DarkKnight369 of the Line 6 forums is a Gearwire MVP Candidate, a knowledgeable Line 6 user, and a blistering metal guitarist who could probably take Peter Steele in an arm wrestling contest. DarkKnight369 was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions about music on and off the internet.

What is your background?

I have a degree in Multimedia, I work for one of the top 100 brands in America, and I have been playing guitar seriously for the past 10 years or so. I am 25 years old and work in the web/graphics/video world by day, then by night I am a guitarist in an up and coming regional band, The System After.

How did you get started in music and what advice would you give to someone who just started?

I had the dream of being a guitarist since I was a young kid. When I was 6 years old, my mom bought me my first guitar which was an $80 cheap classical acoustic. Although I just messed around on it, the dream grew. When I was 15 or 16 I got my first electric, a Fender Squier Strat. I began to take music seriously, and my senior year in high school I took lessons. At the end of my senior year, there was a school talent show. I wrote a song and performed it. I was nervous and as hell, but it was my first rush of being on stage, and I loved it.

From there on I needed that rush again. I formed my first band in college and we played a few battle of the bands competitions as well as performed on the school's TV news show. This did nothing but fuel my desire to play more and take music to the next level. When we graduated the band parted ways, after college I got together with a singer and drummer via the internet and formed my current band today, The System After.

As advice to someone who just started, I would say don't let go of your dreams. If you have the desire, do what ever you can to make it happen. I would also recommend taking lessons, as well as sitting in front of a stereo or computer and trying to play along with your favorite artists. That is what helped me get to where I am today, and it very well could help you.

Who are your musical influences and what genre do you listen to most?

Metal, metal, and more metal. I like a wide array of rock, hard rock, and metal, but at the end of the day I like my music loud and heavy.

Back in the 90's, bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, Pantera, and Metallica were some of my biggest influences. They gave me something more to dream about when I was seriously learning to play. These days I am heavily influenced by many of the modern metal bands such as Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Lamb of God, August Burns Red, All that Remains, It Dies Today, etc. My favorite form of metal would probably be anything that has crazy, memorable riffs, screaming, and melodic singing.

What's your inspiration?

Life, love, heartbreak, the good times, the bad times, fans, friends, tragedy and triumph. Everything really, but sometimes just playing guitar in itself inspires me. It's like crack, and the fix I get from playing keeps me always coming back for more. A number of different things including those mentioned inspire my song writing. Sometimes sitting at work, a million thoughts race through my head about projects I am working on, band stuff, life, and then it will all stop for a moment, and I will have a great riff idea in my head. I can see my fingers hitting the fretboard, and hear the notes in my head. I then get excited and think about it all day until I get home and work it out on my guitar. Some of the best songs I wrote came out that way.

What's your motivation for helping people out on forums?

There comes a time when I need help. In the past when I didn't know much, I needed a lot of help. I had questions and there weren't always good places to find the answers. I found much of that help on forums. Users would take the time to answer my question and give me more insight, direction, and real life information based on practical experience than any repository of information could give me. I see some of the users asking the same questions. I remember the times when there was no one to give me answers and times when someone was there. I share what I have learned to help these people the same way other have helped me. I try to be that person there to answer the questions so users have an easy place to go to for information.

What's your favorite piece of gear and why? What gear do you use?

I can't just pick one, but I can pick two. I would have to say my Line 6 HD147 and my Schecter C-1 Jolly Roger are my favorite pieces of gear. The Jolly Roger is one of the best, if not the best guitar I have ever played. The thing sounds and plays awesome, and it really a workhorse. Its been to hell and back and still plays and sounds awesome, just has a few scratches here and there. My HD147 is awesome as well. That thing sounds fantastic and can do anything. I love going from a nice crisp clean, with delay, chorus and reverb, to a brutal high gain the the click of a foot switch. That amp is built like a tank and has a wide palette of tones to please my tastes. Being a technology guy, I like the ability to hook it up to my laptop and fine tune my tones and well as back them up on a hard drive. Its an amp made for me.

