CM : Give us a breakdown of your go-to guitar rig these days .
OD : I originally started learning on an entry-level Ibanez Gio , but now I ’ m really lucky to be an Ibanez artist , so I can use some awesome high-quality guitars . Most of the Ibanez guitars have smaller necks , which I find easier to play since I have smaller hands than most players .
My main guitar right now is the Ibanez JBM20 , which is Jake Bowen [ of Periphery ’ s ] signature model . It ’ s my first guitar with a tremolo . My two new guitars are the RGAIX7U , which is my first seven-string guitar . It has Bare Knuckle pickups , which are amazing and what a lot of modern metal guitar players use . The other is the Ibanez AZ242BC , which is a six-string guitar that I will use for blues and most of my clean tones . It also has tons of customization to the pickup combinations . I also now have an order in for the Ibanez ARZ6UCS Prestige . It also has Bare Knuckle pickups and since it is a six-string with no Floyd [ Rose tremolo ], I will use that for down-tuning and more rhythm .
CM : What ’ s the most recent instrument or piece of gear you ’ ve adopted for your guitar rig and how did it earn the spot ?
OD : The latest piece of gear that I ’ m really excited about is the Kemper Profiler amp . [ Charterhouse Studios engineer ] Aaron Murray had one that I got to use in my last few videos , so I got to really check it out . Since I play bass , rhythm , and lead for different genres , I needed an amp that is very versatile , so the Kemper I think is a great option . There are thousands of amp profiles to choose from . I plan on spending hours searching through tones on it and finding my favourite ones . It also has something called the Rig Exchange , which lets people upload their tones and share with other people . That ’ s what Aaron used as a template to adjust the tone to make it sound like the originals .
CM : How did you find the experience of working in a formal studio like Charterhouse , and can you tell us some of the things you ’ ve learned working with Aaron ?
OD : It was really fun going into the studio for the first time and I really didn ’ t know what to expect … I thought it was going to be like a couple of guitar takes and the track is done , but it takes lots and lots of takes to make it all sound tight . I learned a lot in the studio , including how prepared you have to be and a lot about production that I will hopefully use to record my own music at home . When I first went into the studio I barely knew about microphones , so I learned which ones were used for what , and I ’ ve learned a lot of small things for getting a tight guitar sound without anything ringing out or any noise from the pickups .
CM : How do you choose which songs you ’ re going to cover , and then how do you go about mastering the various parts on various instruments ?
OD : For the songs that I choose , they just basically have to be a song that I like that is technically challenging . “ Master of Puppets ” is known for the fast down picking . It should also sound good as an instrumental if it isn ’ t one already . There are a lot of tabs on the internet , as well as individual tracks to make sure that it is accurate . I also learn by just listening to the music . For learning the drum parts , I always learn them by ear and practice over and over until I can play it all without messing up . I also use sheet music for keyboards and drums .
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Musician .
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