Current Band Members are:
Ronny North : Guitars , Ronny's current gear is the Tregan Ronny North signature guitars. The main guitar is tuned down to D ,the other is tuned standard. All guitars are equipped with Seymour Duncan pickups and have original Floyd Rose trems (Down tuned guitars also sport D-Tunas..) Strings are always SIT (10-52 for down tuned guitars and 9-42 for standard tuned guitars..) .Ronny has Floyd Upgrade trem blocks installed on his signature guitars.For live acoustic work Ronny uses Boulder Creek Acoustic guitars strung with SIT acoustic guitar strings.The guitar is mounted on an Mbrace acoustic guitar stand.Amps are always Laney (Currently Ronny alternates between the Laney VH-100R and the GH-100 tube heads) Cabs are Laney 4x12s with Celestion G-65 speakers..) Cables are from Zaolla and the custom snake to Ronny's pedalboard is by Pedal Snake. Effects are TC Electronics G-System,MXR Phase 90, Digitech Whammy,DOD Chorus and of course the Morley Wah.Pedal board and guitar trunks by Coffin case. Guitar straps and gig bags by Levy Leathers , custom 121 mm Ronny North picks by InTune. Shoes by Draven.Skateboards by Draven and golfclubs by Taylor Made (Set 1 degree flat..) .Last but not least black nail polish by Hot Topic (Yes, black is the fastest color!!)
Bryan Talbot, BASS : Current gear Warwick Basses and various amplification.
Charles Wiley, Drums : Current Gear Wedgie drum sticks (Charles is an endorser) ,Ludwig Drums
Influences
Ronny started playing guitar after getting a KISS record for Christmas when he was 13 years old. Ace Frehley immediately became Ronny's first guitar hero and Ronny's been a fan of Ace's go for broke playing ever since.Later Ronny got into Eddie Van Halen (He's definitely Ronny's main guy these days..) ,Joe Perry, Michael Shenker, Warren Demartini, Joe Satriani, Neil Geraldo,Steve Stevens ,George Lynch among others......
Sounds Like
Ronny always gets compared to Satch,Vai,Blackmore and of course Eddie Van Halen. Ronny's a fan of all of them so he's good with it.......
This site is for all of Ronny North's U.S. fans.We will always update it with all the latest Ronny news.We will also have special stuff for fans to participate in.Including RN Fan of the month (Stay tuned..) We will also be doing free giveaways of lots of cool Ronny North stuff... We will also be doing a Miss Team North thing as well (Stay tuned..)
So Cal guitarist Ronny is fast becoming a local Southern California Guitar Hero.He plays his own signature brand of instrumental guitar rock.He plays all over and regularly opens for national acts throughout Southern California .Ronny currently has full endorsements from Laney guitar amps, SIT Strings,Tsunami Instrument cables ,Presonus Audio products,Gripmaster Products,Honest Beverages, VL Effects,Carvin Products,Seymour Duncan Guitar Pickups ,Manglaze Nail polish (There will be a RN signature color coming in 2009), Ti-Sonix products, Levy's Straps,GraphTech Products,Auralex Products,Sustainiac Infinite Sustain Devices, TonePros Bridges,Boulder Creek Acoustic Guitars,TC Electronics,Draven Shoes,Coffin Cases,Shrine Clothing,Mbrace guitar stands,Light Pick,Morley Pedals,Sik World Clothing,Guitar Wheel,Femme Metale Custom Jewlery,Roadie Rench,Wedgie Products,Doc's Pro Plugs,Floyd Rose Trems,Totally in Chain guitar stands,Floyd Upgrades Products, Black Kross Pedal Boards, Axe Trak ,Atomic Amplifiers,N-Tune Onboard guitar tuners,Big Bends Nut Sauce, Essential Sound Products power cables,AMT Pedals,Pedal Snake Guitar Audio Snakes,Freelok trem stablizers,Guitar Force Products,Celestion Speakers,Groove Tubes and Feiton Tuning Systems.Current live rig is: Guitars, Greg Back RN signature guitar prototype with original Floyd trem (Tuned down to D with a D tuna SIT strings 10-52) all pickups Seymour Duncan all guitars have the Feiten Tuning system for perfect intonation. Live rack Laney VH-100R tube head (plugged into a Essential Sound Products power cord) ,TC Electronics G-System is used for all delay , chorus and amp switching as well as switching pedals in and out with it's loops. , pedals are mounted in the rack on a moveable shelf. pedals are MXR Phase 90, Blvd Chorus (It gets a great Univibe sound) , Alesis parametric EQ (for dialing in clean sounds only), X2 wireless. Rack powered by Carvin rack power conditioner. Pedal board is by Coffin Case and contains a TC G-System controller and Morley Tremonti Wah. Picks are 121mm custom In Tune Ronny North picks filed to a sharp point. 4x12 cabs by Laney with Celestion G-65 speakers. Both cabs are sitting on Auralex Great Gramma Iso stands. For fly in shows,clinics and trade shows a custom BHS pedal board is used loaded with a Morley Wah,AMT Extreme III pedal, Delay pedal and a VL Effects overdrive.
