Badass 7 String Guitar

I still am learning what to do with it. Its fun.



Also see it in detail:

http://www.zacharyguitars.com/210409pics.htm

Another Rant on our Economic State

Yes I enjoy messing around in the studio. My latest track is of course not entirely serious, as I don't even own a gun. But have a listen for fun. I put this one together very quickly, and slapped it up. It needs another day or two in the studio before I can put it on the upcoming CD. The video version has a better drum and guitar track. Such the state of evolving music. Oh, and play it as loud as possible. That is a significant point of music like this. Go ahead, bother your neighbors, I'd be happy to wake them for you.



Or just for the audio:

Play With My Gun

Ryan's Laguna Beach Haunted House

My next door neighbor goes all out on Halloween. Way too cool. Background music by me of course.

New Song - It's Only Business

I had fun with this one. Used the Zachary F1-C on the lead.

She's A Vampire - Cool Rock Video

Featuring Frankie B and the Dogs of Noise




Frankie B plays the amazing Zachary Z2-T guitar with shred tones provided by the Zachary Z Pedal. Backing tracks performed by the Dogs of Noise. Mixed and mastered using Sonar Producer 7.

Zachary Guitar Videos by Frankie Baker

Well, most of this is duplicated elsewhere in the blog, but to simplify things for people who are only interested in the Zachary Guitars videos - here they are.

The Zachary Z2 Guitar featured in these videos is quite the tasty treat.

Here are two demos that features several pickup settings and styles. The amp settings were not changed during the recording. The first uses a different amp from the second.

Tone demo 1:




An earlier demo:



This short clip (part of a song) is with a clean tone.



In this video, I crank it up to show off the shred or metal type tone capabilities of this bad boy guitar. I think the Z2 is unmatched by any guitar for this kind of use.



Here is an entire song with the Z2. This is the Z Surf Boogie.
I recorded the bass, drums and backing guitar first, the did the lead track on video and mixed it down on iMovie. This is my favorite of the videos on this page.



Here is a clip that compares the sound of a Stratocaster, Telecaster and The Z2 all through the same amp settings. I don't care much for the playing or chops here, its more about comparing the tone of the guitars. Some guy on youtube commented that my Strat is ugly. Well, I like it. Its certainly not beautiful like a Zachary, but it has that Fender 50s car kind of vibe. Nonetheless I'd trade an endless pile of Strats of any kind for one Zachary. Imagine what SRV or Jimi could have done with a Z.

The Amazing Zachary Z2 Guitar

The search for the holy grail of guitars continues. For the moment this is it. The precision of the fretwork and beauty of the artistry of this guitar is incredible. It is a unique departure from what all other guitar makers are doing. Before I mention any downside, I must say I consider this guitar priceless. It is the only guitar I have that I would simply not part with for any reason. It is simply the best of them all.

Now that said, I would have no credibility if I was such a fool as to say one guitar does everything and is the perfect guitar for all applications. That would be ridiculous. For example, the best jazzbox simply can't do good rock crunch. And this guitar can't do jazzbox. But I'm no Joe Pass either, and I don't play that kind of music well anyway. So I am being real. The Z2 cannot replace an entire collection of guitars. But it does stand on top of the heap. It is the very best with respect to several critical measures that I am concerned with. First of all, the intonation and fretwork is simply unmatched. Every single chord and note is perfectly in tune and harmonically balanced both within the scale and chord being played. I am not talking about anything other than my ear. It simply works. It is a bit on the bright side, which is probably due to its long scale, pickup design and placement, a relatively hard wood body, and very, very low action. I don't think it will replace my best strat clone (which can't touch this Z2 for the most part) for "that" tone. The Z2 is it is magic to the fingers and the ears. And it flat ass honks. This guitar kills for rock crunch. Billy Gibbons needs this guitar. As soon as he finds out about them good luck trying to get one for yourself, they will become legendary and impossible to obtain for mere mortals. I almost hate to tell you about it lest the build wait get longer. I want at least two more of these guitars and the more people that find out about it the longer I must wait. Good luck getting one, if you can't play you are out of luck. No posers need apply.

Click here to find out more about Zachary Guitars

Bad Ass Baritone Slide Guitar

Click Here to Play the Song

A while back I got this baritone guitar. It didn't seem too useful, kind of odd and interesting but too bassy to really stand out. Actually its tough to record because it steps on the bass, and you need to do some EQ tricks to make it work.

Roy Bullis who built the beast claimed it would be a monster with a slide. In a brief moment of musical frustration, I tried it and discovered what it sounds like through a distorted amp with a slide. Man it has hair!! Now I don't pretend to know how to play slide. This is the first time I have ever tried it. But I like it, and will do it more, and in fact, I am sure that in a couple of months I will repost this song and it will really smoke em. Till then, enjoy my first stab.

