On the evening of May 8, 2008, Guitar World was honored to have Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton and KK Downing from Judas Priest come to the office for an interview and photo shoot. The band was in NYC to promote Nostradamus, their highly ambitious and theatrical new two-disc set, coming June 17.

K.K. & editor Rich Bienstock

The guys were all in good spirits and stayed in the office until close to 9:00 p.m. to make sure we had everything we needed for a feature in the magazine. Our photo editor and ace photographer, Jimmy Hubbard, handled the photo shoot, while senior editor Richard Bienstock conducted the interview.

You can see Bienstock (or at least his curly mop of hair) here talking with K.K. Downing about K.K.'s interesting new KxK guitar. As you can see from the close-up shot of the guitar, it has no front-side knobs! There's a volume control on the back (K.K.'s right hand is over it in the one picture), and when he gets back home to the U.K. he's going to have his guitar tech drill a hole on the front so he can move it to a more normal position. The one knob will handle volume and pickup controls via push-pull mechanism.

K.K.'s KxK guitar

You'll also see photographer Jimmy Hubbard directing the boys during the photo shoot.

The photo session

And of course, no visit from an A-list group would be complete without having them sign the Guitar World Office Guitar. Rob and Glenn's signatures are at the bottom under the control knobs, while K.K.'s is below the bridge. Dig how Rob added "The Metal God" under his sig...nice touch.

The office guitar

Thanks to Rob, Glenn and K.K., as well as manager Jayne Andrews and publicist Chip Ruggieri, for making this special visit happen. Look for the feature in an upcoming issue of Guitar World!

Click any of the photos (as always, taken with an iPhone) to see larger versions.

JK

The RM100KH custom Kirk Hammett amp is the newest addition to Randall Amplifier’s Kirk Hammett Signature Series.

The custom head cranks out 100 watts of power and features three modular preamps that recreate Hammett’s tones from over his long career, ranging from classically clean to brutally crunchy. The KH1 module replicates Hammett’s classic clean tone, the KH2 his signature rhythm tone and the KH3 his legendary high-gain rhythm tone. The modules are interchangeable, allowing musicians to pair existing modules with Hammett’s tones to build the rig to their own specifications.

Hammett worked closely with Randall to ensure that all aspects of the amp are up to his exact standards. Even the volume, drive and level indications on the MTS modules are done in Kirk's own handwriting.

Additional amp features include 6L6 power tubes, MIDI In/Thru, a parallel loop with front panel mix control, a series loop and a tube bias section.

The RM100KH Custom Amp retails for $1,999.00 and is available at exclusive Randall dealers.

Fender has announced it will introduce the Elvis Costello Signature Jazzmaster guitar, honoring the British musician and songwriter as one of the most recognized Jazzmaster players in music history.

The iconic electric guitar, produced in Fender’s manufacturing headquarters in Corona, California, is a detailed replica of Costello’s original instrument, a guitar that has continually accompanied the famed British singer/songwriter over an extraordinarily versatile and prolific career that spans four decades. This signature release comes during the 50-year anniversary of Fender’s introduction of the Jazzmaster guitar model, in 1958.

Costello launched his professional music career in the mid Seventies with hits that included “Watching the Detectives,” on which his Fender Jazzmaster is prominently featured. At the time, the Jazzmaster had largely fallen from fashion, but Costello’s success seemed to lift it to new and previously unknown heights of appreciation. In the years that followed, players of new wave, alt-rock and indie rock prized the resurgent Jazzmaster for its versatile tone and subversive cool.

“This is a brutal-sounding guitar,” Costello says of his Jazzmaster. “It suits the way I play. But this guitar—it’s had a funny life. And I’ve just always stuck with it; I always come back to it. I’ve done all sorts of different music, but whenever it’s involved electric guitar, I don’t think there’s one record I’ve made on which the Jazzmaster doesn’t feature somewhere.”

Costello’s original instrument has undergone many changes in the past 30 years, and Fender’s new Elvis Costello Signature Jazzmaster replicates the guitar as it existed at the time that he recorded his acclaimed 1977 debut album, My Aim Is True. Uniquely Costello inspired features include a post-'68 neck design, a walnut stain finish and a tremolo with easier and greater travel, essential for that “Watching the Detectives” tone, or what Costello calls that “spy movie” sound.

“The original guitar this model is based upon has been refinished, rebuilt, and has a new neck with Elvis’ name inlaid into the fingerboard, so we had to reference a lot of Seventies-era photography, as well as Elvis’ personal anecdotes, to get it right,” says Justin Norvell, Fender marketing manager for electric guitars. “Elvis dialed in the finer details—the points that photos can’t tell you, like the feel and setup and the exact hue and luster of the finish... Things only he would know.”

