Black Label Society: Order of the Black Album Review

Black Label Society has been around since 1998, when it was founded by Zakk Wylde, a true guitar hero and former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne.

BLS is a guilty pleasure for me, in sort of a junior high school sort of way. They are one of the hardest-rocking bands around today, buuuuttttt their music all kind of sounds the same. Plus their fans have an almost Raider-like devotion to the band, which is slightly disturbing.

Anyway, I saw awhile back that they were planning on releasing a new album this summer. And I thought to myself, “Meh, all of their music kind of sounds the same.” Their last few albums were pretty weak-sounding, so I was not terribly enthused. Disregarding all of my better judgment, I decided to try out their 8th album, Order of the Black, when it was released in August.

You know what? It kind of sounds the same as their last few albums. But there was one surprise: this is a REALLY good album. Order of the Black has an energetic vibe that has been lacking, and this could be the best album they have ever released.

Black Label Society has a slightly new line-up for this album, including: Zakk Wylde (vocals, lead guitar and piano), Nick Catanese (guitar), John De Servio (bass and backing vocals) and Will Hunt (drums).

As I said, Order of the Black has a lot of energy, perhaps because of their new drummer, Will Hunt (from Evanescence), and the return of bassist John De Servio. The grooves are really heavy, and their sound has gone back to a more countrified (country-fried!) rock, as found on their earlier albums (think Sonic Brew).

This album is also produced very well, which also adds to the overall hard grinding tone of the album. The drums and guitars are mixed well with the vocals. But, it does seem like the bass is almost inaudible throughout the album.

There is a little bit of everything on this album. The hard-driving songs are my favorites, such as “Darkest Days” and “Riders of the Damned”. There is a little speed metal (“Parade of the Dead”), and even a little finger-picking on “Chupacabra”.

If I could leave out anything on the album, it would probably have to be the ballads “Time Waits for No One” and “Darkest Days”. These are formulaic crap that sound exactly like every other ballad BLS has done in the past. Just let it go, guys.

If the increased energy of their latest is any indicator, seeing them perform live should be a treat. Black Label Society will be starting the Berzerkus tour at the end of September, and will be performing steadily through the end of the year. Check them out if you get the chance.

As far as buying the album, if you want the whole thing, the hot ticket would be to head down to Target to see if they still have the limited edition album with a 50-minute bonus DVD.

Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 Amplifier

Howdy!

We are looking at something really rare today: a piece of equipment that has been in my collection for more than two years. Anything more than 6 months is amazing, actually.

This would be the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 bass amplifier.

During this time Genz Benz has introduces the Shuttle 12.0 and 9.0 models, and although I have been tempted to get the latest and greatest, I have stuck with the 6.0. I do not need any more amplification than this.

The 6.0 is truly a marvel of modern technology. It is small and lightweight, with a footprint of 10” by 10” and a total weight of 3 ¾ pounds. And despite its small size it can crank out 375 watts at 8 ohms, or 600 watts at 4 ohms.

Of course, it uses a class-D solid state power amp to get this much output without a weight penalty, but still uses a 12AX7 tube pre-amp to get a nice warm tone. Plus you can dial in a ton of gain on the pre-amp stage and get your tone all crunchy. So, it is plenty loud and it sounds good.

But, it also has a ton of features, most of which really work for me.

On the back are an effects loop, a dedicated tuner out (yay!), Speakon outputs, a footswitch jack, an XLR output and a headphone jack.

On the front are gain and volume for the pre-amp, the 4-band parametric EQ, a mute switch (also yay!), three signal-shaping switches and a master volume control. And do not forget the world’s brightest LEDs

My only gripe is that the power switch is located on the back of the unit. That’s all!

As I said, I have had this amplifier for two years, and during this time I have had no problems at all with it. And Genz does stand behind their products, with a 3-year parts and labor warranty (1 year for tubes). Just make sure hyou send in your warranty card…

I have paired it with the Genz Benz Shuttle 12-inch extension cabinet, as well as with the Genz Benz 4-ohm Uber Bass 4x10 cabinet to get the full benefit of the 600-watts. It performed well with both cabinets, and can get pretty much any tone that I am looking for. BTW, I will be providing reviews of both of these cabinets in the near future.

