Zakk Wylde Gear Guide

ADHD's Gear Guides at any Budget. I'm a firm believer that the tone comes from the hands. If your trying to achieve a certain guitar hero's tone it's not enough to have the chops but you've got to get down their style of attack with your picking hand as well. That said every step you take toward finding the right gear is often very inspiring and WILL get you closer to “that” sound. I'm going to break these down into Guitars, Pickups, Pedals and Amps.

Zakk Wylde Gear Guide

Zakk Wylde is one of the biggest guitar heroes in the world. His Les Paul through a Marshall on steroids approach takes the classic rock-n-roll formula and turns it up to 10. He has always kept a Keep It Simple Stupid attitude to gear every since his early days in the late 80's with Ozzy. A Les Paul, loaded with EMG's, and a handful of pedals into a Marshall JCM800 is the backbone of his sound. Zakk is famous for shredding pentatonics and pitch harmonics, but he is more than capable of playing everything from bluegrass to piano ballads to Al Di Meola style fusion.

Guitars – Zakk Wylde has a lot of different guitars, Gibson Flying V's and ZV's, Dean Razorbacks, and a few others. But he is most known for wielding the Bulleye Les Paul. According to legend it was originally cream but he didn't want people to think he was trying to be another Randy Rhoads so he asked someone to paint it with a vertigo spiral. When it came back it had a bulleye on it and it was time for his first photo shoot with Ozzy. Zakk just rolled with it joking that the bullseye would give the haters in the audience something to aim for.

NOTE: Zakk Wylde has started Wylde Audio and the Gibson/Epiphone models are discontinued.

Wylde Audio Odin Grail- While Wylde Audio has a plethora of offerings the Odin Grail has that famous Bullseye that the man made legendary. Some people don't like the tweaked shape on this guitar but if it doesn't throw you then rock on.   

Gibson Zakk Wylde Les Paul- There have been different versions that Zakk has played over the years but this is the guitar everyone associates with him. It's a Les Paul custom with a maple cap and neck, ebony fretboard, and EMG pickups. And of course the Bulleye graphic.

Epiphone Zakk Wylde LesPaul- The import version of Zakk's iconic “Grail” is a great deal. It's better built than the typical Epi Paul, and already loaded with EMG's. If your shopping used there are some great deals but makes sure the EMG's are the 81-85 set as the HZ set won't get you the same sound.

PRS SE Tremonti- At first it might seem odd to include this model in the budget offerings but the PRS SE line has some of the best built budget models in the business. Couple that with already hot humbuckers and a similar control layout, if your looking for something other than the “bullseye” you can't go wrong with these.

Pickups- EMG's have a unique, modern sound and if you want that Zakk Wylde tone the EMG 81-85 set there isn't much else to choose from. But don't think they are just for metal, a lot of country guys use them and even tone guru David Gilmour was a fan for many years. EMG's use a preamp that acts as a buffer to drive your guitar signal down long cables. I always have at least one guitar with EMG's in it for a smooth modern metal sound.

EMG Zakk Wylde Set- If your loading a Les Paul with EMG's this is the set your going to need. It comes with replacement parts for all the electronics and quick connects for everything. You can drop this in almost any dual humbucker mahogany bodied guitar and get the Zakk sound.

Seymour Duncan Blackouts- Not exactly the same sound as the EMG's SD's Blackouts have been a big hit with the metal community. They have a more open sound and wider frequency response but the preamp is very much the same. If EMG's weren't exactly what you were looking for but you still want that modern sound try these.

Pedals- Zakk Wylde's choice of pedals hasn't changed that much over the years. In the early days it was Wah, Vibe, Drive, Chorus. Recently he's toyed with a few other pedals but it's still basically the same.

Dunlop Zakk Wylde Crybaby- This pedal has become a favorite of players everywhere, based on the Hendrix wah, it has a thick sound that cuts through the live mix and no extra knobs to distract from your playing.

Dunlop Hendrix Crybaby- A favorite wah of many players the Hendrix Crybaby is what Zakk used for years before his signature wah pedal. A great choice for players wanting to accent their leads.

MXRZW44 Berzerker Overdrive- an overdrive with less of a mid hump than a tube screamer. Zakk uses this to push his JCM800's from crunchy into screaming distortion.

Boss SD1 Overdrive- Before the ZW44 this was the main stay on Zakk's board, they are cheap and work great to cut through the mix.

