Synyster Gates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. | |
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 Synyster Gates live in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. |
| Born | Template:July 7 age (27) Huntington Beach, California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Metalcore, Hard rock, heavy metal, alternative metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Piano, Organ, Keyboards |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Label(s) | Goodlife, Hopeless, Warner Bros. Records |
| Associated acts | Avenged Sevenfold, Pinkly Smooth, Good Charlotte |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Schecter Synyster Custom Electric Guitar | |
Synyster Gates, born Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. on July 7, 1981 and also known as "Syn", is an American musician and the lead guitarist for Avenged Sevenfold and the son of Brian Haner Sr. and step-son of hypnotist Suzy Haner. He also has a brother Brent, a half-sister McKenna, and a step-brother Johnny.
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[edit] Biography
Synyster Gates attended Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California and Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California as a teenager, and then the Musicians Institute in Hollywood as part of the GIT program, studying jazz guitar. His father Brian Haner Sr., is a musician and is often called Avenged Sevenfold's official acoustic guitar player for his appearances on their albums, such as the acoustic solo on City of Evil 's "Sidewinder" and "MIA".
Gates joined Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) when he was 18 at the end of 1999, right before the recording of the band's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. He was featured on their EP "Warmness on the Soul," and on the reissue of their first album. He also plays piano for the band on songs such as "Beast and the Harlot" and "Sidewinder," though a former member of the band, bassist Justin Sane, played the piano on Warmness on the Soul.
In the Avenged Sevenfold DVD "All Excess," to emphasize the seemingly random placing of names, Gates stated that his name was thought of on a drunken walk through the park with The Rev. His exact words were, "I am Synyster Gates, and I am awesome!".[1]
Gates cites Django Reinhardt, Frank Gambale, Adam Aparicio, Basillios, Dimebag Darrell, Slash, and Francis Canavan as his favorite guitarists and major influences. He has won numerous awards, including the "Young Shredder" award of the year in the Metal Hammer awards in 2005 and the "Guitarist of the Year" Award for Total Guitar Magazine in 2006.
Synyster Gates was also a member of the "Goblin Metal" side-project Pinkly Smooth with The Rev. Pinkly Smooth was disbanded because Gates and The Rev wished to focus full-time on Avenged Sevenfold, although when asked recently, they both revealed there is a new side project being planned, featuring the two playing classic Pinkly Smooth tunes.
[edit] Guest Musical appearances
"The River" - Good Charlotte featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates
"Dirty Little Girl" - Burn Halo featuring Synyster Gates
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Guitars
Syn is currently endorsed by Schecter Guitar Research, and uses the Hellraiser Avenger, the Synyster Custom Shop Avenger and the C-1 FR guitars.
Most, if not all, of Syn's guitars are custom made. Syn uses Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader pickups in his guitars.
He owns many different variations of his Signature "Schecter Synyster Custom" models which include the American Flag, the German Flag and the Rebel Flag. He also has a new model that will not be released to the public that is all white with gold stripes in gold hardware and can be seen in the "Afterlife" music video when they are playing on the white backdrop. An e-mail question was sent to Gregg Burns at Schecter of US sales asking, "Is schecter going to release the white synyster gates guitar that he uses in the afterlife music video to the public?" Gregg Burns responded to the e-mail by saying, "We have no plans for it right now, but maybe in the future. It was a Custom Shop piece we did for the band."
In the past Syn has used the Gibson Les Paul, the Parker Fly, and the Ibanez RG Prestige.
[edit] Amplifiers
- Bogner Uberschall and caveman (main)
- Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier
- Marshall various low-watt combos
Speaker Cabinets
- Marshall 4x12" cab
- Bogner Uberkab 4x12" (main)
- Mesa/Boogie 4x12" Triple Recto Cabinet
[edit] Effects Units
- Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
- Boss CS-3 Compressor
- Visual Sound H20 Chorus/Echo
- Frantone "The Sweet" Distortion
- Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
- A bottle of scotch
- Boss BF-3 Flanger
- Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
- Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
- Seymour Duncan SFX-01 Pickup Booster
- Voodoo Lab PEDAL POWER 2
- Voodoo Lab GCX Audio Switcher
- Jim Dunlop Crybaby From Hell Wah Pedal
[edit] Accessories
- Ernie Ball 'skinny top, heavy bottom
- Jim Dunlop Gator Grip 2.0mm picks in custom black with a "Deathbat" logo printed
- Voodoo Labs GCX Guitar Audio Switcher rack unit
- Voodoo Labs DMC Ground Control Polo pro
- Rebel Straps Skull Bottle Opener Strap
- Rebel Straps Skull Pick Box Strap
- White Get'm Get'm Sergeant Stripes Guitar Strap
- Black Schaller Strap Locks
- Red schaller strap locks
[edit] References
- ^ All Excess, Avenged Sevenfold DVD (2007)
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