Rig Rundown - DragonForce's Herman Li & Sam Totman

[@Northernmight]

Aw. I love Herman Li in this. He's just so enthusiastic and excited about it all. Exactly as it should be. That guy loves what he does. Makes me happy.

[@johndubert997]

Sam Totman is all happy he got his 2 minutes in the end. "Rebecca, you forgot to interview the other guy". "What other guy?" "There's another guitarist in the band. Sam.. something."

[@StreamTVChannel]

LOL

[@treywanvigofficial]

John Dubert

[@GabrielAngelfire]

I came too late. I swear was going for this joke. Just looked to see if someone had done it first.

[@immanuel_cunt7688]

Haha actually Sam something writes most of the songs! :D

[@donaldgosling]

I've read interviews with Sam in the past, he is so unassuming , and unimpressed with hype, great personality.

[@darth_vyper]

I like it better when the artists do the rig rundown than when their techs do :)

[@nkjagshenry]

amen, bro

[@maskychain816]

Same here dude

[@andresnion]

totally!

[@YuxinZhou13]

Me too!

[@torkelsvenson6411]

I've got mixed feelings, in many ways I like it since they can motivate more why they use certain gear, but I do like it also that the techs get some recognition in the other case.

[@thewanderinginternetwizard4361]

That accent is legendary.

[@donorl8701]

The Wandering Internet Wizard it’s like a British and a Asian accent all combined into one

[@tirtahahaha]

Chitish

[@bpabustan]

It actually reminds me somewhat of Bruce Lee.

[@Rex-golf_player810]

@@donorl8701 so basically hong kong Which makes sense because thats where hes from lol

[@donorl8701]

@@Rex-golf_player810 makes sense

[@OVGR]

Herman talks for 13 minutes showing everything in detail and Sam gives the bear minimum on all his setup lol I love it Sam is a savage

[@wesleyzimmerman94]

Sam isn't a big nerd like Herman is. It also looks like they're both using the same rack so, if they are, there's no point in explaining any of it

[@Errorfile404]

"And then we got the acoustic, i don't know what model this is but its, its cool" Hahaha omfg

[@Popcornio]

I lol'ed @ 3:57 "I don't know what model it is, but uh... it's coo."

[@acidarrow]

No matter what you think of Dragonforce, you can't deny Herman and Sam are masters of the instrument.

[@andrewpappas9311]

I know, I don't really listen to them that much, but yeah they are like legitimate beasts. The first song I heard from them was Through the Fire and Flames à la Guitar Hero 3 and its probably my favourite by them (Never got to the song, mostly because I don't have a GH controller for my Xbox 360 and I had to use a controller)

[@R9000]

Rebecca seems like a very professional interviewer. I haven't watched much Premier Guitar stuff before, but she definitely seemed to know her stuff, and how to ask the questions.

[@electablebee]

and apparently she cant even play guitar lol

[@willescott88]

+Rhodri “The G Man” Grove really? Well she is the best when it comes to rig rundown vids so who cares haha!

[@R9000]

willescott88 Eh, you can be a gear geek and not play. And there's no shame in that. :)

[@wesleyzimmerman94]

It sucks that she's been gone for more than a year now

[@m0j0101]

herman is such a guitar techy. i bet ibanez never forces him to go to NAMM because they know he goes on his own.

[@c3920]

Seen these guys live three times back in 2006/7. First place only held about 200 people and DragonForce played like it was 20,000.

[@seralouise.]

im really lost, why do people hate this band so much? i mean yeah okay their music can be kind of shitty if youre not into that sort of thing, but does that really warrant verbal abuse? this guy seems really nice, hes having a great time. and yeah maybe he over does it with the flash but cmon, this isnt exactly super serious music. Power metal has always been a little silly, kinda tongue in cheek silly, if youre taking iron maiden that seriously youre probably doing something wrong, its entertainment. let peeps have fun.

[@projectgoatse]

Haters hate them because they couldn't sober up and had a horrible monitor setup during their first couple of tours. They were basically unlistenable live. That was about 5 years ago. Today they're putting on great shows and have become much more professional (for Dragonforce anyway) but the kiddies who've never seen them live just keep regurgitating the same crap from years gone by.

[@projectgoatse]

***** Exactly. It's more or less fun, amusing party music. Even the band doesn't take themselves too seriously. One thing that I find interesting about them is that sometimes they demonstrate the ability to take everything to the next level and be a much more technically proficient band, like say Dream Theater, and write about issues and topics that are more weighty than fantasy wars and dragons, but always stop a few steps short of making that shift. FWIW I enjoy what they have on offer but there's sooo much more potential for them to evolve if they just took the dive.

