Randy is surrounded by his guitars and a custom made pedalboard. It's a custom made Zeus pedalboard built to Randy's specifications, presented to Randy Rhoads on this night by John Graves and Domenic Turiace of Zeus Audio Systems. The pedalboard was enclosed in a an ABS plastic case (from a Casio kevboard instrument) and was specially outfitted with a Boss Dr. Rhythm rhythm box, an MXR 6-band graphic equalizer, an MXR Commande Time Delay, an MXR Micro Chorus, and a Zeus 8401 Mini Amp. Also included were a separate amp with its own 4-1/2" speaker for the Dr. Rhythm. Turiace says, "A unique feature is the 'Ozzy Jacks', added at Ozzy Osbournes request.
These jacks provide separate signals from the guitar amp and rhythm machine for a headphone mix, while shutting off the main speaker". According to Graves, Ozzy had requested a remote switch so that he could turn the pedalboard off from the next hotel room while on the road, because Randy tended to play into the wee hours. (It was never added). Other features include a battery pack in the lid as well as an AC adapter. Graves designed it so that if the battery was left on, it would automatically shut off when the lid was closed. There is also a gold-plated plaque that reads:
"Custom made by Zeus Audio Systems for Randy Rhoads". His favorite Rolls Royce logo was also included. The builders emphasize that this was a one off custom job done strictly as a favor to Randy: Anyone wanting to duplicate the pedalboard will have to build one themselves.
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It was listed on the back inside page of the 2nd Diary Of A Madman tour book (w/ Ozzy on cover onstage from January 82) showing Randy's guitars/amps/ effects (very last item) but it was misspelled as “Zues" instead of
"Zeus".
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Photographer: ©️ Neil Zlozower
Text by the Facebook page Randy Rhoads Blizzard of Ozz