Ronny is regularly featured in ad campaigns for his sponsors and also performs at clinics and trade shows for them throughout the year including the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) shows.If that wasn't enough Ronny also finds time to play several charity events each year and has been playing the Special Olympics Summer Games for the last seven years in a row as well as events for the troops ,Toys for Tots and events for musicians in need.Ronny's DISCONNECTED CD was released in May 2007 on NBN Records .The CD is available on the Ronny North website (www.ronnynorth.com ).In Nov 2007 Ronny released his first ever Christmas song "A Day in the Moment" to rave reviews.Ronny and his band kicked off 2009 by performing on the main NAMM stage at 2009 Winter NAMM to a packed house.They then played to 1000's' of Nascar fans when they played the main stage at the Nascar Double Header Race on Feb 21st,2009 at Auto Club Raceway in Fontana , Calif. On April 7th Ronny was honored to have hos own Ronny North Day at his former High School (Norwalk High).Ronny sat in on the guitar classes ,spoke to the students about the music business and then performed a free concert for the whole school with hsi band. The event was even covered by Fox 11 TV News. On May 1st Ronny and his band headlined the New River Music Benefit to raise money for the Norwalk Unified School District's Music program.The event was a great success and Ronny has already been invited to play the event again in 2010. Recently he has been overwhelmed by requests to do press and radio interviews. He just appeared on both the Bella and Boone and the Letters from our Troops radio shows. Both shows are for the troops and address all their concerns and issues.He was also shot for the new book "Don't Fear the Meter Maid". The book features lots of famous people who live in Venice Beach. The book will be out in 2010 and will be available in all major book stores.Ronny has also been in demand to play on a lot of high profile recording sessions and has recorded with lots of famous pop stars. Ronny's new single "Permission to Land" is currently getting airplay all over the world and his new CD "Light" will come out in 2010.Ronny will be playing all over America and Canada with his band as well as doing clinics and trade shows in 2010. Ronny is tomorrow's guitar hero today!!!!!
Ronny North and his band on Flashrock Live, December 28th, 2008:
Ronny North performing "Tomorrow is Burning" at Dream Street Live in San Diego, August 23, 2008.
Ronny North performing "Permission to Land" at the Del Mar Fair, July 6, 2008.
Quotes about Ronny North:
"Ronny's one of those rare cats who can lay down a dumb rock rhythm and shred like a
mother." - Michael Molenda, Guitar Player Magazine Editor-in-Chief
"Ronny North is one of the most gifted guitar players of our time. His tone, touch and
approach to the instrument is simply masterful. You won't find a more dynamic guitar player with so much range in
the music industry today." - Nick Friese, Guitar Jam Daily Magazine
"Ronny is truly the most unique guitarist I’ve ever heard. And Ronny is a great guy to work
with.” - Jody Page, President of Stage Magic (Pedal Snake Products)
“Ronny’s got the unique ability to combine catchy melodies, fretboard pyrotechnics, and
standard rock grooves and make them his own; his chops are never on display without serving the song…
delightful listening.” - Rick Gagliano, Hohner Guitars/Laney Amplification Products Manager
"Ronny North is an awesome performer and he really puts his heart and soul into the shows that he
does. He put on a great show at our Stand Down event for Homeless Veterans. This is one guy who supports our
Troops and Veterans and gives back via his Music and performance." - George R. Smith, US Vets-Compton Case Manager
"Thank you again for coming and blessing us with your talent. The Veterans loved and so greatly appreciated it.
YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Bromwell Reid, US Vets-Los Angeles Clinical Case Manager
Magazine Appearances
Guitar Player Presents How to Play Like Stevie Ray Vaughan 2008
Premier Guitar Summer NAMM 2008
..
