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 Joseph Muir & Vlad Khavin from Symphonic Metal Band EMPRESS.
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
Vlad: I think I started when I was 10. I was learning on my father’s Les Paul, but I really wanted a Strat. For my 11th birthday I got a Squier Stratocaster. I still have it, actually.
Joseph: I got my first guitar back in 2007. So I was 14. It was an all black, brandless, full-scale acoustic guitar. I was (and still am) a big Johnny Cash fan, so I had to go for it.
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
Vlad: I grew up listening to a lot of blues, rock, and metal. And lots of 80’s stuff too. I got really into Savatage and Dream Theater and Symphony X when I was a teenager and I think those bands really shaped how I play and how I write. As for players; John Petrucci, Michael Romeo, Paul Gilbert, Alex Skolnick and Marty Friedman but also Al Pitrelli, Gary Moore and Slash. And obviously Randy Rhoads. There are so many…
Joseph: I don’t come from a metal background, so a lot of my influences come from all over. I really only started playing electric guitar back in 2016. I always had one, but it was never my go-to. You can ask anyone (including Vlad) what goes on in my car when I listen to music. I will hop from Frank Zappa to Leonard Cohen, Captain Beefheart to Carpenter Brut, Johnny Cash to Carcass, and so on. When looking to guitar players, I really appreciate creativity and unorthodox playing styles. My favorites include Jerry Reed, Buckethead, Steve Vai, Nels Cline, Frank Zappa, Django Reinhardt, Mason Williams, and James Hetfield.
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
Vlad: I think 7 electrics, 2 basses, a steel string acoustic, and a classical. I’ve loved 7-string guitars since I first tried one, and my favorite is the Jackson Chris Broderick signature Soloist. I got one of them a while ago and loved it so much I just got a second one not too long ago.
Joseph: I own nine guitars in total. Five acoustic and four electric. They are all pretty unique instruments.
Here are my favorites:
1. My EMPRESS guitar is a purple B.C. Rich JRV-7 Flying V. It is also my absolute favorite model. It is the only B.C. Rich I have enjoyed playing, and it just looks cool. It has my favorite guitar shape and color, and it never goes out of tune.
2. The Snow Falcon. An all-white Epiphone flying V from Brendon Smalls. It’s based off of Toki’s guitar from an episode of “Metalocalypse.”
3. An Agile 8-string Fanned-fret guitar. This thing is a BEAST. It was the guitar I used for my first ever metal band, Seeds of Perdition. I want an excuse to use it for EMPRESS.
4. A Washburn all-black V Solar guitar. This was a prototype for the now popular, and amazing, Solar brand of guitars.
5. An all metal, nickel-plated, bell brass resonator guitar from Republic. The “Highway 61.” I got this during my delta blues phase. You won’t find many guitars like this one. If you want to feel like you live in a swamp and eat crawfish all day, this is how you do that.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
Vlad: Versatility, both for guitars and amps. They both have to fit what you are doing and be able to handle anything you throw at them, and also leave you room to grow. I don’t really use a conventional amp these days, but I have been thinking of picking one up and the two that I am considering are the Mesa Boogie JP-2C and an Engl Savage. Both are really versatile and can integrate with what I already use.
Joseph: I agree with Vlad. Versatility. I want to be able to abuse my equipment and make it do anything I need. I use an amp modeler these days because it’s just so convenient and can make every sound imaginable. And the perfect guitar is always the one that’s reliable. I use my whammy bar a lot, so you better believe I want my guitar to stay in tune and never break a string. Guitars also have to look cool (which ours do).
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
Vlad: I have nothing against amps. They sound fantastic, and they are a lot of fun to play. That being said, I use an Axe-Fx and I am very happy with the sounds I can get out of it. Does it capture every nuance of a tube amp and cabinet? No. But it sounds good, does everything I need, and is much easier to transport.
Joseph: I used to be an all Analog guy. I have a Mesa Dual Rectifier, Peavy Valve King, Orange Tiny Terror, and a Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister. All of them sound amazing and I love playing them. BUT, they are also very heavy and require maintenance. I switched to a Line 6 Helix pedalboard back in 2019 and have never looked back. The versatility, performance, and portability are unbelievable with that thing. I might not get the same “Oomph” I get with a big tube amp, but I get everything else and more.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
Vlad: Guitar-wise, I used my Jackson 7-string and a Martin 000X1AE. Joe used his B.C.Rich 7-string V for his parts. Funny thing about the amp though; I used my Axe-Fx, assuming that it would be re-amped to best serve the mix. When we sent all of the tracks to Dan Swanö to be mixed, he said he liked the sound I sent him and just used that. It was a patch based on an Engl Savage that we used for pretty much all of the rhythms, and the leads were the same amp but dialed in a little bit differently. I love the way it came out, but it was not how I expected it would go!
Joseph: Vlad nailed it there. My JRV-7 was my guitar on the album. And everything but the Drums and Barbs vocals were all digital.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
Vlad: The Jackson Chris Broderick signature Soloist 7-string. It is hands-down the best guitar I’ve ever played. I don’t know if it’s for everyone, but when I pick it up, it just feels… right. For me, it is the best combination of ergonomics and sound.
Joseph: It would have to be my B.C. Rich JRV-7. It has everything I want. A whammy bar, a cool V shape, a pointy headstock, 7 strings, a purple pattern, and it’s indestructible.
