Nick Vassilev's Place: Cleaning etc.

thrash metal bands

I was going through a pile of old cds I had purchased recently on ebay, when I found loads of thrash metal bands I have never heard of. They were great sounding, great looking, wearing time correct jewellery and outfits.

I felt an immediate rush of nostalgia. It was a great time…to be in the UK or the US, going to gigs and playing guitar.

Right now I think the heavy and thrash metal is in a revival stage. Lots of old time bands are reuniting and starting touring in the name of good old heavy metal. Well, these may not be the young boys from the eighties anymore but their passion for the music has stayed the same, if not greater.

I am quite pleased to see bands like Accept, Destruction, Sodom, Testament, Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax etc. releasing new records in the same style and sound of the eighties’ metal days.

Keep on rocking , old boys! Show these new young lads how things are being done the way they should!

Hell, yeah!

Rispek!

Happy New Year to everybody!

Finally took delivery of the long awaited Marshall AFD100 Slash signature amp. Beautiful brown cardboard box with Slash’s trademark name on it. Inside are: Slash signature vinyl cover, Marshall AFD100 black t-shirt, certificate of authenticity, owners manual, cab connection lead and a mains lead.

On the outside the Marshall AFD100 looks like a 70′s plexi with a silver front panrl and silver knobs. It is kind of cool though.
When I plugged this guy into a 4×12 Slash signature cab and a Gibson Slash Appetite For Destruction Les Paul into the Marshall AFD100 it was a pure tonal heaven. I don’t know if it was the right guitar but I finally found the tone I was searching for.

The best feature on the amp (apart from it’s beautiful voice) is the “Power”
knob. It allows you to crank up the power amp of the Marshall AFD100 and in combination with the “Master” knob you get a fully
overdriven amp at bedroom level volumes. In my opinion It couldn’t get any better than that.

You get a switch to change between the two channels on the AFD100 – one gives you the modded JCM800 tone of the #34 amp Slash has been using since the late 80′s and the other is the revered Appetite For Destruction killer tone.

This amp is great for any kind of music including blues, nu metal and anything in between. If you are one of the lucky 3000 owners
worldwide, then you have purchased one of the best amps ever made. Whether it is “The Best” – only time can tell.

I first saw this guitar in the hands of Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. What an awkward shape for a guitar, I thought at the time. But somehow in the hands of the Texas blues maestro, this guitar was a tonal explosion despite its looks.

I understand that Billy Gibbons could play the crappiest Squier out there and still nail La Grange like you’ll never be able to, but after seeing him use this guitar for a few years now, I thought there might be some mojo in it.

Let me put this right – this is not a popular guitar, and you won’t find it in every guitar shop. I believe it is less popular in the UK than the US but it’s worth every penny you spend on it (currently around £2,000 – £2,200).

If you love ZZ Top and Billy Gibbons and have 2 grand to spare, this is the huitar you need. Forgot to mention – … only purchase if fan of hot Texas blues, barbeques and mex food .

I am planning to play the Gretsch Billy Bo Jupiter Thunderbird in the near future and post a review here.

Rispek!

Slash with the original Apetite Les Paul copy

Well, this guitar surpassed my expectations!!! I expected a good quality Gibson Les Paul (don’t we all expect this from Gibson?) and this instrument simply blew my mind away. What a tone, what a great feel to it! Needless to say the AAA figured  maple top is amazing.

As all Slash and GN’R fans know, the original guitar used to record Appetite For Destruction (and Slash’s last minute guitar tone saviour) was actually a Gibson Les Paul copy. So now Gibson have made a copy of this famous copy . Wow, what a copy!!!

I believe big part of this amazing Slash tone was produced by the great Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickups and the Marshall Silver Jubilee head I had it plugged into. Excellent work, Mr. Duncan.

I subscribe to the school of thoughts that the fact the original Appetite guitar has such popularity and great tone and was even copied by the company whose guitars it was meant to be a copy of,  means that no matter what guitar you’re playing, you can create masterpieces as long as you play with your heart and soul. Well, a little bit of luthier craftsmanship would make your job easier, but it doesn’t have to be a 1959 Burst to play heavenly tones.

This is what I think. I may be wrong. But in any case the Appetite guitar rocks hard and kicks some serious ass.

These videos below prove my point:

#37 of 50 painted and aged by Tom Murphy himself

I’ve held a real 1959 Burst only once (never played one though – the guy wouldn’t allow it ) but this amazing guitar feels like the real thing. I guess it is Tom Murphy’s unique craftsmanship that represents the vibe of the Burst so truly.

It has the fatter and rounder 50′s profile neck which is somehow right for this guitar. I have mostly played lots of 60′s style thinner necks and this one feels differently pleasant.

The first thing that you notice is the AAA maple flame top and its amazing colour. Staring closer and you will see the period correct cracks in the paint that a real Burst would have developed today. I must say – it looks and feels like the real thing. The pickup covers have been changed with rustier and more convincingly older ones to complement the whole look of the guitar.

I am no specialist in vintage guitars although I have read quite a lot but I reproduce what I see and feel. The tone of this 40th Anniversary R9 is awesome. I wouldn’t notice the difference between these pickups and a pair of real PAFs, so to me they sound like PAFs. End of story.

Looking at a real Burst’s price of over £200,000, I believe that for its price the 4oth Anniversary Gibson Les Paul R9  represents unique value for money. Of course if you manage to find one on ebay.

By the way I have heard that Gibson have manufactured only about 700 Les Paul Standards (real Bursts) during 1959. The estimated number of Bursts today is higher that that. What, you didn’t think counterfeiters would spare that lovely piece of musical instrument? No man, people would sell their soul for money today .

First row sitting from left to right in the order of appearance:

1. Marshall AVT250 Valvestate.
2. Marshall Slash Signature 100W Head amp (this amp belonged to an LA punk rocker called Billy Zoom hence the missing Slash logo on the front gold plate. Slash logo is present on the back. Awesome sound. Based entirely on the Silver Jubilee (Slash’s favourite amp) but with modded for higher gain as per Slash’s request. Bought from ebay. Originally manufactured in 1996. The first signature amp from Marshall. Only 3000 produced worldwide. Definitely a keeper )
3. Marshall Slash Signature Cab 1960 loaded with 4 Celestion Vintage 30  speakers

Top row standing from left to right :

1. Mesa Boogie Roadstar 2×12 Combo with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers as well. Bought brand new. This amp has an awesome and versatile choice of sounds. I like the cleans and the modern distortion on channel 4. Channel 3 is great too. This amp could cover any tone in the musical universe.
2. Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555 100W head. Great amp! Maybe the amp I use mostly. Incredible distortion in true 80′s heavy metal style. Love it to bits! A bit fiddly to go to cleans with the push/pull knob but this amp cleans are not very good anyway. For cleans I use the Mesa Roadster. I bought it together with the Slash signature cab

I also own a small 5W Rat Electronics tube practice amp based on the Epiphone’s 5W tube amp and a Fender practice solid state amp that came with the Squier Strat as a part of a package (cheap and crappy, but hey – that’s my first ever amp). The guy from Rat Electronics has moded the amp for a bit more punch and gain. The result – awsome little monster. This amp is LOUD! I like it a lot although haven’t used it for ages.

I cannot comment on the Fender amp as I haven’t played it for like, 8 years. I should do, judt to see the quality of my other amps.

Lots of pedals on the floor and the pedaltrain pedal board in the case (the sticker covered flight case on the left). I will run you through them probably next time.

Rispek!