Summer NAMM '08 - Tregan Guitars Ronny North Signature
Photo Courtesy of Karen Barrezueta - Nashville 6/21/08
Paul Tauteroff: At what age did you make the decision that you were going to be a professional musician and
what (or who) inspired this?
Ronny: I actually started playing piano right around 1st grade... I really didn't dig it. My parents enrolled
me in the Yamaha music school to learn to play. I eventually got kicked out for beating up an obnoxious kid next to
me. (He so deserved it..LOL!!) I do wish I would have stuck with it. I still play piano to this day and have one in my
living room. I can only play stuff I wrote. As for guitar, the funny thing is at first I really didn't want to play.
When I was a kid, I was much more into sports football, baseball, and skateboarding.
I actually wanted to be a pro skateboarder like Tony Alva... When I was 8 or 9, my Dad made my brother and I take a
few guitar lessons from a guy that lived across the street. It was totally useless and the guy really had no clue about
what he was doing and we really didn't want to be there. The funny thing is that several years later when I was starting
to get a name for myself, the teacher guy actually hit me up to help him make it in the music biz when I was visiting my
parents' house.
NEXT!!! When I was 13, I got a KISS record for Christmas. (It was the Destroyer Album!!) Before that I had
never heard of KISS... I thought it was the greatest thing and I immediately wanted to be Ace Frehley. He was my very
first guitar hero. I started playing my Dad's old guitar and that spring I got a Copy Les Paul and a small solid state
amp for my B-Day. On that note, that summer my Dad took the whole family to see KISS at the Forum during their Alive
II tour. That was the peak of their fame...
After that I knew that's what I wanted to do...
All I did was play and then when I found out girls really dug guys that played, I was hooked!!!! I seemed to get
pretty good quickly and could figure out songs pretty easily. My brother plays drums and we started jamming in our
garage with various people (aka victims..). I was actually playing the Sunset Strip in Hollywood when I was 14. On
that note, I'm definitely not a natural musician and have to practice constantly even to this day. I compare it to
being a Pro golfer. (Something I always wanted to be!!) You have to work on it everyday to keep your chops up. A pro
golfer hits up to a 1000 golf balls a day on the driving range just to keep his shots in tune.
PT: Was your family supportive of you from the very beginning or did it take a little while to convince
them?
Ronny: My Dad is actually a guitar player even though he never played seriously. My mother used to play
piano. My Dad was pretty supportive of my playing and would even take my brother and I to gigs before we could drive.
I guess you could say it was in my blood to play. When I first started my dad insisted I take lessons. The lessons were
useless. I had no desire to play "Mary had a Little Lamb" (that's what he was really teaching me..). I was obsessed
with playing guitar and figured out pretty much everything on my own.
After a while my brother and I started playing in different bands with different people. He used to play with older
guys. (He was 12...) His guitar player was a couple years older than I and he had all the Van Halen tapping stuff down.
He would play VH songs note for note. His name was Steve James. He later went on to play in an early version of
Metallica and wrote “Hit the Lights”. (Metallica started out in my town.) I figured out the VH thing from seeing him do
it. Once I saw it close up I knew exactly what to do. It all made sense. That's all I did was play guitar.
PT: Was there a single significant event or milestone in your career where you finally said to yourself:
"Alright - I've made it!"?
Ronny: Even though I am getting a name for myself, I still don't think that I have made it. I still have a
long way to go.
Getting my first endorsements and seeing myself in ads in Guitar Magazines back in the day was pretty cool. I got
my first endorsements back in '94. I signed with Seymour Duncan and DR Strings the same day at Winter NAMM 2004. It was
so long ago... It really has been a really long road to get here for sure.
Getting my own signature guitar from Tregan Guitars (www.treganguitars.com)
has been a great thing. We just premiered it at Summer NAMM 2008 in Nashville and it was a big hit. The guitar will
start shipping in the fall of 2008. It's been a blast working with Tregan on my new guitar. Finally a guitar company
that gets me... Definitely a dream come true to see it become a reality. I will be having a few more Ronny North
signature products coming out very soon. Stay tuned!
PT: Do you think it was more difficult to achieve success in California vs. some other less competitive area
of the US or world?
Ronny: It really is hard everywhere but I think I was at an advantage being in LA back in the Day. Plus I got
to see Van Halen and Randy Rhoads play. It really was a great scene. The only thing that was discouraging was seeing
how great they were and seeing how far I still had to go in my playing. I'm still trying to get there to this day.
You can always improve...
PT: What was the toughest challenge or obstacle you faced while developing your career and how did you
overcome it?
