CREEM SHOWCASE

CREEM SHOWCASE

LYNCH, HIM

Billy Cioffi

Every year at approximately this time, contenders for the title of International Fretmeister emerge, fingers flying and harmonics ringing, taking on last year’s gunslinger in a battle of the polls. One of this year’s picks, so far, is George Lynch— who, rather than storming out of nowhere like some of the Asgardian brats we have known—has been plying his chops in the journeyman’s hard rock band Dokken. Lynch was rockin’ among the same crowd at the same time that Randy Rhoads, Quiet Riot, et. al. were working at the legendary Hollywood nightclub, the Starwood, which is now a parking lot.

Guitar stars are an odd lot. All axe murderers sit on a fence. Most are deadly serious about their instruments, extremely career-oriented and obsessive in their musical involvement. On the other hand, there is some modicum of “show-biz” that any hot-shot player must possess. Lynch is no exception: a hard man to pin down (his schedule is backbreaking) he is starting to ask as many questions of himself as music writers ask of him. His band, Dokken, is poised on the brink of a make-or-break situation. That big hit album has always eluded them and many an observer would contend that the already-tumultous relationship between Don Dokken and George is also at a do-or-die point. They have just performed on the movie soundtrack of Nightmare On Elm Street III and they have a video out from the film—the song, “In My Dreams” features what many guitarists regard as the solo of the year. In fact, it has already been named exactly that in several magazine polls.

To top off a much-delayed release of the new Dokken LP (it will probably be out by the time you read this), George decided to up and move to Arizona. The guy’s been turned every way but loose and is commuting to and from L A. on a neary daily basis. Whatever happens, Lynch is feeling the pressure but handling it all pretty well. Herein he discusses the technical aspects of his profession, with some sidelights on the practical problems of playing in a band.

“I want to be very comfortable with my playing,” says Lynch. “Spend more time with my instrument, instead of all the things that come along with being in a band: making records, being on tour. Priorities are so mixed-up—sometimes your instrument is last in line as far as priorities in the music field—you have other things that you have to do first. I would like to be a little bit more comfortable in my playing.”

The Catch-22 of rock ’n’ roll is that you work so hard you never have any time to get better or to practice on the very thing that got you to the point of success. The dreaded second album is the classic example. Where it took 10 years to get the first record together, the required follow-up must often be done in a few months. Dokken or Lynch have never achieved that real monster hit album, although they have sold well enough to keep their record deal. Lynch feels they have made some necessary concessions to commerciality:

“It is like a Catch-22,” he admits. “I think it’s necessary to be somewhat successful, to be in the position we’re in to continue doing what we want to do—you need to make some concessions.

“From a commercial standpoint that’s true. I know that’s important—your manager says that’s important, the record company says that’s important; it’s important for longevity. What is really, really important to me, what is going to be important to me when it is all said and done is that I have made some music that matters and that I want to listen to; something I can be proud of. I don’t know if we have done that up to this point.”

“Let’s get technical,” I say. “Do you use guitar synths and controllers?”

“I used a synthesizer on my last album but listening to it in retrospect, I don’t think I would use it again,” he replies. “Because, first of all, it sounds like a keyboard and you might as well get a keyboard player to do it. What it adds isn’t really necessary and I don’t use it. It is like trying to add something superficial, saying, ‘OK, let’s create some depth here’—put a synthesizer on there with some weird sounds, that will be neat—but I could have done the same thing with a regular guitar a lot of times, low bass tones and things. I can do some of the same things with the older equipment. They have an inherent sound, tape saturation, and a dirtiness to the effect that I like.”

‘‘Why don’t you tell me what you are using right now— your equipment profile.”

‘‘I have a collection of old Marshalls—some of them are modified,” says Lynch. I have a couple of Lee Jackson Melotronics, some of them are modified and some are stock, they all use 6A7 tubes and I have the bias cranked on them a little bit. I use a Ohmit Variable Transformer and I crank that up, like, to 140—burns the tubes up and makes it sound good before they fry. I use a tube screamer, slightly modified, and a GE8 Graphic EQ—and to split it up I’ll use a PCM41.

