Maurizio SOLIERI on tour with his BLADE signature guitar
Maurizio SOLIERI is one of Italy's premier guitar players, better known for his long collaboration with platinum recording artist Vasco ROSSI, Maurizio has a great recording career with an endless list of studio recordings.
Maurizio has just started his tour through stadiums of the biggest cities in Italy using his all new Blade M.Solieri signature guitar.
The Texas M.Solieri guitar is the result of a new collaboration with Maurizio. We followed Maurizio's aesthetical and tonal ideas and added some of Blade's unique features such as the Adjustable Tension Guide and the EZ-Access truss rod.
The instrument sports a custom aged brass pickguard as well as aged parts. Since the aging process will produce variations on these parts, every instrument will have its unique looks.
A new custom humbucker has been developed to achieve Maurizio's fat & focussed guitar tones.
http://www.mauriziosolieri.com/
John ELLIS releases his new album "Sly Guitar" on Chanoyu Records
John Ellis has been a driving force in the UK music scene now for over forty years. He was a co-founder of the pub rock band Bazooka Joe in 1970 and a founding member of the punk rock band The Vibrators. Ellis formed The Vibrators in 1974 while still at art school studying illustration. The Vibrators released two albums with Ellis and toured extensively. Ellis left the Vibrators in 1978 to form the short-lived group Rapid Eye Movement, before embarking on a solo career in 1979, releasing a couple of singles, one of which, "Babies in Jars" reached #34 on the UK Indie Chart.
In 1980 he toured with Peter Gabriel on his "Tour Of China 1984", and he appears on the album Peter Gabriel 4. From 1982 on he recorded a number of albums with Peter Hammill, and toured with Hammill (off and on) from 1981 until 1989. From 1981 until 1984 he was a member of the K Group with Peter Hammill. Hammill was "K" (on vocals, piano and guitar), Nic Potter was "Mozart" (on bass guitar), Guy Evans was "Brain" (on drums), and Ellis was "Fury" (on backing vocals and guitar).
Between late 1990 and 2000, Ellis was a member of the punk rock band The Stranglers, starting with the album Stranglers In the Night.[1] During that period he also created music for European Art exhibitions and several short films.
His newest album, SLY GUITAR, is an album of guitar instrumentals. Ellis refers to it as “Modern Guitar Music” but in the sleeve notes of the Digipak, he references his early influences such as The Shadows, The Spotnicks and other masters of “twang”.
The CD consists mostly of studio constructions, but 3 tracks showcase his live looping performances that he describes as “Multi-tasking to the max”. The album was recorded entirely with John’s R3 Classic, which he purchased in 1988 as the first Blade owner in the UK.
John, we salute your four decades of ground-breaking musical creativity.
http://www.chanoyurecords.com/
Yolanda CHARLES at the London Bass Guitar Show 2013
Yolanda Charles performed at the London Bass Guitar Show with her Blade B25 bass. The show promotes the art of playing bass to the general public, and gives the UK bass players an opportunity to observe first-hand the latest products and gear, watch the world’s top players in action and attend master-classes and clinics.
M.V. PRO AUDIO, NEW BLADE DISTRIBUTOR FOR THE USA
We are excited to announce that BLADE Guitars will be available in the USA as of September 1st via our new distributor, MV Pro Audio.
For dealer inquieries or more information, please contact MV Pro Audio here:
MV Pro Audio LLC,
1630 Williams Hwy #213
Grants Pass, OR 97527
www.mvproaudio.com
info(at)mvproaudio.com
877-784-7383 (toll free)
805-267-4115 (fax)
BRENT JOHNSON endorses the BLADE® Dayton
Brent Johnson was born in Texas into a house filled with music and began playing the guitar at the age of four. His father constantly exposed him to different styles of music, artists like Elvis Presley, Freddie King, Johnny Cash, Stevie Ray Vaughn, T-Bone Walker and countless others were always present.
