Firewind’s shredder-in-chief and former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G has joined the likes of Alex Lifeson and Joe Satriani by teaming up with IK Multimedia for a signature Tonex collection.
The Gus G Tone Asylum collects 27 Tone Models, each designed and captured by the man himself in his studio, and it offers a one-stop shop for nailing his high-gain electric guitar tones.
“High-gain tones is what I've been into my whole life,” says the G man. “With Tonex, I captured the amps from my collection, the amps I’ve used on recording sessions, and my live rigs from the past 15 years to my most recent ones. I also took the opportunity to capture my favorite stomp boxes and all the signature overdrive pedals I’ve released so far. Where I go, Tonex goes.”
That is very much the idea. IK Multimedia has created a digital eco-system so that these sounds can be used on any of its Tonex devices, so you can run it out of your DAW, in your AmpliTube 5 suite, the Tonex app itself – or load its sounds onto the Tonex pedals and your new favourite power metal guitar tone is good to go for the stage or studio.
As for the guitar amps themselves, we’ve got seven in total, and it is no surprise that we’ve got some Blackstar amps here. There’s a model of the HT-5 Metal, the St James 6L6 and of the the Series 200 Gus G signature amp. These are joined by an Engl Powerball, an EVH 5150 III lunchbox amp, a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier and a Marshall JCM2000 TSL60. Fire-breathers, one and all.
If you are looking for Gus G’s Ozzy-era tone then fire up the Series 200. That signature model is hard to find these days – and it’s also a monster. This digital representation of that sound is a lot easier to housetrain.
“This was my signature amp back in 2012. We only produced 250 of them,” says Gus G. “They’re based on Blackstar’s Series One 200 amp, but my version has more high gain. I toured the world with it when I was with Ozzy Osbourne. It was the core of my sound at that time, and I wanted to capture it for the first time.”
The tube amp models alone put a lot of gain on tap, but we’ve got six drive and dirt pedals to dial in some more. Choose from the J Rockett’s esteemed Klon clone, the Archer, Gus G’s signature Crazy Tube Circuits pedal, the Speed Demon, his signature BBE Green Screamer, a Boss SD-1, a Blackstar Dept 10 Dual Drive, and another CTC custom build in the shape of the Fire & Fury.
All of this is of course made possible by IK Multimedia’s AI Machine Modeling tech. What a time to be alive. The Gus G Tone Asylum is available now at an introductory price of €49 (regular price €69) – see IK Multimedia for more details.
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