DOT ON SHAFT GUITARS (Canada)

Well what can I say I am delighted to have my own signature model Dot On Shaft guitar. Mike Carparelli worked really hard to make this happen as did Christos my guitar tech. Many emails went backwards and forwards and I tried things out on the road and eventually we had it. I took delivery and the first thing I noticed was how Rock N' Roll it looked and it was just how I had envisaged it in my minds eye for a long time. All black and screaming at me to play it. Once it was around my neck it felt like it was at home and instantly I was used to it like an old worn shoe. We plugged it into my Marshalls at the first show and it was a match made in heaven. For those of you that like to know the technical side it is based on a DOS Carparelli model with a mahogany body and a maple top. It has a mahogany set neck with a rosewood fretboard with abalone markers. We added a TonePros locking bridge with locking tuners from Planet Waves that cuts off the strings automatically. We have Shadow custom wound signature pickups made in Germany thanks to Dominic Wagner with the neck pickup called Wizard and the bridge pickup called Demon. This guitar is special and feels and sounds really good apart from looking the
business.



ACOUSTIC GUITARS

Because often at festivals we really need to move fast with just 20 minutes for changeovers between bands I have had to leave my beloved Czech Republic F25 SR Furch Acoustic guitar that Jiri Machacek gave me which I use on all of the Acoustic shows at home. Setting up a good sound on an acoustic can be time consuming trying to reduce feedback etc especially with the many different P/A's and Monitors, so we have been using a Black Variaxe Line 6 with custom tunings into a Boss Chorus pedal into a DI box. I have recently been given from Godin (Canada) a beautiful black A6 Ultra Electric Acoustic Guitar that plays wonderfully. I have to thank Fred di Santo for sending me this guitar and I cannot wait to try it out on the road.


AMPLIFIERS/SPEAKERS

We have to hire backline around the world and we always have a specification for the Marshalls to be a Marshall 1959 SLP 100 Watt amps but to be honest what you end up getting is a steam fired head that has more knobs than you need and looks like you could get a good cappuccino coffee out of it. They are rarely serviced and usually when I get down to the sound check at the venue I can see the frustration on Christos's face and know we have a steep hill to climb. It was then that we came up with the idea that perhaps we should fly on the aeroplane from the UK with an amp so that we have a permanent backup. The choice we made is as follows: A Marshall JMP 1 through a Marshall EL34 100 watt Dual Monoblock power amp and along with that we use a Rocktron HUSH C in a rack and a THD Hotplate. I will say at this point not all hire companies hire bad equipment but when you think we play in some pretty remote parts of the world in the 53 countries we cover it is nice to have this safety net and a guaranteed good concert. We use 4 X Marshall 4 x 12" speaker cabinets but in truth the amplifier is only going through one of them. The cabinets have to be flat fronted as I do not like the sound of the slanted cabinets at all. Also they always have to be on the floor for the resonance and if they are wheels on them...take 'em off!
On Acoustic shows I use an AER amplifier with 2 x AER satellite speakers


EFFECT PEDALS

Keep it simple is my motto in regard to effect foot pedals as I have never been a player that can incorporate too much tap dancing while I am playing so I keep the pedals to a minimum and let the tone come from the fingers. The pedals I use are as follows: Dunlop Original Cry Baby, Boss Chorus (one number) Boss Tuner and a Marshall 4 way foot switch. With the new set I will have to add a Digital Delay for "What Kind of God" but that will be it.

STRINGS

I have for many years used Picato Strings and the gauges are 9-42 on the Electric and 11-52 on the Acoustic.
 

GUITAR PICKS / PLECTRUMS

These are custom made for me from Walter Geipel in Germany. They come in many colours and have the Uriah Heep logo on one side and my signature on the other.

The thickness is 1mm