Nuno - The Ibanez Interviews Ibanez, the People and the Players

Magnus Olsson
Guitar Endorsee
2000-Date

Magnus Olsson is a Swedish high-skilled guitarist/session man/demonstrator which had gotten Ibanez' attention since 2000/2001. he's got two EPs on its own: "The Fat Guy Sings The Blues" (1999/2000) and "Out Of My System" (2001), and many recording sessions in countless other albums. he's a tremendously kind and laid-back person, and he's got a very cool approach to life and to the music. Magnus plays just to enjoy himself, no matter if he'll ever become or not a huge name in music business. his Custom model guitars reflect his low-profiled way of life, but with an eye for the look as well. his are high-quality wood guitars, featuring clean and no frills designs, cool colors and clear finishes. in short: simply cool.

Magnus plays and endorses Ibanez guitars and DiMarzio pickups. check Magnus Olsson's homepage: www.magnusolsson.com 

hi Magnus, thanks to be here.

Hi, Nuno! It is cool to be here, I like talking Ibanez guitars.

let's talk about Ibanez first, we're going to start from the early days: when it all started at Ibanez? who contacted you first?

I got a call from a friend in a music shop that said he had a guy from Ibanez here in Sweden (Crafton Musik AB) that wanted to meet me.
So I got myself in there and meet the guy and we talked about loads of things, what I know about Ibanez guitars, what sort of guitars I was playing and things like that. Anyway, the main thing was if I was interested to do a test clinic for Ibanez in a music store here in Sweden. And to cut the story short, we decided to make the clinic and see how it would work out for both parts. All of us were happy for how the first clinic went down, so I signed an endorsement contract with them and then it has all just grown from there. I don’t remember exactly when it was but I’m sure that it was in 2000 or 2001. The short answer to your question: they contacted me.

Magnus Olsson on Crafton Musik' 2005 Ibanez ad.

what guitars were you playing before the Ibanez endorsement?

I was playing Ibanez long before the endorsement, actually, the first guitar I had was a red Ibanez Blazer. I had no idea that it was an Ibanez at the time, it was just a guitar. I have always had loads of other brand guitars that are great too, but Ibanez has always felt like home to me.
So I would say that 90% of all the guitar playing I’ve ever done has been on Ibanez guitars. I have had loads and loads of them, I can’t even remember how many.
I did play MusicMan guitars live for a while, I think it was around 96-97, and they were great guitars, but it was impossible to buy spare parts for them here in Sweden, so I stopped using them when they fell apart. I did not have any endorsement deal with them, and the problem was not the brand MusicMan, it was the distributor here in Sweden. So many distributors do miss that part, a good guitar is not enough, professional players need to be able to buy spare parts too. Things will fall apart when you do hundreds of gigs with a guitar, things where you need parts from that specific brand, like when the tremolo is worn down and so on. It has to be available fast and easy, or you just can’t play that brand, even if the guitar is great. All guitars gets worn down, just some a little faster than others.
I also played Starfield guitars every now and then, that I really like, so I still have a bunch of those. I guess you know that it was Ibanez that made them?

yeah, I knew it somehow long time ago, and then I’ve recently read the story about the Starfields on the Ibanez: The Untold Story book. Never tried any, but I guess they were great guitars according to what many would say. would you describe your relationship with Ibanez? what kind of endorsement have you got?

Hard question. The main part of my relationship is with the Swedish distributor, Crafton, which is the way it is for 95% of all Ibanez endorsers, it goes through the distributors in their countries. They are fantastic people and they are always extremely helpful. Almost all of the people working there are musicians themselves, so they really know and understand how it is in this business. I can never thank them enough. Anyway, there are basically four kinds of relationships/endorsements, as I understand it.

1. Guys that has gotten a guitar. Normally they just bought it for a better price, and then there is no relationships other than that.
2. Endorsers that are supported by the distributor in their country only.
3. Endorsers that are supported by either the distributor and Ibanez in Japan or USA.
4. And finally the ones that are supported by Ibanez direct and only, mainly guys on Vai’s, Satriani’s, Korn’s level.

You can normally see what players Ibanez in Japan/USA knows about and endorses by looking in their catalogues or on their website’s artist rosters: there are loads of Ibanez- endorsed guys that Ibanez doesn’t even know about.
I can also add that it is very, very rare that endorsers get free instruments. the most common thing is that they buy instruments for a very good price.

