Gear

I want to dedicate this section to the gear I chose for me and why I chose certain brands.

Ibanez Guitars

My first contact with Ibanez was back in 1999. Back then I played in school with a classmate and we formed a band and performed in school. From this band arose the first formation of Siren’s Cry and the Demo CD “Center of Might”. Markus, the second guitarist – who had a massive impact on my playing and also introduced me to John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert, and other Guitar Gods – played a blue Ibanez 270. Back then I used a Hamer Standard Explorer which weighed a ton and did not have a trem. So I spent a summer working and earning money and after two long months, I had enough money saved up to finally buy my first Ibanez, which was the Ibanez RG550EXSD. in 2003 I had the last 4 frets scalloped on this particular guitar.

Listening to a lot of Dream Theater in 1998/99 and also getting into Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani, I wanted to play Ibanez and play their instruments. Around that time a new music store opened on the outskirts of Vienna called “Musik Produktiv” and when they finally opened, the Drummer L.X., Marcus, the guitarist and me drove out there to see what was on offer. As we got there they had this beautiful brand new Ibanez JPM100 P1 on display. Oh, I wanted that guitar but the hefty price tag and the fact that I spent all my hard-earned money on the RG550 stopped me. But I knew then that one day I would own one of those amazing guitars.

As the release of “Scattered Horizons” emerged, I got in contact with Ibanez Austria and they offered me a deal! I was very excited and honored to be chosen. It was a dream come true!

Amplification

During school, I never really had a proper amp. When I got my first guitar in the US – a second hand Hamer Slammer Series Californian “XT” – I also bought a second hand Fender Princeton Chorus but it soon died on me. Since I was never happy with the distortion of the amp I used Zoom pedalboards for a very long time which I thought was really cool back then and also thought that this was how a guitar was supposed to sound. I never played over a proper valve amp so I was pretty clueless!

When my Zoom GFX 8 also slowly died and things got a little more serious with Siren’s Cry, playing with Doro Pesch at the Rockhaus in Vienna and also battling in the Yamaha band contest, the time was right to go and get a proper amp. I was drawn to the Mesa Boogie department immediately and started looking at a Dual Rectifier and a 4×12 Cab. When it came to buying, I got talked into Marshall which back then I really did not like as they sounded IMHO to soft and not brutal enough. Nevertheless, I walked out of the shop with a Marshall JCM 2000 TSL100 and a Marshall MR1960AV 4×12 Cab. The gear was great! In the beginning, I was not all too happy with it and felt that the Mesa Boogie would have been the better choice for the sound in my head. However, over time I really started to love my Marshall Stack.

A friend introduced me to Engl Amps but back then I did not like them at all. My friend was well into his Black Metal and thus sounded accordingly. I found it horrible and thus stuck to my Marshall for the time. 

As Engl emerged and made a name for themselves and with their products reaching a bigger crowd, more and more guys around me started using them. So I gave it another shot and after a very extensive jam session with a good friend, I knew I had found the sound I was looking for.

Engl is rolling and all others are stoned!

Guitar Strings

When it comes to guitar strings I used D’Addario EXL125 for ages until again a friend who runs a music shop in Vienna gave me Elixir Strings to try out. I stuck by them ever since. I know that a lot of folks don’t like the slippery feel the coating gives but for me this is exactly why I love them so much. I change my strings frequently depending on how much I play. So it’s not a case of “…put some Elixir on them and then forget about changing strings for 2 years!” I’d say it is a nice side effect that the strings don’t corrode as fast and keep clean for longer but that’s all it is. A pleasant side effect.

I tried other strings in between but nothing really grabbed me by the balls like Elixir. I think they really shine in the treble range and give a sweet tone and great sustain.

Instrument Cables

Regarding guitar Cables I had a Pro Co Excalibur 1/4″ Instrument Cable which I bought in the US in 1992 and I had it till 2001 when it got stolen after a show which still annoys me to this day. It was a really good reliable cable and we had some history together *sigh*.

After that I used Planet waves for a while but knew I wanted something else. I did not know what yet. When we did the “Draconian Spectrum” Demo in 2008/09 I found the answer. Jakob, the owner of WildOne Studios swore on Monster Cables and after using them in the studio I went out and bought one and never looked back since.

I got a Vovox Sonorus protect A600 TS/TS as a birthday present once but I honestly do not really like how it sounds. I find that the Monster Rock Cables add a sweetness to the guitar tone and round the tone. When I tried the Vovox cable I found that I had a very sharp and high treble tone even after I took the signal routing into account. Thus for me it’s Monster Rock Cables!

