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Les Paul stalwart Slash used a Stratocaster to cover a Peter Green track on his new album
The guitarist ventures beyond familiar Les Paul territory in his cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic Oh Well.
Image: Ethan Miller / Getty
Les Pauls are to Slash what peanut butter is to jelly — an iconic duo, to say the least. Witnessing the Guns N’ Roses maestro strumming to anything other than his trusted Les Paul is a rare occurrence indeed, but that’s about to change with Slash’s forthcoming blues record Orgy of the Damned.
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In a new interview with Total Guitar, the Les Paul stalwart reveals that he used a Fender Stratocaster in his cover of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac hit Oh Well on the album.
“For me that song was one of my favourites,” Slash says of the track. “I remember when they used to play it on the radio back in the ’70s, and I always loved it.”
“Y’know I’ve jammed the riff a few times but I have never played the full song. My take on it is a little bit more hard-driving than most, right? It was a hell of a lot of fun to play. And I’m playing a Strat, too, which you never hear me use.”
Asked why the Strat when most would probably reach for the Les Paul given Peter’s ‘Greeny’ association, Slash replies: “It just sounded like a Strat to me. I used a Strat on that, and I used an old ‘50s Tele on Living For The City.”
Aside from Fender guitars, Slash also turned to the big F’s amps during the recording of his new album.
“I’m funny with amps,” he says. “I have obviously been a Marshall guy forever, and I love Marshalls – nothing gets the Marshall sound, right? But I also love old Fender Deluxes.”
“I love old Fender amps for lots of different kinds of things, and they pop up here and there for clean stuff on a record or whatever. But I pulled them out, a couple of old Fender ’50s Deluxes.”
“I had a Dumble Fender Deluxe that he (legendary amp maker Alexander ‘Howard’ Dumble) built for me, just before he passed away. I think it was the last one he ever built.”
Orgy of the Damned arrives on 17 May. Listen to the single Oh Well featuring Chris Stapleton below.