Emil Werstler

"I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars exclusively for around seven years now. I think they have a lot of character that the majority of other guitars lack. I’m a traditionalist by nature, so I use passive pickups and accent the tone by pairing them with the right wood. With that being said, all of my guitars are completely different in some way. On this tour, and most U.S. tours, I travel with around seven of them. They are used for different tunings — one main and one backup per tuning: Drop C, Drop B, and Drop A. The 7th guitar is used as a bus guitar for warming up or teaching on the road."

"I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars exclusively for around seven years now. I think they have a lot of character that the majority of other guitars lack. I’m a traditionalist by nature, so I use passive pickups and accent the tone by pairing them with the right wood. With that being said, all of my guitars are completely different in some way. On this tour, and most U.S. tours, I travel with around seven of them. They are used for different tunings — one main and one backup per tuning: Drop C, Drop B, and Drop A. The 7th guitar is used as a bus guitar for warming up or teaching on the road."

"I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars exclusively for around seven years now. I think they have a lot of character that the majority of other guitars lack. I’m a traditionalist by nature, so I use passive pickups and accent the tone by pairing them with the right wood. With that being said, all of my guitars are completely different in some way. On this tour, and most U.S. tours, I travel with around seven of them. They are used for different tunings — one main and one backup per tuning: Drop C, Drop B, and Drop A. The 7th guitar is used as a bus guitar for warming up or teaching on the road."

"I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars exclusively for around seven years now. I think they have a lot of character that the majority of other guitars lack. I’m a traditionalist by nature, so I use passive pickups and accent the tone by pairing them with the right wood. With that being said, all of my guitars are completely different in some way. On this tour, and most U.S. tours, I travel with around seven of them. They are used for different tunings — one main and one backup per tuning: Drop C, Drop B, and Drop A. The 7th guitar is used as a bus guitar for warming up or teaching on the road."

"I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars exclusively for around seven years now. I think they have a lot of character that the majority of other guitars lack. I’m a traditionalist by nature, so I use passive pickups and accent the tone by pairing them with the right wood. With that being said, all of my guitars are completely different in some way. On this tour, and most U.S. tours, I travel with around seven of them. They are used for different tunings — one main and one backup per tuning: Drop C, Drop B, and Drop A. The 7th guitar is used as a bus guitar for warming up or teaching on the road."

"I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars exclusively for around seven years now. I think they have a lot of character that the majority of other guitars lack. I’m a traditionalist by nature, so I use passive pickups and accent the tone by pairing them with the right wood. With that being said, all of my guitars are completely different in some way. On this tour, and most U.S. tours, I travel with around seven of them. They are used for different tunings — one main and one backup per tuning: Drop C, Drop B, and Drop A. The 7th guitar is used as a bus guitar for warming up or teaching on the road."

"I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars exclusively for around seven years now. I think they have a lot of character that the majority of other guitars lack. I’m a traditionalist by nature, so I use passive pickups and accent the tone by pairing them with the right wood. With that being said, all of my guitars are completely different in some way. On this tour, and most U.S. tours, I travel with around seven of them. They are used for different tunings — one main and one backup per tuning: Drop C, Drop B, and Drop A. The 7th guitar is used as a bus guitar for warming up or teaching on the road."

“Finding the right amp can be a life-long journey. There always seems to be an imperfection in design covered up by excess features. For the multi-genre player, It is nearly impossible to find one amp for all styles until now. The ARCHON delivers the best clean and dirty channels I've ever heard in one amp. Finally, I get to just plug in and play.”

"My go-to amp for metal is the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. I think no matter what room you play it has a more natural mid range than most typical amps available for rental overseas. When the tubes are new, yet broken in, this amp is just punishing. It breaks up nicely and is percussive enough to get the job done. The external switching features really gel with the GCX, which we will get into later."

"My ultimate amp is the Bogner Shiva 20th anniversary. This amp is the lead tone on Crown of Phantoms. It’s like the old Shiva models but with a few mods that make it a stronger product in my opinion. The 20th anniversary mod and gain structure are gorgeous.

I think chasing the brown sound is an overly romanticized idea based on players in the past that “had it” no matter what they played on. Whenever I play a legit amp with “the brown sound” I usually go home thinking I have issues with my hands. So you’ll find a lot of players using overdrive up front to make it more manageable. This defeats the whole purpose. This amp has it all. Less tubes with more power make this thing sound REALLY pissed yet smooth. With two KT88’s in the power section at 90 watts, and the best clean tone EVER, I’m sold."

"I find it advantageous that a lot of sound guys are familiar with the Mesa Boogie 4×12 straight (standard sized) cabinet with vintage 30s. I often find myself wondering if people actually like the way the 30s sound or if they just trust someone else’s influence too much. This cab, however, does get the job done and I find that it responds well with the Rectifier. It lives on its side when I’m using casters."

"My chain in front of the amp is simple. Xotic effects AC or AC+ booster into a boss NS-2 noise gate straight into the amp. I like the Xotic products because no matter what type of overdrive they create, they always seem to emphasize transparency."

"My chain in front of the amp is simple. Xotic effects AC or AC+ booster into a boss NS-2 noise gate straight into the amp. I like the Xotic products because no matter what type of overdrive they create, they always seem to emphasize transparency."

"My chain in front of the amp is simple. Xotic effects AC or AC+ booster into a boss NS-2 noise gate straight into the amp."

"My chain in front of the amp is simple. Xotic effects AC or AC+ booster into a boss NS-2 noise gate straight into the amp. This is fed into the front of both amps via Voodoo Labs GCX and Radial Bones ABY."

"The Whammy Pedal you see is controlled via GCX with external expression option."

"I can’t say enough about the GCX. It’s a great way to route your signal. There is a reason I always have this piece of gear laying around for more serious gigging situations. You can truly do anything with it; if people knew what it was capable of I believe they would think twice about going digital. Digital and direct rigs are not my bag; I prefer latches, switches, knobs, and hard work on the fretboard. I think this mentality builds a player rather than letting technology do the acclimating or adjusting. Covering your inadequacies will never help you truly improve. Just like in life, if you grow a pair and face shit head-on, it can be worked out eventually."

"My pedal board is pretty simple. Aside from the Ground Control Pro and volume pedal, I'm using the Kirk Hammett signature Wah from Dunlop. I actually don’t even own this pedal. It belongs to my other guitarist, Matt. Aside from its undesirable look, it gets the job done well."

"I've used the Palmer DI for years on the Mesa. If I have enough channels available, I run direct as well as mic the cabs. Again, the more frequencies you cover, the more undeniable the intent."

Emil Werstler is an instructor on the guitar lesson website JamPlay. The lessons he offers can be found here.