60 Seconds with...
GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? (Make/gauge and why) DA: I can use most anything. I now use my fingers a lot as well. But I love Dunlop Tortex Picks. Either .88 or 1.00. I play hard live so I like a thick plectrum. GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, what would they be? (And why) DA: I would for sure keep a Dunlop MC0404 wah-wah. It’s just a killer wah. I would keep my Majik Box DARF Rocket Fuel Sig Pedal. It’s a super Fat Overdrive that boosts lows along with the mids, which is very important to me. It’s got a Bass Shift switch and a separate clean boost that is very different to the OD side. You can use both together to if you wanna go nuts! Right now the third would be a DVK Fuzz Chorus. It’s my favourite fuzz ever and the chorus side does a killer Univibe too. GT: Do you play another instrument well enough to be in a band? (If so what, and have you ever done it?) DA: Bass. I could play in a band no problem. I have played bass on all the original demos for Whitesnake over the last few years including some that are on the upcoming Whitesnake record. GT: Do guitar cables really make a difference? What make are yours? DA: Yep, they really matter. I’ve used Mogami since the late 80s when I met Bob Bradshaw for the first time. He used to make me custom cables and my guitar always sounded more fullspectrum. I use the shortest run of a cable lead as possible. I like Switchcraft ends also. GT: Is there anyone’s playing (past or present) that you’re slightly jealous of? DA: Everyone! I can really only play the way I do. I love so many people’s playing... I might say I am seriously jealous of Michael Landau, Duane Allman, Segovia... GT: Your studio is burning down: which guitar do you salvage? DA: That’s too hard! The guitars I have are priceless to me. They are all like children. If it was gonna be one, I guess it would be Goldtop Les Paul. GT: What’s your favourite amp and how do you set it? DA: I have a 79 Marshall JMP that I bought in 1981. It’s just an amazing amp. I’ve used it on everything I ever recorded. It’s got extra big filter caps in it and it has a nice bottom to it. Joe Satriani borrowed it for the Extremist record as well as Sully from Godsmack for the live DVD. GT: What kind of action do you have on your guitars? (Any particular quirks etc?) DA: I like it to be slightly higher than normal because it sounds better if it doesn’t buzz. But if it’s too high, it doesn’t intonate and then the tuning is off. It’s a feel thing I think, depending on the player. Some guys love extra low action, but for me medium-high is better. GT: Who was your first influence to play the guitar? DA: Jimmy Page GT: What was the first guitar you really lusted after? DA: Gibson Les Paul GT: What was the best gig you ever did? DA: Whitesnake 2004, at Hammersmith Odeon. GT: And your worst playing nightmare? DA: With Dio in 2002, in Glasgow. My amps blew and I was stuck playing through a terrible amp that sounded awful. I was trying my best but it was one of those days! GT: What’s the most important musical lesson you ever learnt? DA: Have fun and play what you feel from the heart. GT: If you could put together a fantasy band with you in it, who would the other players be (dead or alive)? DA: John Bonham, drums; John Entwistle, bass, John Lord, organ; Gary Moore, guitar, Ronnie Van Zant, lead vocals - and me too! GT: Present company excepted, who’s the greatest guitarist that’s ever lived? DA: Tough question! Most people go with Hendrix or Jeff Beck, but pound for pound I’d say Jimmy Page. He has it all. And his live playing is beautiful to me. GT: Is there a solo you really wish you had played? DA: Well... There are so many that I love. I would say anything Page, Clapton or Hendrix did would be cool. David Gilmour on Comfortably Numb or Santana, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker... But if I was pressed for one, I would choose Jeff Beck’s solo on Cause We Ended A Lovers - it’s stunning. GT: What’s the solo/song of your own that you’re most proud of? DA: Whitesnake, Forevermore Doug Aldrich releases Revolution Saints, the eponymous debut album from the new melodic hard rock band which also features Night Ranger’s Jack Blades (bass, vocals) and Journey’s Deen Castronovo (lead vocals, drums). The album is out on February 20, 2015.
I might say that I am seriously jealous of Michael Landau, Duane Allman and Andrés Segovia.