Dunlop Rotovibe- Not exactly a UniVibe or a Phaser but a useful replacement for both on a cramped pedalboard. Sounds get thick and swirly when engaged. Vibe purist won't like it but it's an underrated pedal IMO.

MXRZW90 Wylde Phase- I talked about what surprising fun this pedal is in my review. Zakk has been using the EVH Phase 90 in the modern setting but his signature pedal is the same thing without the toggle switch. I use it for Phaser and Vibe-ish sounds and it can be bought for cheap when they go on sale. This is my “make it sound cool” pedal.

MXRZW38 Black Label Chorus- Zakk uses Chorus to thicken up sounds almost like a doubler. Give it a lot of width but keep the speed down. It also adds a sparkle to the sound making Zakk's signature pitch harmonics easier.

Boss CH1 Super Chorus- As with some of his other pedals this is what Zakk used before MXR started putting his name on everything. It's a favorite of a lot of players. 

SuhrRiot- If you'd rather play though a clean low watt amp like a Fender Hotrod this pedal sounds very similar to an over driven JCM800. It's my personal favorite 800 in a box pedal.

In the last few years Zakk has also been experimenting with the MXR EVH Flanger and MXR Carbon Copy as well as the Boss Octave pedal.

Amps- Despite a few early adds with a different manufacturer Zakk has always used Marshall JCM800's. But a word of caution, these amps have to be cranked and according to long time BLS guitarist Nick Catanese  “most people sound like ACDC when they play though them, you have to really hit the strings hard”. They also tend to sound different from each other so don't judge them all by one experience.

Marshall JCM800 Reissue- With guys like Kerry King and Zakk Wylde playing 800's the demand for these forced Marshall to reissue the popular amp. Couple it with your favorite overdrive pedal and this is the sound of 80's shred.

Marshall DLS Reissue-This reissue is a great mid priced amp, that sounds great at lower volumes and has a bit more gain than the JCM800. It's a great amp, don't over look it. 

The JCM800 tone on a budget is difficult, The Suhr Riot and other Marshall in a box pedals are close. Another option is amp modelers, which seem to be getting better every couple of years. Still there is nothing quite the same as the feeling of standing in front of a great sounding JCM800 half stack.

Obviously there are a lot of alternatives out there but these are a great place to start your tone search. 

The Joyo JF-02 Ultimate Drive and the Great Clone Wars

Clones are not exactly a new thing in our industry. Almost every guitar manufacturer makes a strat copy. Supposedly Marshall was copying Fender's Baseman when he started building amps. And while some people have plenty of money to burn most of us don't mind saving a few bucks on something that delivers the same sound. Enter Joyo, Mooer, and a host of other pedal builders that copy, without hesitation, some of the more popular pedal designs. You have to decide for yourself if you would rather support original designs or the cheap knock offs and whether it is ethical or not but here is my review of the Joyo Ultimate Drive.

 Lets start with the look. It's ugly. It has some sort of devilish tribal tattoo looking graphic on a matte black finish that I'm sure appeals to a certain demographic. The controls are a Gain, Tone, Level and a high and low switch and of course a true bypass stomp switch. For the most part that's pretty self explanatory, the high/low switch changes the mid frequency that that is emphasized. There is a lot of gain on tap and it sounds more saturated than a lot of pedals, more like power amp distortion than preamp distortion in my opinion. There is also a lot of volume boost available in the Level knob, so if you want to use it to push the front of your amp or another pedal it's great for that. The Tone knob is a bit different than other pedals as well. It rolls of the high end but not the low. If you like a nice tight bottom end this may not work for you. And this brings us to the overall tone of the pedal. It's fairly transparent and reactive to the sounds your using. As I mentioned above it works great as a booster. It sounds beautiful in low gain big loose bottom end type sound. And it's very reactive to your pickups and volume knob. I love running a fuzz into it too, together they make a very powerful combination. Some people feel like they sound great in any combination, but when I hooked up to a friend of mines amps it sounded thin and kind of anemic. This goes to show it really doesn't work for everyone and while I like the pedal, it doesn't stay on my board.