The new Elvis Costello Signature Jazzmaster guitar will be available through authorized Fender dealers beginning May 2008 with a list price of $2,149.99.

In 1993, Guitar World boldly tried to enter the German market by having each issue translated into German and then shipped overseas. Without the benefit of the computer firepower we have today, getting each issue translated back in 1994 was no easy feat.

Basically, we had two German editors (who we lovingly referred to as "the Germans") who would come in each night after we left for the day, and they would spend the next few hours translating all the copy in the magazine from English to German. And each morning I, a lowly Senior Editor back then, would come into work and clear the used coffee cups and food wrappers from my desk...they were not the neatest editors on the planet, to put it mildly.

Here you can see the cover of one of those issues from May 1993...click it to see a larger version.

You can also see the opening page of German text from the Eddie Van Halen interview in that issue, as well as Diamond (yes, he was still known as Diamond back then) Darrell's "Riffer Madness" column that month.

R.I.P., Dime...and the short-lived German edition of Guitar World. JK

Today we received a visit from Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom from Swedish math-metallers Meshuggah, who were in town to promote their latest offering, obZen. Upon arrival they each asked for a cup of black coffee and asked what we would be doing during the videotaped session, and I explained to them that we would be doing a Dear Guitar Hero interview that would be used as a video here on guitarworld.com and as a DGH in an upcoming issue of the magazine, as well as a riff lesson that would most likely be posted to our extreme metal site, MetalKult.com.

The boys were happy to oblige, though Marten pretty much carried the bulk of the Dear Guitar Hero interview…Fredrik seems to let his playing do most of his talking.

I snapped this iPhone photo before we got started to give you a sense of what our office studio looks like and how it’s set up. That’s Fredrik standing, and Marten seated next to him (wearing a nifty Celtic Frost Morbid Tales hoodie, I might add)…both with their eight-string guitars slung over their shoulders.

You can also see our two Sony HD video cameras (yes, we shoot everything here in big, glorious high-definition, even though most of it gets seen in a small window on the web or our CD-ROM) and the two Sony monitors, as well as our new Pro Tools rig on the table next to the monitors. Our in-house amps vary from time to time, but right now we’re using a 100-watt Marshall JVM and a 100-watt Krank Krankenstein. Most of our guests seem to be happy with the sounds they get from these beasts…although the lawfirm on the floor below us is never happy to hear gargantuan riffing at two in the afternoon!

While the Meshuggah guys were here, we had them sign our second office guitar, which is the MetalKult guitar. We tend to have the A-list rock stars who visit us, like Slash, Mustaine, Yngwie, etc., sign the Guitar World Les Paul Studio (which you can see here)—but when the extreme metal guys come around, we have them sign the MetalKult B.C. Rich W.M.D. Warbeast. Some of the signatures we’ve acquired to far are Gary Holt from Exodus, Max and Iggor Cavalera from Sepultura, Bjorn from In Flames, Eric Peterson from Testament, Mikael and Fredrik from Opeth and some others. Click the photo to see a larger version.

That’s it for today…later.

JK

Laguna Guitars, reflecting the passionate convictions of musicians, celebrates Earth Day by launching their new “One Guitar, One Tree” reforestation initiative. This plan involves planting one tree for every Laguna guitar made. In addition, Laguna continues to deepen its other practical efforts to reduce waste, recycle and conserve the planet’s resources.

For decades, musicians have proudly been socially aware and urged others to take more action, advocacy and awareness in environmental matters. As musicians themselves, those at Laguna have always passionately supported that position, knowing that trees are an economical, long-term solution to many tough environmental problems, including air and water pollution, climate change, wildlife protection, habitat restoration and more. In partnership with AmericanForests.org and their Global Relief campaign, Laguna proudly plants a tree for each Laguna guitar made.

In addition, Laguna’s shipping cartons are designed to provide maximum protection with a minimum of material. Their boxes are made from 100% recycled cardboard that is also 100% recyclable, which they naturally encourage wherever possible. Also, in the interests of conservation, they have decided not to print glossy, heavyweight catalogs as millions from various companies end up in landfills every year. Instead, Laguna provides extensive information online at their website (www.playlaguna.com) and a catalog will soon be available as downloadable PDF’s, allowing users to print only those pages they want.

As with the design and manufacture of their guitars, Laguna welcomes an open dialogue with musicians and encourages them to share their thoughts and ideas on environmental matters including Laguna’s “One Guitar, One Tree” initiative and other earth-friendly plans. All such feedback can be directed to environment@playlaguna.com. Please visit PlayLaguna.com or AmericanForests.org for more information on the “One Guitar, One Tree” initiative and Global Relief campaign.

