When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
Hi! And thanks for having me! I started playing when I was about 14 years old and my first guitar was a red Gibson SG that I bought instead of a moped! =)
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
Well, there are tons of them. The first guy to turn me on to guitar was Mike Campbell from TP&HB. I must have watched the live-VHS „Take The Highway – Live“ a million times. He really taught me how to play for the song rather than flashing your chops at every opportunity. I have, as many others, listened to a lot of blues. I love Chuck Hall for instance, which of course emanates from Hendrix and S.R.V. Then I went on to fusion jazz. Mike Stern, Pat Metheny and Frank Gambale etc. For the 80s vibe Lukather is absolutely one of my heroes! When I need to remind myself that I know far from everything about the guitar I usually sneak in on Youtube to watch Django-players…
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I own 15 guitars, I think. I’m not so sentimental about guitars, so it’s mostly one in one out. But I’m definitely a ST-type guy.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
Whatever makes your fingers and ears happy. It’s all about feel, and people have different preferences. I’m always impressed by those who can make a Gibson through a Fender Deluxe sound good for instance. I have never managed to!
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
I love modelers! I’m only using my Kemper and Boss GT-1000 Core at the moment.
I have carried my load of tube amps, and don’t get me wrong, they’re fantastic, but the versatility and stability of the modelers are too good nowadays!
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
I mainly used my two custom strats but mixed it up a bit with my Tele and Les Paul.
For the acoustics I used my Yamaha LL-TA together with some 12-string from a Variax (cheating, I know!) The amps for the album are mostly a custom Marshall (Swedish Folkesson) and Bogner XTC 101b.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
I will let this picture answer that question… (Her name is Chili)
