DRAGONFORCE guitarist Herman Li: Ibanez Guitars can’t make the gutiar I want, I am available for any brand that can

During a conversation with UG’s Justin Beckner, DragonForce guitarist Herman Li talked about leaving Ibanez Guitars after many years of playing the company’s instruments. You can check out a part of the conversation below.

Herman also talked about all the guitars he has in his collection, what he looks for in an instrument and more.

“I’ve spoken to companies and I say, ‘Look, if I’m sitting down playing the guitar or if I’m just standing still on stage with the guitar strapped up by my chin, it doesn’t really matter what I play, that much.’

“Because I can always play it in my most comfortable positions as if I’m sitting down playing at home. But I’m jumping around, flying around, jumping off stage, running up massive arcade machines and I have to be able to play the guitar without looking.

“So I need something that is, physically, going to be part of my body – something I don’t even need to think about playing and I need to be able to play it at all kinds of different angles while performing – doing poses and all these kinds of things. So I need to be able to access all the frets at all angles.

“It also needs to be the right weight and the right sound. So, I’m a total pain in the ass – that’s it, really. So, I’ve asked these companies, ‘Can you make me the guitar that I want?’, and a lot of people have been up for it.

“A lot of people said yes but they couldn’t do it, later on. There are lots of talented builders and great companies out there. So we’ll see who can make me the best guitar. That’s who I’ll sign up to in the end and make that guitar.“

Read the entire interview on Ultimate-Guitar.com.

DragonForce released its eighth studio album “Extreme Power Metal” in September 2019.