“I’m changing things constantly. Right now I’m using a PCM41 split-up stereo into two old cabinets. I got my first axe at Ace Hardware—now I’m using an ESP. I don’t know if you have ever seen a picture of it, it’s a Kamakazi Guitar. It is like one solid piece of maple; I picked out the wood when I was in Japan and it is an extra thick body. It’s really heavy and sounds great. It has a Seymour Duncan Distortion Pickup in it, a Stager Strat left pick-up for the neck, ebony fingerboard, extra wide frets, and it really looks cool. I was playing around with different pre-amps and stuff but that guitar is stock and is my favorite-sounding guitar at the moment. I have six or seven other ESP guitars. I still have a couple of my old Kramers laying around—but I usually just use them for parts! I have an old Aria Acoustic (Ellachord) that I use on every album for acoustic sounds and I have an old Martin that I bought from a friend of mine that I use for steel string stuff. ESP made me a copy of a ’56 Strat that I saw in Tokyo in one of their stores, made me an exact replica of it, and I use that for clean parts. They took out this copyright to artificially age it—age markings on the fingerboards and stuff.”

NEW GEAR

RRV-10 Digital Reverb Boss

Digital reverb makes all the difference in the world when it comes to adding that extra sheen. The RRV-10 has just been added (it’ll be a few months old by the time you read this) to the successful Micro Series from the Boss division of the RolandCorp.

The RRV-10 has a twelve-bit AID converter that uses analog logarithmic compression (everybody get that?—there’ll be a pop quiz Monday). Aside from all that it sounds good, with a quality comparable to higher-priced units.

The reverb modes are selectable and include two rooms, two halls, two plates, two multi-tapped delays and a gated mode. Good as a piece of live outboard and great in the home studio—try the gated mode on the snare drum and you’ll either start writing TV shows with a pastel hue or start your hairline receding ala Phil Collins. The reverb makes some highly processed sounds available to the inexpensive home studio. Maybe not all the way there, but “close enough for rock ’n’ roll,” as the old saying goes! For more information, contact RolandCorp US, 7200 Dominion Circle, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (213) 685-5141.

Peavy Microbass

Tiny but tough, the Microbass is rated at a full 15 watts RMS power. Also included is Peavey’s patented DDT Compression circuit to provide speaker protection while allowing the amp to deliver its power potential. This means it’ll give you punch, but won’t be as apt to fry your speakers. A precision 8" loudspeaker in a specially tuned ported cabinet provides excellent efficiency. Plug in the phones and the speakers are gone so you can practice in “private.” As with all Peavy products, expect a lot of quality at a reasonable price. Peavy Electronics Corporation, 711 A Street, Meridian, MS, 39301. (601) 483-5365.

Steinberger Three-Pickup Models—P-Serles

Probably the most revolutionary of any design in the last 20 years, the GP3T comes with three of EMG’s SA model low-impedence replacement pickups, while the GP4S (shown in photo) features two SA’s and one model 85 humbucker in the bridge position. Both models have a five-position lever switch for pickup selection and a master volume and master tone control. Optional active EQ features both a threeposition boost circuit and a tone control with treble, flat and bass boost positions.

Both models are available with either the Steinberger STrem locking tremolo, or the TransTrem transposing tremolo, which keeps the strings in tune during tremolo movement. The headless neck has 24 frets on a 251/2" scale, with 19 of the frets clear of the hard rock maple body. The bodies are available in a black, red or white finish. Steinberger Sound Corporation, 122 S. Robinson Ave., Newburg, NY, 12550. (914) 565-4005.

Kramer Ferrington Acoustic Bass

There are many of us who follow and participate in this wacky music business who feel the “next big thing” will be a back-to-the-basics acoustic movement. Taking today’s acoustic and electronic innovations and refining the recording and reproduction in the live milieu of acoustic instruments is something we’re just getting into. Kramer Music Products and Luthier Danny Ferrington are helping out with their bass design for Kramer’s acoustic product line.

The Kramer/Ferrington Bass features a comfortable body size and an electric bass bolt on the neck. It’s equipped with a bridge-mounted acoustic style active pick-up utilizing two tone controls and one volume control. It remains to be seen what kind of an impact this unique instrument will have on the buying public, but many recording artists are utilizing the Ferrington bass on records, particularly with other acoustic instruments. For more information, contact Kramer Music Products, Inc., 685 Neptune, NJ, 07753. (201) 922-8600.