Herman Li
Herman Li (
Chinese:
李康敏,
Hanyu Pinyin:
Lǐ Kāng Mǐn;
born on October 3, 1976 in
Hong Kong) is a
British Chinese musician, best known as a
guitarist for the
power metal band
DragonForce.
Playing style
Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as
video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games. For example, Li has been known for making several
Pac-Man-type noises in the song "
Through the Fire and Flames" on
Inhuman Rampage. His playing style consists of fast descending and ascending
legato and
staccato licks, exotic scalar runs, making extensive use of the harmonic minor and
Phrygian dominant scale, extreme use of his
whammy bar, quick full ascending and descending
sweep picking arpeggios,
alternate picking and tapping (especially
two-handed) on the higher frets as well as incorporating many other
shred guitar style techniques.
Li is left-handed but learned to play right-handed. Recently, he has started to use a device called the Hot Hand that sits on his right hand like a ring, which causes extreme
vibrato when shaken, giving him greater capacity to emulate certain video game sounds. Li has stated
John Petrucci's fast guitar playing heavily inspired his own style.
Equipment
Guitars
Li uses
Ibanez E-gen guitars, his signature
Ibanez models based on his old
Ibanez S Series, which was retired from stage at the end of the Inhuman Rampage tour. The EGEN18 has a 'Transparent Violet Flat' finish (transparent purple on a flamed-maple top), and the EGEN8 has a 'Platinum Blonde' finish (natural wood finish with a flamed-maple top). Both have a rosewood fingerboard and gold hardware. The E-Gen model has many unique features and improvements over a standard S, including its versatile tone selection with coil tap switching for both the bridge and neck pickups,
Edge Zero bridge (the EGEN8 has
Edge III), custom
DiMarzio HLM pickups (the EGEN8 has Ibanez pickups) and an extended scoop on the lower horn of the body, as well as a 'Kung-Fu grip' on the upper horn shaped by Li's hand. It is currently Ibanez's flagship model for S body style guitars.
On 9 May 2010, Li announced via
Facebook that he had received a custom-made Ibanez 7-string guitar.
As of yet no details are known about this guitar, other than it has seven strings, and it is unknown whether it will be mass-produced for his E-Gen signature line.
Before the E-Gen, he had been known to play
Ibanez S Prestige guitars. An Ibanez S470SOL (Japanese build 1995), a seven string
Ibanez 540S7 (Japanese build 1991) (used in Revolution Deathsquad, Storming the Burning Fields, before the second verse and in the outro of Heartbreak Armageddon and the
bridge section of Operation Ground and Pound), and an Ibanez S540FMTTS (Japanese build 1995). He has also been seen playing an Ibanez S2170FB and an Ibanez S2170FW. He also owns an
Ibanez Jem7BSB, which has been used on every
DragonForce album for recording
rhythm guitar parts, an Ibanez J Custom RG, an
Ibanez RG2228 (8-string model), and a
PRS Modern Eagle, which he received as a gift from
Paul Reed Smith and can be seen in the studio.
| Herman Li |
|---|
 |
| Background information |
| Birth name | Herman Li |
| Born | October 3, 1976 (1976-10-03) (age 34)
Hong Kong |
| Genres | Power metal, neo-classical metal, progressive metal, thrash metal, black metal |
| Occupations | Musician, Producer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Sanctuary, Noise, Roadrunner, JVC |
| Associated acts | DragonForce, Shadow Warriors, Demoniac, Labrat |
| Website | www.hermanli.com |
| Notable instruments |
| Ibanez E-Gen - Herman Li Signature Model | | |
Notable awards and achievements
Li has won and featured in the following awards
[8]:
- Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2009 – Best Shredder Award
- Grammy Awards 2008 – Best Metal Performance “DragonForce” Nomination
- Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best New Talent (winning by 70%)
- Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Metal
- Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Riff
- Total Guitar Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Solo “Through the Fire and Flames”
- Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Band “DragonForce”
- Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Musician “Herman Li”
- Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Live Act “DragonForce”
- Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2005 – Best Shredder Award
- Guitar World Magazine – 50 fastest guitarists
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