NEW INSPIRATIONS, TWO-MINUTE SOLOS AND WHY RIGHT NOW IS A PARTICULARLY INTERESTING TIME FOR THE GUITAR
By Ellie Rogers
POLISH GUITAR VIRTUOSO, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jakub Żytecki has solidified his position as a trailblazer in progressive guitar music with a brilliant new album, Remind Me. The shred-meets-ambient specialist also teases an eight-string signature model and reveals why it’s time to rip it up like his teen hero once more.
What’s the one guitar you couldn’t live without?
It’s probably the one I recorded most of the album with — the Mayones they built for me. It’s an offset model, a bit different from their catalog. It’s inspired by the Fender Jaguar, so it’s got this Kurt Cobainish shape. I actually received that guitar as an eight-string version recently. I haven’t shown anybody, but it’s something we’re working on, and there’s going to be the signature coming this year.
Do your tones come solely from plugins or do you also use pedals?
I got some pedals thinking it was going to change my process, but still I’m ending up recording super dry and changing it in the post process. It was on my first record that I started using Neural DSP stuff because they’re awesome, probably the best in the market. I’ve been using a Valhalla reverb for years — it’s everywhere — and I use [Soundtoys] EchoBoy when it comes to delays.
How would you describe your approach to the guitar?
It’s probably a bit clichéd to say, but it’s just a tool to tell some kind of story. You’re a part of a bigger picture. Obviously there are places to have the guitar in the spotlight, but there are also moments where it’s just supporting other things. Usually, it’s about recreating a certain feeling. I see music through the general emotional
