and sponsored by Dunlop and other companies such as Epiphone and Marshall.

The guest of honor was none other than metal guitar god and Dunlop artist Zakk Wylde. He took a hilarious, two-hour long beating at the hands of hostess Sharon Osbourne; Dunlop artists Duff McKagan, Scott Ian and Corey Taylor; wrestler Chris Jericho; and comedians Brian Posehn and Jim Norton among several others. The roast was appropriately caustic, raunchy, and outrageous, and at the conclusion of the show, Zakk delivered his own hilarious tactical nuclear strikes against the gathered roasters.

Not a moment passed without howls of laughter, shocked gasps, or shouts of “Oh no!”

Proceeds for the show will go to MusiCares, a charity that helps musicians who suffer from substance abuse.

Great coverage of the event was posted by Blabbermouth, Rolling Stone, Guitar World, The Orange County Register, Artist Direct, and Artisan News Service, which filed this report…

…

…

Photographer Paul Hebert was on the Red Carpet for Artists’ Arrivals…

…

…

…

…

…

… 

Saturday at NAMM was even crazier and more fun than Thursday or Friday! We heard more great more music, and more fans, friends, endorsing artists and enthusiastic players came by the Dunlop booth to sample our wares, sing our praises, catch a live performance or do some business. Here’s a visual journey through our third day at Winter NAMM 2012…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

..

…

…

…

…

…

Another great day on the NAMM Show floor! The cavalcade of rock stars, players, retailers, distributors, friends, coconspirators and bandmates continued, and we had an awesome time. The Dunlop booth was visited by old friends like Slipknot and Wah Wah Watson, we had an Eric Johnson signing, and there was an amazing  jam session with blues great Eric Gales and rock ‘n’ roll guitar slinger Andy Timmons, with Dunlop’s own Darryl Anders holding down the low end. Here’s a wrap up—some of our favorite photo and video moments from Friday at the Winter NAMM 2012 show…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

What an incredible first day! We had some good friends drop by the booth, we met lots of excited players and friendly music business folks, and had a great time. Here’s some of what we saw and heard…

…… 

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Here at Dunlop, the majority of our time over the last couple months has been spent in preparation for this weekend’s NAMM show in Anaheim CA, and we’re absolutely thrilled for this year’s show.

In celebration of this highly anticipated annual event—the proverbial holy land for musical instrument and professional and consumer audio gear nerds like us—and because we know that not all of our friends, fans and players can be at the show, Dunlop is planning a steady stream of online content from the NAMM show floor.

Keep up with us here on the Dunlop Blog, over on the Dunlop Facebook page and the Dunlop Twitter feed for updates, photos and video from the Dunlop Booth and elsewhere on the NAMM show floor!

If you’re coming to the show, please stop by the Dunlop Booth (#4568), say hi, maybe catch a live performance on the Dunlop stage, and check out all the new gear we’ve got on display.

If you can’t make the show, please feel free to experience it vicariously through us, and be sure to check out our latest releases over on the New for 2012 page.

…

Hey gang, I’m Kevin “Kebo” Borden and I would like to welcome you to the first installment of the “Talking Bass with Kebo” series here on the Dunlop blog. The goal is to educate and enlighten bass players, make suggestions about maximizing tone, offer maintenance tips, discuss playing techniques and recording ideas—if it involves a bass, we’ll discuss it here.

I highly encourage you to use the comments section of these posts to weigh in with your opinion! The point of this blog series to facilitate discussion about bass, not just tell you what to play or how to play it. We are here for you, we are here for your tone, and we are here to increase your enjoyment and love of all things bass, and we know from experience that maintaining an ongoing dialog is the best way grow and share knowledge.

A quick note about Dunlop bass products and their role in this blog series: The Dunlop product line is not just picks and polish. We manufacture world-class bass products, from strings to stomp boxes, and all of our products are original—designed, developed and manufactured in the USA. We offer quality products aimed at working musicians, at affordable price points. Naturally, along with general conversation about bass, this blog series will discuss our products, their usage and applications.

So who is Kebo?

Many of you might know me from a column I used to write for a major music magazine. Others may know me from my shop, Kebo’s Bass Works, in New Jersey. I have been involved with music retail since Christmas of 1975, when I started cleaning the bathroom and sweeping up at a music store just to get my foot in the door. I’ve also been a bass player since that time. I’ve seen every gimmick, every gadget, every “innovation” come and go, and I can tell you that—other than amplification getting smaller and more efficient, and the advent of multi-string basses—the basics are still the same, and we’ll be covering those basics from picks to pedals to accessories and everything in between

So let’s jump right in with our first topic: Strings.

There are multiple components to making up your tone—bass and amp, hands, soul and brain—but the most often overlooked items in a signal chain are the strings, which have an immediate, noticeable effect on the tone and playability of your bass. There are two main components to take into account when deciding on a string: the gauge, and the metallic compound. Basses come in 4-, 5-, 6- and multi-string variants; for the sake of this discussion, we’ll be talking about 4-string basses, but the same principles apply to all basses.

String Gauges…

Light Gauge (40-100) string sets can be used in multiple applications. These are ideal for 30” short scale basses because the tuning tension is lighter. With a smaller neck, the nut width is diminished and this gauge provides proper spacing across the fretboard while maintaining a strong electronic signal and good tone. On long scale basses, this gauge provides an open, airy tone while providing a strong bottom end.

