NEW CARL VERHEYEN SIGNATURE GUITAR AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!

 

LsL Instruments “CV Studio”

“Carl told us that he loves his signature LsL Guitar with the true single coil pickups that evoke the tones that define rock ‘n roll. But sometimes he plays in venues with old or sub-par wiring, or he’ll play with a symphonic orchestra, for example, and he can’t tolerate even the slightest bit of 60-cycle hum. Working directly with Carl and LsL’s Lance Lerman, Seymour Duncan VP Engineering’s Kevin Beller came up with a unique version of our patented Stack Plus hum-canceling pickup custom-voiced for Carl and impervious to 60-cycle hum. The result is quite extraordinary.” –Seymour W. Duncan

• Bodies made from the lightest Alder we can find.

• Contains a specially-designed, custom-voiced version of Seymour Duncan Stack Plus hum-canceling pickups.

• Slightly hotter bridge pickup.

• Dark rosewood 9.5″ radius fingerboard with LsL’s “Lowered Apex” fingerboard edges. The “Lowered Apex” creates a rounded transition from the neck to the fingerboard that begins behind the fingerboard and creates a soft, worn-in feel that melts in your hand.

• Hand-shaped neck that is based on Carl’s ’61 which has a medium “C” shape that is about .88″ thick at the 3rd fret.

• Hand-cut bone nut.

• Lower torque Bournes pots for fast, easy controls.

• Gotoh, vintage style, bridge with steel block and 2-3/16” string spacing.

• 60′s style string tree.

• LsL’s thin, NC, checked lacquer finish with very light aging.

• Available in CV Blue (metallic), Vintage White and 3-Tone Sunburst.

• LsL, aged 3-ply pick guard with aged knobs and pickup covers.

• Medium high, 6105 nickel-silver frets.

• Tone circuit using oil-filled capacitor.

• Like our LsL Saticoy’s, the middle tone knob controls tone on the neck and middle pickups while the lower tone controls the bridge pickup alone.

• The “CV Studio” is strung with Dean Markley’s Carl Verheyen “Balanced Bridge” HelixTM string set: .009, .012, .016, .026, .037, .046.

• The “CV Studio” is set up and shipped with the Carl Verheyen “floating bridge” setup. This is Carl’s iconic setup that allows you to use the trem bar to not only lower the pitch of the strings but raise them too. This setup allows the pitch of the high E string to be raised a half step. The B string will raise in pitch by a whole step and the G string will raise a minor 3rd.

• Backplates feature Carl’s engraved signature.

• Like all LsL’s, each guitar is named with a unique female name.

• Each finished “CV Studio” weighs in at less than 7.5 lbs.

• A G&G hard-shell case is included.

• Made in USA.

DRUMMERS

I just finished an article for the June issue of Guitar Player magazine about drummers. Since I am limited to around 600 words I felt the need to expound on the subject a bit more and relate it to a recent personal experience. As some of you may know, I’m currently working on a new CD for release later this year, Mustang Run. Instead of using a rhythm section (i.e. the CVB) for all 10 tracks, I decided to use a different rhythm section for every two songs.

This has proven to be a very enjoyable and musical decision because each drummer and bass player combination has brought out different musical sides of my own playing and the choices were specific to the songs. For a loose, 6/8 jazzy piece I used Chad Wackerman and Jimmy Johnson. Their playing on Allan Holdsworth’s CDs comes to mind and inspired a very open feel during the solos. They also played on an acoustic ballad of mine that goes electric, and since the two of them have been James Taylor’s rhythm section for most of last year it turned out to be very appropriate.

Gregg Bissonette and Dave Marotta played on two more songs, and Gregg’s high energy shuffle against Dave’s solid foundation seem to jump out of the speakers. Gregg has a shuffle like nobody else. It’s relentless whether it’s just warming up or full tilt boogie! Bernie Dresel on drums and Stu Hamm on bass is another powerful combination I used and their tracks are stellar. Bernie played on the Rumor Mill and Take One Step albums we did a while back and during subsequent CVB tours we attained a telepathic on-stage communication that exists in these new recordings, too. Stu, Bernie and I did a live show recently where we jammed in many styles, so I knew I HAD to capture that magic somewhere on the new record.

