No, I’m not kidding. This is the splash picture that graces the centre of www.stonetemplepilots.com: In case you’re still hoping it’s a joke, one-off, or a hoax… There’s even a new single out, with Chester out front on lead vocals: Okay… so it actually sounds kinda...

May 19, 2013

I am like a goldfish. I buy guitars that I think will be a cool project, then lose interest and forget about them. 99% of the time they end up getting sold off without any work being done on them. Recently, when I bought an old Model series Charvel, I figured I was probably in the same boat. I had a vague...

May 18, 2013

This afternoon I spent some time at NZ’s home of boutique amps, The Amp Shop, with the intention of spending some time with a very special little amp from boutique makers 65 Amps – the London Pro.  Here’s a short blurb about it: 65amps introduces its new Red Line of amplifiers with the...

Story of the Light Guitar hero and all-round show-off Steve Vai returns to New Zealand for two shows in July. The virtuoso axeman, last here as part of the G3 guitar extravaganza with Joe Satriani and Steve Lukather in March last year, plays Wellington Town Hall on July 18 and Auckland’s ASB...

I’m listening to the new track as I type this. As you all may know, I’m a diehard Richie Kotzen fan, and so the new Winery Dogs supergroup (with Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan) has been something I’ve really been looking forward to… So a few weeks ago we got a video of the first...

May 5, 2013

How is it that no one has ever thought to combine an overdrive and a delay pedal together? Well, Mad Professor from Finland have done just that – and by god, it’s a game changer. As the name implies, the Golden Cello is meant to give you sweet, smooth, violin/cello style lead tones, packed with...

Shocking news this morning. Slayer guitarist and founding member Jeff Hanneman died earlier today of liver failure. He was 49. The band’s longtime publicist issued the following statement today: “Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about...

Jeff Loomis JLV-7 FR Series Features Tuners - Grover ROTOMATICS® WITH 18:1 GEAR RATIO (102-18 SERIES) The original Rotomatic® with an improved higher ratio gearing. The 18:1 ratio provides for finer tuning and greater stability. The finer gears provide smoother tuning and a higher degree of...

Apr 29, 2013

Continuing 6SS Year One Birthday Week coverage, we’re bringing you a bit more coverage of homegrown NZ talent. Read on! Setting Fire To Stacey is an emerging hard rock band, arisen from the rubble of Christchurch City through sheer force of will and stubborn determination. Their brand of driving...

Apr 28, 2013

Hell yeah. It’s our birthday! Hey you know what?! I got an email reminder saying that I had to renew my ownership of the Six-String Samurai domain… because it’s officially been ONE YEAR that we’ve been going!! I’m just totally psyched with the way the site’s been growing,...

Apr 28, 2013

The ID: Series represents the culmination of more than seven years technical research and development by the same team that designed Series One, Artisan and HT Venue. The unique controls allow you to custom design your own sound, store it and then have the confidence that the amp will perform in a live...

Remember the huge buzz we got awhile back about the supergroup featuring Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy? Well, they’ve christened themselves The Winery Dogs, the album is slated for release in Japan in May… and here’s the motherfrakking video for their first single! Watch...