Shortly before he started high school, his family moved to New Orleans and Brent began trying to soak up the sounds of the crescent city while gigging at clubs and festivals throughout south Louisiana. In 2002, Brent was introduced to Bryan Lee through a mutual friend beginning a long and fruitful musical relationship. Bryan Lee is an institution in the NOLA blues scene.
Thanks to his time with Bryan, Brent has had the pleasure of playing with Blues legends like Buddy Guy and Lonnie Brooks as well as some of the best known names in contemporary blues.
Brent is playing the BLADE Dayton Deluxe customized with 2 Blade LP-92 pickups.
André ORSEL to back up Paul CARRACK
Looking back...
...(and forward) to many years of collaboration with BLADE Artist André ORSEL and his RH-4.
Thank you for sharing some footage of the Living Room Concert of the AllStars with the one and only Paul CARRACK!
For the full livingroom concert, check out this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lV4wAtsrF_4
Tony HALLINAN to endorse the BLADE Titan
Tony Hallinan’s melodic, instrumental guitar compositions immediately grab the listener’s attention. Tony is a gifted composer with an ear for a catchy melody which perfectly compliments the fire in his solos and improvised material. Elements of Tony’s style are reminiscent of Joe Satriani,Steve Vai, Gary Moore, Brian May, Eddie Van Halen, Paul Gilbert and Jeff Beck.Tony began playing at the age of six and by the age of fourteen, had achieved grade eight in classical guitar, by which time he had begun to perform professionally as a session guitarist. To subsidize his emerging career, Tony taught guitar and experimented with jazz, blues and rock, quickly learning note for note solos as material for his students, many of which went on to work professionally.Tony has worked on many commercial sessions as well as numerous elements for network television.
Tony’s more recent credits include over forty episodes of music for "FRIENDS", the top American Sitcom”THE RICKI LAKE SHOW”, the feature films "THE BOONDOCK SAINTS", WHOOPI GOLDBERG's "GHOSTS OF THE PAST”,"SPIDERMAN”," and many othersIn addition, Tony’s music is used frequently in sports and motoring television shows(“Top Gear” Usa and uk) To-date Tony has released eight albums of scorching Guitar compositions and has recently finished working on a new albums of guitar compositions for imminent release. Examples of his work and collaborations with other artists can be found one on this site: www.tonyhallinan.com
New BLADE® X-Fire Series
The roots of the BLADE® X-Fire Series are firmly anchored in the Heavy 80’s. They are built for warped metal sonic power with ear-splitting ferocity and gut punching impact. Blade’s proprietary VSC (Variable Spectrum Control) opens an unprecedented level of tonal variety in this genre of guitars. The offset double cutaway body sits right where you want it to for great access to all playing positions. The neck is slightly wider than our other necks with plenty of room for massive bends and tapping. It has a thicker profile for a powerful feel in your hand and a thicker, fuller tone. Massive frets further enhance the playability. A tapered heel and Blade’s Full Contact neck joint give exceptional access to the upper registers. The hard body edges and distinctive headstock accent the no-nonsense personality of this great line of instruments. It’s time to get caught with an X-Fire.
BLADE® X-Fire (XF-120) – a foundation in solid rock. The North American maple neck and alder body lay the groundwork for this screaming demon. An East Indian rosewood fingerboard in outfitted with custom off-center X-Fire inlays and the medium width C-profile neck feels solid and comfortable. Both the fingerboard and headstock are bound in white for further distinction. The humbuckers are calibrated for even response and tonal balance, while enhancing the harmonics. A Blade VSC-3 ensures total tonal elasticity. The XF-120 is also available outfitted with EMG’s (81/85 combination). Thru-body stringing adds sustain and articulation of individual notes. The TOM bridge is finished in elegant Black Nickel as the rest of the hardware. The BLADE® X-Fire - lean, mean and meant to be seen.