Walfredo Reyes, Jr. and Dave Marotta have been CVB members for the last five years, and since Trading 8s was released we’ve logged many hours on stage (and in the tour bus). There is a magic that happens in that rhythm section too, that is undeniably infectious. Nobody plays like Wally; his spirit comes though in every bar. If you listen to track one (“Highway 27”) on Trading 8s that we recorded with Joe Bonamassa, you hear a unique approach to the chorus that I guarantee nobody else would have thought of!

The last rhythm section I used was two guys that had never even met, but that I knew would compliment each other perfectly. Cliff Hugo, my partner in Supertramp and the bass player in the CVB for 10 years, was rock solid with Simon Phillips on drums. I’d seen Simon play with The Who a few years back and knew that his intense, groovular propulsion would drive the rocking, fusion-style tune I had recently written.

The entire project has been fun, inspiring and eye-opening. I learned a lot about my own playing and how it swings and locks in with the heartbeat and groove of all these great players. I’m lucky to be able to play with some of the finest drummers and bassists on the planet. Next time I’ll talk about the soloists and keyboard players….but that’s another story!

©2013 Carl Verheyen. All Rights Reserved.

CARL VERHEYEN BAND SURVEY

Hi everyone, I really need your help! In an effort to do more touring I need to learn more about YOU.

Please help me out by taking this 30 second survey before Friday, March 1:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/V5598G8

Hopefully, your responses will help me bring the band out on the road more effectively and often.

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

Sincerely,
Carl

EAR TRAINING

One of the cool things about the ability to download music from sources like iTunes is the instantaneous ability to learn songs you have always wanted to know. I listen to lots of radio while driving and invariably I’ll hear a song on my way home from a session. Something I haven’t heard in a long time like “Lies” by The Knickerbockers or “Love Lies Bleeding” by Elton John.

As an ear training exercise I find it invaluable to transcribe the chord changes and make myself a chart. I may play the tune for a couple of days and then file it along with hundreds of others I’ve collected over the years. My choices may come from simple curiosity over decades of hearing a tune on the radio. Or I might find find myself saying, “I’ve always wanted to know how the harmony works in that tune and what makes it so cool.”  It’s all part of my:  If you dig it you must learn it philosophy.

Going one step further, I sometimes transcribe solos using just my ear, no instrument. Many times on the road you’ll find yourself in a hotel room on a rainy afternoon with nothing but a laptop, pencil and paper.  Start with something easy like “Green Onions” by Booker T. & the MG’s and pull it up on YouTube. Then, after you determine it’s in the key of F, try writing out the organ melody by ear. At first it’s a challenge as you attempt to visualize the notes on your guitar fretboard, but after a while the intervals become more obvious and your transcribing chops improve.

When somebody asks me if I transcribed a song the guitar or a keyboard, I tell them, “on the couch!”

©2012 Carl Verheyen. All Rights Reserved.

 

ROAD REPORT: SEPTEMBER 2012

September 22, Zulpich, Germany

There is something very special for us American musicians about playing in Europe. There is a high regard over here for improvising artists. It must have something to do with their long tradition of supporting the arts via the crown and handed down through the years to local and national governments. State supported concert halls and jazz clubs abound in Austria and Germany, and local music festivals are commonplace in Italy. We’ve played concerts in Switzerland that are free to the public, and attract people from France and Germany as well as the locals.

This climate of artistic respect makes us musicians from the USA really feel wanted. The true American art forms like blues and jazz are important to the people here. Music that is not part of their tradition is seen as desirable instead of foreign. And improvising is respected as a high art form. It is not uncommon for me to look out in the audience and see a handful of “traveling fans” each night. These are people that come to three or more shows on a tour and anxiously watch to see what we’ll play differently tonight. They really pay attention to the songs where we stretch out and pride themselves on knowing our set lists from previous shows in other cities…..stuff I’ve long forgotten!
One such set of fans are Manuel and Wolfgang in Germany. They have kept a record of every CVB show they’ve ever seen and it totals over 70 shows in at least eight countries. The Grateful Dead have the Deadheads, what should we call fans of the CVB?

©2012 Carl Verheyen. All Rights Reserved.

PS: You might want to check out some of the FREE thank you song downloads here: http://www.reverbnation.com/carlverheyen

CARL’S SIGNATURE DMS “BALANCED BRIDGE” HELIX™ STRINGS NOW AVAILABLE VIA HIS WEBSITE!

For those of you wondering where to purchase Carl Verheyen’s “Balanced Bridge” string sets for electric guitar the answer is now easy – through his official website Store at http://www.carlverheyen.com ! While you are browsing CDs, DVDs and books you can now pick up strings with the same ease. We are selling them at $7.50 per set, with a two set minimum order. There are no limits on the amount you may purchase.

