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| Wednesday 23 May 2012 |
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2 November, 2011
“Cryogenically frozen guitar strings? Get outta here” I hear you holler. Well believe it baby. These strings are definitely the coolest strings in the shop, and at £6.49 a set, they’re worth a punt.
Check them out here…
Dean Markley Blue Steel electric guitar strings
The Electric and Helix HD electric sets will be added soon, along with their Bass and Acoustic string counterparts.
2 November, 2011
Well the Rugby World Cup came and went. Wales were robbed of a place in the Finals and as a result you didn’t get your discount. Don’t blame me, blame Alain Rolland.
There is a tidal wave of new gear available at A Strings. Because there’s so much being added on a daily/weekly basis, stuff disappears from the front page before you’ve had chance to see it, so prepare for an update overload…
Before I get into that though, thank you for the great response to Peter Hince’s Q+A. Peter has kindly offered to answer more questions for us in the future – so by all means email me if you have any questions you’d like me to put to him.
Also, I’ve read the book and it gives a completely different take on what you’d imagine touring life to be. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the behind the scenes part of touring life.
The legendary Deptford John (Guitar Tech to anybody who’s anybody over the past 20 years) and I have been discussing some exciting exclusive features for A Strings’ Backstage area. More of this soon…
13 October, 2011
Wales are playing their biggest ever game of Rugby on Saturday morning against France.
Why would you want Wales to win?
Because if they do win, this code
walesrwc11
will be good for 10% off EVERYTHING in the A Strings online store.
So get your Red tops on, tune into ITV on Saturday morning at 9am and get cheering. Who knows what will happen the week after…?
7 October, 2011
Click this link to see the latest A Strings newsletter.
6 October, 2011
A popular Newsletter from back in June. Click the link below to read up.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Take-your-Pick—The-A-Strings-Newsletter.html?soid=1101670179454&aid=HHdMOKasG_8.
28 September, 2011
Many of you Queen fans will be familiar with the name Peter Hince (or Ratty as he was affectionately referred to). Peter is releasing his new book ‘Queen Unseen’ in early October. As the head of Queen’s road crew and studio equipment supervisor from the early 70s through to ’86, this book is an insiders look at the life on tour with one of the biggest bands ever. Not to be missed!
And check out Peter’s official website here
Peter very kindly agreed to answer questions submitted by A Strings newsletter subscribers. Thank you to all that submitted questions. The winner of the signed copy of Peter’s new book was Colin Barker. Well done Colin, the book will be on its way to you following its release date.
Q+As
Knowing how Freddie would strop if anything was not to his liking, and how Brian would guard his guitar with his life, did anything ever go missing or break before a big show. If so did you ever need to tell a few white lies while something was found or quickly repaired?
Regards
Wayne
Nothing ever went missing before a show – and as everything was checked and double checked right before the band took the stage, nothing failed at that point. Over the years things did break down very occasionally – as is the nature of electronic equipment and instruments being pushed to the maximum ! But we always had spares and back up systems to take care of any problems instantly. The band were total professionals and expected the crew to be the same…
Hi Peter,
When in the studio with queen, did you have to power the deacy amp with any strange power supplies (car batteries,transformers etc) if the usual power source was not available
thanks Dave Bennie.
The Deacy amp was always powered with a 9 volt battery taped to the back and connected with crocodile clips. Usually a PP3.
Brians original Red Special guitar must be one of the most famous electric guitars ever, and probably one of the most valuable, competing with guitars played by Hendrix, Clapton, Kossoff, Page partly due to it being so unique.
I know that Guild, Guyton, Greco etc have made guitars that Brian has used, but looking after the original “old lady” must be a huge consideration & massive responsibility for the Road Crew and Guitar Techs on a tour!
Can you please tell me what special arrangements were typically made for the original Old Lady for transport between gigs/soundchecks flights etc as it cant be as simple as never leaving Brians sight, yet it is surely too valuable to ship with all the others in a flight case, especially as the band grew bigger, and toured the world!
thanks
Jason Grey
In all the years I was with the band there were never any special measures taken for Brian’s guitar – which incidentally was not known as the Red Special back then, it was simply Brian’s guitar or ‘The Fireplace’. It had a very solid fitted flight case that I had custom made for it in 1976, and then went in one of the locked guitar trunks with other guitars and shipped together with all of Queen’s other gear. If I had guitars with me personally, then I would take them into my flat or hotel room overnight. In my time we never lost a single guitar or instrument, as we always took great care with security in general – on tour, in the studio, at a video shoot or wherever……
How often do professional bands change their electric guitar strings? Before every gig? Or at a fixed time interval; if very frequently, how long do you allow for the strings to settle before finally tuning them?
