One Of A Kind Piccolo Guitar & 7 String Hamer, Alex Gregory
Guitar
You will never find another one of these
A must for the serious Hamer collector
Call Ed Roman Guitars
| A guitarist,
mandolinist, luthier, composer, and inventor, Gregory has been advocating
electric mandolins with increasing fervor over the past decade. The
cover of his 1991 Paganini's Last Stand CD shows him holding an
electric mandolin while—ahem—watering the flowers on the graves of
Steve
Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen. And that was just the beginning.
Not satisfied with that achievement, Gregory next designed the Penta-system—a set of 5-string instruments, ranging from bass to mandolin, tuned in fifths. He insists that fifths are the only way to optimize the intonation of stringed instruments—and I'm sure most mandolinists would agree. Penta-system was briefly licensed to the B. C. Rich Company—that deal was called off long ago, but it explains why several of the early prototypes, including this one, resemble that company’s guitars. Gregory’s current design, however, is clearly inspired by the classic Fender look. |
 Pentasystem
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These BC Rich 5 string guitars or pentatars was the last project Bernie Senior worked on just before he died
Review of Latest Album Release
12 Jokes For Heavy Metal Mandolin CD
|
A few years ago
Time magazine ran a tiny blurb about a fellow named Mark Wood, a
Juilliard-trained violinist/luthier/recording artist who set out to prove
that heavy metal music could be performed on the violin. Well,
everything Wood did for the violin, Maestro Alex Gregory has now done for
the mandolin. British-born Gregory has a degree in composition from
the University of Milan, and the "Maestro" title was conferred on him by
Queen Elizabeth. Now he is designing and building instruments, and
playing and composing heavy metal. Gregory apparently uses two 1950s
Fender Mandocasters as well as two 5-string, 29-fret "Pentalins" of his
own design. Let's get one
thing clear: The "jokes" in this CD's title don't refer to the idea
of playing heavy metal music on the mandolin. If you think that's a
joke, one listen to this disc should change your mind. "Joke" is simply
the English translation of the Italian musical term scherzo—an
uptempo composition with a humorous feel. OK? So here we have
12—count 'em—virtuosic scherzos for heavy metal
mandolin. This cat has
serious talent. Backed up by Mark Craney on drums, Matt Bissonette
on bass, and himself on rhythm mandolin and guitar, Gregory takes lead
mandolin playing to places it's never been. You'll hear
crosspicking, bends, arpeggios, and lightning-fast stratospheric licks,
cranked up, distorted, and played with authority, humor, and panache.
My favorites are the unaccompanied "Red Neck Punk Lullaby," which sounds
like a classical etude on bad corn liquor, and "She Got Her Knickers
Down!"—which, despite the title, is a slow, sensitive serio-comic waltz,
with Gregory showing off his expressive side. Albert Collins would
be proud of the greasy "Dead Mojo Blues," and Gregory has a bit of fun
channeling influences as diverse as Strauss' "Tales from the Vienna
Woods," Mozart's Symphony No. 40, and a killer version of Cream's
"Sunshine of Your Love." A virtuoso piece is meant to be a brief showcase where the artist shows off his chops, and the 12 cuts here clock in at 36:26, total. But there's plenty of technique to chew on, and this isn't heavy metal of the ear-splitting, obnoxious, boring kind. Each piece has a distinct mood and feel; I wouldn't call half of them "metal" at all, but what do I know? This thoroughly enjoyable disc is the perfect item to play for unsuspecting fret-heads, and watch their jaws drop when you tell them they're listening to a mandolin.
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Alex Gregory 5 String one of a kind Ed Roman Scepter guitar
(Excerpts and pics were assembled from internet and personal resources.)