Ronny: Not knowing the music biz definitely hurt my career. I was definitely taken advantage of early on and
made a lot of people a lot of money and didn't see a dime myself. I also have very small hands so I have to do some
things differently when I play but that also might have helped me develop a style of my own.
PT: What would you say are the most important traits a musician should possess in order become successful?
Ronny: A focus on your playing, a great business sense (Very important in today's music industry), star
quality and the drive to make it. It's very tough out there and it's definitely not for everyone for sure. For better
or worse, I have sacrificed everything for what I do...
PT: You have endorsement deals with some very good companies. What advice can you have offer for musicians who
are seeking endorsements?
Ronny: I have been very fortunate to get the support of some great companies. I thank my lucky stars everyday
that they believe in me as a player and artist. My thoughts on endorsements are that they definitely can help the up
and coming player get more out there. I'm lucky enough to be able to attend trade shows all the time and meet the
companies face to face.
When I got my first endorsements at Winter NAMM in '94, I had promo packs made that showed what I had done at that
point with a CD and a pro shot promo pic in it. I also had a plan on the companies I was going to approach. It was
really easy and I have been with Duncan since '94. We have grown together... I have found that most companies want to
get their products seen in the hands of great players. If you get out there and do it and are making a name for yourself,
it's a great way to get their product seen. I can go on and on about endorsements. I'm always getting offered gear
from different companies and more often than not, I turn stuff down. I feel very lucky to be in my position but I will
only endorse gear that I use. It's a question I get asked a lot.
PT: If you had to start your music career all over again knowing what you know now, is there anything you
would have done differently?
Ronny: After learning my guitar, I would learn the biz end of things before doing anything and surround
myself with only people I trust. If I would have done that at the beginning, I'm sure things would have turned out a
lot differently and we'd be talking from my mansion in Malibu... LOL...
PT: What would be your single greatest bit of advice to someone considering starting a music career?
Ronny: You have to love it!!! If it's not your life, do something else and make money because chances are
you're not going to playing music. That being said, it's all I know and it is my life. I couldn't imagine doing
anything else. If I could do something else, I'd either be a PGA pro golfer or a pro skate boarder... I am a good
golfer and skateboarder, but I definitely play guitar better... LOL... I do take my golf clubs with me when we travel
sometimes. I have a great roadcase for them...
PT: If you could live your life all over again and do anything you wanted to do, would you still be a
professional musician?
Ronny: Yes I would! I would just do things a little differently. Playing guitar and music is my life. I have
always been a fan of music as long as I can remember. Once I started playing guitar, it all made sense. Everything in
my life from 14 to present day has something to do with my guitar in some way. It's been a crazy adventure and I'm still
going... Can't wait to see my new Tregan signature Ronny North guitar come out in the fall.
PT: Thanks so much for your time, Ronny. You are a true gentleman and I appreciate you taking the time to
answer these questions.
Ronny: Thanks for taking the time to interview me.
Photo Courtesy of Arlene Ferrar - Special Olympics Summer Games 6/17/2008
Ronny's Bio:
Ronny North is fast becoming a Southern California guitar hero. In November 2006, he won the Best Male Guitarist
award at the All Access Magazine Music awards. He also regularly gets press and airplay all over the world. Ronny has
shared stages with Yngwie Malmsteen, Queensryche, George Lynch and RATT, among many others. He is endorsed by 40
different music equipment manufactures and regularly plays clinics and trade shows for them as well being featured
in their ad campaigns in all the music magazines. In March 2007, Ronny was featured in Guitar Player Magazine where
GP editor and chief Michael Molenda said some great things about Ronny's playing. Tregan Guitars premiered the Ronny
North signature guitar at summer NAMM in Nashville in June 2008. The guitar was a big hit and will start shipping in the
fall of 2008. On top of all this, he writes a few columns for Guitar Jam Daily Online. His main column is called
"Adventures in Guitar with Ronny North". The column has become really popular with the readers. In the summer of 2008,
Ronny will be releasing two new CD's. The first in July called Then & Now. It's a greatest hits CD of songs from
Ronny's past bands with singers up to his present day instrumental project. The single off the CD is a brand new song
called "Destruction of You" that features Ronny and a few of his high profile friends. It's his first release under his
new deal with Eonian Records. The second release is the new instrumental CD tentatively titled Light that will
be released later in the summer. Ronny is tomorrow's guitar hero today...
I ran into guitarist Ronny North whom I'd met at Winter NAMM 2006 in Anaheim, California.