I use a lot of gear, including:

• Line 6 HD147
• Line 6 4x12S Cab
• Line 6 FBV Shortboard
• SKB 4 Space Roto Rack
• Furman PL Plus Series II Power Conditioner
• DOD Dual 15 Band Graphic EQ
• BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer
• Sennheiser EW172 G2 Instrument Wireless
• Furman SPB 8 Pedal Board
• Ibanez Weeping Demon Wah
• Digitech Whammy WH4
• T.C. Electronics G-Minor Midi Controller
• Planet Waves cables and Cablestation Pedal Board Kit
• Schecter C-1 Jolly Roger
• Schecter C-1 Elite (Modded with Duncan JB)
• Ibanez RG7421 7 String
• Everly Star Picks
• Hercules Guitar Stand

What are your favorite sources for gear-related information?

Forums, Plain and simple. I tend to help people more on the Line 6 forum than I do actually getting help, but user of the ESP forums have helped me a ton. I don't even own an ESP, but I received great advice from users on everything from Line 6 amps to Rack Gear to pickups. You name it, they have helped me. The forum setting is a unique environment. You have a collection of users from all over the globe, all with their own experiences. What more could you ask for?

What's the best music related advice you've ever given?

To just go for it. There are musicians I know and users on forums sometimes debating on pieces of gear. If its a good piece of gear and seems right for them, I tell them to just go for it. If you are toying that much over something, and have the means to get it you should just do it. In the end you will end up being happy with the purchase, and if not, that is why stores have return policies. You won't know until you do it.

What's the best music related advice you've ever received?

Never settle. Don't settle on being a mediocre player, or writing a mediocre riff. Strive to be better and put the best that you can on the table.

What's the best and worst thing about being a musician?

The best thing is the self satisfaction. Playing music satisfies something in me that nothing else can. I crave it, and desire it. The rush of playing on stage in front of people who are getting into your music is something that is rivaled by none. At 6'8" I have heard from strangers all my life, "wow, you are tall, do you play basketball?" Although I love being tall, its nice to have someone come up to me after a show and tell me I am an awesome guitar player. Hearing that feeling, knowing I worked hard to be where I am today and being recognized for that is phenomenal. In fact there is one thing I will never forget. My band played a big all ages show at a large venue. Some of our fans have kids and bring them to shows. After we played this show, and the next band came on I was out in the crowd. A 5 or 6 year old boy came up to me and tugged on my pants. I bent down to hear what he had to say when he threw up the horns and told me I rocked. Its satisfying to know I am possibly inspiring young kids to maybe someday become a musician like other did for me when I was young.

The worst thing about being a musician is a lust for gear. As you become better and slowly build your rig, you have the lust for more things to make your tone the best it can be. Of course the more you buy, the more you have to carry. Transporting all that gear and carrying it around to shows on a regular basis is never fun. I wake up many times feeling like someone took a baseball bat to my body just because I spent a weekend playing shows and hauling gear around. It may suck, but its still all worth it.

What is the best and worst thing about online forums?

The best thing about online forums is the help you can get from people. You have the potential to meet a wide array of unique people with unique experience that have a ton of knowledge to share with you. Not only that, but many forums have a great sense of pride and community which you even see members going out of their way to help others. Its definitely a great atmosphere to be in.

The worst thing about forums are the trolls you often get. Some people find it necessary just to go on forums and harass and flame others. It often gets in the way of the people who are there to help and is just annoying in the end.

What music-related topic do you think is most neglected on forums?

I would say the basics of gear like taking care of your instrument, restringing, how to properly set things up etc. Often times people are called "noobs" for asking these type of questions, but I think its important to touch on. Some people may be a player of 5 years and still not know how to properly take care of their instrument. It would help if more people talked about it, or gave users less grief about asking those beginner questions.

What are the 5 forum posts/threads where you are most proud of your contributions? (Give actual URLs)

• Connect The HD147 to the PC
• Did I somehow blow my HD147?
• A few questions...
• Dark, you convinced me!!!
• Power conditioner's (DarkKnight 2 the rescue?)

Anything else you would like voters to know? Any interesting music related stories?

The link to my band's page:

The System After