Vin Man @ Kramer

This pretty much ends Vinnie Moore's relationship with Dean. We wait with bated breath as to the coming Kramer enticements.

Pic: VM @ FB

Dean: Vinman 2012

Here's a new Vinnie Moore Dean model for 2012. What's the difference, you ask? Not much deviation from the USA model but this one has an FR Special bridge so it's not gonna dent your piggy too much.

Wish it was back: Heartfield Talon

Fender did a take on the super-strat theme which was an excellent effort. There wasn't any 'Fender' decal on the headstock because the HM Strat, which was the prior effort to this guitar, saw a comprehensive death- when one deals with 'Fender' shred appointments are put offs rather than attraction. The Heartfield Talon guitars were allegedly a tweaked Ibanez to many fans.

The Talon's high profile ambassador was Vinnie Moore who used the guitar in his Meltdown album. But despite this backing, the Talons couldn't get a hold (no pun intended) on the shred guitars market & were discontinued in the mid-1990s. Hopes of resurrecting this guitar is rather remote now that Fender has taken ownership of Jackson guitars so all shred manifestations by the aforementioned manufacturer has a current avenue.

But I wish this guitar was back.

Meltdown

I'm digging into my collection & re-listening to some of the stuff which weren't in the limelight during their time. Vinnie Moore's Meltdown was deemed as a yawn when it was released (Guitar World gave it a 2.5 out of a maximum of 4 stars) but I consider it to be different. We hear more of Moore (no pun intended) playing some very controlled phrasing but some of the passages in there were lightning fast just that they weren't staple with the release. It was also the year Vinnie Moore stepped out of the Ibanez camp. My cousin stopped listening to him simply because of that... *duh* It was also a 'wrong' release in its time- the '90s was all about grunge & anti-technicalities, maybe that explained why the guitars here sounded restrained.

But it's one of the most enjoyable offerings by the Vin man. OK, at least in my books...

Vinnie Moore: To the Core

Shred overlord, Vinnie Moore, is back with a new set of tunes & a fresh guitar deal. To the Core is a timely reminder of why Mr. Moore remains to be one of the forerunners of all things very fast & melodic; the precision manifested here is also very scary, to say the least. We often get too nauseated by accelerated guitar playing because they demonstrate technicalities at the exclusion of memorable melodies- that's not what music is all about. To the Core contains some of the most memorable rhythm generated by this instrument & the tasteful mix of programming while keeping things guitar inclined.

On that note, the guitars here sound very pleasant but let's be mindful that good tones include amps & every implementation in between.

Level settings for dummies

Here's a sure way to remember you pedal settings; it's the Vinnie Moore way (that's his pedal board you see above)- just apply duct tape on the pedals in use, mark it down with a marker. Done. This way, your indicated settings are your default settings, you can tweak all you want without forgetting your initial settings.

Vinnie Moore: Shred Head

In recognition of Vinnie Moore's institution in shred guitar, Dean introduces Vinnie's own signature pickup affectionately named as the Shred Head humbucker. Of course, he has DiMarzios as his other pickups in the same guitar.

That headstock...

This 2008, Dean officially releases the Vinnie Moore (formerly with Ernie Ball) signature guitar shown here (top). The guitar looks the works but that headstock outline looks too familiar- just take a look at the BC Rich Gunslinger model below it...