“I’m seeing the light”: Why Marty Friedman has started using vintage gear for the first time
Marty Friedman is “seeing the light” on why people love vintage gear so much after experimenting with some old treasures on his latest album, Drama.
Having never understood the hype for beaten up guitars and decades-old amplifiers, Friedman now feels that having a contrast of modern and vintage gear in his arsenal when recording led to “a complete, new and beautiful light” to shine through his record.
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Speaking to Guitar World for its new September print issue, Friedman says of the exciting textures found within his album, “A lot of this stuff came from old gear. The Fender Twin I used was from the Sixties or something like that. And I don’t have any vintage gear – I don’t own any of it.
“I’ve always been a ‘new gear’ type of guy. I’ve never understood vintage gear; I’ve never had the capacity of knowledge for it, the patience for it or the love of it, for that matter. But on this album, I’m seeing the light a little bit,” he explains.
“In the hands of someone who knows how to maintain vintage instruments, I can’t imagine an amp that still exists from the Sixties… I mean, how much beer and bong water must be in that thing? I can’t even fathom it. I use new gear on every single tour, and I love it. But in the hands of a master technician who can maintain vintage gear, it really gives a complete, new and beautiful light to shine against the modern gear that I’m also playing.”
Friedman’s usual preference for modernity landed him in Jackson’s Virtuoso Mega Shred campaign last year in promotion of its Virtuoso American Series model. The shredder has also formerly put his case forward for the death of the “traditional” guitar solo in favour of more inventive and melodic playing.
Marty Friedman’s album Drama landed back in May. It is available to stream or buy now.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
