Ernie Ball - John Petrucci's favorite guitar strings.

[JEUXolim]

2:52, I didn't know what to expect, it scared me.

[MesaMXR]

I remember way back when this was posted on the Ernie Ball website. It was the very first time I ever heard this man play. I've been hooked ever since.

[arcanumi]

omg whats that song from 1:27 to 1:58?? Totally badass :D

[TheMostWantedR1]

@arcanumi As I Am.

[AbledHands1O1]

@arcanumi "As I Am" by Dream Theater

[Petchx]

Chugg chugg chugg!!! LOVE THAT TONE!!!

[AbledHands1O1]

@Petchx It's Palm Muting

[bassman7530]

You can see John trying not to crack a smile and hold back laughter when that guy sneezes at 2:54, haha

[elliottbradshaw]

ah that's the key!

[farrex0]

actually strings of a guitar make to much difference, if u play guitar u can play a prs or gibson with cheap strings and will b difficult to play and with horrible sound but u can play with a cheap guitar and rly good strings and will b comfortable to play and will have a clean sound... obviously the best is to combine both good guitar and strings, and a good amp

[Gowalingla]

@farrex0 i have a problem about my high e string.idk why it feels more stiff than other strings even my b and g string feels more 'less stiff' do you think i swap the e string with the b accidently?its hard to recognise if it was bcoz thin string are almost the same size.(9-42s)

[farrex0]

@Gowalingla probably u swapped them, or maybe is the bone, where the string repose on the body(i dont know how its called on english so i ust translated directly)

feel the strings and find which one u swapped

[IAmRock3R]

2:53 *sneeze* Petrucci turns " ME BLESS YOU" XD

[8element]

@IAmRock3R ROFLMAO

[Tom090586]

0:00 -0:24 anyone knows from wich song this is?

[666SSJakm]

@Tom090586 its honor thy father from the album train of thought

[666SSJakm]

@Tom090586 honor thy father

[666SSJakm]

@Tom090586 honor thy father

[steeldragonjovi]

@christiancoker1

Mine too.

[Koegaan]

He has the best tone ever :(

[jfr04]

He souns better out of tune then I ever will intune!

[Petchx]

I I tried the Not Even Slinky's and they were perfect for anything 2 steps or lower! Thanks to the advise from the man himself :-)

[randommoosebrains]

this must of been a long time ago since petrucci is now hella buff

[LlamaCrusade]

jp has alot of middle.

[ahadshahid]

'As I am' was fucking sweet! Wow

[Justin011794]

petrucci is so powerful he can make a guy sneeze like godzilla just by talking xD!

[Soma874]

@Justin011794 That wasn't sneezing, it was 2 people exploding from his playing. You can just hear a third guy saying 'Fxck! how do I clean this sonofabitch up?'

[ShadowLancer128]

2:51-2:55.... a real life left 4 dead smoker????

Jesus... I hope that poor bastard survived!

[Schneiderrst]

Tunning???????? of honor thy father and as i am

?

[Jed9133]

from what song is he playing at start?...

[jamesd2004]

its 'honor thy father' by Dream Theater :)

[carrizo1991]

@Jed9133 honor thy father from the album train of thought

[motherlode1]

1:26-2:28 . . . This section seems worth learning. Very Hetfield-ish almost—morphed into Pettrucci magical finger-transference grit with the attitude and confidence in his playing. Riffs here are excellent, yes?!

[Jed9133]

is that from his songs?

[K1DUDE911]

@motherlode1 it's as i am by dream theater

[motherlode1]

Thanks!

[millsa206]

1:43 music to my ears!!!

[KingOfAzeroth]

excellent* =P

[KingOfAzeroth]

i find ernie balls to be exelent strings and tend to be the only ones i use :) (love super slinkys)

[SjPedro]

what is he playing through 2:00 to 2:16? I love it and I can't seem to place it on Dream Theater or Liquid Tension Experiment songs

[Trilo]

2:00 to 2:16 is still Honor Thy Father. I think it's the "On and on and on it goes..." part.

[IbeenTHUNDERSTRUCK14]

the second riff he played is the fuckgin coolest sound even though its so simple. DROP C FOR THE WIN!!

[JoolsGuitar]

In that fucking low tunning there´s a raw effect giving you the impression that the guitar is out of tune...

I love it !!!!!!!

[ShimmySystem]

Cool, I am into Dream Theater a lot and I need new strings. I used Ernie Ball last time but this convinced me to go with it again.

