This article series is about the tools of popular guitarists. What are their favorite guitars and how is it related to them? This time with Kenneth ”kennywise” Jonsson (Starchaser)
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
I started playing guitar at the age of 17 and my first electric guitar was an old Ovation Preacher with seymore duncan invader humbuckers, i useed that guitar for many years, i think i also recorded some stuff way back using the Preacher. I also had a couple of cool ibanez guitars for a period of time, but got endorsed by Esp when my playing vent professional. I used them for several years with my early bands and i also used Esp on some songs with Tad Morose on my first two albums with them.
What are your influences and which guitar players are your favs?
I was growing up listening to bands and guitarplayers such as Brian May and Queen, Hendrix and similar rockstuff, as i grew older i kind of got into Yngwie Malmsteen and fast players/shreders. John Petrucci was cool and i started to practice alternate picking alot since i really loved his pickingsound. After a while i found Steve Morse, and im still listening to Steve alot and i think he is my biggest hero. When i practiced at the most, i was really into that alternate picking technique and unfortunatly i destroyed my right elbow due to hard and wrong practice, and i was very close to never be able to play again, so i had to switch my way of picking into more of a sweep picking style, so that i could minimize the movements of my right hand and arm. This affected my rytmplaying in a negative way and i had to work very hard to get back to track. Nowadays as more of a songwriter, i listen alot to minimalistic and reputative composers, such as Phillip glass, his music is very important to me and i have his portrait up on my studiowall. I think i play more piano than guitar now haha. Also my Dad was a very good guitarplayer around the 80s and showed me Gary Moore, Steve Lukather, Van Halen and more.. i still listen to them even tough i every now and then hear alot of new cool guitarists out there! But im getting older and im kind of stucked with my early heroes and time to find new heroes is not there anymore.
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
As for today i dont own to many guitars, but i do have a couple of ESP`s and strats, my main guitars is a few custom models made by Loj Guitars, i have my own signature with my own specs its really quality handmade instruments from the middle of sweden and with a few diffrent setups, depending on what musical style im working with for the moment. Check them out.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
For metal, i love the combination of EMG 81 and my Randall Thrasher amp, i use that both live and in the studio. When i need to go more vintage, i like to use my stratmodels with seymore duncan hotrail and vintage plus pickups. I got some old marshalls that works really nice for that kind of setup.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
When i listen to metal guitarsounds today, i cant by ear tell if the guitar is recorded with modeler or a tube amp, most sounds are awesome either way. But when i need to acctually play, i prefer tubes, its strange but i dont really like the feel of digital modeling amps, something happens and i feel like i dont really connect with my sound, altough Kemper is very close to ” the real thing” so far.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
The Starchaser album is a bit wierd, i used 5 different guitars and 4 diffrent tunings, I used two diffrent pickups, ESP 81 and SD Black winters. I mixed the sound using both Kemper and my thrasher amp. I also used a tubescreamer in front of amp for rytm and a mesa boogie toneburst for leads and a boss ns 2 in the loop. When using kemper i always keep the sound as clear from effects as i possible can, just using the profiled amp and tubescreamer.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
My white custom made LOJ with body of aspen, neck of birch, and bubinga fretboard, seymore duncan black winter pickups with trippleshot frames and it is airbrushed by Linda Tolind. Im totally in love with this guitar and bring it to every performance up to this day. Thanx alot for your question and take care.
