DAMAGEPLAN's DIMEBAG Talks Guitar

DAMAGEPLAN guitarist Dimebag Darrell (ex-PANTERA) recently spoke to Guitar.com about his current guitar set-up and the recording process for the band's debut album, "New Found Power". The following are some of the highlights of that interview:

Guitar.com: So tell me about your latest guitar arsenal. Do you have any new gear?

Dimebag: "We're always creatin' new s#@t. I've got new pedals comin' out with Dunlop. I'm always doin' s#@t with the Dime guitars, always trying to upgrade and update 'em. I've got new paintjobs comin'. I've got the new Dime Warhead X2, which is the second coming of the Warhead amp. It's basically a stripped-down version of the Warhead 1. The Warhead 1 had so many bells and whistles on it that if you didn't know what you were doing, you could either tune it in really kick ass, or you could lose focus of what you were doing. I had so much stuff on that thing because I wanted everybody to have full control over it. But kids today just want to plug in and jam. So I've kinda just simplified the Warhead 2 so there's no way you can get any uncool tones out of it."

Guitar.com: What kind of pickups are you using in your guitars right now?

Dimebag: "I'm using the Dimebucker, made by Seymour Duncan."

Guitar.com: And it's the same one that people can get in your signature model guitars, right?

Dimebag: "Absolutely. I called them up and said, 'Send me a dozen of them.' And I put them in all my guitars. And every Dimebag guitar from Washburn comes stock with them. We're doin' some 59s in the neck position, and we're f'in' around with a couple of different hybrid pickups. We're always tryin' to make it better, tryin' to make it cooler. Ones called the Stealth, ones called the Dime 3. And that's pretty much all I play."

Guitar.com: And the Warhead 2? What are you doing to simplify the amp?

Dimebag: "It's basically just 300 watts of pure molten steel. I had put so much on there: I had a nine-band EQ, mid-range scoop. All sorts of different stuff that, if you're not a super-technical guy, it can get a little too involved. A lot of kids today just want to plug in and rip, so I've simplified the X2 so that it's a little bit more idiot-proof, so to speak."

Guitar.com: Where are you tuning for the new DAMAGEPLAN album?

Dimebag: "You know, tuning to me is just one of those deals where Vinnie gets behind the drums, I pick up a guitar, and we start jamming. Usually we'll be into a groove immediately, and we'll end up rolling tape and writing a whole song. And when we go to double guitars and put bass on it, then we start going, 'Oh s#@t, where is this thing tuned?' I just grab a guitar and no matter what it's tuned to, if it sounds good, I go with it."

Read Dimebag's entire interview with Guitar.com at this location.