This Berklee-educated, Venezuelan-born guitarist with a unique tapping technique plays self-designed 16-string instruments that are two guitars in one.
If youāre unfamiliar with Venezuelan guitarist Felix Martin, your first reaction to his technique might be, āSeriously?!ā
Martin, who is left-handed, plays an upside-down, extended-range/multiple-string, doubleneck guitar. But his guitar is no ordinary upside-down, extended range/multiple-string doubleneck: The two necks are conjoinedāalthough the fretboards are separateāand create an almost contiguous 16-string playing surface.
On top of that, Martin is a bona fide virtuoso. He plays using an eight-finger tapping style, one hand per neck, and the parts he plays are often contrapuntal, polyrhythmic, and piano-like in their harmonic richness. He insists that he doesnāt practice two-handed independence, but your ears may tell you otherwise.
This complicated style isnāt a gimmick. Martin is a diverse musical talent who graduated from Berklee College of Music, where he studied composition, orchestration, production, arranging, and transcribed music from around the globe. His genre home base is post-Dream Theater prog, but heās fluent in multiple styles including classical, world, and jazz fusion.
On his latest album, Mechanical Nations, Martin chose to focus on that which makes him different: two-handed tapping and percussive techniques. Despite his formidable picking chops, he stopped using a plectrum three years ago. He also doesnāt currently use distortion, a traditional amp, or stompboxesāinstead deriving his tones from a Fractal Axe FX II, which he runs direct to the board both live and in the studio.
And still, his new album is heavy. The musicās rhythmic intensity and powerful percussive element help maintain his metal credentials. Using clean tones means he can showcase his musicās complexity without sacrificing aggressiveness (or muddying up the mix).
Left-handed, conjoined, doubleneck guitars arenāt commonplace, obviously, and Martinās instruments are custom built (see the accompanying sidebar to learn about his latest collaborator, Polish luthier Skervesen Guitars).
We spoke with Martin as he was about to embark on a 10-city tour with Middle Eastern fusion masters Consider the Source. Martin discussed his innovative approach, building his unique instruments, his deep musical roots, and whyādespite what looks like compatible techniqueāhe doesnāt play a Chapman Stick.
What is the genesis of your approach?
I started when I was 12 or 13 years old. For me as a beginner, it was very hard to play fingerstyle guitar. For some reason, tapping was a lot more natural. I started playing these classical tunes, pop songs, and everything using tapping instead of classical fingerstyle. Then I started playing with two guitars at the same time.
I feel if you have one hand on each guitar, thereās more freedom. You can play chords in one hand and then melodies in the other hand and your hands wonāt overlap. I spent a lot of time when I was in high school playing like thatātaking a regular Ibanez 6-string guitar and a Stratocaster, and playing them at the same time.
Did you take lessons at the beginning?
I grew up in a small town in Venezuela, so there werenāt teachers there. Nobody played electric guitar; just three guys in town. It was hard for me to learn guitar but, at the same time, it made me creative, because I had to discover everything for myself. Fingerstyle was extremely hard for me. It didnāt make sense for me at all. Thatās when I started tapping, basically. Tapping was more natural. It made more senseāeverything was more organized.
Did you ever try a regular doubleneck guitar?
No. Iām left-handed, so to find a left-handed guitar like that is impossible. My guitars are different from a traditional doubleneck.
Your music incorporates so many different influences. What do you listen to?
I grew up listening to everything, from classical, to jazz, to metal. I was into world music a lot when I was growing up, too. When I was at Berklee, at the Berklee library, I would take music from each country and transcribe it.
Felix Martinās latest album, Mechanical Nations, was recorded with his trio, which consists of bassist Kilian Duarte and drummer Victor A. Carracedo. Martin prefers no layering or backing tracks on his studio recordings.
Music from Greece, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and all of Europeāworld music was a big passion I had. When you want to be a professional musician and have music as a career, you want to learn every style. Thatās what I did for many years. Even traditional jazz and death metal ā¦ everything.
So, you can play everything from Charlie Parker to Napalm Death, and everything in between?
I could play it, but Iām not a jazz musician. Iām mainly a rock and metal guitar player. Thereās a video of me playing Charlie Parkerāand itās cool and it sounds goodābut Iām not a jazz player.
What did you do to develop your two-handed independence? It looks like your hands do very different things.