You will be seeing them for sale on the Dean Markley website soon and also in more stores, but we have them right now and ready to ship to your home immediately!

Here’s the latest press release from Dean Markley about Carl’s signature strings.

Dean Markley today announces the release of the new Carl Verheyen “Balanced Bridge” Helix Electric strings. This partnership brings a unique string set intended to balance the six screw and two screw Strat®-style bridges. The new string set features a unique blend of gauges and features the new Helix patent-pending hyper-elliptical windings.

Carl states the goal in his string selection: “Leo Fender’s original patent diagram shows the Stratocaster® bridge floating, and he intended it to be played this way. Some of us more devoted Strat-style players have found a very musical end to this invention, by setting specific intervals for each string and using the bar to achieve melodic lines with the confidence of both knowing those intervals and a guaranteed return to pitch. These strings make that goal possible.”

The Helix string uses a precise elliptical shape for the winding wire. The shape then had to be paired with the correct winding process. The hyper-elliptical winding process results in an increased number of wraps along the length of the string. This increases the mass of the string, without changing its diameter or material. More mass makes a fuller tone; more windings give a smoother feel as well as a brighter, more resonant tone. Additional benefits of the hyper-elliptical windings are a relaxed feel and less unwanted noise. The strings last much longer without sacrificing tone and performance.

Carl explains the concept and methodology in greater detail: “My goal was a strong, solid bottom end that would also react to the back pickup and become twangy when needed. The integrity of a . 037 A string seemed to beef up the bottom, and the smoother finish of the Helix winding assured a fast playing surface. Next I concentrated on the top three strings. I do a lot of 1st finger bends on the high E string, so to insure there was still flesh on that fingertip at the end of a gig, I went with a .009 for the high E. The B string is where I experimented the most, because my ultimate goal is a balanced bridge, where string tension on the top equals spring tension on the underside of the guitar. In the end, I found that by utilizing Dean Markley’s special Gold Series treble strings, the tension was a bit lighter than the same gauge in the usual tinned, plain strings—subtle, but just what was needed for perfect balance and feel. When the gauges are right the bridge is balanced, which guarantees tuning stability. And with the springs adjusted correctly I get a return to perfect pitch for each string.”

The Carl Verheyen signature set offers his choice of custom gauges:

E String: .009
B String: .012
G String: .016
D String: .026
A String: .037
E String: .046

For more information please visit www.DeanMarkley.com

Carl’s Strat-style set-up video: http://youtu.be/6_yU7xFV3eo

 

ROAD REPORT: JUNE 2012

June 12: Redding, CA

The town of Redding has one of the world’s best acoustic guitar luthiers on the planet. His name is James Russell and we’re old friends from way back in the ’70’s. Over the last few years he’s been very influential in getting the CVB up to the town of Redding, even though there is really no venue other than the Cascade Theatre for us to play. We’re not able to fill 1,345 seats in this town so that’s not an option. So James has hooked us up with various guitar shops and music stores over the years to play a workshop or concert, and that’s what we did last night at Music Max. A few fans drove up from Napa Valley (after seeing Steve Trovato, Cliff Hugo and I last summer at the Napa Valley Opera House). The local teachers and their students were there and we played our last show on the tour to a very receptive audience. The next morning at the local Starbucks I reached into my pocket for change and pulled out a handful of coins and three guitar picks. The guy behind the counter said, “Guitar picks, that’s what I need to buy today.” I offered him a few of mine, which have my name on it and he exclaimed, “You’re Carl Verheyen? You’re one of my favorite players! What are you doing in Redding?” I told him I played here last night and he said he had no idea….

 

It never ceases to amaze me when I encounter our passionate fans on tour. People are SO appreciative that we come to their town to play. And we really appreciate their support because it’s a monumental task to pull off. First, finding a time when extra busy guys like Walfredo Reyes Jr. and Dave Marotta are free is difficult in itself. Next is stringing together enough dates in a chronological and geographical row. Booking flights, a crew, hotels and a tour bus and setting in motion the publicity is another time consuming endeavor that takes a small team of people to pull off. So we really appreciate your support and hope to see you all again in the spring of 2013, if not sooner!

©2012 Carl Verheyen. All Rights Reserved.

NEXT STOP… June 13: HOME!