My relationship is with both the distributor in Sweden and Ibanez Japan and the main part of it is that I represent the brand by playing there guitars live and in the studio. I do about 160-180 gigs/shows a year in various situations, everywhere from Sweden to France and loads of studio sessions on top of that. I also do clinics here in Scandinavia and I did a big pedal demos with all Ibanez stomp boxes for their webpage and also commercials in catalogues and music magazines. I don’t want to talk about what kind of deal I have, no one would care about but me, but I have a very good contract and relationship with them.

Magnus Olsson during a clinic for Ibanez.

what model your very first Ibanez guitar was as an endorsee?

The first guitar I got from Ibanez was a RG3120VV. And that particular model turned out to be a very, very good one. So that guitar was my main guitar for a couple years but it’s starting to get pretty worn down, now. I replaced the tremolo on it about one year ago, but everything else is still factory-stock, witch is very good considering that I played much more then 500 gigs with it. I will have it re-fretted and just use it at home, so it won’t fall apart on me.

how many custom models have you got now? would you please describe them to detail (woods, pickups, neck size, frets size, finishes etc)?

I have a gang of guitars that are more or less custom made in one way or another, Wilkinson tremolo on two, replaced pickups, necks, colors and so on.
But the only ones I consider to be real custom guitars that were built for me only are the MO1 and MO2 guitars that are basically the only guitars I play now. Both of them are exactly the same, just different colors, and they are very similar to my favourite 3120. You could say that they are sort of a marriage between a RG3120 and a J-custom 8570. The body is made of very light pieces of Mahogany with a Flamed maple top that was specifically requested a bit thicker than normal. The finish is Transparent Turquoise (TT) on one and Transparent Violet (TV) on the other one, both with matching headstock. The body shape comes from the J-Custom model, with a more carved out neck-joint and the tele-jack output pointing up, as on a JEM (don’t know what they call that?). The neck are oiled (no varnish) three piece Maple neck with oiled Maple fretboards, with off-centered Abalone dots inlays. The frets are jumbos, the same ones as on the 3120. The neck size was measured after my favourite 3120 neck, which is a pretty much standard Wizard neck shape. The neck measures are:

Thickness at first fret: 17.8mm
Thickness at 12th fret: 20.6mm
Width at first fret: 43.8mm
Width at 21th fret: 55.9mm
Radius: 430mmR
Scale: 25.5inch

All the electronics, switches and pots are made by DiMarzio. The pickups are BREEDs (DP166 and DP165) in bridge and neck position and a Blue Velvet (DP170) in the middle. They are wired a little different then on a normal 3-pickups guitar, but it is hard to explain it without diagrams. The tuners are Gotoh SG381, the nut is a Toplok-III and the bridge is an Edge-Pro with the old locking stud’ screws. All the hardware is Cosmo Black but has been changed later to gold on the TV one. I think that’s all?
The reason I wanted a lightweight wood is that I really think it improves the tone with more midrange frequencies, especially noticeable in how much the guitar sings. It is a great combination together with the BREEDs’ midrange sound. I love midrange in guitar tones, that is where all the tone is.

Magnus Olsson with his own Custom MO1TT.

would you like to have your own mass-produced signature model? if so, would you describe it to detail?

They would be exactly like my MO model, but no, I don’t really want nor need a mass-produced signature guitar, I’m totally happy with just having them made for myself. I would of course be very proud and it would be a massive honour if they would mass-produce these guitars, they are fantastic instruments, but I wouldn’t want my name on them. They could just be called RG999 or whatever, so people would like and buy the guitar for what the guitar has to offer, not because it is associated with someone.
I just want good guitars that are made the way I want them too, I mean, a guitar is just a tool and why put your name on a hammer?
I think most Ibanez guitars are good enough to stand on their own, without my name on it. Maybe even better without it (laughs).

what do you think about Ibanez Signature models in general? are there some that you like particularly?