Mainly, a lot of practice. I actually donāt practice independence that much; I just do stuff. If I have a musical idea or a solo thing that Iām working on, I try to mix it with both hands. It just happens. One thing Iāve noticed: When youāre playing two things at the same time, youāre not thinking ātwice.ā Some people think, āYouāve got two brains.ā That doesnāt exist. You have one brain. The two things youāre doing, youāre doing as one thing. Youāre thinking one thing, but youāre doing it with both hands.
You hear it as one idea.
Itās just one idea. When Iām playing these complicated lines with both hands, Iām playing it as a regular guitar player. Iām thinking just a single thing in my brain. Itās easier than people think.
Felix Martinās first doubleneck guitars were built by Canadian luthier JP Laplante. Martin still plays his custom Laplante models, including this doubleneck with a 9-string and 7-string configuration. Photo by Mary Escalona
Which is harder: complicated independent parts or a unison line on both necks?
It depends on what youāre playing, but I think theyāre the same. At this point, youāve just got to play them well. Thatās the hardest part: Make whatever your playing sounds good. Obviously, if you want to play a Bach fugue, thatās really hard. Iām transcribing a Beethoven piece and itās really challenging on guitar. Itās a piano piece, not a guitar piece. Itās so fast and the arpeggios are with just one hand and then the other hand is doing something else.
You play a lot of cool polyrhythms between your two hands. Talk about learning how to do that.
I was really into them when I was a teenager and when I was at Berklee. I used to listen a lot to Dream Theater and jazz fusion groups like the Bad Plus. Nowadays, Iām more into focusing on trying to discover new sounds on the guitar rather than music-theory-related things. Iām really influenced by drummers, too. For the polyrhythms, I would listen to Virgil Donati [Allan Holdsworth, Planet X] and Marco Minnemann [the Aristocrats, Joe Satriani], and then Mike Mangini and Mike Portnoy [Dream Theater]. Nowadays, Iām more influenced by the gospel chops guys like Tony Royster Jr. and Thomas Pridgen [the Mars Volta]. I really like drummers and I get a lot of inspiration from them.
You recorded with Marco Minnemann, too?
Yeah, that was long ago. That was fun.
In addition to tapping, you also use many different picking techniquesāslap guitar, and things like that.
Yeah, but I donāt do that anymore. I havenāt played with a pick since three years ago. That was the last time I touched a pick.
Really?
For the new album and the new set list for the live shows, Iām not using a pick at all. On the older material, sometimes I use a pick. I used a pick for shred lines and power chords, but nowadays I will play them with my index finger. I developed a technique where I use my index finger as a pick.
It was painful at the beginning, but I can play lead lines and power chords with the index finger. I play tapping all the time. It bothers me a lot to play tapping and then to grab the pick. If youāre playing live, youāve got to put it in your mouth or somewhere else. So, I decided not to play with a pick anymore.
In addition to playing sans pick, thereās also no distortion on the new album. Why is that?
Itās not that I didnāt want to use distortion; itās more that I wanted to focus on what makes me different. It was a challenge to write a guitar-based album where youāre not using distortion, playing power chords, or soloing and playing lead lines.
There are a lot of people already doing that, so I focused on tappingāthe chords I do with tapping, the percussive techniques, and then the whole scale of things that I do with the tapping and also the slapping. I wanted to do something different that sounds really different. It was a big challenge and for the next album I think itās probably going to be the same. Iām going to focus on pushing myself a little further, pushing the technique more and more, and make it better.
Youāre able to get some heavy sounds, which is pretty surprising.
That was another challenge. We play shows with progressive metal bands, and we belong to the metal community. I was like, āMan, Iām going to do this tapping, but I have to make it sound heavy.ā The first song, the first groove on the album, Iām just tapping, but Iām playing hard and focused. Iām playing two chords at the same time, like two minor chords, but Iām playing them really fast and really hard. It sounds pretty heavy and Iām not using any distortion. That was the idea; to do something heavy, but that sounds different.
Guitars
Skervesen Goliath double 8-string
JP Laplante assorted custom models
Amps and Effects
Fractal Axe FX II
Keith McMillen SoftStep 2 MIDI Controller
Strings and Picks
Ernie Ball 8-String sets with a .074 for the 8th string and a .064-.068 for the 7th string
What is the role of the bass player in your band and why donāt you just play those parts yourself on your 8-string guitars?
Well, first, my guitars are just guitars. I donāt have bass strings on them. But mainly, I donāt like to do the bass parts on my guitarāthatās why we have a bass player. I want to find different sounds using both hands for the guitar. The bass player is mainly playing the roots, just like in any band, and taking care of the low end.
