Doug Aldrich interview

We all know that Doug Aldrich is not in Whitesnake anymore, he's focusing on Burning Rain, and more recently, the Revolution Saints, but I've found this conversation from 2011, and decided to share it. After countless interviews with the savior of Whitesnake, I had the pleasure and the honor to hang out with him once again. Needless to say, there was time for a little conversation, including some tech talk. As always, the humble fretwizard was so kind to let me know some gear secrets, so here it is. Enjoy! 

Could you please introduce your current stage set up for us?

Sure. I’ve been a Marshall player since I was 12 or 13 years old. So it’s been a long time, and there was never anything that I’ve ever really got comfortable beside my favorite Marshalls. Recently, Marshall came out with a new amp, called the JMD-1. It’s a hybrid amp. It’s kind of an amp which takes the best of all the Marshall amps. It’s got a digital preamp that recreates those tones, through a traditional EL34 Marshall output. You know I’m using basically a few pedal in front of that, I got a signature overdrive called the Rocket Fuel, made by Majik Box. That pedal’s just killer! I’m using that one and my wah, which is a Custom Audio Dunlop Wah and it’s really great, too!

How many Marshall heads are you using right now, beside the JMD-1?

Right now I’ve got two what I’m using. I’m blending between the JMD and also my old JMP, which is a 1979 JMP. It’s been modified, and sounds very good. 

Is it modified by Trace Davis at Voodoo amps?

No, that one is modified by John Suhr. John basically did a lot of help with our backline. He helps Reb a lot with his guitars and amps, and also designed a signature pickup for me. All my Les Pauls are loaded with this, sounds amazing!

As far as Voodoo amps are concerned, I had used one a little bit during the recordings of Good To Be Bad, but didn’t use it so much this time. Voodoo amps are great, so is Trace, but you know, I got a long term relationship with Marshall, and they really look after me.

As far as cabinets are concerned, what kind of speakers do you prefer?

I’m using those regular 25 watt Celestion Greenbacks, the reissue Greenbacks. I just like them… Some guys like 30 watt speakers more, the Vintage 30s… Those are cool, I don’t mind them, but my whole scene is dialed in with 25s. That’s what I used to do.

What about the guitars?

I brought four Les Pauls, I think. There are two Gold Tops, a honeyburst, you know, the Jimmy Page one, and a dark burst, kinda tobacco, like Duane Allman’s. There’s also a custom made Zemaitis, it’s a really nice guitar, too.

Earlier you mentioned a PRS, if I remember well…

Well, I have a couple of Paul Reed Smiths, but I didn’t bring them on tour. I’d rather brought some acoustics, a Gibson Hummingbird and a J-200, and also a Cole Clark model, which is really nice, it’s Australian. I can only bring eight guitars, so I had to get it down to four Les Pauls, the Zemaitis, that’s it.

What kind of strings are on the axes, what gauge do you like?

With Whitesnake I use 011 to 050. Dunlop strings are the best for me. For acoustics I prefer Martins, 012 to 054.

Don’t you feel that 011s are quite hard to bend?

Not too much, because we tune down a whole step to D, so it just feels like standard tuned 010s. It feels good. Sometimes during soundchecks I even overbend them…

Really?

Yeah, that’s the truth, so I have to be careful not to overbend! (laughs)

What about picks and slides?

Dunlop tortex 1 mm picks what I use, and I got some slides Dunlop made for me, they are really amazing!

What kind of slides match better for you, glass or metal?

I like the sound of the metal slide, but it ends up chew on my frets so much live, so I started using a glass one more. 

Do you prefer higher action for slide work?

I don’t. I would say my action is naturally a little bit high, so it works out fine. You know, it’s interesting, a lot of times on tour the neck angle changes because of the temperature and things like this. After these situations we keep adjusting the neck. Sometimes the action is too low, sometimes it’s too high, so we have to keep an eye on it.

Alright Doug, thank you so much for the interview opportunity again!

Hey, it’s my pleasure! So your girls are doing good?

Yeah, definitely, thanks for asking!

That’s good, man!