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 Paul Hume (Demon).
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
I was 14 from a 1 parent family so we had no money , my first guitar actually wasnt a guitar it was a piece of cardboard that i drew the frets on and taped 6 pieces of string to it , i learned all the chords and positions from a chord book on that even before i had actually played a note on a guitar ! my first actual guitar was a secondhand Kay guitar sold by local woolworths department stores ..i think new they were around £25 ? mine was £10 and had the action you could drive a bus under, lol.
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
I remember the first time i really listened to rock music and became hooked , i was 13 with a friend playing in the street he said come and listen to this band he had their latest album on his record player , we went into his house and i listened ,that band was Status Quo i had never heard anything like it from that moment my life changed . i never really had a guitarist favourite i just noodle away but i do love Dave Meneketti , Randy Rhoads , Eddie , Yngwie , i was never really a big fan of the 60/70’s players i guess i’m just not cool.
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I guess 20+ , Strats , Les Pauls , PRS , Wolfgangs , Teles , currently using a black PRS live but also sometimes use a Green Yamaha SG2000 1978 that belonged to the great man Bernie Marsden .. my first real guitar was an Ibanez Destroyer 1979 i purchased it new because Adrian from Maiden had one lol ,i still have that.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
Smooth distortion with clean, dirty and boost .. i dont really do pedals apart from delay , the guitar can be anything if it sounds and plays great ! doesn’t need to be expensive a guitar from £100 to 10k can still sound awesome, its in the players fingers if its good its good.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
I love the 50 watt mesa and 4×12 , the 50w has a little more poke that the 100 and as i said before no pedals just gain ,boost and clean on the amp , i use a Kemper through a cab mic’d live when playing over seas with my mesa sound profiled , i suppose the Mesa 50 just edges the Kemper live but the Kemper is so convenient and travels in hand luggage! great to take your own sound with you ! also in the studio the Kemper can be awesome but then again so is a Mesa with 4×12.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
Mesa amp with cab and Kemper together with PRS , a Black Les Paul axcess and Musicman Wolfgang.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
PRS everytime.
