NEWS CLIPS
Jason Becker—Still Rockin’
Often referred to as “one of the best rock
guitarists ever,” Jason Becker continues to
inspire guitarists and shape their tone even
though hasn’t played a note in years. Becker
shot to fame quickly as a shred wunderkind
and was recording with David Lee Roth by the
age of 20. That’s when he was diagnosed with
ALS and told he had just a few years to live.
Nearly 20 years later, Becker is still releasing
albums and designing signature gear. His
motor skills are long gone, including his ability
to speak, but his mind is sharp. He continues composing and advising gear designers
through the aid of a computer. Recently,
three new projects have been unveiled: a new
album, signature guitar and signature pedal.
Jason’s new album, Collection, features
recordings from his time with David Lee
Roth, Shrapnel and Warner Brothers as well
as three new songs that fellow guitar heavyweights helped him turn into a reality. None
other than Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Michael
Lee Firkins, Marty Friedman, Steve Hunter
and Greg Howe helped lay down the tracks
that Jason was hearing in his head.
Paradise Guitars USA also recently released
Jason’s signature model guitar. It has a
Tung Oil finished Alder body and a maple
neck with a 2-way truss rod. The maple fingerboard has a 16” radius and jumbo-thin
frets. The guitar has a Floyd Rose Pro Style
floating trem and Sperzel Red Satin Tuners.
It is loaded with DiMarzio pickups, a 500K
volume pot and a 5-way blade. Starting at
$2499 for the Standard Package, the Jason
Becker Signature Model is available for
order now.
Finally, Jason is helping guitarists shape
their tone through his Pro Tone Distortion
pedal (List: $289), which was designed to
help recreate his sound from his solo debut
album, Perpetual Burn. The JB Distortion is
an analog emulation of his British amp with
added gain and a boost channel. It features
Preamp Volume, Gain, Master Volume and
Burn (boost) controls as well as a three
band tone stack. The original artwork for
the pedal was painted by Jason’s father,
Gary Becker.
A recent development of note: Pro Tone
Pedals is planning a limited edition run of
a special JB Distortion pedal (Direct: $319)
that will maximize the company’s ability to
distribute a share of the profits to Becker.
It features different artwork, a poster and a
few picks. It will be sold exclusively on Pro
Tone’s website, enabling the manufacturer
to pass along a greater share of the proceeds to Becker with his medical bills.
shrapnelrecords.com
paradiseguitarsusa.com
protonepedals.com
Gibson Dark Fire
Hits the Web
Gibson spent a few weeks in October
and November promoting a guitar
that was supposed to redefine
the guitar as we know it. The
details were announced on
November 11, and while we
won’t go as far as Gibson’s
promotional materials, it cer-
tainly is interesting.
The guitar, called the Dark
Fire, blends the classic Les
Paul body shape with
Robot Guitar (version 2.0)
technology. In fact, the
guitar’s configuration of
the Robot’s motorized
tuners along with the
guitar’s unique pickup
system is being referred
to as “Chameleon Tone
Technology.”
Chameleon Tone Technology is a mar-
riage of three separate pickups working
in various combinations for what Gibson
describes as “an infinite number of tonal
possibilities.” By utilizing a Burstbucker 3,
a P90h, and a piezo pickup, the Dark Fire
allows 20 different combinations. In addi-
tion, the blend control ranges from 100
percent acoustic to 100 percent traditional
pickups, letting any mix of the
two be dialed in precisely.
Gibson has made it a point
to be inspired by the past,
but continues to look forward
to the future. While chambered bodies have been part
of the Les Paul legacy since the
early eighties, Gibson is now using a
CNC router to map out exactly where
the chambers should be for a lighter
weight and more resonance. The
Robot 2.0 system has also been overhauled, resulting in nearly twice the
battery life and the ability to access
pre-set tunings within a second’s time.
Also included with the guitar is the
Robot Interface Pack, or RIP: a connector between the guitar and a computer, allowing those without a full studio
setup to instantly record what this new
tool is capable of.
In addition to the high-tech appoint-
ments, the Dark Fire also comes with
a striking red nitro finish combin-
ing a satin finish on the back and
neck, and a gloss finish on the top
of the guitar.
Gibson is also keeping
this product and oth-
ers moving forward—a
Bluetooth transmitter is
said to be in the works,
among other audio
equipment. For
those who have an
original Robot,
Gibson will offer
an upgrade for
the original tun-
ing equipment
to match the
improved version
offered on the
Dark Fire.
Gibson.com/darkfire
