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

Rob Balducci
Guitar Endorsee
1989-Date

Rob Balducci is a skillful, self-motivated guitarist from Queens, New York, who describes his style as instrumental rock blending progressive, hard rock and fusion. Balducci has played guitar since 1981, and openly affirms his career goal, "to be possibly producing musicians. to be a successful songwriter and guitarist" and offered his musicial goals, "all my compositions have meaning. none of my songs are filler tracks for my albums. each one makes you feel certain emotions and I try to convey what I was feeling when I wrote the song, whether it be sadness or anger or fear". his greatest satisfaction? "my greatest satisfaction is completing my vision for my compositions and seeing them come alive in the studio" he states unambiguously.

at the age of 10, Rob got his first taste of music through his sister, a musician herself, who influenced and taught her brother to play acoustic guitar. just three years later, Rob started to get involved with putting together local garage bands. being the youngest member in his first group, Visions, Rob started playing at clubs in his area. about a year and several bands later, it was in the latter part of the '80's that Rob answered an ad in a local newspaper. a band by the name of Project X was looking for a lead guitarist. Rob auditioned and was instantly made their "front man." happy to be playing, but tired of just being a local favorite, Rob decided it was time to become more seriously involved with the recording side of music. with hardly any money, but rich with integrity, he felt it was time to put his gifted talent on wax. he started entering guitar contests and among the many he won, the most outstanding was his 1990 New York's Best Guitarist award sponsored by Guitar For The Practicing Musician, D'Addario and Marshall. Rob's talent and perseverance finally paid off, giving him the opportunity to work with such companies as D'Addario, Ibanez, DiMarzio, Eventide and others, endorsing their products. Rob's style is unique. it's a combination of hard rock, metal and blues. his indie demo has garnered praise by critics as well. one writer stating, "Balducci possesses an emotional feel that is rare in music...it's fascinating how well Balducci is able to express himself through his music without using a single word. his talent is well on the way to much broader horizons."

Rob Balducci plays and endorses:

Ibanez guitars

DiMarzio pickups

D'Addario strings

Cornford amps

Onboard Research Intellitouch tuners

George L's cables

Robert Keeley Electronics

Morley pedals

Moho mods

check Rob Balducci's homepage:
www.robbalducci.com

check Favored Nations' Rob page:
www.favorednations.com/artists/robbalducci

hi Rob, thanks for being here!
no problem, it is my pleasure!

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?

when I first started playing Ibanez it was around 1987 or so, I had this Ibanez guitar that I bought off a friend of mind, it was an RG shape. I brought it to a friend of mine who fixed guitars and we sort of fixed it up and changed the pick-ups and stuff. I was using Dimarzio X2N's at that time -LOL! how I got started with Ibanez... well, that was around 1989 when I first got my endorsement. I ran into an Ibanez rep by the name of Bill Cummiskey, he was the one who got me started with Ibanez. my endorsement deal started with a reduced cost on Ibanez models etc., so back then I was playing an RG 570 and I also had a JEM and an Ibanez Satriani model.
It was around 1994 when I first was getting ready to record my debut CD "Balance" I approached Bill Cummiskey and asked him if it was possible to get a custom guitar done. since I was recording my first CD, I did not want to use another players model etc. Ibanez and Bill were very cool and have always been very supportive of me, and they agreed to get me a guitar. it was the guitar on the cover of my "Balance" CD. it was basically a USA Custom, it is purple, it has a mahogany top with an alder body and an Ultra neck, which they do not make anymore.

what guitars were you been playing before the Ibanez endorsement deal?

This project guitar above that I am talking about was an Ibanez. I also had a Kramer Pacer and my first electric guitar was a Gibson "The Paul" which I still have and is posted on my website.

would you describe your relationship with Ibanez to detail? what kind of endorsement have you got?

I am very happy with my Ibanez endorsement. they are and always have been very supportive of me. it says a lot about a company when they endorse artist such as myself from very early on. I want to just first say there are a lot of players out there who are just interested in getting endorsements and I am not really into that attitude at all. I would be playing Ibanez even if I did not have an endorsement with them because they make great guitars, and I am very comfortably playing their instruments. I am very lucky to have the LA Custom Shop work with me on making guitars that I want. I usually get one guitar a year or so, and I am able to choose the wood, the color, pick-ups and they custom match an old neck that I have for each of my guitars. I tend to ask for a new guitar around the time I am doing a new recording and or project.

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

my first guitar as an endorsee was back when I first started the relationship with them. I got a percentage off of their guitars. I purchased a JEM and then a Satriani model. the first actually custom guitar is the guitar on the cover of my "Balance" CD.

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

I have 5 custom models from Ibanez:

1.
I call it "The Grinch" it is the RG USA Custom, the body was originally supposed to be for John Petrucci. it is purple and the body is alder with a curly maple top. the volume toggle switch was moved down and so was the volume knob, because it gets in the way of my picking hand. it has a rosewood fingerboard, jumbo frets and an Ultra neck. it has two humbuckers in it. the bridge pickup is a DiMarzio Tone Zone and the neck pickups is a custom DiMarzio which they nicknamed "Humbucker From Brooklyn" (across between a Humbucker From Hell and a PAF).