Do you enjoy getting harmonically adventurous, pushing parameters, and exploring dissonance?
I donāt experiment with dissonance much these days. Iām experimenting with chords and with tensions. I have this thing where I can play a chord and then I can play the same shape on the other neck and get all the tensions. For example, you can play a regular Cm7 [on one neck] and an AbMaj7 [on the other]. Itās the regular shapes of those chords, but itās another voicing. Nowadays, I play more in the key than outside the key, but I have a lot of older stuff online. I was a big fan of diminished scales, where I would harmonize the whole thing and all the melodies were on the diminished scale.
Do you improvise or is most of your music worked out?
Itās pretty worked out, though live I improvise a lot. I think more like a drummer. I play fills in between. I donāt always play the same thing live. I change things. I think itās more fun for me. I donāt know if itās more fun for the audience, but I feel like having fun onstage.
Berklee-educated Felix Martin can play anything from Charlie Parker to Dream Theater to Bach or Beethoven, but his preferred genre is progressive metal and rock. Photo by Mary Escalona
Who built your guitars and helped you with the concept?
Iāve got many guitars and they were built by a few luthiers, but the one who built the most is JP Laplante. He is a luthier in Canada. He helped me with the concept and to design it better, too. The lower horn was a big problem and then the weightāhe helped me a lot in the beginning. Nowadays, I play a Skervesenāthey are a Polish companyābut I still play the guitars JP made me, too.
Were you in Venezuela when you built the first one or were you already at Berklee?
I was at Berklee. I was kind of building on it in Venezuela, because I had the idea already. I did a few experiments in Venezuela, but not officially. I was a teenager and I didnāt have access to luthiers and all that.
Do you vary your pickup choices and do you keep both necks activated all the time?
I mostly use the middle positionāwhich is weird for guitar playersāon both fretboards. Sometimes I use the bridge pickup for distortion when playing lead lines. I donāt play many lead lines nowadays, but when I play lead lines, like with a pick, I use the bridge. For some stuff, I use the neck, but 95 percent of the time itās the middle. And both fretboards are always on. Iām always using them.
Do your guitars have two outputs?
The guitars have two outputs, but I always use both outputs on mono. Right now, Iām using the Axe FX II.
āMonoā meaning both outputs go into the same amp and itās the same tone on both necks?
Yeah. I can do different stuff on both necks, but I prefer to play mono, as one guitar.
Your guitars have different string combinations, like seven and seven, or eight and six. what are you using now?
Eight and eight is my main setup right now. The other ones are cool, but eight and eight fits my style a little more. I can write more stuff and I have more freedom.
Are both necks tuned the same way?
Yeah, all the time. I just use regular tuning. The lowest string is Gb/F#. Itās F#āBāEāAāDāGāBāE.
I saw a picture of you with an 11-string. Do you use that?
That was just joking, man. If you see me with a different guitar, like an 11-string or a 9-string or some weird bass, Iām joking with that.
Have you ever experimented with a Chapman Stick?
Yeah, but theyāre not a guitar. Iām a guitarist. Itās a whole different thing. Itās not even a bass. I canāt play a Chapman Stick. You would be surprised, because my technique is similar, but the Stick is just a total different thing. I like it. Iām friends with a lot of Chapman Stick players. I just canāt play it.
Your Skervesen has fan frets. What do you like about them?
Theyāre just a different instrument. I donāt want to say itās better or worse; itās just the feeling of the instrument is different. Technically, you get a better sound on the lower strings because you get more tension because of the fan frets, but for me I see it more as a different tool for writing. I write different, because the instrument feels different. My next guitar probably wonāt have fan frets. Not because I donāt like itāI just need different tools for writing.
What are you using to mute the strings?
I donāt play open strings that much. To play tapping, without getting too much noise, I use Velcro.
In the studio, do you record everything live?
Everything live. I donāt like to do double-tracking or layers of guitars. I like to play one thing and thatās it. The new album is just like a live trio. I donāt like to use backing tracks or strings in the background. I just like the sound of a trio.
Do you sit in the same room together when you record?
No, we record everything separated. Thatās the way we record it, but the album feels live because we arenāt doing layers of guitars.
Do you plug your Axe FX II into the board or do you mike a set of speakers?
It depends, but mostly the Axe FX just going into the board.
Do you do the same thing live?