[@snkhuong]

their ex vocalist was terrible. Also they're known as the 'guitar hero' band cuz their songs are overplayed on guitar hero so no one takes their music seriously

[@Hesheli27]

+snkhuong ya I can't take pearl jam seriously

[@themadmattster9647]

because they're taking sounds from the mid nineties (like Gamma Ray, etc) power metal from Germany and making them cheesier, without people (kids) knowing where those sounds came from. I like some of their stuff, but still think Gamma Ray's Somewhere Out In Space (1997) beats all of Dragonforce's albums put togeether)

[@bsdraven]

Herman got more time because he's more into gear it seems. Aside from that both of their racks use a lot of the same stuff. They could've both had equal amounts if they wanted. Premier guitar will not really cut them off as far as time. They've got some rundown videos that are like an hour. It's all about the artist.

[@xxczerxx]

Clucking hell, that Chameleon finish S is perfect!

[@charly88888888]

I wish Kurt Cobain was still alive so he could do one of these. "Okay this is my guitar. And this my amp. And here's my two pedals. ... ... ... ......OKAY BYE"

[@nkjagshenry]

and here are the pieces of another guitar

[@MegaWumba]

look up Virus from the band Dope, that's literally his rundown.

[@Trex0110]

This is my signature guitar called a jagstang. What pickups do you use? What are pickups?

[@jamesbargar3937]

***** LOL so true

[@charly88888888]

Wait.. what does he use the switching system for?

[@mattvdh]

Sams like yeah here it is, any other questions? ok no fak off and run along, i've got to get drinking

[@felixnilbog4517]

I love his accent.

[@andrewpappas9311]

"I can poo about 7 frets" XD

[@eddieht8996]

Always the right questions Rebecca... Miss you!

[@tohellwiththisstupidworld661]

Always fun listening to Herman Li talk. LOL. Sam straight to the point as always

[@givemeajackson]

the pickups dont, but the strings vibration is affected by the wood. and sustain is from wht string, and the wood determines how long a string can vibrate. i can just say that it does make a difference. i could proove you with eq curves of a DI signal.

[@higler.]

That's very cool that Herman is still playing the first Egen that Ibanez made for him way back in 2007!

[@Harw3y]

Kirk Hammet still uses first ESP he got from them..or atleast was using few years ago before he retired the guitar or it could be played still...and he got the guitar in somewhere around eighties

[@MrTPF1]

Jessica asks such good questions IMO. Herman puts his rig together differently than most guitarists. Very interesting.

[@jaymacdonnell4730]

His accent is awesome. It's a cross between Jackie Chan and Spinal Tap

[@Hesheli27]

Also pronounced Garnier correctly lol

[@MikaelLV]

Never been a fan of Dragonforce, but it's good to see that Herman Li knows what he is talking about.

[@TotalEvo7]

The only differences are 1.) Herman uses the humbucker rings, and Steve doesn't. 2.) The EGENs all come standard with the Coil Split, the JEMs don't; and 3.) They both use different versions of the Edge bridge. Steve uses the original Edge bridge, while Herman uses the Edge Zero bridge

[@neochase1]

good rig rundown! can't wait for more !

[@hazlewood47]

why does Rebecca get the power metal guys

[@JasonDeCarloGuitar]

What happened to Rack Rundowns with Rebecca Racks?

[@KeeperOfPoops]

all of these perverted comments about her rack got her to quit

[@rohanahlawat5809]

She quit because of his like you

[@rohanahlawat5809]

Guys*

[@visualkeirockstar]

@beewogfilms2 its green, but if like turn it, u can see it flash purple

[@NeoGodHand]

I've never owned one or even seen one physically, but from the looks of things it seems they are a bit thinner than most guitars, though not quite as thin as they look. The body looks to be heavily contoured, giving it a "sword's edge" kind of look. Guess that's why it's a saber.

[@LubadPT]

1:50 , is that for sale? Where can I get one of thoes? :o

[@MichaelD8393]

3:47 What kind of stand does Herman have to hold his acoustic?

[@givemeajackson]

if my kelly didnt sound different with my full shreds than my schecter does i'm chuck norris. i have different experiences, and i trust those a lot more. btw, i did a blind test too, with a duncan jb in an ibanez rga (mahogany and maple) and an rg (basswood). btw if your uncle put an emg in those guitars the actually do sound the same. decent passive pickups have a major difference in tone when used in different woods.

[@miotubo839]

4:00 is coor.

[@LifeLongGamer]

Not necessarily, if you are speaking in tones of better tone resonance, these guitars are solid wood whereas thicker guitars are often hollowed out to reduce weight so these guitars could in fact be better for tone transference

[@richardnoseknows]

After some long hours of research I was able to learn that other countries, besides the US, have southern regions. Believe it or not, sometimes there are different accents associated with different regions within other countries too!

