Dino Cazares spoke to Sevenstring.org about his new band, 8 string guitars and his world of techery.

Sevenstring.org: What kind of approach do you have with songwriting?

Dino: It depends. For instance, with my new band DIVINE HERESY, it's mostly me and our drummer Tim Yeung. He'll come up with a cool beat and I'll say, “That's pretty good” and I'll write something with that. Or we'll just use a killer riff to write something. Mostly, it starts with a riff but it all goes hand in hand. I personally prefer to use a live drummer to write as opposed to a drum machine because I can really feel it. But once in a while, I'll use the drum machine.

Sevenstring.org: What got you interested in the eight-string?

Dino: Way back when I started, I was using a six-string tuned to B. But when you tune down like that, it starts to sound muddy and you need thicker strings. So when Ibanez approached me with the seven-string, it was a natural progression for me. The string tension was better and it can handle the lower tunings. So when the eight-string came out, I was like “perfect”. I use the eight-string on the ASESINO record “Cristo Satanico” and on the new DIVINE HERESY album as well. One of the cool things is that it handles the really low tunings. Also the necks are smaller so I can handle it because I have smaller hands.

Sevenstring.org: Let's talk about gear for a little while. What's your setup looking like these days?

Dino: I have a couple of old school Marshalls that I like a lot, I have a Peavey 5150, I use an Ibanez tubescreamer which helps give me a little extra bite, I have Mesa Boogie Triple Recitifer cabinets, I have Marshall 1960 reissue 25 watt greenback cabinets, I have Ibanez cabs and the Thermion head, I have lots of Line 6 stuff: the Flextone 1, Flextone 2, POD Pro, POD PRO XT; I have 2 Mesa Boogie power amps, I have 14 different Ibanez guitars, including two eight-strings. No six-strings at all.

Sourced from Blabbermouth