diablo175

Ayup, pretty sure we've all been witness to that debate in some form or another My own personal take on it is I like the versatility of a floating trem- IMO, greater vocabulary as far as what you can do and how you do it. Also, bending doesn't have to be a problem. I have learned to compensate for double stops and bends on a floaty OFR... But there are definitely benefits to flush mounted/blocked, the bending w/o going outta pitch you mentioned being one of them. EVH was a freakin' genius w/ a flat mounted OFR. But, he can't do what Vai or Gillis can do w/ a floaty.

Song suggestions? Caught this youtube video of Torn and reminds me a lot of pedal steel/slide guitar. Little bit of Beck in there, too...

I listed Beck as one of the obvious choices for all-time greats...

How the hell can he do all that with the Gibson Vibrola and not have that mutha so far outta tune? Amazing sh*t!

SH*T, how could I have forgotten Belew? Jeeeezzz....

Sitting in front of the ol' Mac with Hamer Cali in hand, noodling around with the Floyd, I got to trying to mentally compile a list of the all time great whammy bar users. The usual suspects came up: Duane Eddy, Hendrix, Beck, EVH, Brad Gillis, Vai, Satriani, & Dimebag. But there are a lot of noteworthy users that are overlooked- Jim Heath (Rev. Horton Heat), David Gilmour, James Mankey (Concrete Blonde) Steve Lynch (Autograph) Matthias IA Eklundh & Tom Morello to name a few. Hit me up with some of your songs, artists, one shot candidates for noteworthy whammy bar usage.

Morty discovers, much to his delight, that napalm was substituted for his charcoal lighter fluid....

Wolfie simply doesn't fit. They'd better hired a 4 stringer to bring a little competition onto stage and lift the songs up to were they belong - sky high. DLR has already played with Billy and I must say, while it was thrilling to watch him and Steve Vai trade licks on stage, I don't think their tunes stood up to classic VH. However, I do think Sheehan's DLR material was markedly better than Mr. Big's...

A bit off topic, coolfeel, but I agree 100%. After seeing/reading about your Chap, I am friggin' stoked to see what comes out of the shop for me. Got a long wait yet.

There's nothing wrong with it. Issues arise when there are complaints about prices, that the old band isn't supporting something new and therefore is doing a money grab, or if they are supporting something new, that the new stuff by the 60-year-olds somehow doesn't have the fire of their 20-year-old selves, blah blah blah. Again, reasonable expectations are the key here. And on the flip side of the rest of your post, I won't go so far as to call it "creepy" when 50-somethings take their 20-something kids to classic rock concerts, but i will say that there's something not right about it, and in fact is very anti-rock'n'roll. I was fine with my old man giving me a ride to see VH on the Diver Down tour and picking me up afterward, but I damn well didn't want him sitting next to me inside the venue. Nor was i interested in seeing Simon and Garfunkel or the 5th Dimension with him. On a side note, I'd like to clarify that while those of you who have met me in person know that I am indeed a prick, I'm not as much of a prick as perhaps I'm coming across in this thread. I just happen to be typing from a workplace that I've been let go from but still have to show up to until March 2 so I don't get dicked out of my severance, therefore I'm a bit salty. That also explains why i have so much time to respond lol. Now back to the spirited discussion, which I'm enjoying. Actually, I don't have a problem with 50 year-olds bringing their kids to classic rock concerts - I've done it myself and it can be fun. I was talking more about 50 year-olds going to younger shows alone in a lame (and largely transparent) attempt to still seem hip and relevant (again, not pointed at you). I don't have a problem with a money grab playing old material, either - If fans want to hear it and pay for it, more power to 'em - band and fans alike. As has already been pointed out, the guys in VH aren't 20 anymore, so we probably shouldn't expect them to act like it. I'll buy the new album, and even if it doesn't live up to their old stuff, I can just about guarantee it'll be one of my favorite releases of the year just because there seems to be so much crap released these days (and no, I don't think that's a symptom of my growing older, I really do think there's a bunch of crap out there - like there probably ALWAYS has been, but there seems to be more of it these days). Sorry to hear about your job, Chris - that sucks. Hopefully you'll get soemthing else lined up in the meantime, albeit probably not something that makes the rest of us so damn envious As someone who has attended concerts wherein certain concert altering /enhancing substances were being passed around not far from Dad and son, it was a little unnerving and distracted from the show to a small degree but hey, that was their problem. I just wanted to dig the show. If bands wanna do the money grab (and they all do), fine. Can't blame 'em but don't BS us- be transparent about it. I get a kick outta these bands like Kiss & VH doing their cash out tours but sell it as a tour to support the new album. Really? I actually like going to to shows to hear all the songs of my youth. These bands count on that. Count the cash rolling in. The tour ain't about the new stuff 'cuz as another post pointed out, the crowd ain't there to hear it. So let's cut the shiite and be realistic about it: this ain't about VH's latest single. It's about us fanboys getting all tingly at the thought of seeing DLR and Eddie do the tunes of our misspent youths. To that end, based on what I've heard, their latest offering is well in keeping with that. Do ya think VH already knows this?