Very personal choice – all musicians are different. I changed John’s bass guitar strings around every 3 shows. The spare guitars less often. Strings were stretched in, tuned and played three or four times until they held tune. This was always done in the afternoon or at sound check and re tuned on stage right before the show.
Hi Peter,
I’d like to know what era of Brian’s tone was your favourite and did any of Brian’s amps ever spontaneously combust mid-gig as AC30s are famed for having done from time to time?!
M Lyttle
aka “Tonechaser”
I probably prefer the early, harder 1970’s Queen sound, but also liked a lot of the later stuff too – Dragon Attack on The Game, Hammer To Fall on The Works and One Vision all have great guitar sounds – to name a few. I do recall a few occasions when an AC 30 blew up – live and in the studio. Great amplifiers but like all valve amps – can be temperamental.
I am guitarist in a queen tribute band (www.queen2.de). My biggest problem is the volume of the amps. Using the Digitech Pedal and turning the Voxes up a third to a half 4 out of 5 Foh-mixers tell me i am messing up the outfront sound. Attenuators do help but of course it’s not the same. Now my question:
How in the world did Queen cope with the thunderous volume supplied by the guitar when they were not famous, playing smaller clubs or theaters? They must have had the same problems as we encounter, but i can not imagine Brian turning down the amps? How did they solve it? Also in a rehearsal situation trying to get together the backing vocals – that must have been almost impossible? I always wanted to know that.
Many thanks in advance i am VERY curious and would be thrilled if Ratty could bring some light to the fact.
All the best,
Wolf
You are right, Brian did play very loudly on stage and it was a constant battle to get the balance right – but we did. I don’t understand the ‘Backing Vocals’ in rehearsal comment ? It’s not relevant as backing vocals were done in the studio in controlled conditions and not when Brian would be playing guitar. On stage, in a live situation everybody had personal monitors for a mix of what they wanted – vocals, guitar, snare drum – whatever….
I know I’m far from original here, but would you like to tell a bit about what you did specifically for Brian during tours or in the studio?
Best wishes,
Gerben
I didn’t do much for Brian on tour – he had his own roadie, and I looked after Fred and John’s gear. But in the studio, in the early days particularly, I would do whatever was needed….. hooking up his gear, sourcing what amps, effects etc he wanted, fixing problems, changing strings, tuning, making tea etc, etc….
Hi Ratty, in all your years working with Queen, what was the most difficult show, from the crews point of view, and why?
Ian (Guitarears)
There were some shows that had problems – but for different reasons. You can read about them in the book.
Before the large Pete Cornish pedalboard/router rig that Brian May used, can you explain (if you can) how Brian’s gear was run using the old Foxx phaser/booster pedalboard and Echoplex’s?
Thank you. Mark
The gear was run the same way – but all the effects, pedals and switches were individual and not built into a unit with a power supply. They ran from 9 volt batteries. The pedalboard simply made things easier to set up and transport, and afforded some protection and stability – and of course no worries about batteries failing.
What was John Deacon’s setup? Did it differ between studio and live?
Alex Nicholas
John’s stage set up changed quite a few times over the years – far too many details to list here. However, in the studio it was fairly simple – he usually plugged directly into the studio desk and used a basic amp and speaker cabinet for ‘feel’ in the studio. Any effects were done in the control room.
What was your favourite Queen gig? Do you remember much about Live Aid?
Thanks,
Gill
I write about my memories of Live Aid in the book – it was a fantastic day. There were many gigs that were special – South America for example. I also remember a 1980 show in LA at the Forum when the band were just amazing; Madison Square Garden, Budokan in Tokyo, Hammersmith Odeon – so many. They were after all a fantastic live band !
How did you get the name Ratty? Who came up with it?
Glynne, Neath.
It’s all in the book……
Why did Brian’s sound alter so much for the Freddie Tribute Concert?
Cheers,
Reg, Bracknell
No idea – I wasn’t working for the band then. I left after the Magic Tour in ’86 – and came out of retirement to look after John and his gear for the Tribute Concert. I didn’t notice any real difference in Brian’s sound on that show. He used basically the same gear as before and it was also the same sound engineer Queen used for many years – Trip Khalaf.
Have you worked with any other artists apart from Queen?
