too . It ’ s perfect for the kind of music that I do , because I play the metal with Megadeth , but I also have my solo stuff and the fusion stuff and the guitar is ready for that task as well . So , whenever I change “ hats ”, as we said before , the guitar is ready to change with me .
[ CG ] The recessed “ tilt-in ” jack is a really clever idea . Was that your idea ?
[ Kiko ] Actually , it was a suggestion from Ibanez and I liked it . We were trying to find something a little bit different , without being super weird . It ’ s basically an “ S ” model , but with a thicker body to get the sound we wanted , and then they had the idea for the jack .
[ CG ] The guitar ships with 10-46 gauge strings on it , and I saw that you ’ re using the NYXL ’ s . What do you prefer about NYXL 10-46s ?
[ Kiko ] I love the NYXL strings . The intonation is perfect and they are very , very reliable . I can play the whole show without having to re-tune , even when using the tremolo . They are just really reliable with the combination between D ’ Addario and Ibanez . 10-46 is what I play normally . In the Megadeth shows we play while tuned a whole step down , so then I use 10- 52 . But when we were deciding on what type of strings to use for the signature model I put 10-46 on . Maybe 20 years ago I used a . 009 , but I prefer the sound of the . 010 now . For fast picking I feel more tension on the strings and it feels more accurate to me , which can sometimes be a problem when I switch to the Megadeth sets with the strings tuned a whole step down . When I ’ m doing the fast picking parts it can feel like the strings are a little bit looser , but I don ’ t want to go to the 11 , mostly because I want to save my arm ( laughs ), from the tendonitis problem . I ’ ve been playing with
the guitar slung a bit lower than before , and it isn ’ t as good for your arm to play with the guitar lower . It looks nice in the pictures , but it ’ s not super healthy to play the kind of solos that I have to play while having the guitar really low .
[ CG ] That gets us to your signature DiMarzio pickups . I saw that the neck pickup is based , at least in part , on a PAF Pro . How did you end up working with DiMarzio , and what is the development history of your pickups ?
[ Kiko ] I met Steve Blucher ( DiMarzio pickup designer ) a long time ago . I did my first solo album in 2004 : No Gravity , and then another one in 2006 : Universo Inverso , which is more of a Fusion / Brazilian / Jazz album , and Steve Blucher was into that kind of music . He was sending some gear to me back then .
I was using the PAF 36 th Anniversary model , and when it came for my Ibanez signature model , I asked him , “ Can you do something like that for me ? You know my music . I need to play the Metal stuff , but I need to be able to do the Fusion stuff too .” And he developed the Kiko signature pickup for me . It is kind of based on the PAF , and if you ’ re playing in a metal band it will work great , but if you compare my pickups to Dave Mustaine ’ s active pickups , it ’ s completely different . His pickup is made for metal , and it ’ s hard to play anything else .
With my DiMarzio ’ s , even if you don ’ t have that much output and you add more gain in the amp , it will sound great and clear and have more control . If you don ’ t put a lot of distortion on
your amp or your pedal , then you will have the fusion sound if you want . And that ’ s what Steve developed . My DiMarzio signature pickups for my Ibanez signature model .
[ CG ] Tell us about your relationship with DV Mark Amps .
[ Kiko ] I ’ m using the DV Mark Multi-amp now . I ’ m working with it at home and setting up all of my sounds , and then I ’ ll bring it on the road with Megadeth . I love Marco De Virgiliis , and it ’ s great gear .
[ CG ] How did you end up doing the Great Guitar Escape camp with Paul Gilbert ? Did he reach out and invite you to come teach and play at his camp with Mimi Fox , Andy Timmons , and Bumblefoot ?
[ Kiko ] Yeah , it was an amazing time . I met Paul years ago in Japan and we went to have some blowfish for dinner . Then I met him some other times through the years . I was lucky and blessed that he invited me . I ’ m a big fan of Andy Timmons and Bumblefoot as well . It was great to see Mimi Fox playing . I love to listen and see a real jazz player . Her improvisations were so amazing . And I just love guitar camps in general . It was the first time that I ’ ve done a guitar camp in the United States . I ’ ve done a few others in Europe , like in Germany with Greg Howe , and one in Italy with Allan Holdsworth that was great . But this was the first time in the U . S . and it was great ! I ’ m a big fan of Paul Gilbert . I grew up listening and observing him , and I learned a lot of stuff from him , like fast runs and scales . My teacher back in Brazil was more into the fusion stuff , back when I was 18 or 19 years old . He wasn ’ t really into the fast runs . I watched a lot of the guitar videos , and Paul Gilbert was a big part of that learning process . So it was great to be at the guitar camp with him , and also with Andy Timmons .
I also love to be around the guitar players and all of the kids , and just the whole vibe of the camp . I hope that I ’ m invited to do that a lot more !
22 Jul � Aug 2017 CollectibleGuitar . com