The BLADE® X-Fire Titan (XF-230) is built on the same material chassis as the XF-120 but features chamfered horns for an elegant and exclusive optical impression. The two humbuckers are Alnico 2 based and calibrated and balanced with the hot vintage style single coil for optimal tonal balance. The VSC-3 brings further tonal enrichment. The ebony fingerboard exhibits the X-Fire custom offset inlay pattern. Both the fingerboard and headstock are bound in white for further distinction. A Floyd Rose license tremolo is sunk into the body for augmented playing comfort and accuracy. All hardware is Black Nickel. The BLADE® X-Fire Titan is truly a guitar of titanic scope.
ANDY JONES ON TOUR WITH VAN MORRISON
Long time friend and Blade endorser Andy JONES is currently on world tour with VAN MORRISSON. Andy has been working in the London scene as a session guitarist for years.
His credits include QUEEN (Brian May & Roger Taylor), Patti Austin, Hamish Stuart, the BBC Radio Big Band,. Also an important part of his early work is the west-end shows which Andy has been playing for years on a daily base. Andy is using his BLADE Custom Shop BCS’62 on tour as well as his BLADE TEXAS Vintage. The picture was taken during soundcheck at the London Royal Albert Hall.
Steve POSTELL plays a BLADE Delta Classic
MELA rocks all over Finland with his BLADE
Jukka Melametsä aka "MELA" is the man behind the guitars in Finland's rock band Pelle Miljoona United.
Back in 1977, Pelle Miljoona released his first album and has been a household name ever since. Miljoona's album "Moottoritje On Kuma" has received many awards and has been voted "best finnish album ever".
MELA plays his BLADE Player PDE-1 and is doing more than 100 shows per year. "I like the neck. It's easy to play even longer shows. Everything works great. Biggest surprise for me was the pickups. Great picks! I can get anything from brutal guitar wall to clean reggae sounds out from your fantastic guitars. Good work!"
Keep going MELA!
The Durango Line Expanded – Enter the Durango Deluxe 3 & 4
The Durango line was launched in 1994 and it just keeps getting better. This year the Durango Deluxe 3 & 4 join the family with a new look and feel. The body is 3 mm deeper and 30 mm longer giving the instrument both optically and physically better balance. The beefier body fattens up the tone with rich midrange harmonics. The new body rout brings increases playing comfort brings the instrument closer to you, the musician. The headstock has been redesigned to complement the larger body.
Durango Deluxe 3 – The Meanest Durango of All Time
All you have to do is look at it. This is one mean machine. Strap one on and it already feels aggressive. Plug it in and you know you’re in for a hell of a ride. The Durango 3 is perfectly balanced and completely comfortable so you can concentrate on thrashing out your licks. The newly designed LHN-5 humbuckers deliver warm mids and sweet treble, rich on overtones to complement the fatter carved top mahogany body. The matt silver nickel pickup covers accent the new colors –stealth black, tungsten burst and storm gold.
Durango Deluxe 4 – Beauty and the Beast
Who said “you can’t have everything?” Great balance, delicate contours, fat tone, a fast neck and looks to kill for. The new LHN-5 humbuckers with Alnico 4 magnets love to sing with exceptional sustain enhanced by Blade’s TOB-16 bridge. The VSC-3 delivers the total tonal flexibility the Blade is famous for. The maple capped mahogany body is available in Antique Honey Burst, Antique Tobacco Burst and Black Cherry Burst.
ANDRE ORSEL to release new album with his band ELIXXIR
eliXXir started out as a band playing covers from famous fusion bands, like the Yellowjackets, Weather report, Scott Henderson etc. After many changes in the occupation of the band, the remaining musicians formed a strong core for eliXXir and so André started writing his own material. This turned out to be a long and bumpy road, in which André constantly had to change perspective of the band and his music.
But it was because of this journey that eliXXir got his own unique sound. This long road finally resulted
in their first album called another view, which is being distributed throughout several countries right
now. In this album you can clearly hear the different time periods this band went through. The result is
a great sounding band, with a great album and superb musicians.
André plays his BLADE RH-4 guitars but has recently aquired one of the new X-Fire TITAN models which cover a lot of new tonal ground.
For more information, check their webiste: http://www.elixxir.nl/