Mike
Yes, I worked for David Bowie and Mott The Hoople before Queen. I was Mick Ronson’s guitar roadie. I also toured with other bands when I was young, including Lou Reed, Kevin Ayers, Eno (Roxy Music) Supertramp and David Essex. I was also offered many jobs with other bands, when I was with Queen and after I left the music business.
Who was the best drinker in the band? Any stories…?
All the best
Tom Chaloner
Everybody in Queen and the crew could hold their own – and always Russian Vodka. Lots of stories about drinking in the book…
What strings did Brian and John use? Do you remember the gauges?
Cheers
Colin Barker
Brian used Rotosound 8 , 10, 11, 22, 30, 34 for his Red Special, and different gauges for his other guitars – but always a light gauge. John used Rotosound ‘Superwound’ medium gauge – custom made for him by Rotosound for all his guitars. Rotosound Flatwound for his fretless Precision.
Which country was your favourite to tour?
Vito, Italy.
I enjoyed visiting so many countries, as Queen toured almost everywhere possible back then. Every country we played in had it’s different qualities. I personally always enjoyed Japan as it was so different and American tours were exciting and energetic. However, I loved touring Europe because of the diversity of cultures in one continent.
What was the worst on stage disaster to occur during your time with Queen?
Matt
They are in the book ……… a chapter entitled Days of Doom.
Do you know what happened to Freddie’s white Telecaster?
Pete, Reading.
After I left Queen in 1986 at the end of The Magic Tour, I was not replaced – and consequently nobody was in overall control of Queen’s equipment. The white Telecaster, along with lots of Queen’s gear ‘disappeared’ from their warehouse in the late 1980’s I understand. I was contacted by Brian’s office some years ago as I am the only person who can authenticate the white Telecaster – and somebody claimed they had it, or knew where it was. This turned out to be some joker…! I made changes to the Tele’ nobody else could know about – and I have the serial number. However, unfortunately it remains lost. There is an interesting story about Fred and the white Telecaster in the book……
What were your duties to the band in the studio? When on tour, did you have any other roles other than Bass/Piano/Vocal Tech?
Coxy, Nottingham
You name it – I had to do or did it ! You can read about most of them in the book. On tour I was also responsible for setting the tuning for all of the band, and the synthesisers and other keyboards – which all came from the tuning of Fred’s piano. Apart from piano, bass and Fred’s microphone set up, I looked after and tuned Fred’s guitar, John’s Telecaster too and the guitar that the back-up musician played during Hammer To Fall. I also operated the pyro explosions, drum riser & platform lights and strobes. Tons of other things too which are in the book. As head of the crew I was responsible for overall charge of Queen’s gear and shipping, customs, paperwork, expenses, etc, etc……. Again, lots about this in the book.
When was the last time you saw/spoke to Freddie?
Grace, London.
That is in the last chapter of the book. A very poignant part.
Do you keep in touch with the band?
Vince Heartly, Birmingham
We are not in regular contact – we all live different lives now. Brian in particular has always been very good in making an effort to keep in touch.
What is your fondest memory of your time with Queen?
Raymond Palfrey, Connecticut
Such a difficult question to answer – there are so many great memories over the years. I do feel proud and privileged to have been part of Live Aid – which was something very special. There are lots of my various memories in the book.
Thank you Peter for giving us your time and answering these questions.
Please note all content is copyright A Strings 2011 and may not be used without explicit written permission.
17 June, 2011
Another delivery of Optima Strings is due in today. they seem to be going out as fast as they’re coming in, but they do seem to be coming in on a more regular basis now. They seem to have reverted back to their old style packaging as well – which I personally think is great – much nicer/classier.
Old Optima Pack – “Boooo! Hissss!” New Optima Pack – “Yaaayyy! Woo Woo Woo!”
I apologise for the lack of updates this past month. A frustrating matter is currently taking up my time. I’ll write more about it soon (hopefully next week).
Don’t forget – free Sixpence with every Pick purchase between now and end of June for all registered website customers.
17 June, 2011
Here is an extract from an article I wrote for my newsletter customers this week focussing on guitar Picks. This section looks at guitar pick thicknesses and their benefits/limitations. If you would like to add anything to this article, please email me or respond to this post.
Thickness
One of the first things to ascertain is what thickness/gauge pick do you require?
Very light picks range from around .38mm to .50mm thick. With the plastic being so light and flexible,it flickers from one string to the next as you strum creating a percussive sound as you play. Heavier strumming is required to achieve a reasonable volume, especially when playing live.