I plug the Axe FX into the PA all the time. I donāt use amplifiers anymore. Someday, I want to start using amps again, but not any time soon. When you use an amplifier, you get a little distortion and the clean tone wonāt be as clean as a direct sound. I do a lot of clean tapping, so it sounds better if I go direct. Itās cleaner for me.
Watch Felix Martin in action on his custom Skervesen 16-string doubleneck at NAMM 2017. Martin doesnāt currently use pedals in his regular rig, but this live clip from the Jim Dunlop booth is a good example of his incredible tapping technique.
Felix Martinās green, headless, double 8-string guitar was built by Skervesen Guitars in Poland. The guitar is called āthe Goliath,ā and features fanned frets, which Martin says help him write differently. Photo by Mary Escalona
Sidebar headline: Strength in Numbers
Felix Martinās left-handed, doubleneck, conjoined guitars arenāt something you just walk into a store and buy. He must seek out daredevil luthiers, convince them he isnāt crazy, and work with them to craft instruments that fit his needs.Martinās first instruments were built by Canadian builder JP Laplante. Laplante was instrumental in refining Martinās original concept and built many of his guitarsāincluding his 7+7-, 9+7-, and 8+6-string configurations.
Martinās most recent collaboration, however, is with Skervesen Guitars, a small shop based near GdaÅsk, Poland. Skervesen built the green, headless, double 8-string beast called the Goliath that Martin is using on his current tour and on Mechanical Nations.
āEverything was a bit different because of his unusual playing technique,ā says Skervesen company spokesman Maciek Horaczko. āThe main thing was shaping both the upper and lower horns so Felix can access both the upper neck and also play easily in the sitting position.ā
Building the necks also proved to be a challenge. āShaping the profiles of two necks, which are connected together, was one of the biggest problems,ā Horaczko says. āItās not obvious, but when you look at the back of the guitar, you can see the necks are not parallel. We had to recalculate the placement of the frets so that the guitar is playable and that all the notes are in place.ā Each neck is seven pieces of woodāa combination of rosewood, maple, and ebonyābound together to form a 15-piece doubleneck. Each neck also sports a truss rod plus additional carbon rods to compensate for the extra tension. āThe tension of so many strings is enormous,ā Horaczko says. The fretboards are maple.
Skervesen also took pains to craft an instrument that was not only light, but wasnāt top-heavy. āWe went with a headless construction,ā Horaczko says. āWhen you have 16 tuners, no matter how small they are, the number 16 makes it heavy. We also used lightweight pieces of wood. The body is swamp ash, which is lightweight and has a nice sound.ā The top green piece is made from poplar burl.
The biggest challenge, though, was testing the final product. āOnce we finished the guitar, it was such a crazy and unusual custom guitar that there was no one who could try it,ā Horaczko says. āIt is also left-handed. Iām left-handed, but I really couldnāt play anything that made sense.ā
Martinās guitar is a one-of-a-kind instrument, though you can order one, too. āIt costs about ā¬5,500, which is still less than two 8-string guitars,ā Horaczko says.
The ultimate hand-wired Tube Screamer from Ibanez is up for grabs! Enter the I Love Pedals giveaway today, and come back daily for extra entries!
Ibanez TS808HWv2 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro Pedal
Ibanez has taken the iconic Tube Screamer and pushed it further by re-envisioning their flagship, hand-wired model. The company evaluated every component while aiming to stay true to the pedalās transparent and mid-range-focused tone. After numerous prototypes, it was concluded the JRC NJM4558 op-amp was essential to achieve the Tube Screamerās legendary sound. At the same time, this new design is capable of a wider range of sounds thanks to the addition of high-end components such as MOGAMI OFC cables, which further enhance the benefits of a hand-wired pedal. Additionally, a boost has been added to the final stage of the circuit, increasing the maximum output level by +6dB. Its look has also been revamped, giving it a high-end appearance while retaining the traditional shape.
The high priest of prog-metal guitar, John Petrucci, is still finding new territory on his instrument.
The legendary progressive-metal guitarist details the darknessāand the renewed camaraderieāthat led to his band Dream Theaterās 16th full-length record, Parasomnia.
Some very important events happened in John Petrucciās life in 2024. He celebrated an enormous milestone with his bandmates in prog-metal behemoth Dream Theater: Theyāve been a band for 40 years. Many bands arenāt destined to last a single decade, let alone four. Itās a titanic personal and artistic achievement. And yet, that anniversary paled in significance next to another major development: The band wrote and created a new full-length record with founding drummer Mike Portnoy, who had been absent from Dream Theater since 2010.