[Spocksbrother]

this is when he looked his best. short hair and the little stache. haha.

[LHondrums]

i really wanna know his secret man. he's so skinny there and only 2 - 3 years later he's a fuckin bear!!!

why does nobody ask him that question? that would actually be interesting.. one thing is for sure.. it's not workout alone ;D

[SjPedro]

you forget one thing.....he can time warp....so 2 years of muscle training for him are like 10 years or so......lol...56 hours in a day when he time warps....make the math :-P lol

[edthehead83]

2:52, bless you, sir.

[fullofblood]

he basically some good voice too actually..he could still be a vocalist as well,haha-and still with petrucci talent hehe.

[FenderRS80]

I really love his low harmonics!

And I love his playing too of course :)

[ErnieBallAxisGuitar]

John Petrucci is the man!

Love the Petrucci signature Music man guitar ..

Tuned down to C ???

Strange guitar tunning for sure

[lnel4903]

Yeah, but that low-end chunk gives me a boner. Straight up.

[Ironman935]

lol

[DaTimeHat]

Fightstar oftten tunes all the way down to A#, so when you take a step back, C isn't really that extreme

[wickedexp]

I hate tuning to C standard.  I prefer D standard or drop C. Though if I want low standard tuning, I like B standard.

[SxSDeath]

It's not that strange, in heavy metal at least. Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath played in C# for a while. Plenty of stoner, death, goth, and doom metal bands tune to D, C#, C, B and even lower.

Albert King also sometimes tuned to C or thereabouts. He liked really, really big bends.

[ad30279]

c tuning is amazingly simple-check it out on google talk bout versatile- c is where its at

[Kyle0798]

WTF is up with 2:52-2:55?! LMFAO!!!

[Dnunestanner]

2:52 - 2:55 hhahahahahaahaha!

Godzilla Sneeze!!!

[wickedexp]

Petrucci kinda smiled a bit like he was gonna laugh.

[bioarsonist]

did he use drop-c for the whole album or did he use a 7 string?

[mrbig71014]

neither. he tuned his guitars to c, all strings. hate it when he does that, haha, cause i have to detune my guitar or can't play his songs. they sound great, though

[bioarsonist]

to me itd just make more sense to have a 7 string...thats what i do when i play dt bass lines

[VirtuosoJunkie73]

I see where you;re coming from dude, but John is pedalling that low C note when his hand needs to be farther up the neck. To pedal that C note on a 7 string you'd have to play the first fret on the low B making it a right pain in the ass! Haha

[ginoongbaboy]

anyone could tell me what best string for more sustain? im kinda confuse thx

[Dnunestanner]

Bass strings!

[sesspleftocore]

to be honest, this is some of my favorite riffing by him solo type, and from one of their sickest albums, its ridiculous this guys chops

[cezudas]

dude, no offence, but that album rocks...

[larehan]

what kind of distortion effect uses?

[musicmanaxisguitar]

John Petrucci is the man!

Awesome looking guitar

[buckethead984]

it' sHONOR THY FATHER from the album TRAIN OF THOUGHT

[buckethead984]

"from 2:02 to 2:09 what song does he play? "

honor thy father

[psychostew911]

as i am

[psychostew911]

yea i have no clue why i said as i am lol sry, yea def honor thy father....DT FTW !!!

[flothedrummer]

it's from Honor Thy Father

[myvanpounds]

Forsaken

[EnigmaticxGuitarist]

lmao

[Shoggaface]

from 2:02 to 2:09 what song does he play?

[psychostew911]

as i am

[deathmetaliscool]

again, it's honor thy father. lol

[phucher]

k so im noob... anybody know what the name of the first song is?

[JuanchoC2112]

Honor thy father (song)

Train of Through (album)

[SoySauceInAShotGlass]

Hey do you guys know the name of the finish that John has with the blue guitar?

[shwilly]

It's either Blue Pearl, Electric Blue or Bahama Blueburst (seems the most likely to me because that one's only featured on some of the higher end models)

...or Blue Steel, I don't know

[chucknips]

mystic dream

[MichaeloPL]

Does anybody know what mesa amp might he have used here or on the ToT album?

[Wgrant]

I don't know about this video, but I'm pretty positive he used a Road King amp on the ToT album

[MichaeloPL]

I love the agression and the 'roar!!' kind of thing coming from this amp. I bet this one is RK too.

[chriscoooley]

either a roadking or a mark IV

[Altered6Chicken]

Is that a Ball Family Reserve edition he's playing at 1:30?

