Zakk Wylde, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society and latterly Pantera, is primarily known as an electric player. But he’s been talking about his love of acoustics and who he rates as its greatest exponents.
The ostensible reason for all this is that Wylde Audio – the guitar brand he set up a decade back – is launching its first acoustics. Apparently, it’s been on his to-do list for a few years: “I’ve been thinking we should start doing acoustics for a while now,” he explained to Guitar World
“For the Back to the Beginning show, I was playing my old Alvarez acoustics. I still have all my Epiphone Masterbilts, which are great guitars, just like the Alvarez ones. They’re all ‘lights out’ guitars as far as I’m concerned…. This is the sound of Wylde Audio evolving into its next step, and it’s a natural progression.”
“Acoustics are like this whole other world of guitar, and I absolutely love it. I like to listen to things like Heart of Gold by Neil Young or Angie and Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones, plus loads of Allman Brothers and Eagles. It’s interesting when electric players introduce more of that stuff into the mix.”
The acoustic adds a contrasting lightness to rock’s essential heaviness, he says. “Look at Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin’s Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, Gallows Pole or Going To California. The acoustics add this whole other element to those albums. Look at what we did on (Ozzy Osbourne’s) Mama, I’m Coming Home and how it affects what came next on No More Tears.”
Wylde has dabbled with acoustics before, most notably on his two Book Of Shadows solo albums, released in 1995 and 2016 respectively. He wrote the first of those at the same time he was recorded Ozzy's solo album Ozzmosis in New York. “Right next to where we were staying was this old pub called Brew’s. Every day after tracking I’d head there and hang out until closing.”
“The jukebox was amazing; it had Neil Young, Bad Company, the Band, the Eagles, the Stones – everything classic rock. I’d drink until 6 am, walk back to my room, pick up my guitar and start writing. By the time Ozzmosis was finished, I had Book Of Shadows written.”
So who does he rate in terms of acoustic players? "I think between the legendary trio (jazz fusion players) Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and (flamenco guitarist) Paco De Lucia, it’s ‘lights out’ right there. You can play Friday Night in San Francisco to anybody, and it will blow their mind. It’s an unbelievably amazing record. That one will stand the test of time for sure.”
For more information about Wylde Audio’s acoustics, head over to the website at wyldeaudio.com.
