Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Ben Colton. I’m the lead guitarist and singer for the bands Neverworld and All Seeing Eyes. Neverworld are a theatrical traditional heavy metal band and All Seeing Eyes is more of a progressive metal act. You can check us out here, here and here.
What do you use?
I have 3 electric guitars I use for live shows and recording. A Dean MAB1, a Charvel San Dimas and a Jackson Dinky. I love all 3 for different reasons but ultimately I need a guitar that doesn’t fight you. You need to be at one with your instrument in order to get the best out of yourself so I don’t like restrictions. That is the reason why I picked these guitars. I have a beautiful Faith electro acoustic which plays like a dream and looks rather sexy too. And last but not least I have a gorgeous sounding Tanglewood 12 string.
To be honest I haven’t updated my amp rig for about 7 years now. I have a Line 6 Spider 2 and it’s always been good to me. Not sure why they get so much bad press from musos. It’s solid, reliable and sounds great. Due to its in built effects it means I don’t have to worry about having a pedal board on stage anymore. Because I’m a singer too I need as little stuff to think about on stage as possible. The Line 6 is perfect for me. I do have a Boss ME-80 board that I use at home for writing purposes which is pretty cool.
As far as influences go I have many. I love good well played, well sung music. I would say Winger, King Diamond, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Magnum, Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, Alice In Chains, Cloudscape, Anubis Gate, Circus Maximus are huge influences. I’m also a massive fan of classic rock. Bands like Blue Oyster Cult, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boston etc. My CD collection is absolutely huge and it’s all influenced me in some way or another. Much like my hoard of films. I’m very big on John Carpenter and most 80’s early 90’s flicks. Films are very useful when seeking inspiration
What would be your dream set up?
Well if money wasn’t an obstacle I guess my dream set up would be a Mesa Boogie head and cab. The most expensive Boss FX board money can buy and I’d love an original Charvel. A nice 80’s multi coloured one would do me nicely! I’m a simple man as Skynyrd would say ;).