You can find the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 online at a street price of $699, discounted from the list price of $879.

Thanks for checking in!

Fender Jag-Stang

Hi there!

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana made a huge impact on the music scene and pretty much killed heavy metal with the introduction of grunge. I have a lot of respect for Cobain’s genius, and am pleased to be showing one of his contributions to the guitar world today.

The Fender Jag-Stang was designed by Fender to meet Kurt Cobain’s needs. It is a 24-inch scale hybrid of the famous Fender Mustang and Jaguar guitars, with the Mustang’s Dynamic Vibrato bridge.

Legend has it that the necks on these are an exact replica of the one from Kurt’s favorite Mustang. Believe it or don’t…

The electronics consist of a “vintage-style” single coil at the neck, and a “Special design” humbucker at the bridge. Each pickup has its own 3-position slide on/off phase switch, in addition to the master volume and tone knobs. Some are critical of the quality of these parts, but they sound fine to me. This is grunge, remember?

The original run of these guitars was made between 1995 and 2001 with basswood bodies, and the second run was made from 2003 to 2005 with ash bodies. The only two colors available were Fiesta Red and Sonic Blue.

All of the guitars were built at Fender’s Japanese Custom Shop. I still see new ones over there, so perhaps they are still in production, but are just not exported to the U.S.

The one pictured here was built in 1996. It is a nice-playing guitar, with good craftsmanship. It sounds good, and the controls are useful for getting a lot of different tones from it.

The only gripe I have about the Jag-Stang is that it is so small that it feels like a toy when it is being played. It would be a great rhythm guitar, but not so hot for lead work.

Mahalo!

p.s. Please take a moment to remember the events of September 11, 2001. Do not let sorrow or hatred dwell in your heart, and hope and pray that we can all learn from this tragedy. Thank you.

Ishibashi Guitar Shops

Hi there!

Those that know me are aware of my love for Japanese guitars and basses. So, it is no surprise that when I am overseas, it is easy for me to kill an afternoon in one of the Ishibashi guitar shops.

As far as I know, Ishibashi is the largest chain of music stores in Japan, sort of like their Guitar Center. They have 14 stores throughout the country, and I have been to their Tokyo and Nagoya locations. These are no stand-alone stores, either. Usually they take up one floor of a department store, such as Parco in Tokyo, or Skyle in Nagoya.

These are full-service music stores, so they carry pianos and band/orchestral instruments, as well as providing lessons and repairs. But the main focus of these stores is sales of guitars and basses.

They have an amazing stock of American products, including a mind-boggling array of vintage axes at stupefying prices. But, of course that would be like a Japanese guy coming to the US to shop for a Toyota.

The real gold here for us gai-jin is the Japanese-built guitars: walls full of them. Gibson Orvilles, Musicman EX, ESP, Edwards, second-hand Arias and Tokais, and of course, Fender Japan.

Ishibashi is a big enough dealer that Fender of Japan will do special runs of guitars just for them. Guitars with weird and unnatural combinations of features and colors that Fender USA would not imagine building in a million years. Which really adds to the coolness factor.

I have saved the best part for last. Unlike every other Japanese guitar shop I have been to, Ishibashi is happy to ship internationally. They have a nice staff that can read and respond in English (sort of), so that if you see something drool-worthy on their web site, you can actually get it.

Check out their stores at: http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/eng/

Peace!

Martin D-18VE Acoustic Guitar

Howdy!

There is nothing like the look and sound of an old Martin dreadnought. Martin realized that there are a lot of people looking for just such an animal so they introduced the V series guitars. To get an idea of what they are like, we will look over a D-18VE today.

There are plenty of vintage-style things on the D-18VE, such as its rosette, headstock shape, pick guard, hardware, fretboard markers and neck profile. This carries over to its construction, with scalloped braces (light strings, please) and top bracing that is more forward than the regular D-18V.

The basic construction is solid. It has a solid sitka spruce top, and solid mahogany sides and back. Note that the vintage series gets a nicely aged finish. The fretboard and bridge are made of ebony.

The neck is fabulous. The small frets are comfortable to the touch, and are very well finished on the edges, unlike a lot of new guitars I see on the market. The neck has a comfortable V shape to it, and the width at the nut is about 1 & 11/16 inches.

