APC's Billy Howerdel to Make 'Last-Ditch Effort' to Work With Gibson

A Perfect Circle's Billy Howerdel to Make 'Last-Ditch Effort' to Work With Gibson

A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel isn't sure Gibson can make him a signature guitar in light of the company's looming bankruptcy.

Howerdel, whose band drastically increased its activity over the past 12 months — touring, writing and recording a new album — says he's reached out to Gibson, but he's not optimistic they'll be able to work with him.

The guitarist has used a 1960 Les Paul Classic Reissue for his entire career with A Perfect Circle. The guitar was smashed by Trent Reznor during a Nine Inch Nails show in the mid-'90s, while Howerdel was Reznor's guitar tech. Reznor let Howerdel repair the busted guitar and keep it.

"I talked with Gibson about doing a signature model, and then I just, y'know, heard like everyone else about their troubles, but I'm going to make one last-ditch effort, or work with someone else," Howerdel told Music Radar in a new interview.

Howerdel says the unique guitar is essential to the sound of his band...but it's decades old. Getting a backup built to his specifications would give him some much-needed peace of mind going forward.

"I've gotta get a backup to that thing 'cause it literally is the only guitar I play," he continued.

Much of A Perfect Circle's live sound comes from Howerdel's guitar and its interaction with his amplifier. Howerdel has always been mobile onstage; while some of that is surely performance, he tells Music Radar that a lot of it has to do with controlling feedback based on where he's standing at a particular moment. 

"...[Am] I getting this and that when I stand here, because there's a swell up in dynamics for the next part of the song — that's crucially important for me."

From his years as a guitar tech to his time as a studio rat and a performer, Howerdel has outfitted his trusty Les Paul with a number of mods over the years and he knows exactly what he needs. 

But based on what we've heard from other Gibson artists recently, and how they couldn't keep Metallica frontman James Hetfield on their roster or get Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher's guitars right, Gibson might not be the company for Howerdel. 

A Perfect Circle just released another single from its forthcoming new album, Eat the Elephant, called "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish." You can listen to it below.

Eat the Elephant will be released April 20 via BMG. 


Thumbnail Photo: Getty Images


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