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 Vinnie Tex (Leather).
When did you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
I started in 1997, when I was 12 years old. I always had guitars at home because my dad is a guitarist. I was always around at his rehearsals and started listening to his rock vinyls. I couldn’t wait to get out of school and run home to try playing songs from Black Sabbath, Kiss, AC/DC, etc… I started out playing my dad’s Fender Strat. A few years later, when I started playing in metal bands, my grandfather gave me a Jackson Kelly that I still have today. I had a friend at a Radio Rock station who introduced me to many musicians and metal bands in Brazil. Soon after, I was invited to play with some of them. That’s when I started touring and playing shows.
Pic: David Engel
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
I listen to many different styles, so my influences are quite mixed like: Blues, Rock, Fusion, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Jazz and also many Brazilian styles. I played Black and Death Metal for many years, because of that you can feel some of those influences in my music, but nowadays I have no interest in playing extreme metal. As a Songwriter and Guitarist, I am much more interested in good melodies and great harmonic structure. Some of my favorite guitarists are Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, Vinnie Moore, Michael Lee Firkins, Blues Saraceno, Pat Matheny, Frank Gambale, and many others…
Pic: David Engel
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I am constantly traveling on tours and recording, so I have guitars in 3 different countries. Some are with me in Brazil. Some are at my house in Portugal for tours and recordings in Europe. I also have some guitars in the US. After recording our new album, „We Are The Chosen,“ Leather and I bought some classic Gibson models on the recommendation of brothers Wojtek and Sławek Wiesławski at Studio Hertz, and these guitars are in the US. My favorites are the Gibson Explorer, and the Flying V and Kelly models by Jackson.
Pic: David Engel
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
For me it’s when you find the sound you’re looking for combined with versatility and comfort. To be successful as a working musician in Brazil, you need to play many different styles of music. So I prefer guitars that sound great playing anything. The perfect guitar for me (as we say in Brazil), is the one that is always „ready for battle“. For the amp, I use the same principle of versatility. The perfect amp is the one you play and say „That’s a killer sound“.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
I’m „Old School“. I love tube amps. In many cases, the modeler can help a lot. I often use it when I’m writing and recording home demos. I use it to get an idea of the kind of sound I want when I’m preparing a new album. Sometimes I use it live when I don’t have a good amp available, but I never use it on recording.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
When we recorded our album „We Are The Chosen“, wich will be released on november 25th, we used a „Gibson Flying V 120th Anniversary 2014“ with 57 Classic and Lead Pro pickups and a „Jackson Kelly KE3 Crimson Swirl“ made in Japan with Seymour Duncan pickups. The amps used were Fender EVH 5150 III with a Tube Screamer and a Mesaboogie Dual Rectifier with a BB Preamp Customshop.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
Because I often play songs with different tunings, I would choose the Gibson Explorer because it doesn’t have a Floyd Rose bridge. It can be tuned quickly and it stays in tune. Also, it has a great sound, and a very comfortable shape to play sitting or standing.