There is an “E” in the name, so the D-18VE has the factory electronics, which consists of the Fishman/Martin Ellipse Matrix Blend pickup system.

The electronics combine Martin's piezo bridge pickup with a condenser microphone attached to a tiny gooseneck inside the body. Inside the sound hole are sliders for volume and pickup blend. There is also a phase switch and a mic trim control. Blending the condenser mic with the piezo gives a very natural sound, and an accurate reproduction of what the guitar is actually doing.

And, what is the guitar doing? Being awesome! This really is a great-sounding guitar, with a very clean tone (less overtones) and tons of bass. This guitar would be fantastic for recording.

In the end, this is the story of the one that got away. I got a fantastic deal on this guitar, and flipped it shortly after getting it to make a few bucks. I was not playing much acoustic at the time, so it was no big loss. Of course, acoustic guitar is pretty much all that I am playing right now, so I recently completed a successful search for a new dreadnought. Details to come…

p.s. Happy birthday, mom. We miss you.

Aria Telecaster Bass

After a month of covering high-quality guitars and basses, it is time for something a little different.

This is an early (pre-1975) Aria telecaster-style bass. It was made in Japan, and I found it over there at a secondhand store.

I brought it home without the benefit of plugging it in, and when I got home I was in for a bit of a surprise: it is a lame-sounding bass.

It has the thinnest sound of any bass I have ever played. I figured maybe the problem was the tape-wound strings that came on it. Nope, it only sounded a little better with new roundwound strings on it. I think it pretty much comes down to the pickup, which is a cheap 1970s vintage single coil pickup.

That is a shame, because the rest of the bass is pretty nice. The action and neck are good, and the original frets were well done. And the condition is good for what I paid for it. The white finish has turned that yellowed almond-like color that is so easy to fall in love with, and it looks well-cared for. Plus, having the original bridge cover and hard case were definitely not to be expected.

But it sounds like crap. I have had very few problems with vintage Japanese instruments, but this is one I had to give up on. The guy I sold it to was going to track down a new pickup or have this one re-wound.

I wish him luck.

MonkeyJunk: Tiger in Your Tank Album Review

MonkeyJunk is a new band, but they are winning blues music awards like mad men. New is a relative term, of course, and these are not 3 high school kids that got lucky with a Disney Channel show. Canadians Steve Marriner, Tony D and Matt Sobb have been playing the blues for years, and they have it nailed.

Steve Marriner is the singer, harmonica dude and baritone guitar player. His vocals sound much older than his true age, but where he really shines is with his harp playing. He has the Chicago harmonica sound nailed.

Guitarist Tony D is a long-time Canadian blues fixture, and brings a lot of road experience to this group. And, he is so incredibly cool that he no longer needs a proper last name. I have heard rumors that “D” stands for “Diteodoro”, BTW.

And lastly, there is drummer Matt Sobb. He is a great drummer, who has played with almost every artist and band in Canada. Except Rush.

You may have noticed that there is not a bass player listed. There isn’t one. I have seen videos of their live performances, and listened to their album and they do not need one. They are a really tight band, and with their chemistry (and a baritone guitar) they are able to get away with it.

MonkeyJunk’s first album, Tiger in your Tank, was released in the spring of 2009, and is a solid debut. There are 11 tracks, both covers and originals, and they are all very well done.

I hear a lot of different influences from their music, but this does not mean that it sounds complicated or unpleasant. It is a true blues album with a good edge, and nothing too fancy.

MonkeyJunk’s original tunes really work for me. My favorite track on the album is “Push Comes to Shove” which has a respectable guitar as well as a giant frickin’ organ part. I love the giant organ! Great guitar work also shows up on “Blues for Anna”, and “Small time Evil” is a keeper.

Their cover songs are well done too, despite the big shoes they had to fill when they decided to re-do them. My favorites are Leon Russell’s “Boogie Man” and Magic Sam’s “Give me Time”.

So, head on over to iTunes and drop 10 bucks on a copy of MonkeyJunk’s Tiger in Your Tank. You will enjoy it for much longer than the two cups of Starbucks that you could have gotten with your sawbuck.