Zakk Wylde
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Zakk_Wylde.jpg
Jeff Wiedlandt (born January 14, 1967 in Jersey City, New Jersey), better known as Zakk Wylde is the lead guitarist in Ozzy Osbourne's band. He also plays lead in his own band, Black Label Society, who are typically part of Ozzy's Ozzfest tour, and has been featured on the debut album for Damageplan, as well as Derek Sherinan's album "Black Utopia" alongside Yngwie Malmsteen. He was a good friend of the deceased Dimebag Darrell. Wylde's film credits include Rock Star and the concert DVD Boozed, Broozed, and Broken Boned.
Zakk became a well-known guitarist after becoming lead guitarist and co-writer for Ozzy Osbourne. He sent Ozzy a demo tape in 1987 and was hired to replace the departed Jake E. Lee, a momentary stand-in for the deceased Randy Rhoads, an idol of Zakk's. Wylde was hired at the age of 19 after only one audition. He first appeared in No Rest for the Wicked in 1989 with Ozzy Osbourne. In addition to Black Label Society, Zakk has been part of a Southern style blues band "Pride & Glory" that released one self titled album before disbanding.
He has also released a solo project entitled "Book of Shadows" that contained a much different style of music than he had been accustomed to producing in the past. Zakk Wylde's guitar-playing style is usually characterized by his use of pinch harmonics (also known as artificial harmonics), and his guitar soloing technique is usually characterized by his use of the minor pentatonic scale, playing rapid box-pattern licks using strict alternate-picking, creating a very distinctive, choppy attack, compared to the more fluid playing styles of other rock guitarists. Another notable feature of Zakk's playing is his liberal use of "chicken pickin'", a technique which is usually associated with country music, and which is (comparatively) rarely seen in metal. It is probable that he picked up this technique from Albert Lee, one of his influences. He is known for his use of Gibson Les Paul guitars with a unique "bulls-eye" graphic on them, a design he used to delibrately differentiate himself visually (depsite having a similar hairdo) from Randy Rhoads, who used a white Les Paul. Ironically, one of Zakk's favorite stage guitars of late is a replica of one of Rhoads' Flying V.
Zakk Wylde's Gear
Guitars:
Various Gibson Les Pauls
Jackson Randy Rhoads model
Dean Razorback
Gibson SG Doubleneck
Gibson Chet Atkins Acoustic/Electric
Custom Randy Rhoads Polka Dot V
Custom "Glory" Guitar
Pickups:
EMG Active 81 & 85 Humbucker Models (sold as Zakk Wylde set)
Effects:
Dunlop ZW-45 Wah-Wah
Dunlop RotoVibe
MXR ZW-44 Dunlop Overdrive
MXR M-134 Stereo Chorus
Rack Mounted:
Monster Cable 3500 Power Conditioner
Korg DTR-2000 Digital Rack Tuner
Amps:
Marshall JCM 800's and ZW 2203's with 6550 Power Tubes
2 Marshall 1960B cabinets w/ TV Cloth with Electro Voice EVM12L speakers rated at 200 watts each
Amp Settings:
Bass - 10, mid - 3, highs - 10, presence - 2-3, preamp volume - 10, master volume - 6-7
Misc:
Monster Cables on everything. Leather Guitar Straps are made by Red Monkey Designs.
Strings: GHS Zakk Wylde Boomers
For Standard, Eb, Dropped D, and Dropped B tunings: GBZW: .010 .013 .017 .036 .052 .060
For Dropped A, Dropped G, and other dropped tunings in a "D" tuning: GBWZLO: .011 .014 .018 .036 .052 .070de:Zakk Wylde da:Zakk Wylde pl:Zakk Wylde