[ChristopherCatalina]

Nah. One, this is way too early for him to have had the BFR's. JP's Hair is always a good chronological measurement stick. Two, That guitar doesn't have a flame or quilt top, and it's not koa. Also, It has the Steve's Special bridge pickup, which was dropped around 2005 for Octavarium.

[jayleno0]

Also, he was playing Honor Thy Father and As I Am and he said it was a collection of riffs off of their latest CD Train of Thought... 2004.

[JustDrinkIt]

if god had to bless, he had to bless himself

[blekdood]

lol

[vintagefenderguitars]

I have to say this video does ROCK!!!

ALways loved the JOhn Petrucci model from Music MAN

[rvolley04]

God Bless you @ 2:51 and God Bless you again @ 2:54

[BGstunts]

haha i noticed that i was like wtf is he dead

[XkekkonenX]

thats what i call progressive :O

[JuicyOverdrive]

Hell yeah.

[blank9870]

John Petrucci looks like the dude from iron man!

[chriscoooley]

yea, in terms of looks hes gone through a lot of different stages. and when this video was made, he did. i just noticed that though, wow

[budcrystal]

NICE!!!

[229Mafia]

What is he playing at like 1:30?

[ffgew22]

All the stuff he plays is from a song by Dream Theater called Honor Thy Father

[godak]

'as i am' i think

[JGBEK]

yeah its as i am from train of thought

[ffgew22]

ahh you are right...my mistake!

[a7xmetalhead16]

yes

[zachkaplan]

as i am

[lespaulraul14]

would you have to make ajustments on the guitar when switching from 9-42 to 10-46 strings?

[229Mafia]

Nope. Only like gauge 13+ on any guitar and on ones with a locking tremolo, you need to add a spring in the back for gauge 11+

[AlexRaykin]

If you are using a floyd rose, or any floating tremelo guitar than you must adjust the springs in the back of the bridge to pull more, because 10's pull more lbs of tension

[CarlOlav]

And you should adjust the truss rod as well, to avoid string buzz.

[SnakyGodzilla]

Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky 12-56 rocks! I use'em myself, and they're the best strings I've had. They're cheap too, and in my opinion, they sound better than Elixir and D'Addario strings. But, hey, that's my opinion.

Anyways, great guitarist and band!

[supershiva11]

2:52 i think he just killed a couple people in killzone mode... shit.

[Sydanyo]

He really goes back and forth between the two alot.

Earlier in the SC tour he was using dummycabs facing forward with miced cabs covered in blankets in the back.

But later in the tour he started using miced cabs facing front.

[AlexRaykin]

The only reason he has cabs on stage is to achieve feedback.

[haggissmoker]

and cos they look cool :D

[nickzzzzz01]

:35 :) !!!!!!!

[ffgew22]

great riffs

[gibsonguy329]

That Mesa cabinet behind him is soooo amazing. O.o

[BlooBeluga]

yeah, his rig sounds AMAZING live. friggin wall of sound, perfectly clarity.

[ThirdEyeOpen123]

agreed saw dream theater in london couple years ago, and the sound was something else

[mwdayv]

def. a good idea

[0iGer0]

oops, not a familly reserve here ^^

[0iGer0]

If these are the Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky then it's easy to know : This is a Music Man Ernie Ball Familly Reserve John Petrucci Signature BARITONE !! so he tunes down that his guitar to C or even a bit lower ! to obtain that tuning he needs a low gauge that are the .012

[MrSocialOutcast]

OMG sneezing guy is AMAZING! HAAHAHA

[Greenwithevil]

in this vid, petrucci uses roadkings for his distorted sounds and a lonestar for his cleans

for is roadking, he uses the "raw" setting with 4 6L6s

but now, he uses a mesa boogie mark IV for his leads and distorted sounds and the lonestar for big gigs, and a formula preamp for his cleans during smaller gigs and his g3 tours

as for his effects, the tc2290 and his eventide harmonizer are his best friends

[Greenwithevil]

i think he's also using a few pedals on tour

a keeley compressor, keeley modded boss ds 1, a evh phaser, and a boss tr-2 tremolo

recently, he also added an old od-2 that he got from satch

[ShellyOFG]

LOL at the guy who sneezes

[amarr1]

i love stilletos

[Woqx]

yes, he uses a road king and a lone star, i think

[Woqx]

yes, i also agree, petrucci has this unique sond that's so awesome

[Woqx]

you have both?wtf you must be rich

[Altered6Chicken]

What is the exact model name for the second guitar he pulls out? I've been looking for that EXACT one, and I never knew the specifics, and I REALLY want it. Someone respond!

