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 Federico Mondelli (Frozen Crown)
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
Yes, my first guitar is still here with me, and it can be seen in Frozen Crown’s official video for “The Water Dancer“. My 1987 white Ibanez RG 240, from the Roadstar II series. The guitar is pretty much as old as I am, I remember I had convinced my father to buy it to me after seeing it sold second hand at a flea market. I was probably 13 or something like that, and it was the very first electric guitar I owned, after having played my father’s Suzuki acoustic guitar for the previous 6 or 7 years.
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
Chronologically I’d say Paul Stanley & Ace Frehley, John Norum, Yngwie J Malmsteen and Alexi Laiho. “Love Gun“ by Kiss, “In The Future“ to come by Europe, “I’ll See the Light Tonight“ by Malmsteen and “Deadnight Warrior“ by Children of Bodom were all songs that, in different periods of my life, blew me away for different reasons. I’d say also Gary Moore and Richie Kotzen influenced me a whole lot. Most of these guitar players influenced me as a songwriter more than they did as a guitarist (that’s the same reason why I’m putting Paul and Ace from Kiss on the same level).
Foto: Andrea Fusini
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I own a dozen of them. My surf green Fender Telecaster Cabronita is probably the one I used the most in the studio (while not properly being a “metal guitar“, I literally recorded most of Frozen Crown first albums with it). I used this for many years both live and for recordings. Despite being pretty much bare bones, it’s an extremely comfortable guitar to play, and it’s a pretty much indestructible guitar. My Charvel DK 24 Pro Mod has been my main live guitar with Frozen Crown between 2018 and 2023, until our deal with Jackson arrived and I switched to my (now main) 7 string Corey Beaulieu signature King V. I went from a 6 string to a 7 string for the extended versatility both live and in the studio. I’m not a big fan of changing guitars during a show, and this guitar is a tool of all trades.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
The perfect guitar and the perfect amp combo is the one you’re the most comfortable playing with. I’ve played with tons of guitars that had been advised by someone else for being absolutely perfect for a specific task, or having extremely high playability, but most of the times I just discovered I was better sticking to the combo I was the most used to.
My favorite combo (the one I used before I switched to a Line 6 Helix) has always been my old ENGL Fireball 50 coupled with my Fender Cabronita.
Foto: Metal Icarus Images (Anthony DeCrisantis)
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
I absolutely love plugging a guitar straight into a high gain head and crank the s**t out of it. However I am an extremely practical person, too, and I know nowadays using a modeler or a simulator offers way too many advantages to do without it. It’s cheaper, more practical, more efficient, and weights literally nothing compared to any head + cabinet. I started using a Line 6 Helix since 2018 for the first Frozen Crown live show, and I NEVER looked back. I own both the Floor version and the Stomp version, which can be literally brought in a small backpack. Being able to bring your sound literally everywhere with such portability has no price.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
Pretty classic setup: Tube Screamer and Peavey 5150 + Marshall 1960, mic’d with an SM57 and a Neumann TLM 103. The main guitar used was my 7 string Jackson King V for all rhythms and most of the leads. I used my HSS Mexican Fender Stratocaster Deluxe for the remaining leads and pretty much all solos (I bought it recently when I was looking for a guitar I could use as a backup, but fell in love with it after trying all the guitars I had in mind and not liking any of them). Fabiola used her Jackson Chris Broderick Soloist, and Alessia her Suhr guitar to record their solos respectively.
Foto: Six Six Pics
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
Probably my Charvel DK 24 Pro Mod. It’s been my companion during most of my best years as a musician, and it’s sporting many battle wounds, as well as a paw and a dog sticker on its headstock which Herman Li (Dragonforce) in person put onto.