For more information on Laguna Acoustic and Electric Guitars, visit www.PlayLaguna.com.

In the ongoing saga of the Guitar World office guitar, which just about everyone who comes through our doors signs, an opportunity arose last week that we had to pounce on…though the results weren’t quite what we had hoped.

When I heard that the Road Recovery benefit concert—featuring Tom Morello, Slash, Jerry Cantrell, Wayne Kramer, Perry Farrell and others—would be taking place in New York City on April 17, I immediately thought it would be a great opportunity to bring the guitar to the show and have the participants sign it, joining Yngwie Malmsteen, Dave Mustaine, Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs, John Petrucci, Alex Skolnick, Steve Howe and others who have already signed the white Gibson Les Paul Studio.

After arranging for the guitar to be signed at a meet-and-greet at the venue before showtime, we sent intrepid reporter Richard Bienstock, who also serves as editor of our guitar tabs site, tabs.guitarworld.com, up to the Nokia Theater with the guitar in hand.

Upon arriving at the venue, Rich immediately recognized how chaotic a scene it was. No one was aware of the purpose behind our visit, and getting close enough to any of the artists to have them sign the guitar was nearly impossible. Until our old friend Slash happened to stroll by. Over the years, Slash has been a great friend of the magazine’s, willing to participate in photo shoots, columns, lessons, interviews, pretty much anything we’ve ever asked of him. And when Rich, who has interviewed Slash on numerous occasions, opened up the guitar case and asked Slash for a sig, he was more than happy to oblige…and for that, we thank him.

You can see Slash’s signature at the top near the toggle switch. Click the photo to see an enlarged version.

And as for Morello and Cantrell….we’ll get them one day.

JK

BBE Sound revolutionized professional audio with its Sonic Maximizer technology, which restores the harmonic richness that is typically lost in the recording process. The company aims to do the same for consumer audio with its new VG360 Sonic Maximizer.

 

Utilising the same technology employed by Sonic Maximizers used in studios, the VG360 is designed to improve the audio quality from video game consoles, DVDs, CDs, MP3s and cable TV and satellite services. BBE claims the unit can improve sound effects, soundtracks, speech intelligibility and the sound of compressed audio without causing hearing fatigue or distorting the character of the source material.

Controls for the BBE VG360 include Lo Contour, Process and Function switches. The unit has a five-year warranty and has a street price of $99.99.

I often get asked about the number of CDs and things we receive here at Guitar World, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to show you what ends up in my mailbox on a typical day.

Today's postal delivery included an interesting assortment of music, including the new Anthology disc from Burzum, an advance promotional copy of the forthcoming Testament record, The Formation of Damnation, an advance of the two-disc Zappa Plays Zappa concert DVD from Razor & Tie, featuring Dweezil Zappa, Steve Vai and others, the next installment in Thrice's confusing multi-album Alchemy Index thing from Vagrant, a Korn Live at Montreux 2004 DVD from Eagle Eye Media, an advance of the new 36 Crazyfists record, The Tide and Its Takers, a two-disc set (one CD, one DVD-Audio) from Porcupine Tree called Lightbulb Sun, and some things I couldn't even begin to identify with, including Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida's The Hunters Lullaby, soul singer Keith Sweat's Just Me, and a disc entitled Immortalizer by a metal group called Valient Thorr.

 

For me, I probably only care about the Burzum and Testament discs...but what can I say, I have a hard head.

Click the iPhone camera pic at the left to see a larger version.

JK

We get a lot of mail here at the GW headquarters, and most of it is fairly normal...CDs, letters from inmates with subscription problems, reader artwork, etc. But every now and then we get mail from someone who seems to be straddling the line between sane and insane, and I wanted to share one of those with you.

For months, we've been on the receiving end of a steady stream of letters and packages from a woman, who shall remain nameless, who lives in some sort of mental facility she refers to as "program." And she's obsessed with both Dave Mustaine and Kirk Hammett.

Each week, she sends letters and packages to us hoping that we'll pass them along to Kirk and Dave (which, of course, we do not). Aside from the nutty, incoherent letters she writes, she often sends along such random items as bags of candy, Agatha Christie paperback books, artwork that would make a small child cry, food stamp receipts, V8 vegetable drink advertisements from magazines, and 4x6 photographs of her depressing apartment that show bottles upon bottles of detergent sitting on the floor.

Here is one such letter, this one for Kirk Hammett...click on it to see it larger.

JK