Alan Shenton » guitar

Telecaster Pro

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:03:09 +0000

A new Telecaster to add to my collection. Every year, the Fender Custom Shop, take the most requested specs of the year and put them all together in one guitar: The 2011 Telecaster Pro. It has a 100 Year Old Pine body & a large ‘C’ shape neck of quatersawn maple. It’s got two Fender Custom Shop pickups, one of which is a ‘Twisted Tele,’ the other a ‘Master Design’ by Paul Waller. It has a Closet Classic finish, but most of all it just sounds good!! It has amazing feel and a little bit of its own distinct ‘mid-range’ sound while still been fully capable of taking the enamel off your teeth, as a Tele should;)

I have a pretty decent guitar-boner now;) A huge thank you to Fender and Music Connection for this!!!

Tele, tele, tele….

admin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 20:02:03 +0000

I love Telecaster’s so damn much!!! These are my favorite of what the Fender Custom Shop in California is currently offering: (the ‘Boracha’ is technically a Jazzmaster, but is inspired by a ‘La Cabronita’ Tele® & has the headstock;)

Limited Wildwood “10″ 1959 Relic® Telecaster® Custom

1967 Relic® Telecaster®
Limited Relic® Bigsby® Telecaster®

Limited Edition La Cabronita “Boracha” Jazzmaster®

Hotel California

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 22:06:07 +0000

Last day in California! I have learnt many things! JHB hardly has homeless Dresden people compared to SF & LA! Driving on the wrong side of the road is pretty crazy, but easy! Driving in snow is hardly different! Tahoe is beautiful! Vegas is fun for only 1 night, or if you have endless money! Small town America is like the Karoo with ghost mining towns! Tax isn’t included, & is different in every state! Eveytime you turn on the radio, Hotel California is playing. Hank Moody isn’t driving around in his black Porsche all the time! Dresden solo man on Venice Beach plays guitar solo’s 24/7 whilst on his fruit boots! West Hollywood is called ‘boytown’ for a reason I do not wish to disclose! SA has much prettier girls! Russian cab drivers ‘rig’ the meters! You pay for parking everywhere, except Vegas! Blue Bottle coffee is the best! Starbucks sucks badly, but the ‘free’ wifi is essentially what you are paying for. It’s always 4pm in LA, & the sunsets are beautiful! Angels & Kings is a damn rad club on Hollywood blvd with a plastic impala with AK 47′s coming out of it’s horns!!! Um, that’s about all I can say about that for now! Damn good times with Darren Leader Andrew Maskell Gregory Ross Carlin Wrighteous Mike Ryan Fray Findlay and a bunch of other crazy Noonga’s on the way!

Anechoic Times

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:39:19 +0000

It’s that time again… after spending 2 years touring non-stop, i am finally in the other place that i love so much; The Studio. “Second Album Woe’s” you might think, but really it’s turned out rather different i’d say. I have always said that making music, is the most fun a person can have. While this obviously excludes a lot of other of my favorite things to do, when it all comes together, it is in fact a wonderful feeling. We have been working full time since early 2010 on what is to be the follow up album to Collected Memories.

Yes, it’s different. It’s no longer just one, but now five. Five minds, ten hands, & ten ears. Im about to spill over with excitement for these songs to be out there, on the interweb, in your car’s, and on your iPod’s. It has happened before, where great albums are capable of dying a horrible death. And how will our’s be different? It won’t, we can’t guarantee listenership or a fan base bigger then what we have already…but we can guarantee that we have put absolutely everything into making this album, and i hear that very same sound in my favorite albums.

Where do we go from here? We can’t come out the same, no surely not! We have to do more, better and with a difference. This is what i am going to spend the next few months thinking about.

I’m not sure if you have ever been in an Anechoic Chamber of sorts, but its basically a room that is without (ane) any sort of reverb or even ambient sound (echoic). In other words, it is completely DEAD in there. There is absolutely NO room noise. It’s purpose is for testing microphones and speakers. I can’t really explain it, but it sure is the craziest place you will ever be in. Anyway, it’s a great place to hang out when we’re in studio and feeling like disappearing for a while. I like it there. Here’s the proof, by Greg Carlin:

Anechoic Crucifix

Zebra & Giraffe live @ The Dome

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:53:37 +0000

Zebra & Giraffe were asked to open for The Killers on their South African tour… it was an awesome experience and we love how professionally these gigs are put together! It sucks that some people forgot how to have a good time despite the traffic issues in Cape Town…but either way, we had the best time & that was my favourire gig ever!!! This is one of Marcus’s photos…check the rest out here: Marcus Maschwitz

Zebra & Giraffe supporting The Killers

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:26:48 +0000

We are super excited to announce today that we will be supporting The Killers on all 3 of their South African Tour Dates. The show is supported by Heineken and 94.7, and will be held in JHB and Cape Town. We are really stoked on this opportunity and can’t wait to share a stage with a band like this… we hope you all come out and enjoy the show!

Monster Deal

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:45:46 +0000

The kind people that represent Monster Cable in South Africa, have given Zebra & Giraffe a Monster Deal! They make really amazing gold plated jacks, that are super long and keep your tone the way it should be…exactly the same when it leaves your guitar, through your pedals and to your amp….the Rock cable is our choice, but they also make jazz cables with a ‘rolled off’ tone kinda sound. Yes, cables do make a difference… and yes we love using Monster Cables!

’52 California Beach Custom Shop Telecaster

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:56:46 +0000

WOW! What a beautiful guitar. Like most Fender Custom Shop’s, its made to the best standards. Precise measurements, and meticulous attention to detail. Its a N.O.S finish (New Old Stock), California Beach series and is no. 127 of 150 ever made. Alder body, maple neck, with medium jumbo frets….yes, its a players dream!!!!

T-Rex Engineering

admin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 07:47:28 +0000

I have been loving T-Rex pedals since i bought my first Replica in Texas at the South by South West festival in 2007. The quality of their products is really something special, and they take a lot of time in creating truly amazing HAND MADE pedals and effects. The company is based in Denmark, and although i have only spoken to them via email, they have been the raddest bunch of guys and have been so approachable. The reason i’m bloggin’ this is because they have offered me an endorsement of their pedals and effects, and i’m totally stoked and honored to be associated with a company like this. Check out their products here…T-Rex Engineering.

Back 2 Basix

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:55:30 +0000

Zebra & Giraffe played at Back 2 Basix in Westdene on friday with our fellow music makers Fire Through the Window. They are a really cool band, and really cool people and i cant wait to play again with them in Durban next week. Rudi Jeggle shot some rad photos, despite not been able to get close to the stage and this is what it looked like…