The news of Portnoyās reunion with Dream Theater rocked the metal world. Over the years, whiffs of acrimony and hurt feelings suggested Portnoyās return to the band might be a pipe dream. But in October 2023, the band revealed that they had all independently reconciled with Portnoy, a process that culminated backstage at New Yorkās Beacon Theater in 2022. Portnoy attended Dream Theaterās show at the venue and met up with the band afterward. It was the first time heād seen vocalist James Labrie in 10 years. Within seconds, 13 years melted away in the warmth of camaraderie.
āThe gear was all set up and we sat there and started playing. It was magic. It was like we never missed a beat.ā
A few months after the announcement of Portnoyās return, he and bandmates Labrie, Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess convened at the recently renovated Dream Theater HQ, their longtime creative hideout and recording studio in Long Island, to begin to create new music. Petrucci, speaking over the phone from Brazil during Dream Theaterās December 2024 tour, remembers that period fondly. āFrom the moment that we all stepped in the studio in February, the gear was all set up and we sat there and started playing,ā he says. āIt was magic. It was like we never missed a beat.ā
After shaking off the cobwebs, the first song they wrote together was āNight Terrorāāāif that gives you any indication of the energy and vibe and mood that we were in,ā quips Petrucci. Itās heavy, riffy, aggressive, and progressive, a capsule of 13 years in just shy of 10 minutes. āWe let that all out in the first couple of weeks of just being together,ā Petrucci continues. āIt was wonderful and the creative juices just flowed the way they always did. There was great brotherly chemistry between all of us.ā
Last year, Dream Theater celebrated their ruby anniversary as a band. Four decades on, theyāre still exploring the dark corners of what happens when we sleep.
The band continued to create together as theyād always done. They had some concrete ideas: They wanted to make a concept album, and it had to be heavy and riff-centric. Petrucci, who produced the record, was intrigued by parasomnia, a medical concept which refers broadly to any unusual sleep pattern, like sleepwalking, nightmares, insomnia, sleep paralysis, and more. He hadnāt experienced those nocturnal issues (the worst he deals with is snoring), but he began deep research into them. A path had opened up. āThat creative part of me just wakes up, and then that turns into it also being musically creative, lyrically creative, visually creative,ā says Petrucci.
This is how Parasomnia, Dream Theaterās 16th studio record, came to exist. Engineered and mixed by Andy Sneap, the concept album comprises a collection of suites and vignettes that center on various sleep disturbances, opening with āIn the Arms of Morpheus,ā a slowly building soundscape that sets the scene for all that follows. It soundtracks someone getting ready for bed and falling asleep, and just as theyāre drifting into a dreamstate, a musical theme starts to creep in. It heightens and gets weird before exploding into the full chaos that gives way to āNight Terror,ā the nine-minute-plus epic. Petrucciās playing on this song alone is staggering: Thereās the classic, open-string beginner riff, then vintage, hyper, ā80s-metal single-note melody work, then a truly brain-melting, lightning-fast solo that leaves your jaw open.
True to Dream Theater lineage, there are pieces of the record that feel ready to soundtrack alien drag races on Mars next to swanky sections of jazzy, hard-rocking funk-blues, like on āA Broken Man.ā Petrucci slips in and out of modes and scales like a chameleon changing its colors, each sounding as lived-in and natural as the last. His fingers just seem to know where to go. His only reprieve is the funereal interlude āAre We Dreaming?ā which prepares us for the power ballad āBend the Clockā and the devastating, scorched earth closer: āThe Shadow Man Incident.ā
Parasomnia is Dream Theaterās 16th studio record, and their first since reuniting with founding drummer Mike Portnoy.
āItās wacky,ā says Petrucci about the phenomena behind that songās title. If youāre not familiar, āthe shadow manā is a colloquial name given to a figure that appears during some episodes of sleep paralysis. People around the world have reported a similar apparition visiting them while theyāre experiencing sleep paralysisābut thereās no scientific consensus for what causes the similar visions.
