Frequently Asked Questions

My main axes are a few Cort NZS-1 guitars. Obviously, I love these guitars and they are perfectly suited to my performing and recording needs. I also have some old favorites in my stable that see their way onto my recordings and stage because of their unique tone. These would be my orange ASAT Custom Tele, green Music Man Axis Super Sport with P90s and piezo bridge, and red EVH Music Man stop tail. I have a ton of guitars!

As for pedals, I switch things around a lot in relation to what songs I am playing in the set, but I have a few favorites that you would normally see on my pedal board. These would be: Keeley "The Lead Singer" NZ signature pedal, Keeley Nova Wah, Keeley Compressor, Keeley BD-2 or TS-9 (both now included in "The Lead Singer"), MXR Phase 90 (with a true bypass installed), Boss TU-2 tuner, Vox wah (with a true bypass switch), Boss DD-5 delay, Fulltone Deja Vibe, VHT Valvulator and a Boss LS-2. The pedal board is a modded Furman.

For clinics or gigs where I can¹t bring my amps, I will use a SansAmp TriAC or a Hughes and Kettner Tubeman into the effects return of an all tube head.

My amps are a Wizard 4 tube 50 (has a purple power light) and a 100 watt head. Both are Modern Classics through a Wizard 4x12. They sound fantastic and I have used them for years. I also have a Mesa Boogie Road King and matching cabinet.

I have been using Sennheiser wireless in ear monitors (IEM) and am loving them! I split the signal after my pedal board with and Boss LS-2 Line Selector and send it to a Korg Ampworks processor that provides a guitar tone for my IEM. It goes into a little Mackie 1202 mixer and is sent to the wireless transmitter. I can¹t even begin to explain how much of a difference this has made in my performances as far as confidence, pitch, and vibrato. I couldn¹t live without them.

Everything is Mac based as it always has been. I have a Macintosh dual 2.7 G5 with the 30" Cinema Display.

For my main software, I have been loving Ableton Live 4! This application is so easy and inspiring to use and doesn't get in the way of the creative process. It is the perfect tool for songwriting and certain tracking circumstances. I couldn¹t imagine composing without it.

For more detailed work that requires advanced MIDI, audio, and video features as well as a more robust overall feature set, Steinberg's Cubase SX 3 and Nuendo will get the nod. I will use Pro Tools under certain circumstances for tracking because of the playlist feature (especially great for tracking drums). I just got turned on to Mackie's Tracktion and I really love the elegance and simplicity of it. DP 4.6 finds it's way into my audio toolbox as well.

My audio interfaces differ as to which project I am currently recording and where I am recording it. I have a Digi002R, Yamaha 01X, Yamaha i88x, as well as my Presonus Firebox. My studio partner has a TDM system so if I need that I can always use it.

A 12² PowerBook G4 1.33 loaded with the above software. I use a Presonus Firebox for my interface (or an M-Box if I am using Pro Tools) with a MidiMan 2x2 MIDI interface. I travel with the Faderfox LV1 and LX1 controllers. My samples and sounds are on an 80 GB OWC Mercury on the go FireWire drive that is bus powered.

About 25 years.

I would have to say first and foremost it would be Eddie Van Halen. After hearing Van Halen 1 for the first time, it totally changed my life! I knew what I wanted to do from that point on. Michael Schenker, Neal Schon, Peter Frampton and Randy Rhoads were very influential also in my playing. I remember when Yngwie came out in a band called Steeler. I was blown away!

As strange as it sounds, I don¹t listen to much guitar music these days. I listen to whatever is playing, but I will draw melodic inspiration from classical, R&B, and even country! I don¹t really want to listen to "widdly-diddly" music as I call it. I want to hear songs with great songwriting and melodies. Plus, after recording for many hours a day or touring, I need a break from the guitar onslaught.

As for player that are out today, I love Steve Lukather, Andy Timmons, Eric Johnson, Tom Morello, and The Edge.

I use Dean Markley Blue Steel 10-46 and my pics are the Dunlop purple delrin 2.0s. I now have custom guitar picks that while they are blue and have my signature on them are still the Dunlop 2.0s.

Laziness, egotistical people, negativity, people with no "vision" for anything beyond what is in front of them, jealousy, rudeness.

I get this question a lot and it is a strange one to me because I use them all! It almost is like asking a painter what colors he or she uses when all of them are needed and used to complete a portrait. It all depends on what kind of song I am soloing over, the mood I want to convey, melodic content, etc.

I do use the modal system in my improvisations and that really opens up the entire neck for me. All scales and modes basically work, but it just depends on where you play them in relation to each other. The biggest thing I rely on in placing scales is the relationship between relative major and minor. In this, I can play a pentatonic or minor scale over something major and vice versa. This is a hallmark of my soloing approach.

Many years ago I used to use one and it ended up being what I call the "panic bar" instead of the tremolo bar. Instead of actually playing a riff if I had a spot to fill, I would be dive-bombing and doing mindless filler whammy junk. After some time, I realized that I was actually using the whammy bar to just fill space without saying anything musically. In fact, I was not doing anything musical with it at all. I get my vibrato from my left hand (not the bar) and have always thought that guitars with hardtails sound way better.

Who are some current guitarists that you admire?

Neal Schon never ceases to amaze me and has been and continues to be a huge influence.  I really like Eric Johnson.  I think his tone and melodic content are really fabulous.  I also really like Tom Morello.  I think he is the new breed of "guitar hero". Anytime you hear a CD and ask yourself, "How did he do that!" you know that he is doing something right.  In addition, Steve Lukather, Andy Timmons and Peter Frampton simply blow me away no matter what they do. Also, I have really been loving The Edge as as soon as he plays one note you know it is him. He has a great signature tone and style that no one else has.

I see you prefer maple necks. How do you like the fret board; satin finished, gloss finished or unfinished and why?

I really like unfinished maple necks the best. I grew up playing a Les Paul with an ebony neck, but somewhere along the line I grew to like maple. I prefer the feel of an unfinished neck as it just seems older and more played. It is just more comfortable, although I will play just about anything. If it is my choice though, it would be maple.

I have this tune called "Fargo"; I would love to learn it and was wondering if there are tabs I could order? I have already mastered other great Zaza tunes like "I'm Alright".

As far as tabs of my music go, anything is possible. I have toyed around with the idea of doing more tabs of my back catalog and it is something I would immensely enjoy doing. I just need to find the time. I had a great time doing the tab for "I'm Alright" so I would expect that I will undertake some more at a future date.