Sam Bell: I love Ibanez RG's, my fave guitar is my RG1527 he tells a loyal ask.fm fan!

When first learning guitar who were your major influences? Also how do you go about composing and breaking down riffs? Some of your compositions are mind blowing.

Thank you for you're kind words :) I was brought up on Bob Dylan, Talking Heads, Thin Lizzy, and quite a few blues artists too. When i first saw Yngwie in a guitar magazine 7/8 years ago I decided to give guitar a "proper" go. When it comes to composing, I wish i knew, creativity is such a strange thing. Most of the time its through what i hear in my head, humming melodies, hearing them, feeling a groove, or even when working on a technique, something pops out from the unknown. And when it does, its really fun, i love writing music, i wish i could tap into my creativity and inspiration more
!

sam, did you ever played a scalloped frets guitar ? and what do you think of it ? i know it's a matter of personal preference i just want your opinion about them , cheers‎

I have played a few scalloped fret guitars, not long enough to really have a preference though! They look pretty cool though, I always wanted a YJM strat when i started playing haha

what was the most comfortable guitar you have ever played since you were a beginner til this day ? and if one day you'll have a signature guitar , what brand would it be ? and what are the features you want them in it ? what pickups ? what bridge do you like ?

I love Ibanez RG's, my fave guitar is my RG1527 (7 string) it feels really comfy, my friend/bandmate Reece Fullwood has a couple and sets them up amazingly! I love my RG2228, and the RG2550. They all feel good to me! If i were to have a signature model it would be ibanez, it would be HSH, 8 string, scratchplate, edge zero floating, and it would be colourful.

Have you got jumbo stainless steel frets on your guitars?

Probably, I like big frets. :)


hi :) how do you compose guitar parts?

I wish i knew. I spend a lot of time jamming ideas, listening for things in my head and trying to play them. I just wish i could think of decentish things more often! It cant be forced!


what is a ting doe?
its a kind of bird invented by Olly Steele.

If you could have an artist sig ibanez what number would you give it (name) to match your personality :)

'IBNWBTM01' otherwise known as 'I bet nobody would buy this model even once'

do you ever use the whammy bar ? and which type of whammy bars do you like (the kahler or the floyd rose ) ?

I love whammy bars, I did this tune using a lot of whammy action:

I much prefer Ibanez Edge trems, because they don't stick into my wrist, they are really easy to adjust and they stay in tune well enough to session with them.

is there any sort of specific things on guitar which you want to achieve but completely fail at?

Yes. Everything. I fail at Guitar and music everyday. There are too many specific things i want to achieve!


what's your approach when it comes to creating lead tones? Estimate how many rhythm tone patches you use

I have one main tone, which i add a bit of verb/delay to for lead, thats for recording at home though. I much prefer a real amp, when i use a real amp, i have one tone and control as much as i can from the guitar end of things :)

What do you recommend for players who are burned out?

I think i find music funny, and playing music is quite funny. So thats what usually gets me through tough spots. Other than that, maybe work on a different technique/style/aspect of you're playing, jam with someone on a totally different instrument, just switch it up!

What are your thoughts in the Iron Label series Ibanez guitars, and do you think they're worth the price tag? Also: which overdrive pedal would you choose for a bass? I've heard the B7K is top-notch, but I'm not rolling in the cash and can't afford it...haha.

The Iron Label series guitars are awesome, especially the 8 string, great value for money. Overdrive pedals for bass? The bass player in my band has a Darkglass something or something, his name is George Bell, he is on facebook and knows more about bass than I do :)

Ask away http://ask.fm/SamBellGuitar