Phil X on Going From Sub Guitarist to a Full Member of Bon Jovi
IT WAS ONE OF THOSE AS TARIS BORN moments when Phil X stepped into Bon Jovi to sub for a rehab-bound Richie Sambora in 2011. And that could have been the end of the fairy tale. But, fortunately, the guitarist kept being available when he was needed, and when Sambora exited the band for good in 2013, Phil X continued to hold down the guitar chair for live performances—eventually becoming a full member in 2016, and joining Bon Jovi in the studio for the group’s latest release, This House Is Not For Sale [Island].
It’s probably every guitar player’s dream to be called in to sub for a famous guitarist in a massive, hit-making band like Bon Jovi. Was that a mind-blower for you, as well?
I like people being aware of the whole situation when they step into a position like this, and for me, the premise is that the show must go on. It’s like a sports team. If a pitcher throws his arm out, you don’t cancel the game, you get another pitcher. And Jon Bon Jovi is a smart guy. He knows the trucks have to keep going, and the crew has to keep working, because there are fans out there who want to see you play. I mean, I see the same faces at 30 or 40 shows! You don’t tell those people, “Oh, we’re going to cancel the tour.” There’s a lot at stake.
How did you prep yourself for taking over the guitar spot?
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PRS
PREVIOUSLY PART OF PRS's Maryland-built guitar line, the SE NF3 was recently reissued in the company's offshore-produced SE series. The SE NF3 is so named for its Narrowfield Deep Dish (a.k.a. DD) \"S\" pickups. These unique PRS-design units have deeper bobbins to accommodate more windings and extra metal pieces between the magnets to yield a more powerful \"single-coil\" tone, while remaining noise-free because they are in fact humbuckers. A control set consisting of master volume, tone and a five-way blade switch allows the usual selections of bridge, middle and neck pickups by themselves and the neck-plus-middle and bridge-plus-middle combinations that allow the SE NF3 to veer into Strat-like territory in switch positions two and four.
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