Khan Manuel Interview: Insightful Guitarist

Click to Download the Knight from Amazon.com

What is it about Australia that just breeds world-class guitarists? Often considered an “out of the way” country because of its distance from the Western world, Oz has produced some of the finest pickers of the past fifty years. Guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel, Frank Gambale and up and comer Adam Miller have become household names on both sides of the Pacific. In recent years another name has emerged to stand alongside these Australian guitar giants, Khan Manuel.

As a player, Manuel’s approach to the instrument is highly influenced by his love of composition. Yes the guy can shred with the best of them, but that’s not the focus of his musical output. He tends to focus more on developing melodies, letting the technical side of things act as a contrast, an energetic burst that only accentuates each melodic phrase even further.

Drawing from jazz-fusion, rock, metal and classical music in his playing and writing, Manuel’s style is unique, yet locked into the musical tradition at the same time, a duality that allows his music to speak to a larger audience than just the shred-guitar loving crowd.

Aside from being an accomplished performer and composer, Manuel is also a highly-respected guitar pedagogue and author. His ebook Guitar Insights, which is free by the way so go download it now!, is an in-depth treatise on the guitar in its modern context.

Providing enough information to keep any guitarist busy for a lifetime, the book offers everything an up and coming guitarists needs to get their technique and harmonic-melodic knowledge up to par.

With his first album The Knight and ebook receiving so much attention, as well as recently signing an endorsement deal with Ibanez and recording with Frank Gambale, it’s no wonder that Manuel is turning heads and catching ears everywhere he plays.

******

Matt Warnock: You’ve recently started an endorsement deal with Ibanez. How did that deal come about, and why did you choose to work with Ibanez over other guitar companies such as Fender or Gibson?

Khan Manuel: I approached Ibanez a few years ago, but didn’t get a reply back from them. I think the reason was quite simple, in that I had only a few compositions and performing experiences under my belt. However, I continued to work harder and harder to achieve certain career goals, one being to compose enough material to record an album of all original songs.

By this time, I was fortunate enough to have write ups in various magazines and websites, from the album and concerts etc. I then gathered up everything I had and approached them with my expanded portfolio in hand. This time I was lucky enough to get a response, and the endorsement deal was worked out from there.

I’ve played Ibanez guitars most of my life, and have always regarded them as a top guitar company, so I was determined to endorse them and also to have them support me and my music.

Matt: Do you have one model that you prefer to play, or do you have a closet full of Ibanez guitars at your disposal?

Khan I play a limited edition Australian Southern Cross RG. I’ve also got a number of Jems in my collection. I play them mainly because of the neck. It’s really flat and easy to navigate, but still holds a great tone.

That design has really grown on me over time, and I find it extremely comfortable to play. I’m looking at getting my own model done in the not so distant future, which would be a great experience for sure.

Matt: Your tone is very controlled, precise yet personal. Do you have any favorite pedals that you use live or in the studio to get that personal tone?

Khan I really like GNI pedals from Brazil, as well as Digitech. Recently however, I’ve come in contact with T-Rex pedals, and think they are amazing! Australis, my Australian sponsor, through whom I got the Ibanez deal with, also works with T-Rex. I’m shooting some T-Rex videos for YouTube soon, which will be fun.

In the studio, I switch between using Guitar Rig and various racks of pedals, depending on how much time I have. Right now, I’m working on a fresh new sound using hardware and going straight into the computer, without using an amp set up and mike.

I don’t dig the sound of computer software generated modeling, as it’s not the same as using real pedals in my opinion. Sometimes you can get pretty close, but I still haven’t found a sound that I’m really happy with using computer software.

Matt: You recorded When Two Become One with Frank Gambale. What was it like working with Frank on that project, and what did you take away from working with such an experienced player as Frank?

Khan Frank is a very humble person and very giving person. If I had a question, he was more than happy to help out, giving me advice on many things including career options.

One thing that I took from the experience was to never hold back. When you do something, do it with everything that you have. I had read in an article a while ago that Frank would practice up to 16 hours a day. So, I wanted to be like Frank and that’s what I did. I suppose Frank has always been a mentor for me in that way.

What I also thought was great, was that Frank was able to put his own unique style on the track, while maintaining the character of the song, which I think only an experienced player can do. I’m so grateful to have had that opportunity and experience.

Matt: You do a lot of teaching, in both your ebook and with online videos. Do you find that teaching influences your playing, and vice versa?

Khan First and foremost I try to nurture my own playing, so I focus 110% on this, including composing, then everything comes from that. I want to give a student the best that I can, so if I work on my playing and knowledge then I can hopefully give sound technical advice.

Teaching has always been very easy to me for some reason. I’ve never really had to think about it. Performing is like that now too, of course I still get a bit nervous sometimes, but I think that this is healthy. I think that when you let go, really let go in performing, that’s when you can truly tap into things.

A lot of players seem to see the guitar as the main focus, but really it’s just a piece of wood with strings. In my opinion, the source is the exact opposite of where to go for creativity. It all comes from within.

Regardless of all the scales and technique, I still believe that it can be found within you. And you don’t even have to be proficient on a technical level to get results. But in saying this you do need tools to be able to bring it into form.

So that is why we practice, to be able to deliver the music we have inside us into the world without.

Matt: You recently published your ebook Guitar Insights, what was the inspiration behind this project?

Khan I have scanned through tons of information on the Internet, and I thought that there was a lot of misled stuff, in particular on the modes. So I thought that I would brainstorm and it all started from there.

The drive behind it was because I was in and out of the hospital over a 6 month period, and I didn’t want to waste time. So, I thought it would be useful to share what I had learnt over the years with people who would be interested in this material. After a few months of continuous writing and doing graphs it was complete.

I’m sure that a lot of the info is in other books, but I tried to write it so that it was easy to understand, along with giving advice on how to apply this info to practical situation. Also, you’ll find that a lot of this information is spread out over many different guitar books, so I thought I would try and condense it down into the one book.

Matt: What were some of the challenges you faced when putting together the material for Guitar Insights?

Khan The graphs, and working out how to put the thing together. The information was easy, I just had to get it out of my head and onto the computer, but it was the PDF programs that I had a bit of frustration with, and page numberings, you know the fun stuff. [Laughs]

Matt: What levels and types of players do you feel would benefit the most from “Guitar Insights?”

Khan I think guitarists of all levels could take something from the book. If you’re a beginner, there are chord graphs, tips on what to practice, scale diagrams etc. For the advanced player, there are concepts in there that may be beneficial as well. It really covers the gamut of playing levels, backgrounds and musical styles.

Matt: Now that you’ve published your first ebook do you have plans for a follow up, or to work up a series of ebooks on different subjects?

Khan I’ve just finished another ebook called Unlocking the Modes, which will be released shortly. It focuses on the modes and gives an in-depth look on a few different ways to approach them.

But at the moment I’m focusing all my energies on touring. I’m looking at Japan, Europe and the U.S. Then I want to write for a new album that I’ve already got swirling around in my head. After these things are off the ground, maybe I‘ll look at another book.

Matt: How do you balance your commitments as an educator and performer?

Khan I go through phases just like anyone else in my situation. I’ll perform for a few months, and then I’ll have time off when I get hungry again, so I head back out on the road. My true passion is for composition and performing. So a near future goal is to just do these two things.

I do enjoy teaching as well. I get to meet cool people and I always seem to learn from them as well, which is a nice, added bonus. I also get a kick out of how different people learn, that’s fun for me to see.

Performing is the ultimate high though, exhilarating and when you’re in that zone, nothing beats it.