Orianthi Panagaris Interview

Orianthi (she is famous enough to be known by just one name) is a famed guitar player – she has worked with Alice Cooper, and was chosen as lead guitarist for Michael Jackson’s Wembley shows before his untimely passing.

Although known primarily as an electric guitar player of considerable skill, Orianthi is a massive fan of the acoustic guitar, and this has led to her recent collaboration with Gibson Guitars, resulting in the release of her Orianthi SJ-200 Acoustic Custom signature model. Acoustic Review’s Andy Hughes had a chat with Orianthi about her new guitar, starting with her excitement at being involved with the legendary Gibson organisation.

I started with acoustic, as most people do, and I wanted an acoustic with the playability of an electric, particularly the neck. When Gibson approached me, I was blown away at the idea of working with them on this new guitar. I was with them in 2009 and 2010, and then went to other companies, and have come back again. They are an amazing company and they are lovely people and of course they make such quality instruments. They put so much heart and soul into everything they do. The chance to go to Montana and work with Robi Johns their Director Of Sales And Marketing, and LR Baggs, the legendary pickup designer, I had such a great time.

They asked me what sort of guitar I wanted, and I pointed out the J200 because it has such a fabulous sound for live and recording work, when you play it in a room it sounds like a grand piano.

I have had some issues with the playability of acoustics concerning the guitar neck, it’s a bit chunky for me personally. So I thought, why not fit a Gibson ES-345 neck on a J200 body, and they followed me down the rabbit hole, and it’s the first time in history that Gibson have done something like this.

It is the finest acoustic guitar I have ever played, and I’m not saying that just because it is my Signature model. It was a real combined effort, putting together the design and the sound of it. Working with LR Baggs on the sound was amazing, he concentrated on the mid-level sounds so it really cuts through in the middle, and also as a lead sound. Being a lead player, and because I play a lot of corporate events, I needed a guitar that was absolutely reliable, with a sound that soars above everything else, and this one delivers.

When you began the design of a new guitar, did you have the design of the neck in mind already?

I did want to have a thinner neck on my Signature model, but I wasn’t really sure what I actually wanted. I picked up an ES-345 at the Gibson showroom here in Los Angeles, and I really liked the feel of the neck, and that was when it occurred to me to have that neck on the acoustic body, the J200 body shape and size. The proportion is absolutely right for me, so although I didn’t have a definite idea of the kind of neck I wanted, when I picked up the ES-345, that confirmed to me right away that was what I wanted to have.

Do you play a lot of acoustic, because I would guess that most people would associate you with an electric.

Well, at home, I do practice almost entirely on an acoustic, I bend strings a lot, and it helps to firm up the strength in your hands.

Obviously, I do practice with electrics if I am going out on the road, but right now I am completing a new album, so I am working on ideas on the acoustic.

The thing I like about this acoustic is that it plays through really well, if you hit an E chord hard, it rings really well, and also, it has a really good solid bottom end sound to it, and that is important for me.

The problem I have had with a lot of acoustics is that they are not always very well balanced. Especially when you play acoustic with a band, it sounds more like a buzzing mosquito which is really annoying! I like a guitar that will sound as good at the bottom as it does in the middle and top and that I think is down to the pickup that LR Baggs designed for me.

Did you request LR Baggs to come in on the design?

It was actually Robi Johns who put us together. We had Zoom meetings and LR sent me some pedals that he designed for me to try with the guitar to get a feel for the sound, and make sure he was understanding what I wanted. We had just a couple of meetings and discussions and he said he thought he understood what I was looking for and he hit on absolutely the sound I wanted.

Do you like a high or a low action?

I have a pretty low action, but not as low as it can go. I used to play with a really super-low action, but I found it didn’t fight, if you know what I mean? And I kinda like that fight. Also, if you play slide, it sounds really bad if you have a really low action, it just buzzes and sounds horrible. So I have it pretty much low, but more to the middle.

What’s the weight like, because Gibson are famous for the weight of their electrics, what is your acoustic Signature like?

It’s fine, it’s really nicely weighted. I have been playing it with a strap, and no back ache or any feelings of discomfort from it at all. I didn’t want a smaller body because when I was growing up and strumming and learning to play songs, the people I was looking up to were Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and I always wanted a J200.

The thing is, it’s such an iconic instrument, and suddenly this crazy Australian comes along and wants to change it, and they were so cool, they were like, Yeah, we can change that if you want it, and I feel that this is the instrument for people who want to play full-bodied lead parts, this really fits for that sound.

Tell me about string choices.

I usually use Size Elevens, that’s what I have on right now, sometimes I use Twelves, but it does depend what I am recording. I usually use the Twelves if I am playing heavier lead part, and if I am detuning, that usually calls for heavier strings.

The colour is fabulous, did you choose it or was it suggested to you?

It’s funny because originally, I was going to have white as the colour, but I saw a Limited Edition Chinese New Year Good Luck model that they made, and that was this gorgeous red, and that was it, I said I wanted red right there.

I don’t know what it is about red, I have owned quite a few red electric guitars in my career, and for some reason the colour just feels right for me. They gave me lots of options of course, but if I am given to many options of anything I just go crazy, so I stuck with the red, and when you see it with the crystals and lotus flowers, it has such a serenity about it. It’s hard to explain, but that’s the feel I get from it.

I used to borrow a Gibson ES125 semi-acoustic from my dad. He didn’t know I borrowed it, I took it to school and used to play in assemblies, and then strum and write songs with it, it was a semi acoustic so I could do that, and that guitar was red, and the next guitar I had was a red Stratocaster, so I guess my love of red guitars started right there.

This may not be something you can judge, given the level of ability that you have as a musician, but does the Signature acoustic play easily for people who are not as dextrous an acoustic player as you are, which is probably most of them?

I think the guitar has a real playability to it, and I think that applies whether you are a professional player or not. Robbie Krieger has tried it, and Ray Parker Junior, and Richie Sambora my partner, they have tried it and they all agreed that it is an amazing instrument, but some of my friends who are not professional level musicians have had a try, and they all love it as well, and they are all levels of abilities as players, so I think it works well for anyone and everyone.

You mentioned that the guitar really cuts through in a live band situation, does that mean you will be taking it out on the road when live shows resume?

I will, and I did play it for my Live Stream show from the Whiskey with a band, and it sounded really great. The sound man had no trouble getting the sound up, there was no feedback issues, no screeching, it sounded nice and full, and I love the sound it makes.

Does having a Signature guitar designed for you make you feel like it’s an affirmation of you as a musician?

It does feel like that. I feel so honoured to have a Gibson guitar model named after me, it makes me feel I have to work really extra hard on my album to make sure I justify it!!

I never take anything for granted, and to have the support of such an amazing company as Gibson, I feel I need to write better songs and be a better performer. I always feel I have to work for things, and I am blown away by this.

I can’t wait to come over to the UK and show my Signature acoustic off, I will be over there just as soon as I can.