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 Markus Ullrich (MU) & Markus Johansson (MJ) from Horror Metal Band THEM.
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
MU: I started at the age of 15 and the first guitar was a super cheap Fender Squire strat copy and a horrible sounding small no-name amp.
MJ: I started playing guitar when I was 13, and my first guitar was an Aria Pro II red strat. I still have it, it’s a great nostalgic part of my collection. I also suffered major brain and spinal injuries in 2016, so I had to relearn how to play. So, I’ve started to play guitar twice. I don’t recommend it, ha!
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
MU: I like different musical styles for different reasons. My first big influence was probably Mike Oldfield, later I discovered Metal and was mainly influenced by American bands. The 80s thrash scene was very important to me, rhythm guitarists like James Hetfield, Gary Holt or the earlier Jon Schaffer. Of course I also liked the more melodic bands. Mark Reale from Riot had a big impact on me. I’m also into prog rock and fusion and love Robert Fripp, Steve Howe, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny etc.
MJ: My influences have grown over the years, but the earliest players that are always on the list are EVH, Rhoads, Hetfield, Mustaine, LaRocque, Friedman, Akerfeldt, Petrucci, and Wylde. I’m also a huge nu wave fan, and have plenty of guilty pleasures that seem to surprise people when they ask. Great songs and great melodies are great songs and great melodies!
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
MU: I never had a big collection and if I don’t play a guitar regularly I always sell it. Right now I own five guitars and actually use all of them. My favorite guitar is my 2015 Suhr Modern in black satin. It’s been highly modified, super light and more or less became a part of me. I played thousands of hrs on it and used it on every album ever since and almost every show so it really looks beaten up. I also own a 2006 ESP M-II, a 2015 Gibson Flying V, an ESP Eclipse E-II and bought a Maybach Lester recently. Amazing guitar, blows my mind!
MJ: At one point I think the collection was close to 20 guitars, including very old guitars from my start, acoustics, etc. I have sold a lot recently, and think the number is probably around 10 now. I typically play actively in multiple bands, so it is easier to leave some guitars for specific bands and tunings.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
MU: A guitar has to feel great and it has to resonate. I love it when you play it without an amp and it almost sounds like an acoustic guitar and that’s how I usually test new guitars. You can always change a pick up if you don’t like it, but the guitar itself just has to sound great on its own. I’m not one of those guys who only prefers certain necks and I also don’t care if it’s a neck through or bolt on guitar. If it feels good, it feels good. It just has to click with me. Same with the amp. I prefer super compact rigs so I used modellers for many years but now came back to tube world and use the super comfortable Amp1 Iridium live and in the studio.
MJ: The perfect guitar plays fast, stays in tune, and never breaks a string! Haha. The perfect amp is transparent enough to let the nuance of your playing shine through. Pickups should be unforgiving, meaning, I want to hear everything I am doing. The hotter the output the better. I think it makes you a better player to have to clean up your playing rather than relying on gain, compression, and gates to trick you into being the tightest sloppy player ever.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
MU: Whatever works. I love amps, but sometimes modellers are just easier to handle and they sound great if you know how to use them.
MJ: Whatever sounds good, sounds good. Sure, a wall of amps will make you feel better. Feel better play better? Possibly, yes. But I have had tube amps fail, as well as modelers. It’s much easier to have a backup rig with your modeler when you’re traveling. I am not able to drag that much gear around, so for me, modelers have their advantages.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
MU: The guitars were reamped by Dave Otero with an EVH 5150 III during the mixing process. I tracked everything with my Amp1 Iridium but split the signal to have an additional DI track. As for the guitars I used an ESP Horizon (sold it to buy the Maybach) and my Suhr Modern.
MJ: I used my ESP USA custom shop M-II, E-II SN-II, and LTD M1000 on the new album. A variety of DiMarzio, Bareknuckle, and a custom build of pickup I have called the Fastback Cobra Ignitor. We tracked DI’s for the new album, so I’m not even sure which amps Dave Otero used for re-amping and recording. I should probably ask!
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
MU: That would definitely be my Suhr. It’s just the perfect guitar.
MJ: Right now my go to is the ESP USA, I’ve done a few mods, and it plays fantastic. I’m sure I’ll have a different answer tomorrow. 😉
