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 Andreas Gullstrand (Creye).
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
I started when I was about 14-years old on an acoustic nylon string that I got for Christmas. Can’t remember the name of it but it got me through the first 6 months or so. By then I had saved some money to buy a Epihphone SG with was my first electric guitar.
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
In general I’m weirdly enough not that into guitarist as much as I’m into music and songs. But Steve Vai was an early influence, John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, Michael Romeo, Marco Sfogli, Larry Carlton, Misha Mansoor and John Mayer are a few that I really feel has shaped me as a player.
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I have about 7 guitars but I use Music Man Axis super sport like 90% of the time. I also have a PRS Paul Alender that I use a lot at home but it’s unfortunately a bit too unreliable for live usage. If I had unlimited budget I would probably go for a more high end PRS, Suhr, Ibanez AZ or Kiesel. But I sometimes really miss just a good old Fender Stratocaster or a Gibson Les Paul in some studio situations.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
The perfect guitar for me needs to have good pickups that offers the perfect balance between edge and warmth. The mechanics needs to be super reliable (no detuning mid songs and etc). I like a fast neck that’s not too rounded (Gibson les Paul) and not too thin (Jackson). I think both my PRS and Music man are good references of two different necks that I enjoy. I want a whammy bar but more in the likes of what would typically be mounted on a Fender. I also prefer guitars that looks rather clean. No flying v’s or anything of that sort. When it comes to amps I rarely us any real amps no more. It’s simply too impractical in regards to our reality in terms of budget for studio and live shows. But what I usually look for in a amp is something that has a tight distortion with a lot of warmth. It also need to be quite versatile. And be able to work well in both High gain, low gain and clean scenarios. I like the Marshall brit 800, Most Blackstar amps and I have a Hughes & Kettner Blonde edition that has worked surprisingly well in a few studio situations.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
Amp modellers these days are so well developed that if we put the two in contrast to each other and count all the pros and cons in relation to price-tag and work flow for an artist at my level I think the use of amp modelers are the only option. I can’t even count the number of times where we’re opening for an other artist and we’re left without a sound check and are still able to pull it off since it’s basically just plug in and play and everything is already set up and ready to go. And in studio situations we usually have a zero budget for the guitar production (as everything else is so costly) and there’s not really anything that can compete with the pallet and availability a company like Neural (for example) offers for a rather cheap price. That said if money wasn’t a factor then obviously nothing can compete with the real thing.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
If I only speak about my own performance I used my Music man for 99% of the production. I borrowed a Fender telecaster for a few clean sections and that was more or less it. For the most part of the distorted rhythm sections we used the Neural Fortin Namless suite. This was also used for a few of the solos. For most of the clean sections I used the Line 6 Helix. I think I might have used a few other Neural models as well and the Helix for solos and add-ons.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
I’ll have to say that I’ll go with my very reliable Music man!
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