Category: Newswire

Ernie Ball and Schecter Guitar Research today announced an OEM partnership in which Schecter instruments shipped worldwide will feature custom gauge Ernie Ball strings.

"We are extremely excited to announce our partnership with Schecter," said Brian Ball of Ernie Ball. "With Schecter, both companies share a quality first focus, and are proactive in artist and event marketing initiatives."

Ernie Ball strives to create working relationships with the world’s finest instrument makers, often creating new products based on their specific needs. In 2010, Ernie Ball Inc. began manufacturing super-long scale strings based on the popularity of new Schecter products. Not only will new Schecter instruments come ready to play with quality strings, but the resulting partnership between the two brands will also continue to give consumers more choices at retail outlets that carry Ernie Ball products. Learn more at ernieball.com.

The 18th annual Wolf’s Mardi Gras Ball kicks off March 5 at T.T. The Bear’s Place in Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event is a benefit for the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, which provides medical care to musicians. Shaun Wolf Wortis leads the Vudu Krewe All-Star Mardi Gras Band with guest singers Barrence Whitfield, Bleu, Nate Rogers, Andrea Gillis, a duet with Rick Berlin and Emily Eastridge, and a performance by veteran Boston rockers Charlie Farren and Jon Butcher. The Boston Babydolls round out the bill with burlesque.

Campbell American Guitars has donated a UK-1 guitar to be will raffled the night of the show. All proceeds benefit the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. The instrument will be on display at Mr. Music (music store) in Allston. Raffle tickets can be purchased at Mr. Music or T.T.’s the night of the show.

Learn more at http://mardigrasballs.com.

Def Leppard will return to the U.S. with a summer tour kicking off on June 15 in Florida. Joining the band will be Seattle rock legends Heart. Leppard’s career includes numerous hit singles and multi-platinum albums including two of the best-selling albums of all time, <em>Pyromania</em> and <em>Hysteria</em>. The anthemic rock megastars have earned their stripes as one of the most enduring and successful touring acts in history. Heart showed the world that women can rock when they stormed the charts with hits like "Crazy on You," "Magic Man," "Barracuda," "Alone" and many more, a stream of hits showcasing the sisters’ enormous talents as both musicians and singers, selling more than 30 million records. See a full list of dates at defleppard.com.

Terry Clements, longtime guitarist for Gordon Lightfoot, passed away February 20 after suffering a stroke. On his website, Lightfoot called Clements "…an integral part of the signature Lightfoot sound. His seamless and inventive playing added a unique imprint onto every song he played – on record or on the stage."

In honor of George Harrison’s birth date (February 25), the memorable tribute concert in his honor, <em>Concert For George</em>, will be streamed for free on GeorgeHarrison.com for 24 hours beginning at 8 a.m. London time (GMT).

Originally released in high-definition, <em>Concert For George</em> will be released for the first time ever on Blu-ray and via digital download on March 22. The 2-disc Blu-ray set will include the complete concert on the first disc, with a second disc containing the original theatrical version featuring concert highlights, interviews with the performers, rehearsals, and behind-the-scenes footage. The second disc will also include a previously unreleased interview segment featuring Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner and Ray Cooper entitled "Drummers."

<em>Concert For George</em> has been certified 8 times platinum by the RIAA since its initial release as a 2-DVD set in 2003 and earned a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video.

On November 29, 2002, one year after the passing of Harrison, Olivia Harrison and longtime friend Eric Clapton organized a performance tribute in his honor. Held at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the momentous evening featured George’s songs, and music he loved, performed by a lineup that included Clapton, Jools Holland, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Monty Python, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Ringo Starr, Dhani Harrison and many more.

For more, visit GeorgeHarrison.com.

Mosaic artist Ed Chapman has created a Jimi Hendrix mosaic out of guitar plectrums, to be auctioned tonight at Cancer Research UK’s Sound &amp; Vision event at the iconic Abbey Road Studios.

The image is created from more than 5,000 Fender picks. Funds raised from the auction will go to Cancer Research U.K.

"I’m delighted to be supporting Cancer Research UK at this year’s Sound &amp; Vision event," said Chapman said. "The John Lennon piece I created for 2009’s event raised &amp;pound;6,000 for the charity, and I hope the Jimi mosaic can do the same this year. "

Chapman began creating mosaic works in the ’90s, fascinated with bringing a contemporary twist to an ancient medium. His work has a number of high-profile collectors including world-renowned musicians, sports stars, and TV personalities and has received substantial national and international press coverage.

Sound &amp; Vision is being headlined by Tom Jones, The Feeling and Eve Selis and is hosted by patron BBC Radio 2’s DJ ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris and Nicky Campbell with Al Murray as MC and auctioneer.

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading charity dedicated to research into beating cancer. It receives no government funding, so events like Sound &amp; Vision are essential in helping to fund its life saving work. Learn more at cancerresearchuk.org.

Griffin Technology has partnered with Rick Nielsen, guitarist and songwriter for Cheap Trick to create the a signature case for iPhone 4 and iPad.

"I’m actually a Griffin customer, not some knucklehead looking for freebies…well, I am a knucklehead, but that’s beside the point," laughs Rick Nielsen. "This case is a fantastic design that finally lets me match my gadgets to my guitars."

The case bears the iconic likeness of its namesake as part of its black-and-white checkerboard on a one-piece, impact-resistant frame. The inside of each has Nielsen’s self-portrait/signature. The case ships with two guitar picks that wear Nielsen’s signature on one side and a Griffin logo on the other.

Learn more at griffintechnology.com.

ToneCandy Effects’ new Skull Overdrive and Distortion pedal uses a toggle switch to select between overdrive mode and a saturated, highly overdriven Maximum Boost tone. The company says it sounds the same at gig volume as it does in a small room at low volume without losing any bottom. This pedal is made in the U.S. Read more about it at tonecandy.com.

The first two parts of a four-part documentary titled <em>Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World</em> is being shown at crybabydoc.com.

The film tells the story of the wah pedal, from its invention in 1966 to the present day. In the first part, released last week, we saw the likes of wah inventor Brad Plunkett and megastar guitarists like Slash and Eddie Van Halen discussing the Cry Baby’s history and its beginnings at the hands of players like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Parts three will be posted February 28 and the entire film will be posted March 7. Each segment is approximately 15 minutes in length

DVK Technologies is shipping the first four models in series of dual-function stompboxes.

Combinations include fuzz and vibe, overdrive and vibe, and compression and clean boost. The pedals have compact enclosures with custom graphics and are based on vintage circuit designs. Models include:

Hairball: Combo 808-style overdrive and selectable full-range/treble booster.

The Mrs.: A legendary compressor circuit paired with a boost. Compressor has a Norm/Bright switch and the boost features selectable Normal/Fat.

GoldTop: "Big M"-style fuzz combined with vintage Vibe controllable from the front panel or via expression pedal. Features toggle switch for reversing the order of the effects.

SilverTop: TS-type overdrive paired with rate-controllable vintage Vibe. Includes toggle switch for reversing the order of the effects.

You can see more on them at dvktech.com.