āThereās something in the human brain that is unaccounted for or whatever that must be producing that, that repeated experience,ā continues Petrucci. āYou start doing all this research and going down rabbit holes online. Youāre like, āWow, for centuries, in every culture and civilization, the same thing has been happening. What is this?ā It definitely explores the depths of the human mind, but it reminds me of any sort of topic that holds your interest in a weird way, like UFOs. A song like āThe Shadow Man Incidentā is a long, epic piece of music that gives you the backdrop and license to go into storytelling more.ā
The goal was to take that storytelling beyond the normal confines of an LPāor, at least, what we think of as an LP in the streaming age. āWhat we decided to do was to make the album kind of like a Dark Side of the Moon listening experience,ā explains Petrucci. āOur hope is that people will get this record, turn down the lights, get together with some friends for a drink or whatever you do, and just listen to the whole thing like youāre watching a movie. Itās supposed to be an experience.āPetrucci even studied the music of composers like John Williams to get a bead on how to create epic, cinematic feelings in music. He displayed his research to his bandmates in the form of creative direction for certain songs, likening the process to scoring a film. āThe album or song topic presents certain imagery, and you want the music to match that imagery, so you have those tools in your toolbox, like, āOkay, I know what kind of chord movement or chordal sounds or modal things I can do that are going to make that,ā and itās going to create that flavor as opposed to just going in and writing in the typical way that you would if you didnāt have that knowledge ahead of time.ā
āWith Mike rejoining the band, I wanted to lean into the nostalgic aspect in some of the recording process.ā
A part of that soundscaping is what Petrucci describes as āear candyā: spoken-word passages, or sound effects like clocks ticking and alarms ringing. These elements help build a more profound, immersive listen, but they only work if the songs are good, says Petrucci. āYou can have all these sound connections and overdubs and voices, but if the songs suck, itās not going to mean anything. No oneās going to want to listen to it.ā
Knowing that the record would deal with all things eerie and creepy, Petrucci wanted to explore what types of tonalities could unsettle the listening experience. āFor āNight Terror,ā I use the super Phrygian mode, which is like a mode of the Hungarian minor which has a very unresolved sound that creates a lot of tension,ā he says. He also experimented with constructs like the Prometheus and Tristan chords. āThat gives you that dreamy weird thing you hear in āIn the Arms of Morpheus.ā That first 8-string chord is this crazy chord of all tritones that just makes it sound like youāre in a nightmare right away.ā
Petrucci, pictured here shredding in November 1994, broke out plenty of classic gear for the recording of Parasomnia to mark the reunion with Portnoy.
Photo by Frank White
Petrucci called on a range of tools old and new to bring Parasomnia to life. āWith Mike rejoining the band, I wanted to lean into the nostalgic aspect in some of the recording process,ā he explains. He used his 6-, 7-, and 8-string Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty guitars, in a spread of different tunings. He used his Mesa/Boogie JP-2C on everything except the recordās solos. For those, he busted out his old Mesasāa Mark III, IV, and IIC+ among themāfor a shootout and wound up choosing the IIC+ that he used on old Dream Theater records (plus his own solo release, Suspended Animation). A Roland Jazz Chorus even clocked in for some cleansāa page Petrucci took from James Hetfieldās book.
The nostalgia didnāt end there. The band reached out to recording engineer Doug Oberkircher, who engineered all of the bandās records from 1992ās Images and Words through 2003ās Train of Thought, to purchase the Neve preamp used on those albums. All the guitars on Parasomnia were recorded through that preamp.
In many ways, a production this grand and intricate is familiar territory for the band. Petrucci and Dream Theater obviously have a penchant for art that is narrative, theatrical, and grand. But Parasomnia is specially weighted with circumstance and time.John Petrucci's Gear
Petrucci and Dream Theater have managed an incredible feat: Theyāre just as excited about their music now as they were when they were teenagers.