Guitars

Here you can find technical details of all of my guitars I used over the years. All guitar strings used either live or in studio are Elixir Strings. For all the E Standard, Eb Standard & D Standard tunings I use the Elixir PN 12052 Light .010.013.017.026.036.046. For C Standard tunings on the RGD2120z-ISH I use Elixir PN 12152 Heavy .012.016.024.032.042.052. On the 7 String, I use Elixir PN 12057 Light .010.013.017.026.036.046.056

IBANEZ RG2127Z-ISH

Name: RGSC2001-BK Years: 2010–2017 Areas: Worldwide Made in: Japan Finishes: ISH (Invisible Shadow)
Body Body type: Solid body Body material: Alder w/ white Pearloid binding Neck joint: AANJ Bridge: Lo-Pro Edge Hardware color: Cosmo black	Neck type: RG2011SC Prestige Neck material: 5-piece Maple Walnut/ KTS titanium rods Scale length: 650mm/ 25.5″ Fingerboard: Rosewood Inlays: Pearl dot Frets:30 / jumbo (Prestige edge treatment) Nut: Barless Top-Lok	Electronics/ Strings PU Config: HH Bridge PU: DiMarzio Tone Zone Neck PU: DiMarzio True Velvet Controls: 1 volume / 3-way toggle String gauge: .010–.056 Tuning: 1E 2B 3G 4D 5A 6E

IBANEZ RG2127Z-ISH

Name: RGD2127Z Years: 2010–2017 Areas: Worldwide Made in: Japan Finishes: ISH (Invisible Shadow)
Body Body type: Solid body Body material: Basswood Neck joint: AANJ Bridge: Edge Zero 7 tremolo w/ ZPS3 Hardware color: Cosmo black	Neck type: Wizard-7 Prestige Neck material: 5-piece maple/ wenge w/ KTS titanium rods Scale length: 672mm/ 26.5″ Fingerboard: Rosewood Inlays: White dot Frets: 24 / jumbo (Prestige edge treatment) Nut: Barless Top-Lok	Electronics/ Strings PU Config: HH Bridge PU: DiMarzio CrunchLab Neck PU: DiMarzio Air Norton Controls: 1 volume / 3-way toggle String gauge: .010–.056 Tuning: 1D 2A 3F 4C 5G 6D 7A

IBANEZ RG2120Z-ISH

Name: RGD2120Z Years: 2010–2012 Areas: Worldwide Made in: Japan Finishes: ISH (Invisible Shadow)
Body Body material: Basswood Neck joint: AANJ Bridge: Edge Zero with ZPS3 Hardware color: Cosmo Black	Neck Neck type: Wizard HP Prestige Neck material: 5-piece maple/ walnut Scale length: 672mm (26.5″) Fingerboard: Rosewood Inlays: Pearl small dots Frets: 24 / jumbo	Electronics/ Strings PU Config: HH Bridge PU: DiMarzio Crunch Lab Neck PU: DiMarzio Liquifire Controls: 1 volume / 3-way toggle String gauge: .012–.052 Tuning: 1C, 2G, 3Eb, 4B, 5F, 6C

IBANEZ JPM100 P4

Name: JPM100 P4 Years: 1995–1999 Areas: Worldwide Made in: Japan Finishes: P4 (1998–1999) (Petrucci Custom Graphic)
Body Body type: Solid body Body material: American basswood Neck joint: AANJ Bridge: Lo-Pro Edge tremolo Hardware color: Black	Neck Neck type:JPM Neck material: 1-piece maple Fingerboard: Rosewood w/ binding Inlays: Off-set dot Frets: 24 / 6100	Electronics / Strings String gauge: .010–.046 Tuning: 1D 2A 3F 4C 5G 6D   PU Config: HH Bridge PU: DiMarzio Steve’s Special Neck PU: DiMarzio Air Norton Controls: 1 volume / 1 tone / 3-way toggle

IBANEZ RG550EXSD

Name: RG550EX Years: 2000–2002 Areas: Europe Made in: Japan Finishes: SD (Silver Sand)
Body Body type: Solid body Body material: Basswood Neck joint: AANJ Bridge: Edge tremolo Hardware color: Powder cosmo Pickguard: Mirrored	Neck Neck type: Super Wizard Neck material: 3-piece maple/ Bubinga Fingerboard: Rosewood Inlays: Mirror dot Frets: 24 / jumbo Nut: Top-Lok III	Electronics / Strings String gauge: .010–.046 Tuning: 1D 2A 3F 4C 5G 6D   PU Config: HSH Bridge PU: Ibanez V8 Mid PU: Ibanez S1 Neck PU: Ibanez V7 Controls: 1 volume / 1 tone / 5-way lever

IBANEZ XPT700 IPT

Name: XPT700 Years: 2007–2011 Areas: Worldwide Made in: Indonesia Finishes:  IPT (Iron Pewter)
Body type: Solid body Body material: Mahogany Neck joint: Neck-thru Bridge: Edge III tremolo Hardware color: Cosmo black	Neck type: 2007–2010: Wizard II 2011: Wizard III Neck material: 5-piece maple/ walnut Fingerboard: Rosewood w/ binding Inlays: Reversed sharktooth Frets: 24 / jumbo	Electronics / Strings String gauge: .010–.046 Tuning: 1Eb 2Bb 3Gb 4Db 5Ab 6Eb   PU Config: HH Bridge PU: DiMarzio D Activator Neck PU: DiMarzio D Activator Controls: 1 volume / 1 tone / 3-way toggle