He was in a crowd watching a young kid of about five pummeling a drum kit, a bit awkwardly but the little guy
was cute and into it. North's a superb guitarist and full of enthusiasm that's as infectious as it is genuine.
He's now endorsing Tony Guarriello's Tregan guitars.
Ronny North with a Tregan guitar at the 2008 Summer NAMM Show. Photo by Rick Landers.
Ronny North fired up his new Tregan for us, as did Rob Marcello with his new Paradise guitar
and Danny B. Harvey with a killer James Trussart.
Ronny North demos his Tregan
AMT Electronics Summer NAMM 2008 Postcard
Buzz Feiten Ad in Guitar World Magazine, June 2008 Issue
From Premiere Magazine, June 2008 Issue
Summer NAMM Preview: New Guitars from Ibanez, Tregan
by Premier Guitar
Rumors of an Ibanez reissue, plus a Ronny North Signature Guitar from Tregan
Nashville, TN(May 23, 2008) -- With less than a month until Summer NAMM, news is starting to pour out of
Nashville. First up, we have it on good authority that Ibanez is planning to roll out a high-end re-issue in the
RG family. Though that's about all we have to share at the moment, we'll keep you updated as the details come in, and
look for videos with Ibanez from the Summer NAMM floor.
Confirmed for June is the Ronny North Signature Guitar from Tregan Guitars. The long-time Southern California
instrumental rocker chose Tregan Guitars to create his signature guitar due to the company's reputation for exciting
new designs and reasonably-priced quality instruments, along with luthier Greg Back’s ability to tweak a guitar to fit
the player perfectly.
With its lightweight body, super fast neck and great looks, the guitar will offer features unheard of on guitars
in its price range, including an original Floyd Rose Tremolo, Buzz Feiten tuning system and custom Ronny North Monster
Tone pickups hand-wound in the USA by Performance Labs. The guitar will also feature a mahogany body with a maple cap
and flame maple top, and a bolt on maple neck with a birds-eye maple fretboard and custom inlays. The pickups have been
custom-designed for Ronny North’s Signature guitar and offer the perfect blend of tones so each note rings out true and
clear. MSRP is yet to be determined.
Ronny North will be demonstrating his signature guitar in the T. G., Inc. booth 1436 at this year’s Summer NAMM.
Also Demonstrating Tregan Guitars in TGI’s booth will be Flash Bathory and Skunk from Quartershackle. For more
information, visit treganguitars.com,
ronnynorth.com, and gregbackguitars.com.
Remember, Summer NAMM is from June 20-22, and we'll be there bringing you ongoing coverage of everything new.
Sounds like your 2010 started off rockin away for you, you're too awesome sweets!! I know you're going to rock the house as always at NAMM. I sure wish we could be there!
Thank You so much for being my friend!! i so appreciate having you!!! Seems to me you got it going on!! It's amazing what we can accomplish with desire, hard work and believing in ourselves!! If you get a second i'd appreciate you check out my version of Etta James classic AT LAST!!!
The wait is over!!! Sunday October 18th, 2009 is the date for the 1st Annual L. A. KISS EXPO. This is a perfect time to celebrate an all day event of new album releases by KISS, ACE FREHLEY and BRUCE KULICK. What an exciting time for KISS ARMY members everywhere! There will be KISS merchandise, a KISS costume contest, KISS trivia and much, much, more! This event includes special guest and legendary guitarist BRUCE KULICK. Bruce will be doing a Q&A and signing autographs and if we're lucky we might get him onstage to play a few classic hits. Book Author and special guest WENDY MOORE of "Into the Void" and now unveiling her new book "Out Of the Void". Wendy will be doing a book signing and a Q&A for the fans. This years event will include L.A.'s own "VENUS ENVY" one of the hottest bands on the Strip! "School of Rock" has joined up with the L.A. KISS EXPO and rock guitarist Bruce Kulick will be rockin out the kids! FIFI LARUE will be performing, and finally hold on to your seats... The hottest tribute band in the land "PRISS", will be performing an awesome set of KISS tunes! LA KISS EXPO AT LAX MARRIOTT!!!
The Best Indie and Unsigned Talent on the planet is at flashrock.com 100% free community services for Bands and their Fans! Hope you'll stop in and see us soon ;)
Hey How have you been? !Hope all is well! I started my Youtube Channell!! Check it out!! Add me as a friend and subscribe to me! Lets Keep in touch! God Bless Andy www.youtube.com/user/andymartinguitar
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