I think all the Ibanez Signature models are top of the line guitars. Of course some of them fit my playing style better then others, but all of them are great guitars for what they were made for. Most of all, I think it is very cool that all the Signature models are so different from each other, instead of just writing the player’s name on a normal stuck model guitar, like so many other brands do. I really think that they catch the spirit of the players in the instrument; the way they play and the sound they use really come through in the instruments. And I think that is what a Signature guitar should be all about.
But I have mixed feelings about Signature guitars. I have plenty of Ibanez Signature models but I never play them live, even if they are great guitars and I love to play on them. It might sound stupid, but I don’t want people to think about Vai or Satriani before I even play a note. And if I go on stage with a JEM, for example, then people will think about Vai and have a picture of his playing in their head, not a good point to start for me (laughs).
That is the reason for not wanting a Signature model myself, I much rather have the same model as Vai plays than his guitar, if you understand what I mean? My favourite Signature model is the JEM7DBK. I had one of those with me on clinics for a long time, and that particular model was a magic one, so I had to have it, even if I really don’t want Signature guitars. I like it because it has softer pickups, smaller frets and a different neck shape than the other JEM models. The Andy Timmons model (AT300) is also amazing and sounds like a dream, but the neck is a little too thick for what I’m used too. I also really like my PGM100, my FGM100 and my RBM2NT guitars. And I have a JEM77B RMR on the way that I’m sure I will love: just its look will be enough. But the coolest thing about Ibanez and their Signature models is that the artists really play those guitars. You won’t see Vai without a JEM often, or Satriani without a JS and so on, and this is very important for me. If I’ll buy a Timmons model guitar, for example, because I really like him, then I would be very disappointed if he never played those guitars with his name on.

Magnus Olsson during a clinic for Ibanez.

could you tell something about the people at Ibanez? who actually built your custom models?

I don’t really know who made my Custom guitars, I just know it was someone in Japan (laughs). I have never asked who made them, I can’t really say that it matters, the guitars are great and that is all I need to know.
All the people I met at Ibanez have been really cool and laid-back people that really care about guitars. They’ve always been super-friendly and helpful and really seem to care about what I think about guitars.

what do you think is Ibanez' most good thing? why do you like Ibanez guitars?

That is a good question. I first got really interested in Ibanez when all my guitar heroes where playing them in the 80’s. You know, Gilbert, Vinnie Moore, Kotzen, Gambale, Beach and all those guys. That was the reason for me to buy my first RG550, that I still own and play. And the reason why I continued playing them was that they were well built guitars that felt great to play and also very easy to play. They sounded great, stayed together great and also very important, they looked fantastic. Like I said before, Ibanez feels like home. Some other brands do great guitars too, but they never feel as nice as my Ibanezs.
The best thing with Ibanez as a company, apart from that they make the nicest necks and the best tremolos, is that they are brave enough to look forward, evolve and change things. And I have always admired the way Ibanez did artist relations in the 80’s and the 90’s.
They picked up loads of players before they got well-known so that the first place the players was exposed to the world was in Ibanez ads. I found new guys to listen to from Ibanez ads, and I think that was a very cool thing from Ibanez.
Hmmm… It might sound like I’m paid or having it written on my contract to say good things about Ibanez. But the thing is that I really, really love the guitars they do, I don’t jump up and down for every Ibanez I see, but the ones that are in my ballpark just makes my heart beat a little faster. I simply love these guitars.
I have, so far, never done a clinic tour and not found an Ibanez in a shop that I just had to buy, so I never make any money from this because I always find guitars that I buy. When you travel around to so many different guitar shops then you can’t help but finding guitars that you just have to have.

have you ever been contacted by other guitar companies for an endorsement deal?

Yes, some other companies talked to me about endorsement deals and not just guitar makers. But I just can’t say yes to something I don’t really use.
There really is no money in the music that I do or the endorsement deals I could make, and it is not worth loosing my honesty for some free products that I wouldn’t use anyway. I would only go behind products that I already use or really want to use. I have tried and bought so much gear that I already have the things that sound the best for me.

Magnus Olsson on Ibanez WD7
Weeping Demon pedal ad.

among all the Ibanez endorsees, is there one that you like the most as a musician/guitar player?

Holy, yeah I like most of them. There are so many great Ibanez players that I could make a long list and still forget a whole bunch of them. I mean, Gilbert, Vai, Satriani, Metheny, Timmons, Marcel Coenen and so on and on. I can’t even remember them all. Ibanez also have my all time favourite bass player in Gary Willis. I think my favorite among all the ones I heard is Andy Timmons, he is just amazing.

why should a guitar player play an Ibanez guitar?