And what's that again? That VH has arrived at retirement age with mediocre, luke warm drivel for new material and will sell a gazillion concert tickets playing the faves of our yesteryears- :lol:

Totally agree. Which is why the vast majority of "classic" rock bands should have simply quit a long time ago. But ultimately, guys like David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen are no different than Joe Six Pack. As they close in on retirement, it behooves them to amass as much cash as possible while they still can, and ideally with as little effort as possible. In Van Halen's case, when nostalgic fans are all too willing to fork piles of it in their direction, well, so far only ABBA has shown the restraint to say no to that. I guess if bands are honest about their intentions. i.e. "we're here to collect cash & play all your faves from our past catalog of faves" I wouldn't be quite as holier than thou. But if you're gonna make an album of "new" material and expect me to shell out for it or offer up grass roots level promotion for it, ya better bring the goods. I'm gonna hold it up to the light just as I would for any newer, not-quite-ready-for-retirement band.

The reality of the situation is that this is what we have: a V/H that is older, sober, and has nothing to prove. Understood. "What we have" is another way of saying, "settle for." While I love the music and memories of my youth, paradoxically, I believe a band shouldn't just rest on their legend or their laurels. I feel the same way for just about every group, from the Stones to AC/DC. Perhaps MCChris is right about how they'll never measure up to the sound & fury of their Glory Daze. But that doesn't mean I have to ignore the gut level reaction (or lack thereof) to a tune that offers me little in the way of oohs & ahhs. YMMV.

Sorry, but this sounds like geriatric-wing VH. Where aging rockers go after they (should 've) retire(d) and eventually die. For the legions of pre-'85 VH fans like myself, this is nothing new or even noteworthy. Good for them that they are still making music and still doing what they love but this ain't gonna set the world on fire. "I'm on FI-YAH!"

Hell, after the gallon of ripple wine and the roofies I give my wife, pretty much could have have John Philip Sousa march goin' and she wouldn't mind...

Props to you, Brent! Keeping music and guitar playing (as opposed to Guitar Hero playing) alive and thriving is a worthwhile endeavor! It saddened me that, after 14 years of offering Guitar Club in 3 high schools and one middle school I've taught in, no one showed up this year. It was someone like you that got me interested to learn to play when I was in middle school. The music teacher offered a guitar club and on day one brought in his Les Paul ( the very same type of guitar that Ace Frehley of KISS played ) and played Hendrix riffs! I was in heaven! So, thank you for your time and energy. It will likely influence some kid who will some day be posting on a forum about how they were inspired by your efforts.

At least Vai has a plethora of talent and creativity to back up the goofy faces. That first clown had zilch.

True. I don't stick w/ one exclusive brand. I love my Peavey Vandenberg and won't sell it, and I really love my Jon Kammerer guitar and will probably purchase more in the future. But I only have Hamer on a saved search at eBay. I don't hang out on any other gear bbs. And I'm constantly thinking/planning for other Hamer USA guitars I want to buy. I won't turn my nose up at any other good/decent guitar I run across at a good price, but Hamer is like my go-to brand. That's still brand loyalty, right? Absolutely. There are only two guitars I even think about these days, Hamer USA Calis and Charvel/Jackson USA Stars. Of the two, I search for Calis more actively. Maybe because they stopped making them in the 90's (until recently) thus there are fewer of them around but that's my holy grail quest, first and foremost.

Damned shame, too. Always wanted an SS but couldn't seem to pull the trigger for whatever reasons. I;d have broken down for this one but the price isn't working for me.

Amazing stuff. LOVE the head stock. Do you make Star shaped guitars?

I'd drop the small fortune to see the legends do it live- just for the sake of seeing them. Missed them when I was young and REALLY digging their stuff.

Wow! Talk about reviving a dead thread!

True dat... however, when we do it, I just use a lot of wah. It's a milder effect but it carries the spirit of the song.

I'm good for guitar on Whole Lotta Rosy- we do that in our set , one of my faves!!! We take a few liberties with the lead guitar though. Is this an issue?

We have not had enough time to work on Rock n Roll Hoochie Koo for this jam. We have a gig that we eventually will be learning it for. I could get through it including the solo since I have had time to work on it some but I don't think we have drums or bass or singer. Shred- I can help out with guitar on Rock N Roll Hootchie Coo if need be. Our band plays it at gigs but I tend to improvise the solo with a only a general nod towards construction and feel.