Leslie West

In this February 26, 2014 interview, West mentions using a Joe Perry "Boneyard" slide and a Dean Flying V for the slide guitar sections on his recent album.

KNAC.COM: "Tell us about the gear you used. Was it different from your usual set up?"

WEST: "I changed amps on this album. I started using a Blackstar Series One 100 head with the channel-switching foot pedal for clean, fat clean, a little dirty and then full-out gain. I’m not using the “confidence” pedals anymore and the Blackstar worked out really well for me. Mike Goldberg didn’t EQ my guitar, so what you hear on the record is the sound coming from the amp. For effects, I used a TC Electronic digital delay and an octave pedal. That’s it."

"I played four of my model Dean guitars which all have my MOT Mountain of Tone pickup in them. It sounds like a P-90, but it’s a humbucker. The new Mudflap Mama model has a stainless-steel mudflap girl inlaid on the neck and it’s got the biggest sound of all of them. The Mississippi Queen sounds different all together and the graphics are amazing. I also used a Dean V that’s set up for slide. The slide I use is a Joe Perry Boneyard slide that’s made of porcelain. Porcelain works really well because you don’t hear any of the squeaking or clanking of metal. I like playing slide with open tunings."

"All of the acoustic guitar parts were played on a Laravee jumbo that I got a few years ago. It has a great sound for recording. David also used it for the acoustic parts he played."

KNAC.COM: "How are your guitars set up? What string gauge do you prefer?"

WEST: "I use half and half. I use .009s for the top three strings (E, B, G) and the bottom three (D, A, E) are from a set of .010s. I like to break it up so I get a nice fat sound with the bottom strings and I can stretch the shit out of the top strings. I guess the action is about medium, not too low, on all of them except on the V for slide."

KNAC.COM: "What type of picks do you use?"

WEST: "I use thin picks. Most people use heavy picks, but I like the thins. When they break, I like to use the corners. It’s different than playing with the smooth edge and you can get harmonics out of them."