Photo by Ekaterina Gorbacheva
Guitars
- Various Ernie Ball Music Man The Majesty 6-, 7-, and 8-string guitars with DiMarzio Dreamcatcher and Rainmaker pickups
Amps
- Mesa/Boogie JP-2C (rhythm parts)
- Vintage Mesa/Boogie Mark II C+ Simul-Class (lead parts)
- Roland JC-120 (clean parts)
- Mesa/Boogie 4x12 Rectifier Traditional Straight cabinet
Effects
- MXR Bass Compressor
- Boss CE-2W
- Boss DC-2W
- TC Electronic Dreamscape
- TC Electronic TC 2290
- TC Electronic Corona Chorus+
- MXR Stereo Chorus
- Keeley Blues Disorder
- Dunlop JP95 John Petrucci Signature Cry Baby Wah
- MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC403 Power System
Recording
- Neve 1093 Pre/EQ
- API 3124MV
- Solid State Logic PURE DRIVE OCTO
- sE Electronics VR2 + Mojave Audio MA-D (rhythm parts)
- sE Electronics SE4400a + Royer Labs R-121 (lead parts)
- Royer Labs R-121 in stereo (clean parts)
- sE Electronics RNR1 (mid room)
- sE Electronics RNT in OMNI (far room)
- Waves H-Delay Analog Delay Plugin
- Soundtoys EchoBoy
- Soundtoys MicroShift
- Soundtoys Crystallizer
- D16 Group Audio Software Repeater
- Valhalla DSP VintageVerb Plugin
- Valhalla DSP ValhallaRoom Reverb Plugin
- Radial ProRMP
- Radial J48
- EBow
Strings & Picks
- John Petrucci signature Dunlops
- Ernie Ball .10 gauge electric sets
āJohn Myung and I met when we were in middle school, so we were like 12, and I remember everything about us playing together, going over to each otherās houses after school and playing every Iron Maiden song there ever was, going to Berklee and meeting Mike when we were 18, forming the band,ā says Petrucci. āHere we are, itās 40 years later. How the hell does that happen? But the great thing is to still be playing with my brothers and my buddies, and still making music together that weāre just as excited about as we were when we were 18. Itās all we ever wanted to do.ā
All of this history isnāt just window dressing. It comes out in Petrucciās playing, too: Itās all one, long story. āBy the time I was 16 or 17, I had a handle on the kind of style of player I wanted to be, and those original elements are still there and will always be there,ā says Petrucci. āBut now, 40 years later, thereās still new things coming in. Even on the new album, thereās things I never did before. Weāre playing these shows and Iām trying to master this stuff live in front of an audience and see if I can pull it off under pressure. The challenge of it is just as much as it was when I was a teenager. I love it.
āItās a continuing experiment,ā Petrucci continues. āAs you develop new techniques and go down new roads of playing, all of a sudden you realize you abandoned some older techniques, then you go back and rediscover those things, and through the process of rediscovering the old things you used to do, all of a sudden you could do some stuff that you never were able to do before. Itās like something thatās living. Itās a living experiment of guitar playing. Itās just forever inspiring.ā
YouTube It
Last year marked Dream Theaterās 40th anniversary as a band, and the official Dream Theater fan club caught up with the group before their gig in Oslo to see how they brought the milestone tour to life.
Fifteen watts that sits in a unique tone space and offers modern signal routing options.
A distinct alternative to the most popular 1x10 combos. Muscular and thick for a 1x10 at many settings. Pairs easily with single-coils and humbuckers. Cool looks.
Tone stack could be more rangeful.
$999
Supro Montauk
supro.com
When you imagine an ideal creative space, what do you see? A loft? A barn? A cabin far from distraction? Reveling in such visions is inspiration and a beautiful escape. Reality for most of us, though, is different. Weāre lucky to have a corner in the kitchen or a converted closet to make music in. Still, thereās a romance and sense of possibility in these modest spaces, and the 15-watt, 1x10, all-tubeSupro Montauk is an amplifier well suited to this kind of place. It enlivens cramped corners with its classy, colorful appearance. Itās compact. Itās also potent enough to sound and respond like a bigger amp in a small room.
The Montauk works in tight quarters for reasons other than size, thoughāwith three pre-power-section outputs that can route dry signal, all-wet signal from the ampās spring reverb, or a mixture of both to a DAW or power amplifier.
Different Stripes and Spacious Places
Vintage Supro amps are modestly lovely things. The China-made Montauk doesnāt adhere toold Supro style motifs in the strictest sense. Its white skunk stripe is more commonly seen on black Supro combos from the late 1950s, while the blue ārhino hideā vinyl evokes Supros from the following decade. But the Montaukās handsome looks make a cramped corner look a lot less dour. It looks pretty cool on a stage, too, but the Montauk attribute most likely to please performing guitarists is the small size (17.75" x 16.5" x 7.5") and light weight (29 pounds), which, if you tote your guitar in a gig bag and keep your other stuff to a minimum, facilitates magical one-trip load ins.
Keen-eyed Supro-spotters noting the Montaukās weight and dimensions might spy the similarities to another 1x10 Supro combo,the Amulet. A casual comparison of the two amps might suggest that the Montauk is, more-or-less, an Amulet without tremolo and power scaling. They share the same tube complement, including a relatively uncommon 1x6L6 power section. But while the Montauk lacks the Amuletās tremolo, the Montaukās spring reverb features level and dwell controls rather than the Amuletās single reverb-level knob.
