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 Bram Engelen (OSTROGOTH).
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
Yes! I started playing around the tender age of 7. All of my cousins are highly skilled professional musicians and my parents used to own a couple of pubs that programmed live music, so it’s safe to say I was exposed to music extensively when I was younger. My first guitar was an Ibanez of some sorts that my parents bought me. I was taught by a guy named Jurek Cruysberg for the first six years. An incredible guitarist in his own right that really had the tone in his fingers. His influence on my bending and vibrato habbits are still very apparent.
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
My all-time favourite will always remain to be the legendary Gary Moore! Next to that it’s definitely Michael Schenker, John Sykes, Vivian Campbell, Doug Aldrich and Neal Schon that jump out the most in both my playing and songwriting. All of them are very heavy-handed players like myself, funnily enough. I really enjoy ballsy, aggressive grooves combined with melodic, serve-the-song style lead playing approach.
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I’ve owned and traded a ton of different guitars over the years, but as of now I own about 10. I’m a big Les Paul guy at heart, but recently I have become very fond of Explorers as well. There’s something in the midrange that really cuts and sings at the same time, and it’s incredibly ergonomic for a tall guy like me. My stage guitars with OSTROGOTH during the 40th Anniversary Tour are basically all Gibsons. During the set I mainly switch between a Les Paul 1957 Goldtop and a 2011 Gibson Explorer. I also bring out a heavily modified 2003 Gibson Flying V that has been equipped with a Floyd Rose FRX tremolo by my guitar tech Michel, which I use for the more trem-heavy songs like ‘Queen Of Desire‘. From time to time I also bring along an SG Standard from 1999. The V and Explorer are basically a little tribute to Rudy ‘Whiteshark’ Vercruysse (R.I.P.) as he used both during the ‘golden era’ of the band. Keeps it authentic!
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
I personally prefer guitars with low output PAF or T-Top style pickups, as they stay very defined and focussed in the low-end under higher gain circumstances and bring out the actual sound of guitar better if you ask me. When I roll back the volume on my guitar, I want that bright, twangy, woody character to come out nicely. Even on my high output guitars I tend to screw the pickup all the way down flush with the mounting ring to really bring that out. Amp-wise – I look for crystal clear articulation and note separation, how dynamically it responds to my playing, very specific midrange frequencies I want to hear/feel and how harmonically rich it is. And of course, it needs to be road-proof, no one likes an amp that breaks down on you in the middle of a set.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
Gun to my head? Tube amps for sure, it just feels, looks and sounds more authentic to me. I do however record with plugins on a weekly basis, I think there is some really good stuff out there in that department. I get why a lot of touring bands do the whole Kemper/Fractal thing now though, it’s very practical and cost-effective, but at this point I cannot see myself going that route at all. If I’m given the choice, I will go for tube amps all the way.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
I am endorsed by ENGL Amplification and couldn’t be more happy to be so! They deliver exactly that powerful sound I have in my head and have an efficient set of features that are unbeatable! In particular having 2 switchable master volumes and a built-in noise gate is super handy, coupling these amps with the Z9 switcher has made me empty my pedalboard a fair bit haha! All the overdrives and boosters are gone and I’m not missing them. Right now, I use their Artist Edition 100 Blackout model as my main amp – which is an EL34-based head that basically does the modded British tone with an ENGL sauce to a T. It’s big and wide in all the right frequencies, very open and ‘brown‘ if you will. The other one is a Powerball 2, it goes from chimey cleans over thick crunch to über-brutal and it nails it all. Occasionally I also use the Fireball 100 head. I run both through identical 4×12 cabinets loaded with 25-watt Celestion Greenback speakers. This is what I use both on tour and in the studio. In terms of pedals, I’m very minimalistic. In front of the amp, I have an MXR Phase 90 block logo, an analog delay for the Echoplex-type tones, ISP Decimator to take out any noise coming from the guitar or cabling, a TC Electronic Polytune and a Line 6 wireless. In the FX loop I run a Boss DD-7 digital delay for leads (setup for 6 repeats) and a chorus for cleans. In the strings and picks department, I go for D’Addario XT 10-46 gauge sets and Dunlop Big Stubby 3mm picks. Yes, thick as a brick!
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
That’d be my Les Paul Goldtop for sure. They’re basically just big chunks of wood with a fixed bridge that just do the job every time, rock solid!
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