ESP has announced a new limited edition Alexi Laiho signature guitar, the ALEXI-600 SE. The modifications in this SE edition are mostly visual. All of the hardware specifications are the same in the ALEXI-600 and the ALEXI-600 SE. What we have in the SE version is a new pink finish, pink inlays, and a COBHC logo painted on the back. The only design difference seems to be in the body shape. The bottom cutaway is slightly farther back to give you better access to the higher frets. In fact it looks like the body actually starts a whole two frets back at the 22nd fret instead of at the 20th. And I thought the original had great accessibility. At present it seems as though the guitar is going for just over $1000USD.

Here are the exact specs for the new guitar:

• Modified body shape for more access to higher frets
• Natural satin finish on neck
• Pink LTD logo and artist signature on headstock
• Pink “COBHC” design on back of body
• Pink pinstripes on back of body
• Neck-thru-body design (25.5” scale)
• Alder body
• 3-piece maple / ebony neck
• Floyd Rose locking nut / 42mm
• Thin U neck shape
• Pink sawtooth inlays
• 24 extra-jumbo frets
• Black hardware
• Grover tuners
• Floyd Rose bridge
• EMG HZ-4 bridge pickup
• No neck pickup
• 1 Volume control

I love the look of these guitars, but the missing neck pickup is a real downside as far as I am concerned. If you want to sound exactly like Alexi Laiho then this guitar would be great for you, but otherwise you are limiting your tone by not having that second pickup. Then again, if you play strictly metal, you might not even know the neck pickup exists.

I have had a lot of hits on the Alexi Laiho video lessons that I posted a while back and I came across a few more that I thought might be helpful for those aspiring shredders. I like these videos because Alexi shows off some of his best riffs. I really am amazed by his ability to write really unique sounding songs.

In this video there are 5 examples played at both normal speed and slow speed for learning. I have also included a Guitar Pro 5 tab file below that includes all of the riffs demonstrated. Here are the riffs that Alexi teaches us in this video:

• Ex-1 is the riff that starts at 1:03 on Are You Dead Yet’s first track Living Dead Beat.
• Ex-2 shows the intro riff that starts at 0:48 from that same song.
• Ex-3 shows the intro and chorus from Downfall.
• Ex-4 shows the intro to Are You Dead Yet?
• Ex-5 shows the riff that starts at 0:42 in the song In Your Face.

Continue reading More Alexi Laiho Guitar Video Lessons

Alexi Laiho is a pretty popular guitarist these days so I thought I would go through some of his stuff that I have been learning. Alexi likes to use a technique called sweep picking. Although it is a “picking” technique, it takes both hands to do this guitar trick.

Sweep picking is like strumming a chord, except you want to accentuate each note in the “strum” . What you are actually going to do is pick several different notes in succession on adjacent strings with a very very slight pause in between notes. When switching strings in the direction of low to high you always pick the string down, when switching from high to low you always pick up. Using this motion it allows you to play notes much faster than if you were to alternate pick. The catch though, is you must have great coordination between both hands. As your picking hand moves up and down the strings, your fretting had has to be quick enough to keep up.

Forget trying to explain it using words, lets watch Paul Gilbert show us how in this video:

Continue reading Alexi Laiho & Paul Gilbert Sweep Picking Lesson

I was just surfing a bit and came across this Alexi Laiho interview from January 25th, 2007. It looks like Children of Bodom have just released a new live DVD called Chaos Ridden Years: Stockholm Knockout Live (2006) so Modern Guitars Magazine sat down with Alexi to talk about everything metal.

I have been a huge Children of Bodom fan for about 2 years now. They are one of the many great metal bands that have come out of Eastern Europe over the past few years. Alexi’s call to fame was his amazing playing style and his unique vocals. Although, in the interview he admits he didn’t choose to be singer, he was “stuck with it”. He credits a lot of his technique to virtuoso Steve Vai and living metal legend Zakk Wylde. Personally I love the guy for his ability to play in such harmony with the bands keyboardist Janne Wirman.

Continue reading Alexi Laiho Interview - Chaos Ridden Years DVD

Alexi Laiho is definitely one of my favourite guitarists. While his sound might not be as unique as that of Eddie Van Halen or Zakk Wylde, it is different enough to pick out. Someone once said to me “How does he make his guitar sound like a Nintendo?”. I believe they were mistaking the keyboard in the song for Alexi, but thats what I like about it. His sound really does harmonize with Children of Bodom’s keyboard very well.

The surprising thing is Alexi Laiho’s rig is very simple. From the single EMG-H4 pickup in his signature ESP to the effect free rack setup, it is literally just plug-and-play. One thing you may have noticed about Alexi’s guitar sound is it has above average amount of base. This is due to a custom gain boost built right into his guitars (copy of a Jackson boost made in the 80s). I personally like that sound a lot, it adds that extra ka-chunk to his rhythm riffs.

Continue reading Guitar Gear: Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom Guitar & Amp Setup

I have been seeing lately that a lot of people have been finding this site by searching for Alexi Laiho Guitar Lessons or Alexi Laiho Instructional Video. Since I don’t really have anything directly related to that on this site I thought I might post some videos I found on Google Video.

Alexi Laiho Interview and Instructional Video

This first is pretty sweet it’s both an interview and a practical lesson. Alexi talks about a lot of important stuff like practicing with a metronome, starting slow and building speed, how he writes a solo, and his musical influences.

At about the half way point he does do some hands on stuff on his guitar. He starts off playing it quickly and then slows it right down so you can learn it. He shows off some sweep picking licks with some tapping thrown in and then some chord phrases. At the end of the video he goes through 5 or 6 licks from some of his songs as well.

Continue reading Alexi Laiho Guitar Lessons and Instructional Videos