āHigh reverb levels and low dwell settings evoke a small, reflective room with metallic overtones from the spring sprinkled on topāleaving ghostly ambience in the wake of strong, defined transient tones.ā
If you use reverb a lot and in varying levels of intensity, youāll appreciate the extra flexibility. High reverb levels and low dwell settings evoke a small, reflective room with metallic overtones from the spring sprinkled on topāleaving ghostly ambience in the wake of strong, defined transient tones. There are many shades of this subtle texture to explore, and itās a great sound and solution for those who find the spring reverbs in Fender amps (which feature no dwell control) an all-or-nothing proposition. For those who like to get deep in the pipeline, though, the dwell offers room to roam. Mixing high level and dwell settings blunts the ampās touch sensitivity a bit, and at 15 watts you trade headroom for natural compression, compounding the fogginess of these aggressive settings. A Twin Reverb it aināt. But there is texture aplenty to play with.
A Long, Wide Strand
Admirably, the Montauk speaks in many voices when paired with a guitar alone. The EQ sits most naturally and alive with treble and bass in the noon-to-2-oāclock region, and a slight midrange lean adds welcome punch. Even the ampās trebliest realms afford you a lot of expressive headroom if you have enough range and sensitivity in your guitar volume and tone pots. Interactions between the gain and master output controls yield scads of different tone color, too. Generally, I preferred high gain settings, which add a firecracker edge to maximum guitar volume settings and preserve touch and pick response at attenuated guitar volume and tone levels.
If working with the Montauk in this fashion feels natural, youāll need very few pedals. But itās a good fit for many effects. A Fuzz Face sounded nasty without collapsing into spitty junk, and the Klon-ish Electro-Harmonix Soul Food added muscle and character in its clean-boost guise and at grittier gain levels. Thereās plenty of headroom for exploring nuance and complexity in delays and modulations. It also pairs happily with a wide range of guitars and pickups: Every time I thought a Telecaster was a perfect fit, Iād plug in an SG with PAFs and drift away in Mick Taylor/Stones bliss.
The Verdict
Because the gain, master, tone, and reverb controls are fairly interactive, it took me a minute to suss out the Montaukās best and sweetest tones. But by the time I was through with this review, I found many sweet spots that fill the spaces between Vox and Fender templates. Thereās also raunch in abundance when you turn it up. Itās tempting to view the Montauk as a competitor to the Fender Princeton and Vox AC15. At a thousand bucks, itās $400 dollars less than the Mexico-made Princeton ā68 Custom and $170 more than the AC15, also made in China. In purely tone terms, though, it represents a real alternative to those stalwarts. Iād be more than happy to see one in a backline, provided I wasnāt trying to rise above a Geezer Butler/Bill Ward rhythm section. And with its capacity for routing to other amps and recording consoles in many intriguing configurations, it succeeds in being a genuinely interesting combination of vintage style and sound and home-studio utilityāall without adding a single digital or solid-state component to the mix.
Watch the official video documenting the sold-out event at House of Blues in Anaheim. Join Paul Reed Smith and special guests as they toast to quality and excellence in guitar craftsmanship.
PRS Guitars today released the official video documenting the full night of performances at their 40th Anniversary celebration, held January 24th in conjunction with the 2025 NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants) Show. The sold-out, private event took place at House of Blues in Anaheim, California and featured performances by PRS artists Randy Bowland, Curt Chambers, David Grissom, Jon Jourdan, Howard Leese, Mark Lettieri Group, Herman Li, John Mayer, Orianthi, Tim Pierce, Noah Robertson, Shantaia, Philip Sayce, and Dany Villarreal, along with Paul Reed Smith and his Eightlock band.
āWhat a night! Big thanks to everyone who came out to support us: retailers, distributors, vendors, content creators, industry friends, and especially the artists. I loved every second. We are so pleased to share the whole night now on this video,ā said Paul Reed Smith, Founder & Managing General Partner of PRS Guitars. āI couldnāt be more proud to still be here 40 years later.ā
With nearly 1,400 of the whoās who in the musical instrument industry in attendance, the night ended with a thoughtful toast from PRS Signature Artist John Mayer, who reflected on 40 years of PRS Guitars and the quality that sets the brand apart. āThe guitars are great. You canāt last 40 years if the guitars arenāt great,ā said Mayer. āMany of you started hearing about PRS the same way I did, which is you would talk about PRS and someone would say āTheyāre too nice.ā Whatās too nice for a guitar? What, you want that special vibe that only tuning every song can give you on stage? You want that grit just like your heroes ā¦ bad intonation? The product is incredible.ā