News Bits
EXHIBIT
Rock Hall Takes
Long, Strange Trip
The Grateful Dead: The Long
Strange Trip exhibit at the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum runs from April 2012
until December 2012 and features five of Jerry Garcia’s guitars—including his Travis Bean
TB5—two Bob Weir guitars,
and original lyric manuscripts.
rockhall.com
TECHNOLOGY
Auto-Tune Teams
With Parker, Peavey
Parker and Peavey both released
guitars with built-in Auto-Tune DSP technology. The
Parker ATDF842 ($7,999 list)
uses the Antares Solid-Tune
Intonation System to provide
both standard and alternate
tunings, virtual capo, guitar
and pickup modeling, and a
MIDI interface. The Peavey
AT- 200 ($500 list)
offers pitch correction and access to
additional Auto-Tune
features via a
MIDI interface.
antares.com
parkerguitars.com
peavey.com
TECHNOLOGY
Beatles Gear
on the Go
A new iPad app, “The
Guitar Collection:
George Harrison,” celebrates the late legend’s
axes with 360° imaging,
descriptions, audio,
and video footage. Gear
details include instrument origins, modifications, and lists of the
songs each was used on.
bandwdth.com
georgeharrison.com
INDUSTRY
Master Luthier
Ren Ferguson
Joins Fender
Ferguson will serve as Chief
Acoustic Engineer of Fender’s
Research and Development
team for the Fender, Guild,
Ovation/Adamas, and
Takamine acoustic lines. His
50 years of experience includes
several decades in Gibson’s
respected Bozeman, Montana,
acoustic division.
fender.com
black Comes Alive-era guitar
found its way home thanks
to the efforts of two fans.
It was tracked down on the
Caribbean island of Curaçao
and, at press time, was being
restored by the Gibson
Custom Shop.
facebook.com/peterframpton
CHARITY
EVH Cleans House
for the Kids
Eddie Van Halen donated
75 guitars from his personal
collection to schools in Los
Angeles via the Mr. Holland’s
Opus Foundation. “Music
kept me off the streets and
out of trouble and gave me
something that was mine that
no one could take away from
me,” he said in a statement,
“If I can help a kid discover
a liking, or even a passion for
music in their life, then that’s
a wonderful thing.”
van-halen.com
frontman Casey McPherson,
and Spock’s Beard keyboardist Neal Morse for a March
27, 2012, debut album. Says
Portnoy, “This album has bits
and pieces of what you’d expect
from each of us. However,
the sum of all its parts led to
brand-new, unchartered territory for all involved.”
flyingcolorsmusic.com
LOST … BUT FOUND
Frampton’s ’ 54 Les
Paul Comes Home
After disappearing in a 1980
plane crash, Peter Frampton’s
SUPERGROUP
Morse, LaRue, and
Portnoy Form Flying
Colors
The Dixie Dregs’ Steve Morse
and Dave LaRue teamed with
former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, Alpha Rev
AILING
Tony Iommi Diagnosed
with Cancer
The metal god is battling the
early stages of lymphoma as he
and the rest of Black Sabbath—
Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler,
and Bill Ward—write and
record their first album in 33
years with producer Rick Rubin
in Birmingham, England.
Iommi says he will work on the
album throughout treatment.
blacksabbath.com
