All models will appear under the G² moniker. The new G² range will offer guitar and bass collections across all the Gibson Brands, including Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer. They don’t have the attack you need in arenas.Gene Simmons and Gibson will be collaborating on a new series of instruments. The Fender Jazz basses I’ve used on some songs, but live, they’re too boomy. Simmons notes a distinction between bass designs that work well in the studio compared to on stage, “Sometimes in the studio, because of the different acoustics and dynamics, I would use basses that I have never used on stage, because live, they don’t sound good. So I kept moving the pickups around and adding a boost on the back, just to make sure that the bass had the sound I wanted.” Which is why, in addition to some of the cosmetic alterations the Axe has gone through over the years, we often see them with different pickups and hardware as well, as Simmons explained, “A pickup is subject to the wood and the body shape. The imposing imagery the Axe inspires would lead many to believe that it is purely a stage instrument, but it was used extensively in the studio through the years as the tonal properties were always a priority. The Axe has become such an integral part to not only KISS, and Gene’s Demon character, but Gene Simmons himself. It looked cool on a piece of paper so I thought it would look cool as a bass.” So I started out with the visuals, because when somebody walks in, that the first thing that hits them. I didn’t know anything else about it – the wood, the relationship of the bridge to the neck, I didn’t think about any of that. All of the basses are built at a shop in South Korea. These days the basses are available through his own website and every Axe Bass is built by hand, and is personally inspected by Simmons before being shipped to the customer. So I ended that relationship and continued to make them on my own.” As Simmons explained, “ started mass producing them and selling them for a cheaper price, obviously, so the wood was cheaper – everything was cheaper, and the paint started to crack. In the case of Kramer, Jackson and Cort, as soon as quality started to dip, a new builder would be found. Gene tapped Valdez Guitars to build the first one, then Steve Carr built a few, as did Kramer, Jackson, and Cort. I beat DC in using The Demon – they tried to stop me, but I was able to prove that my Demon was far more famous than their Demon character!”īy trademarking the name and shape of the Axe, Simmons’ was able to control who builds the instrument for him, and sure enough he’s switched builders many times over the years. As Simmons explains, “I started out playing Ampeg SVTs and for a while we were going to do a line of SVT amps and they were originally going to be called The Punisher, and I was able to beat Marvel to the trademark for the name Punisher, even though they had a character named The Punisher. Oftentimes we find that ownership of an idea is just as important as the idea itself. Jokes abound about the level of KISS merchandise available, but the reality is that Simmons was ahead of his time in terms of understanding how to monetise and control his image and legacy, and trademark ownership has played a big part of that. Under the hood, in the 70s and 80s the Axe featured a boost, but the current models feature only EMG pickups and a preamp. Various production versions of the instrument often feature pickup configurations and tone controls that offer a wider tonal palate, but Gene doesn’t want anything getting in the way, and so his personal versions feature just a volume control. So what is the Axe Bass, then? Well, in simple terms it’s a neck-through construction instrument with a hard maple neck and mahogany ‘axe blade’ body. READ MORE: Cause & Effects: Are vintage effects pedals always the best examples of their type?.Plenty of articles can tell you what the Axe is, the wood and the metal – the specs, but to get the real insight on what this legendary instrument means you have to go to the source, the man who’s been playing it all these years, Mr Gene Simmons himself. This is the story behind the iconic Axe Bass which has been wielded by Gene Simmons for decades. Sometimes the paintbrush can be just as beautiful as the art it inspires and creates. Just as musicians arrange 12 notes to create songs, guitar designs often take the form of artistic expression when shaped in new and interesting ways. But at the end of the day a guitar is just a tool to create art. What is a guitar but a collection of wood, magnets and metals? The body and hardware can be shaped in any number of ways.
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