 This brings me to something I hinted at at the beginning of the review. With very little digging around on the internet you'll find that this pedal is confirmed to be a copy of the Fulltone OCD which is hailed by many people as the best Overdrive out there. There is a video on YouTube where a guys compares the OCD to a Suhr Riot. In his demo the OCD and Riot sound very similar. They are NOT. The Riot has a tighter type of distortion and a very tight bottom end. The OCD is much looser and spongier sounding to my ears. Both work great for different sounds. After reading a lot of reviews and being a fan of Overdrives I was planning on buying a Fulltone OCD but now I'm glad I didn't. I decided that I would buy the Joyo. I figured as cheap as it was it would probably break at some point and if I liked it I could buy the Fulltone which are better built. I like the pedal but I as I stated earlier it doesn't stay on my board and I probably wouldn't replace it.

 When I do use it, I like using it in the low gain range, and using the level to boost the sound of my amp. The low setting seems a bit smoother to me but it really depends on which guitar and pickups I'm using. As I said earlier I also like using it with a Fuzz running into it, it's kind of tricky but if you get it set up right it sound very alive. If you get the chance to try one of these or and OCD and you like it, my personal thought is you should get the OCD. If you like overdrives and haven't gotten the chance to try one of these the price on the Joyo pedals make them disposable. You can get three or four different Joyo pedals for the price of the one OCD try them out and not feel bad for having something expensive sitting there for occasional use. Of course the flip side is you really can't sell the Joyo for anything on ebay where the OCD will bring almost as much money as you paid for it. So is it the Ultimate Drive or a cheap knockoff? At this price it's easy for you to decide.
This review was completely unsolicited, I received no compensation for it and all views and opinions are my own.

The Marshall ShredMaster review

Back in January I stumbled across a killer find at a Flea Market. An original Marshall ShredMaster. I talked about the great deal I got here. This legendary pedal is pretty amazing but it wasn't exactly what I expected. For being called a ShredMaster this thing doesn't have a ton of gain on tap. I don't use a ton of gain when I play so this being on the low end of the high gain spectrum is fine with me. Back when JCM800's came out they were considered very high gain but compared to today's high gain monsters like Diezel, Engl or even the new 5150 III (which is fantastic IMO) it sounds pretty classic rock. But if you crank it up and hit it with a boost like a Tube Screamer or similar and it sings all day long.  The ShredMaster is the same way. Some of the more famous users of this pedal are Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead, and Kevin Sheilds from My Bloody Valentine.

My original Marshall ShredMaster!

The pedal is in remarkable shape for something that is over twenty years old and get's stepped on. When I first got the pedal the pots were a little scratchy. I checked with my tech guru that I use and he told me to order some DeoxIT, which cleans, protects and lubricates without using any overly harsh solvents that could hurt the circuit. Once that was taken care of I spent some time checking out all of the classic sounds in this pedal. You can nail easily JCM 800 sounds as well as hot rodded Plexi sounds with this thing. Early Van Halen? check, Zakk Wylde sounds? easy, ACDC? all day long! Honestly it's probably the original Marshall in a box. Compared to a Suhr Riot there is no where near as much gain but tone wise it's in the same family. One thing I'm not crazy about is the lack of volume in it. I keep the volume knob around two o'clock for unity. That's not a lot of front end boost. In fact I keep almost all of the knobs past twelve o'clock almost all of the time. But that's really not a deal breaker. My favorite feature is the contour knob. You can get great scoop sounds, which make it sound really heavy, or bring the mids back up for a ton of presence. I really don't know if it uses a buffer or not but the sound is very full, there doesn't seem to be any tone sucking going on but I'm pretty sure it's not true bypass so if that's important to you you may may want to skip this one.

 If your thinking you'd like to try a ShredMaster they seem to always have a couple over on Ebay. I've been checking Ebay for the last few months and have seen these pedals go for anywhere from $140-$200. Another option these days is that there are several pedal makers who are making clones of this pedal. A clone isn't always a direct copy. Often pedal makers change parts of the circuit or values to enhance a pedal if they think they can improve the sound. That's why there are so many Tube Screamer variations that all sound a bit different. If your wanting something in the same family but with more gain the Suhr Riot is pretty amazing. And the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde is a Tube Screamer and ShredMaster in one unit, which seems like a match made in heaven. I haven't tried one yet but I've been impressed with the sound quality and build of their other pedals and the Jekyll & Hyde is one of their best selling products. So that is worth checking out too. I was going to add some clips to this but that will have to wait until a couple of other things come into play. Very exciting stuff happening behind the scenes here, get ready for more.