American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer, Jason Becker, was born on July 22, 1969. In 1986, Becker began playing with
guitarist Marty Friedman in Cacophony. Mike Varney produced and released their two albums "Speed Metal Symphony" (1987) and
"Go Off!"(1988). The duo toured together throughout Japan and
across the United States, however in 1989, Cacophony broke up (Friedman joined Megadeth). Becker focused his attention on his solo career, releasing his first solo
effort, "Perpetual Burn", in 1988.
In 1991, Becker was chosen, by David Lee Roth, as the new replacement for Steve Vai.
Unfortunately, his time was limited and the guitarist only recorded one album, "A Little Ain't Enough", with the Van Halen front man. He would soon
be diagnosed with ALS-Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrigs Disease) which is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Initially, he was
only given five years to live. By 1996, Becker had lost his ability to speak and can only communicate with his eyes due to a system created
by his father. Despite the new difficulties, Becker still composes by using a computer. His condition has been stable since 1997.
Becker released an instrumental album (except one track) in 1996, entitled "Perspective". He started the production
of this album before he was completley crippled by ALS. He first used a guitar, but as the disease rendered him unable to play, he
switched to keyboard. Once he could not play the keyboard, friends and producer Mike Bemesderfer stepped in and helped him compose.
In 1999, Becker released "Raspberry Jams" which are various demo tracks. He later released "Blackberry Jams" (2003), which contained
alternate versions of songs that were re-structured and published on other albums. In 2008, he released an album
called "Collection". This album features musicians such as Marty Friedman, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.
Artist like Steve Vai, Joe Becker and Marty Friedman, made two tribute albums for Jason called "Warmth in the Wilderness I" and
"Warmth in the Wilderness II". The albums were made to raise money for Becker's medical finances.
Guitars & Pickups
Franciscan acoustic
Musicmaster
black Fender Stratocaster with a DiMarzio Steve Morse humbucker in the bridge
Hurricane Guitars (first endorsement)
Hurricane EX Series model (Limited Edition) with a maple neck/rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, and an HSS pickup setup (used on first
Cacophony recording)
Hurricane EX Series model, this one in blue, with unknown model DiMarzio pickups, maple neck with maple fretboard and 24 frets (used on
"Perpetual Burn")
Carvin 2 DC200 models, one in a trans blue finish and maple body, one in a
burgundy finish. Both featured double cutaway bodies, Kahler locking tremolo systems, 6 in
line headstocks and 2 active Carvin humbucker pickups (used on 2nd Cacophony album)
Peavey custom model with the numbered fretboard markers
Custom Ibanez
black Hurricane EX Series with 3 pickups
Jason Becker signature guitar (similar in appearance to the numbered Peavey, features different headstock)
Strings
Dean Markley And SIT
Amps
Peavey practice amp (very early days)
ADAMP1 preamp (first Cacophony)
70s Marshall half stack and a BOSS Super Overdrive (Perpetual)
Carvin X100B stack (2nd Cacophony)
SX300H head
Fender M80
Effects
Boss super overdrive pedal
ADA MP-1 preamps
Pro Tone Pedals
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Jason Becker Discography
Cacophony
1987: Speed Metal Symphony
1988: Go Off!
Solo
1988: Perpetual Burn
1995: Perspective
1999: The Raspberry Jams
2003: The Blackberry Jams
2008: Collection