[BigJD19]

its the Ernie Ball Musicman John Petrucci model in Mystic Dream finish. hope that helps

[NickHislop]

When he started playing As I Am, I damn near came in my pants.

[JEMxLEGACY]

Thats alot of tension with the 56's. Is he talking about drop c or c as in 2 whole steps down? Cause that was interesting when he tried it with 9 gauge.

[REiGNxFTA]

well yes hes using C tunning as he stated so,i use GHS custom light .009-.046 tunned to drop C [CGCFAD]on a Bronze warlock. and i get nothing of this rubberband sound

[adil2552]

No, Petrucci's tuning is C-F-B flat-E flat-G-C.

He tunes down 2 whole steps on each string.

[REiGNxFTA]

thought he was drop C... guess i was wronge

[adil2552]

So did I until I tried playing in the name of God and noticed that the chords weren't doable on drop c.

[beesal52]

anyone one who can bring me close to petrucci's tone?i need the graphic EQ settings and the settings on the head.

[ahvaimusicom]

hey message me ill e-mail you a pic i have

[adil2552]

Petrucci's tone is just the generic metal tone. All you need is a high gain amp and decent distortion and you've got his tone.

[cyberoach]

ofcourse, all you need is JUST a high-end mesa head and cab, a high-end guitar, and ofcourse - a super duper high end studio with super duper high end different types of mics to record his amp, and also a high-end sound engineer.

I really dont think his tone could be called "generic" any way you look at it :)

As some1 who doesnt really like DT all that much, I find JP's sound absolutely flawless, and maybe the best guitar sound I've ever heard.

[petruccirocks02]

I tried the Not Even Slinky's and the tension killed my hand. If tuning down to C, I use 11's. JP also uses 11's when tuned to C, he doesn't use the Not Even Slinkys on tour.

[henkiewessel]

they are also cheap so they are perfect

[henkiewessel]

i use slinky i love it

[jimshit01]

oops... i wanted to say he should use regular slinky 10-46 RPS

[jimshit01]

nice!! good tone...but he use regular sliky 10-46 RPS for his tunnig

[MuSiCfReAkGuItArGuY]

sexy sound

[quaz12]

The first song he plays is so awsome. Cool video

[viva0]

that would be honor thy father..

[quaz12]

I know, I even play it myself, just saying that it is awsome

[masonpw]

I love his tone. I want it.

[takujei]

he said "those" strings were rubberbending like, are ALL the EB's string models rubberbending? or only a special type? anyone knows? i'm thinking of starting using EB strings, so i am interested in that thing :P

[bigdewg]

C Standard

[SlipknoTXXIV]

Is this drop c or c standard?

[PetrucciLifeson12]

His tone is so much better with his Music Man guitars.

[lonewolf3X6]

hey! im a bassist and i prefer the flea boomers strings-but ernies kick ass

[TheKingOfCoool]

i use boomers too they are great

[StarFighter2000]

His tone was so much better with his Ibanez's.

[dwsabianguy]

At 2:52 it sounded like James LaBrie was having a case of bulemia or something... made me laugh.

He seriously has the best guitar tone I've ever heard.

[takujei]

lol damn, i wasn't the only one who noticed that then, it was hell fun hahaha

[dimwitpickle]

his tone sounds so much muddier with those strings... ha!

[GuitarGuy8191]

petrucci used to use an ibanez, now he uses a musicman. Ernie balls are good strings, but they get cruddy too quickly.

[dens5592]

what is the guitar of pertrucci?

[damnson123]

what song was the riff from after the As I Am riff

[73hNils]

At 2:00? Honor Thy Father. \m/

[MacabeuDelPla]

Honor Thy Father...;)

[RiportoDT]

What's wrong??why can't I play a guitar as him??probably 'cause he's the best...

[chiefjerky5000]

those were som mean riffs

[Zoodar]

Hmmm, he plays on a Ernie Ball guitar AND Ernie Ball strings...coincidence? I think not, he's probably endorsed by Ernie Ball...

[ibanezbloke]

Having a signature means youre endorsed...

[Zoodar]

Yes I know, I just didn't thought of that when i posted the comment... but I don't really think Ernie Ball would be his favourite strings if he tried some other brands.

[dimedizzle]

Why? Heaps of guitarists use EBs.