Medium Light Gauge (45-100) are my personal preferred string, and when preparing basses for retail sale at my shop, about 50% of them are restrung in this gauge. The light medium gauge generally works fantastically well on long scale basses with a 1-1/2 or 1-9/16 width nuts. The higher strings (D and G) are very pronounced while maintaining a strong but not booming bottom end. This gauge also lends itself nicely to some models of vintage basses with 1-11/16 nuts, which are usually strung with standard medium 45-105 strings. However, some vintage basses occasionally have a very slight rise at the butt-side of the neck and, as a result, the standard medium 105s “plink” or choke out a bit. Light medium 45-100s can remedy this. I’ve also heard basses strung with standard medium gauge strings in a live setting, where the low end starts to “moo” at high volume; the light medium gauges can alleviate this issue as well.

Medium Gauge (45-105) is the standard workhorse string size for many bass players. The D and G strings are very pronounced, but the A and E strings have additional low-end booty that many players desire. These strings generally work extremely well on good ol’ vintage basses or vintage reissues with a 1-11/16 nut width, and switching back and forth between medium light and standard medium gauge strings can usually be done without any adjustments to the setup. If a touchup is required, it’s usually little more than an 1/8 of a twist on the truss rod.

Heavy Gauge (50-110) strings provide strong, tight mids and a very deep bottom end. I know players who will go this route instead of using a 5-string bass. The lows are not as deep or as loose as on a 5-string, but it gets the job done. Heavy gauge strings also can provide proper relief to a bass where the truss rod is completely loose and it still has a mild back bow.

Metallic Compound…

Strings typically come in two traditional make-ups: nickel or stainless steel. The more you know about how the material reflects tone, the more you’ll understand now it affects your overall sound.

Nickel strings provide a rounder, punchier, more subdued, less zingy tone to your bass. Every vintage bass at my shop is restrung with Dunlop Electric Bass Nickel strings for that smooth traditional tone without getting muffled or lost in the mix. These strings also excel on active basses, where the preamp has some shriek or shrill to the high and/or mid tones. For example, I’m an endorsee for a major boutique bass builder. The preamp on my bass is super hot, and while I love the focus, the bass’ overall sound is too pronounced. Again, nickel strings to the rescue.

Stainless strings are bright and zingy by design. They provide that articulate piano type tone. On a vintage, passive or traditional bass the strings can brighten up the personality of the bass and lend additional snap to pull-offs and slap techniques. On an active bass, steel strings can help your preamp tone sound even more alive, and provide additional tonality.

It’s amazing what the combination of gauge and metallic compound can do for the tonality and playability of your bass. I’ve had guys ask me to swap out pickups in cases where all that was required were the correct strings and a good set up.

See you next time, tonally yours! Kebo

Kevin “Kebo” Borden can be reached at kebobass@yahoo.com, www.kebosbassworks.com.

…

This week’s giveaway will wrap one lucky winner in Heavy Core gear!

Not only are we offering up a 6-Pack of Heavy Core Guitar Strings, but we’ll make sure you’re striking the strings right with a couple of rare Heavy Core Pick Tins, and looking proper while playing in a limited Heavy Core T-shirt and cap, and an extremely rare Heavy Core carpenter’s jacket (it’s a Medium; these are so rare and sought after, it’s all we have).

Our Heavy Core strings incorporate a unique core wire and proprietary wrap ratios to offer players the ability to really “dig in” while retaining a tight low end, focused midrange and smooth top-end when playing clean or distorted. Every set of Dunlop Strings comes packaged utilizing three levels of moisture protection and sealed in a VCI Fresh Technology (Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor) bag to guarantee that your strings arrive as fresh as the day they were made.

To enter, use the comments section below to tell us how heavy you play.

…

Since we’re on a serious Joe Bonamassa kick these days, today’s Friday Giveaway is a Way Huge Aqua Puss autographed by Joe himself.

The Aqua-Puss MkII is ready to bathe a tone-thirsty world in gorgeously smooth delay. One twist of the Delay knob takes you from a tight 20ms delay to a cavernous 300ms. The Feedback control regulates delay duration and intensity. But watch out. Extreme settings can send the Aqua-Puss MkII into self-oscillating psycho-freak-out mode! Meanwhile the Blend knob lets you set a balance between dry and delayed signal—from mild to wild. The Aqua-Puss MkII delivers all the spooky mystery of vintage analog delay and tape-based echo, with none of the hassle of creaky, ancient gear.

To enter to win this great effect pedal, use the comments section below to tell us your favorite Bonamassa song featuring delay on his guitar, and why you love it.

…

This week’s Friday Giveaway is a real treat for blues fans and Cry Baby fans alike—a Buddy Guy Signature Cry Baby wah pedal, with a bottom plate signed by Buddy himself!

Buddy’s status as a legendary guitarist and a Cry Baby player was recognized earlier this month by the Experience Music Project in Seattle, where a custom Buddy Guy Signature Cry Baby, studded with Swarovski crystals, was raffled off for the EMP charitable endeavors. Click here to see the pedal and read about the event.

Cited as a major influence by wah-wah masters such as Hendrix, Clapton, and Vaughn, Buddy Guy helped establish the wah-wah as part of the blues vocabulary. To honor his contributions we have created the Cry Baby Buddy Guy Signature Wah, featuring the Fasel Inductor for a sweet and singing top end, and two distinct user selectable wah voices—choose “DEEP” for a big and throaty growl, or “BG” for Buddy’s own warm and bell-like wah tone. Convenient side-mounted LEDs indicate which mode you are in, while a separate LED indicates effect on/off. Let your guitar sing the blues in style with the Buddy-approved polka dot graphics and custom signature tread.

To enter to win this great Cry Baby, use the comments section below to tell us about your favorite Buddy Guy wah-wah moment—which song it’s in and why you love it.