Pic: Mathieu Vandekerckhove
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 Lennart Bossu (Predatory Void, Amenra, Oathbreaker) .
Pic: Diana Lungu
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
I started playing at age 13. It was the heyday of grunge. My older brother had bought a guitar and I thought that was the coolest thing ever, so briefly after that I got my first guitar, which was a cheap Yamaha electric. I quickly plastered it with stickers of punk and new wave bands.
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
In the first years of playing guitar I spent a lot of time playing along to the bands I was listening to, which was a lot of Metallica and The Cure, and a bit later on also Death. That really shaped my guitar playing. Chuck Schuldinger is still one of my favorite guitarists. Another guitar player I really admire is Johnny Marr. I find his use of alternate tunings very inspiring.
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I think I own about 10 guitars, but the guitars I pick up the most are either Gibson Les Paul models or my Nik Huber Dolphin Jr.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
I love it when a guitar is very resonant. When you strike a chord it’s nice if you feel it throughout the whole instrument, from the headstock to the body. When a guitar doesn’t have this, it can feel a bit dead. For an amp I tend to like something without too much bells and whistles. Just a really good, basic amp with enough wattage, like a Marshall JCM800 2203 or an Ampeg V4.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
I am not very experienced with modelers. The only one I tried out in the last 5 years was a Kemper, and that definitely didn’t convince me to leave my tube amp at home. More than the sound, it seemed to be lacking the touch responsiveness of a tube amp. I do think it’s only a matter of time before modelers will be indistinguishable from tube amps in every respect.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
The heavy guitar sounds were recorded with my aforementioned Nik Huber and our other guitarist Thijs‘ Gibson Les Paul Custom through an Ampeg V4 with a Boss OS-2 in front of it and through an Engl Ritchie Blackmore with an Ibanez TS9DX in front of it. For cleans I believe we used that Nik Huber and a Roland JC120. My Earthquaker Devices reverb pedals added a nice touch.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
My Gibson Les Paul Custom from the 90’s. Playing that guitar feels like coming home.