The thinnest pick available is the Dunlop .38mm Nylon Pick
Pictured – Dunlop Nylon .38mm Pick
Thin guitar picks are suited towards strumming acoustic players. You’ll find it very difficult to solo with a thin pick. Not only will you lack the volume (acoustically) you need to cut through but you will also lack control due to the flexible nature of the pick.
Medium thickness picks are a lot more versatile in application. A medium gauge pick for acoustic and electric guitars will be around .60mm – .88mm. On the thinner end of the medium scale, you’ll still achieve a percussive sound as you play, though it won’t be so prominent in the acoustic mix. You’ll notice that you have a lot more control over the volume when playing acoustically. Soloing is easier, as the reaction from the string when attacking it, is immediate. Electric players tend to use medium to heavy gauge picks for this very reason.
Heavy Picks are traditionally used by players who use heavier gauge strings, be it acoustic, electric or bass guitar. In guitar terms, a heavy pick is generally considered to be anything over 1mm, but there are many picks available (not just aimed at bass players) that go up to 3mm and beyond. Obviously, because bass strings are so thick, a suitably rigid pick is require to achieve a controlled result. Bass guitars are generally less processed and distorted than electric guitars and so you can audibly hear the difference between a bassist using his fingers to a pick. ‘Speed players’ also favour heavier picks for maximum control.
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| Pictured – Dunlop 3mm Stubby Pick |
18 May, 2011
Guitarist Magazine takes delivery of a Deacy
Monday 9th May I popped into Guitarist to drop off a KAT Deacy, my own Burns Red Special and a Treble Booster for Simon Bradley to get his dirty paws over.
I first mentioned the Deacy project to Simon back in January this year and he’s been chomping at the bit ever since. Within a couple of days of receiving it, Simon posted a series of “unboxing” pictures on the Guitarist website (see here). Simon plugged the amp in without realising it didn’t have a volume control and soon managed to annoy the office and so from I gather he’s currently putting it through it’s paces. I’m told that a feature on the Deacy and hopefully some audio files will appear in Guitarist in the not too distant future. I will of course keep you updated here and via the A Strings newsletter.
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton’s Guitar Tech Dan Dearnley got in touch with me about a week ago asking on the availability of the Peterson Stomp Classic tuner pedal. As it turned out they were playing two nights at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (used to be called the CIA). I didn’t realise they were even coming to Cardiff this month so when I heard on Sunday that he played on Saturday night, I considered it an opportunity missed to meet Dan. I spoke to Dan on Sunday and he mentioned they were playing Sunday night too and we arranged for me to drop the tuner into him on Sunday afternoon.
Dan met me at the rear gates to the venue and took me in to the arena where we went to the stage to have a look at Clapton’s gear. I was very surprised to see how simple the setup was. Clapton’s guitar rack consisted of only 3 Fender Custom shop Stratocasters (I couldn’t see the EC signature so i’m not sure if they were signature models or not), and 2 beautiful looking Martin Acoustics. No effects, just guitar directly into the amp via a wireless unit.
I caught a glimpse of the setlist and was pretty shocked to see that it was a greatest hits set as opposed to just blues. Dan very kindly gave me a couple of tickets to the evening show and having seen EC play well over 10 times live, this was by far the best i’ve seen him. He really does seem to be on fire at the moment.
And his guitars were definitely in tune…
3 May, 2011
The weeks just seem to be be flying by at the moment.
Bank holidays + a nasty bout of food poisoning = email backlog…
I’m pretty much on top of things now and about to send out a new newsletter, but before that I thought i’d give you a bit of an update on some stuff that’s been going on.
Public Image Ltd (PiL)
The great Lu Edmonds, guitarist from John Lydon‘s PiL, called a few weeks ago for a new Peterson Stomp Classic after discovering his old StroboStomp had gone walkies…
They’ll be starting their UK tour later this month. I’ll be going to see them in Cardiff on June 2nd, let me know if you’re going too. Fingers crossed they’ll play Death Disco…
I received a call on a Friday afternoon in late March from Steve Rothery’s guitar tech Rich saying that they were desperately in need of a Lehle 3@1 SGOS Switcher, but they needed it for Saturday as they were travelling out to Holland on the Monday morning. Lucky for them they called the best damn guitar accessory store around and he received it Saturday morning 
Pete Malandrone received a new Peterson Stomp Classic for the current Kerry Ellis and Brian May ‘Anthems’ Tour which actually kicks off tonight in Liverpool. Pete always uses a Peterson Tuner to calibrate all of the Tuners used on stage by all musicians, making it an integral part of the overall production. Only the best for Brian!