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Called “One of the Top 10 Guitar Players in the World” by Guitar Magazine and “One of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time” by Classic Rock Magazine, Carl has created a wildly successful, multi-faceted career in his 40-plus years of playing the instrument. He is a critically-acclaimed musician, vocalist. songwriter, arranger, producer, and educator with ten CDs and two live DVDs released worldwide. Carl is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso, capable of playing any style of music with remarkable mastery and conviction. He has been one of LA’s elite “first call” session players for the past 25 years, playing on hundreds of records, movie soundtracks and television shows.
A member of the smash hit British rock group Supertramp since 1985, Carl has played to millions of enthusiastic fans in sold out arenas worldwide. As the creative force behind the Carl Verheyen Band, he has released an impressive and eclectic discography that showcases his endless talents across a wide array of musical genres.
On the educational front, Carl has produced numerous instructional videos, books, and on-line lessons. Over the years he has written monthly columns for various prestigious US and international guitar publications; he currently both writes and blogs monthly for Guitar Player and his own site. Carl also lectures and teaches at clinics regularly when not on the road.
On developing the Carl Verheyen Balanced Bridge Helix Strings with Dean Markley and Jeff Landtroop at Dean Markley Strings: “I believe I have found the perfect gauges to balance the 6 screw or 2 screw bridge of the Fender Stratocaster: .009 .012 .016 .026 .037
.046. Working with new and vintage Strats, l began with the Helix nickel-plated steel bass strings. My goal was a strong, solid bottom end that would also react to the back pickup and become twangy when needed. The integrity of a .037 A string seemed to beef up the bottom, and the smoother finish of the Helix winding assured a fast playing surface.
Next I concentrated on the top three strings. I do a lot of 1st finger bends on the high E string, so to insure there was still flesh on that fingertip at the end of a gig, I went with a .009 for the high E. The B string is where I experimented the most, because my ultimate goal is a balanced bridge, where string tension on the top equals spring tension on the underside of the guitar. In the end, I found that by utilizing Dean’s special Gold Series™ treble strings, the tension was a bit lighter than the same gauge in the usual tinned, plain strings—subtle, but just what was needed for perfect balance and feel. When the gauges are right the bridge is balanced, which guarantees tuning stability. And with the springs adjusted correctly I get a return to perfect pitch for each string.
Leo Fender’s original patent diagram shows the Stratocaster bridge floating, and he intended it to be played this way. Some of us more devoted Strat players have found a very musical end to this invention, by setting specific intervals for each string and using the bar to achieve melodic lines with the confidence of both knowing those intervals and a guaranteed return to pitch. These strings make that goal possible.
—Carl Verheyen
Carl Verheyen has developed his own custom set of
Dean Markley Helix HD strings for his Stratocaster, called the
Carl Verheyen Signature set. See his process above.This string set will be available mid-June 2011 in a specially wrapped package.
Be sure to visit the Carl Verheyen website at:
www.CarlVerheyen.com.
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