Here is a pic of the guitar used on the tune:

Onyx Forge Custom Jag S

A new guitar in the collection has arrived. You can read the details here C25 Onyx

And you can hear it in this video:




This is currently my favorite guitar. I put 11s on it which is more beefy than the usual 10s. I think its the ideal "Nashville" and "SRV" axe.

New Old Guitars

I assume you are familiar with the Fender Custom Shop "Relic" guitars? Maybe not. Well they build a new guitar using an old design and materials, then grunge it up by wearing off the paint, scratching it, sandblasting the metal parts, rusting it, and other things. Now it looks old and beat up. That is supposed to be cool. Like if you inherited your pop's old guitar. Or you played it everyday for 10 years in grungy bars. As if you were SRV or Billy Gibbons or Willy Wonka or something.

How ridiculous is that. If you can play, nobody gives a rats ass if your guitar is old or new. I suppose some morons think people would see their guitar and think wow he's been playing forever, he must be good. Or wow that's a vintage Fender, how cool. It sounds so great. What a bunch of crap. And they charge a ridiculous premium for these things.

So if you see some guy playing a beater guitar don't pay any attention. If he sounds good, that's just wonderful, but its not because of his beater guitar, that he possibly paid triple for and bought last week.

Let Them be Boys - GarageBand Track of the Day

Hey, I entered one of my better tunes in a GarageBand contest to get some feedback, and got Track of the Day. I guess there wasn't much competition today, but I'll take it! The reviews are helpful on this one, its only a demo with a couple hours of work, so this will help with a remix. The drums in particular need to be redone, and I'm looking forward to doing that. Hope you enjoy it.

lyrics to a song - first demo track:

<- Click to listen to this song

they say there was a problem with that boy
he just didnt seem to do the things we like a boy to do

there seemed to be a problem at school
but things were too slow boring and uncool

who wouldn't rather mess and play around
when theres so much of life outside on the playground

but the teacher labled him as A D D and his momma
gave him some pills and put him in front of the TV

and now we wonder why he cant be part of society
and now hes a living in a correctional facility

take them outside and let them howl at the moon
don't treat them like a problem or they will end up in the zoo

not everyone can live a life behind a desk
sometimes a boy just needs some space to be his best

isnt a little discipline is better than a pill
why label him a reject and make them want to kill

a child's frustration with ordinary life
can be misdirected into the street and a knife

be smarter than the labelers and help them find a way
to teach us to innovate and live for better days

take them outside and let them howl at the moon
don't treat them like a problem or they will end up in the zoo

Click Hear to Listen to the Song

Zachary Guitar Pedal

Update - August 16, 2007:

I have been spending a lot of time with this pedal. It seems to be ridiculous to say it, but it is brilliant. It is the best investment in gear I have made since I purchased a '69 Tele for $150 when I was 17. (damn I wished I was smart enough to have kept it) This pedal is so musical. (I will keep this.) Of course it is brutal in revealing your warts as a player, and the tone shortcomings of your guitars and amps, but it is also insanely rewarding when it uncovers the harmonics of your best gear and the skill you have as a player. After redoing the setup on my Tele, it is sweet through this pedal. I think a couple of my other pedals are going on e-bay in a couple of more weeks if I don't use them. This one takes the cake.

Note - my previous post of August 11 - five days previous:

Occasionally, one runs across something that lives up to its maker's hype. This is one of those things. Of course the hype here is over the top, and quite honestly I'm not sure how much better than some other units I have tried this really is, but in my opinion this IS the best guitar pedal available now for the kind of sound I like.

Here is a link to clip of me fooling around with this pedal. Part of it actually is musical and includes a chunk of a song, but mostly its a tone demo.



Expect to hear it in the mix of some of my upcoming tunes.

Am I plugging this guy's pedal? Well I suppose. I like to see good things get the attention they deserve. Also, if you check it out this might in fact be something that enhances my credibility as a person who is has knowledge about getting good guitar tone. And, we will see over time about getting rid of the other pedals. If I end up not using them for quite a while, that's exactly what I might end up doing.

A couple of other overdrive pedals I use include the Fulltone OCD, Barber Burn Unit and the Xotic AC Booster. I think the Zach pedal can replace the Fulltone and Barber, but the AC Booster is kind of in a class by itself for the sound it makes. The Fulltone, in some ways I prefer to the Zachary pedal because it produces a good grind that you can hide in a bit more easily than the Zachary pedal. The Zachary pedal is more transparent and up front, and brings forth both your excellence and flaws. It has a wider freqency footprint, and for some kinds of music, the OCD might be easier to deal EQ wise with in the mix.

To be fair about how good this pedal is, I don't think I would have bothered with the Barber or OCD if I had the Zachary first.