[@Sandman1832]

Actually he used Seymour duncans in them. I don't know, what he said does make sense tho, your pickups react to different type of string material and the pickups run to an amp and the sastane is from the pickup not from the wood. A pickup is determined by the wound of the wire and the magnets which pickup the sound of the string vea magnetic field. Electric fields and magnets don't care about wood selection. Acoustic guitars on the other hand have totally different sounds with different woods

[@GoulashOne]

I really love his t-shirt! You don't see metal-guitarists with penguin-t-shirts every day!

[@Deaf_Notes]

*Linux* t-shirt (look it up)

[@StackCanary]

A few people noticed the badassery that is his Tux shirt, but did you also notice that said Tux has a net and is about to catch the MSN butterfly? I want that shirt.

[@lMrFresno559l]

You want to know whats even funnier? That will NEVER happen in real life.

[@fgsdotetidotbr]

Very cool shirt indeed! One of the reasons I respect Li.

[@LifeLongGamer]

Perhaps although for this style of music its not really a problem. The difference would really only be apparent with heavier music, namely drop tuned etc. Though I believe one of the guitarists of Sabaton uses an S series so perhaps the difference isnt all that apparent

[@givemeajackson]

i'm of course not talking about semi hollows, i'm talking about thicker solid bodies. these things here are about a third as thick and heavy as a les paul, there's way too less wood on them for a thick sound imo.

[@Sandman1832]

Pickups don't care what kind of wood you have or how thick it is, my uncle owns a guitar shop and I use to argue with him until he proved me wrong. He set up 10 different guitars from ranging from gibsons to fenders and bass wood to mahogony and put the same pickup into every guitar. He even set up a cheap starter strat that was like $99 and they all sounded the same and really good. Sound is produced threw your pickups and the string. The only guitar that changes sound with wood is acoustics

[@thomasarnold6348]

That 7 String is awesome!

[@djhinormas959]

what model is those switchless wahs? i see everyone talking about them but cant seem to find them or is it a mod?

[@higler.]

lmao Herman is still such a nerd, what is he wearing a unix/linux shirt?

[@Imjong29]

Which song does they use acoustic guitar?

[@ahboyrelax]

Sam Totman looked like Gareth Bale. Hahahaha

[@TotalEvo7]

What he was actually saying that time was, "I don't use the trem stopper, on the 6-string model. So, no trem stopper there, I even got rid of the...mounts on it for now."

[@ttguitarnoob]

2021 and I just remembered how big of a crush I had on Rebecca Dirks back in 2012 lol

[@EeeAreEyeKay]

they dont have an amp head if that's what you were looking for. They just run the rocktron prophecy II in to the mesa power amp.

[@mohawkguy97]

Purple Tortex is like 1.5 or something correct?

[@SHADOWCLONE177]

Where's the fast forwarder button on the board?

[@jamiemacmillan4056]

can someone tell me what magical strings Herman uses which don't snap when pulled up seven frets

[@polpottopg]

Id say he has band new strings every time he plays

[@andrewpappas9311]

The kind that allows him to poo about 7 frets XD

[@andrewpappas9311]

Liam Wayte Sorry man, I know it sounds weird but I guess I can't get over his accent when he said that is all

[@polpottopg]

Andrew Pappas I just thought it was funny hahah

[@givemeajackson]

my experience is that it does make a difference. how should i trust someones words and samples more than my own ears and measurements?

[@SamMerrell1]

For some reason all Ibanez S series are really thin (Hermans E-Gens are customed s series)

[@alinferno1994]

i like how easy sam makes it to understand what his rack is doing where as herman has just made me even more confused about midi equipment

[@drumobsession8644]

10 years later and he looks exactly the same

[@robtingle7752]

I'm just curious what version of Linux he uses? Weird question I know but noticed his shirt

[@LithiumJack]

Say what you want about their music, but he is a really cool guy and a massive gear nerd!

[@theBlackPrince_9]

It's just because they use the same equipment for the most part (as you can see by the rackmounts), so there'd be no point in Sam reiterating and repeating what Herman has gone through.

[@DAvidgzzgggg]

What's the name of the tuner?

[@Shreddergilbert]

when was this shot ?

[@cycon0]

Mystic Dream is the purple color for MusicMan Guitars. Probably a trademark.

[@incubism]

An interesting rig rundown, thanks!

[@0Heavy0Metal0]

I think he was trying to say that it's easy to read on stage. Not just "pretty lights"

[@matt.lemonnier]

Errrr... try a LesPaul and a SG with the same pickups plugged in the same amp... I take this example, but it would work with a lot, I think.