I think the main reason to get an Ibanez is the bang-for-the-buck, you get loads of guitar for the money you spent, no matter if you buy a cheap or an expensive Ibanez instrument. A good reason for a beginner is that when you buy a cheap Ibanez instrument it will still feel pretty similar to play as a really expensive one. And I think it’s really good to feel no differences in how the instrument feels to hold and play when you upgrade your instrument, when you get better. For example, an RG370, that is a very cheap guitar, will feel similar in how it feels to play, to a RG3120, which costs a little more. A reason for a pro is that you get a guitar that can sound almost anyway you like, lasts long and can take the road. It is also easy to find spare parts for Ibanez guitars, you get a guitar from someone that supports it well. I never had problems getting parts for my Ibanez guitars, even long before I was an endorsee. And it’s also good that there are models for almost anything you like, different neck shapes, pickups configurations, woods, body shapes and so on.

Magnus Olsson live!

let's talk about you, now. what had you started playing and composing your own music?

I think I got interested in playing because my big brother was playing bass in a punk band when I was young, so I wanted to play too. But I never really came around that, I was spending all my time with fishing and doing stupid things. I then went to live together with a friend, Stefan Rosqvist that played guitar really well. And seeing him playing great stuff inspired me to try to work on guitar myself. Then I almost immediately bought a cassette four track, a drum machine and started to write music. I just had the idea that writing and recording music would be the fastest way to learn and get better on guitar. I practised and wrote something, then I recorded it and heard that I needed to practice some more, and that is the way I still do things.
So I practice because I hear that I need to when I hear something I recorded. You know how it is. “Oops! That didn’t sound very good, let’s work on that”. I believe that loads of mechanical practicing just to get speed or technique just kills the fun, so I have always played just to enjoy myself, playing whatever I like.

what's your goal with your music?

My goal has always been to just enjoy myself in life, and I try to spend as much time as I can with the things I love. So my only real goal is to continue enjoying myself with music and playing. And that means to try to be as good as I can and continue to learn new things. The hunt for better things is the funniest part.

what song would you liked to write?

I wish I had written some of Abba’s songs, because then I wouldn’t have to work anymore. But from an artistic point of view, I wish I had written Allan Holdsworth’s “Warden Clyffe Tower” album. But I wish I could write a tune that would be considered a classic, and which could stand the test of time as being a good song.

have you got any new projects for the future? album, recording sessions etc?

I have a project goin’ on right now with an album that I’m doing together with a great Swedish guitar player called Stefan Rosqvist. It will come out on Liquid Note Records, but I’m not sure about when it will be released. We are going to start recording it in the next month or so. I don’t really like talking about things that are on their way because you never really know if it will happen or not. So I rather speak when it is already done, the music business is already full of people that talk too much without anything ever happening, so there really is no need for another person like that. I guess I will continue doing Ibanez clinics here in Sweden and Denmark. And I’ll have a clinic for DiMarzio at a guitar show in Denmark coming up soon. I write and record music all the time but I never know if it will come out or not. Most of my time goes to projects that don’t involve my own style of music, studio sessions, live shows and so on.

if you had the chance to have your own G3 world tour, who would be your two guests?

Difficult question, it all depends on the mood. I think I would pick Allan Holdsworth and a Swedish keyboard player called Lale Larson: they are my favourite musicians. But I would forget to play because I’d just be listening to them all the time. Allan and Brett Garsed would be great too. Or why not Steve Morse and Scott Henderson?

have you got other interests beside guitar/music?

Oh yeah. I do loads of other things, you have to or you go nuts. My biggest hobbies beside music (music is not a hobby, music is life) is photography and fishing, I even used to work as a professional fishing guide. But I also do loads of extreme skiing and mountain biking, I do gigs in France five months a year and I really enjoy the mountains down there, just walking with the dog or dropping some cliffs with big skis on my feet.

thank you Magnus for being here at ibanez87.it!

Thank you Nuno, for taking the time to listen and for asking some very good questions. I will always enjoy talking about Ibanez guitars.

Magnus Olsson plays and endorses:

DiMarzio pickups
Ibanez guitars

check Magnus Olsson's homepage
www.magnusolsson.com

check Magnus' Ibanez pedals demo on Crafton Musik's webpage
www.crafton.se/player/intro.htm

check Crafton Musik's homepage
www.crafton.se