The Grinch

2.
my really first custom guitar, a rosewood neck, body is basswood with a flame maple top, jumbo frets, and it has two humbuckers in it. at the bridge is a DiMarzio Steve's Special and in the neck a DiMarzio Air Norton. the neck was matched to an old JEM neck I had. I send it to them for all my six string guitars now to match. it is my favorite neck, I had it reshaped when I first got the JEM guitar from Ibanez. a luthier friend of mine reshaped it for me. it has a volume and a tone knob with a 3-way toggle. they are moved lower on the guitar, so it does not get in the way of my picking hand.

3.
my 7-string. I call it the "Bal-7". it has a mahogany body with a curly maple top, a rosewood fretboard with jumbo frets. it is basically the Universe shape neck. the pick-ups are Dimarzio Blaze in the neck and the bridge. it is set up like all my guitars with two humbuckers and a 3-way toggle.

Bal-7

4.
6-string reverse headstock (my favorite guitar). it is like a purplish red burst, with two humbuckers, a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and a DiMarzio Air Norton in the neck. same set up, volume and tone with a 3-way toggle all moved down. a rosewood neck with a custom inlay at the 10, 11, 12 frets, the Libra sign. it has a basswood body with a curly maple top.

5.
another 6-string. I call it "The Sleastack". it is a cool green burst, well sort of. it has a mahogany body with a curly maple top, rosewood fingerboard, my usual set up for pick-ups and toggle, but i have a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and a DiMarzio Air Norton in the neck. I have my zebra inlay on the 10, 11, 12 frets. all my guitars, even the 7-string, have the bridge cover on them that came with the original JEMs...

The Sleastack

...the infamous Hand Rest!?! wow, that's a hot spot for us Ibanez hardcore freaks! it was featured on some of the early JEMs only, then the production was halted since then. how did you got them?

I got my hands on one at the Ibanez factory, my good friend Jim Donahue got it for me. but I found a guy who makes them. his name is Steve Sandy, you can get in touch with him through my board.

cool! hopefully Ibanez would re-introduce it! but let's go on with the interview... would you like to have your own mass-produced Rob Balducci Signature model? if so, would you describe it to detail?

yes I would love to have my own model. it would be a basswood body with a maple top, RG shape... maybe a little sleaker in appearance. it would be really like the guitar I mentioned earlier in the interview. and all my guitars are nicely stained and you can see the wood through the color etc. I love seeing the wood through the stain. I think I would like to have it available in the green color guitar I have and a really nice violet burst as well.

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

I love Ibanez guitars. like I said earlier, I would be playing them regardless if I was endorsed or not. they make the best guitars in the world. I love the J-Customs, the Artcore series guitars, the Prestige series, the JEMs. I like the new Flying-V they are suppose to be doing as well. and I really like some of the old ones. the Artist series as well... I am an Ibanez nut, really, I love even the smell of my guitars... hahaha -LOL! I even own two early "Law Suit" models: a Strat Silver series and a 1977 Ibanez Les Paul copy as well.

could you tell something about Ibanez Custom Shop people? do you personally know the people who built your custom models?

yes, i make my business to know the people, they are supporting me and I appreciate it very much! I visit the LA Custom Shop whenever I am in LA. I met Ed (Lang, ed.), who painted my guitars, and Mike (Taft, ed.) as well. Rob Nishida and Tak (Hosono, ed.). there are more but I am forgetting some names. but I have met them. I even visited the Japan Nagoya factory's main office. I was the first artist to perform for the office and all the employees. if you visit the multi-media section of my website and go to the photo section, there you can see pictures of some of the people etc.

Rob with Rob Nishida (Ibanez artists relations)

Rob plays the Hoshino Japan Mothership!

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

yes, I have been contacted by other Companies but I am a very loyal person to all my endorsers. I use the equipment because I feel it is the best. so I have no need to go anywhere else.

among all the Ibanez endorsees, are there some that you like the most as musicians/guitar players?

I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of the players etc. everybody is so nice. to mention a couple, Marty Friedman, Andy Timmons, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Larry Mitchell... they are what comes to mind... but I know I am leaving some names out, sorry -LOL!

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

I started playing guitar because of my older sister Barbara, at the age of like 11. I was gigging out my 14 years old. my dad used to take me to the shows and be my guardian so I was able to get into bars and stuff. I consider myself a musician rather then just a guitarist. I love to write, and I write music from my experiences in life etc., so my songs and music are very personal to me.

what's your goal with your music?

I feel that as an artist I must be happy with what I am playing and writing... and I am! I do it for me, and I feel that this is what turns people on to it. you have to be honest and I think it comes through in my music. I want people to relate to it and feel emotions through listening to my songs.

how did you get involved with Vai's Favored Nations?

I consider myself to be very lucky. I am so happy to be doing what I am doing. I consider it an honor to be associated with the Favored Nations label and all my fellow artist on this great label. long story short: I ended up getting my Mantra CD that I had recorded and was shopping around to Steve Vai. this was when he first started looking for artists to sign to the label. Steve ended up liking my Mantra CD and was willing to take a chance on putting it out in Japan. so, Favored Nations put it out in Japan first and it did well for an artist at my level etc. so Favored Nations then put it out in Europe. This is how it started etc.
Steve is very cool and very down to earth, there are not labels and label CEO's anymore in this music business like Steve and Favored Nations. Steve is a music man and if the music touches him in some way he ends up putting it out. nowadays labels are run by finance people, which in my opinion is why the radio is the way it is... Favored Nations is a label for artists and they care about the artist! how can that be wrong!