[@kueller917]

Never liked Dragonforce but Li seems pretty cool (didn't see much of Totman of course). I can kinda relate when it comes to gettinh geeky over pedals and effects. I've been messing around with a MIDI controlled Whammy a lot lately.

[@metalheadmike69]

what? who are you talking about? sam? hes awesome! iv actually met him before and he was the nicest guy ever.

[@sacredgeometry]

Yeah they are beautiful....the only problem with 2 guitars is that fugly plastic pickup selector cover they should just get rid and use a 3 way toggle and push pull pots.

[@jamesxme]

I met Sam about a fortnight ago in a pub, he's the NICEST dude.

[@lijawan0]

I think both.

[@Miroslavijaa]

Not a dragonforce fan at all, but this dude is pretty cool to listen to :)

[@buttonf1ction]

is this spinal tap

[@lforst]

ok well than just using personal experience, i have played and sg, les paul, and v that have all had the same pickups, but they all sounded completely different

[@samchrist2508]

what amps does DJ ashba and Dragonforce use ?

[@TheZooropaBaby]

+Samuel CW DJ Ashba uses Axe-Fx as an amp (with its simulator) and plug straight into the house/mixer. Dragon force probably does similar thing with their pre-amps, but they also have cabs on stage powered with power amps.

[@Outer0Heaven]

I love the way he says "purple" on 01:57

[@Joemommas]

Yea, my friend is indian with a british accent its pretty awesome.

[@arricat5e311]

Is this a thing with Ibanez signatures? Handles on every guitar..

[@jakestrom8395]

ArriCAT5e Its Hermans actual handprint, its only on his customs.

[@arricat5e311]

The other popular signature model also has a handle.

[@jakestrom8395]

Those are both Hermans models.

[@davedextermusic7129]

Herman gets 13 minutes and Sam gets 2? Wait, why do I give a shit?

[@davidgordon8099]

Indeed, just what I was thinking. Maybe he was just a bit shy to the camera or just wasn't feeling it that day. Literally it was just "here are my guitars. Ooh aren't they new and shiny. Now look I have this crazy rack with all this cool stuff in it. I guess you plug in at one end and out the other to a speaker or wait was it to the front of house 😕? Meanwhile magic happens then it makes noise. Isn't it all so clever!" I guess some guitarists are geeks and some just aren't. To each his own.

[@esposoman]

I like FX and all these things. I love gear, amps,etc.. Sounding like crap is a problem, I agree.. but a switch failure of your 1500$ custom Bradshaw switching system in a middle of a gig is a problem too. The more gear you put on the stage the more technical problems you can have (cables, switches, batteries, power amps, etc...) . It's because this that I like to keep my rig simple. If I become pro player some day , maybe I'll change my opinion , but I'll try to keep my rig simple as possible.

[@Hector55Munoz]

"...Incase we need to me him" Lol Genius.

[@Niamorg1007]

I don't like Dragonforce at all, but Herman Li seems to be a pretty chill, down to Earth dude. That's great.

[@biffty77]

i love these guys

[@nova495]

The only band I know that doesn't use Axe FX. WOW

[@perskeisari]

That's why Herman is awesome.

[@alexfynney2846]

A wonderful mix of southerner and asian, such a fun accent.

[@claypage1089]

What wah pedal is that?

[@Hesheli27]

Looks like a modded cry baby don't quote me

[@Fuhgawz102]

He seems like a nice dude. I'm not a Dragonforce fan but I dont go out of my way to troll him. He has a successful band with a legit fanbase. Let him be.

[@Ps1504]

that 7string is awesome. I want one...

[@MojoPenguin]

A good conditionner makes all the difference on and off stage, look Herman got more time. Killer Tech stuff, and great players ;)

[@Mythiqoeatsbreadladdd]

‘It’s pretty cooo’ -Herman Li

[@DingusBobingus5555]

I can't tell if he has a Chinese accent or not. And you gotta love the Tux shirt!

[@metalheadmike69]

15 minute video about dragonforce guitarists, 13 minutes all for herman.

[@Sphereal]

Same to you, man.

[@CodeineCoffee]

Where's Sam in all of this?

[@mtdawgy]

All that and I'm amazed that Herman uses the Thick Purple Dunlop Tortex picks...no flex, super rigid.

[@heminder]

Tux!!! OMG I wasn't expecting to see him on Herman Li's shirt! =D

[@Anon53]

I like his Egen 18 and that 7 string it looks cool and sounds great on Fallen World :) the next guitar I get is probably going too be a 7 string, cause that's the new generation of guitars that my favorite bands use, and shit 07 is when I started playing guitar again, and been playing 6 strings since then, time too change.

[@acledfloyd]

I am not the biggest Dragonforce fan but the guitars are beautiful, I would own a Herman Li guitar.