Igor Paspalj
Virtuoso Guitarist & Music Educator

Sandeep Kulkarni (00:03.118) Today's guest is Igor Paspalj, a Croatia-born guitarist and music educator based in Dubai. He was named Guitarist of the Year in 2020 and was named one of Music Radar's best new guitarists in 2021. He teaches with JTC Guitar, a leading online guitar platform, and also co-created the Iris Smart Guitar with Enya.

Suraaj Parab (00:27.128) Welcome to The Artist Conversation, the Century of Broken Souls podcast.

Igor Paspalj (00:33.399) Thank you for having me.

Sandeep Kulkarni (00:36.396) We're so happy to have you, Igor. Starting with your origin story, tell us: when you first picked up the guitar, what was the moment that made you think, "Okay, this is gonna be my life"?

Igor Paspalj (00:53.602) I actually started playing fairly late. I was already 13 years old, almost 14. I wish I had started sooner when I was a child, but anyway, it doesn't matter. To be honest, I basically started playing to attract girls—just a few chords here and there. It wasn't very serious for probably the first five or six months.

The moment of epiphany was when I heard Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" by accident. That was a truly life-changing moment. I was so fascinated and struck by it that I literally decided, "This is what I'm going to do. I don't care about anything else. I'm just going to play guitar, and I'm going to try to make a living out of it." Luckily, it worked out.

Sandeep Kulkarni (01:44.782) That's good. Did you ever get to watch Eddie Van Halen live back then?

Igor Paspalj (01:51.232) No, unfortunately not. I didn't have that luck, and obviously, he passed away. That's one big regret I have—that I wasn't able to see him live—but what can you do?

Sandeep Kulkarni (02:07.468) Yeah. Were you in Croatia at the time, or where were you?

Igor Paspalj (02:13.314) The places where I lived changed from time to time. I was born in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and we lived there for 11 years. Then I moved with my parents to Bosnia. There was a civil war in the former Yugoslavia at that time, so it was a very tough period. We moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I finished elementary school, high school, and university there. After that, I moved to Dubai. When COVID-19 hit, I relocated back to Europe. Now, I'm mostly based in Europe, but I travel a lot to Asia and all over the place.

Suraaj Parab (02:59.924) Wow. Moving through all of these different cities, how were you first introduced to the instrument? Was the guitar your first love, or was it something else?

Igor Paspalj (03:13.792) No, it was my first love. I got into the guitar while living in Bosnia. I literally heard a neighbor sitting on the stairs in front of our building playing the intro to Metallica's "Enter Sandman". I was absolutely fascinated by how much it sounded like the original record. I picked up an old, very cheap, very bad guitar from a commission shop, and that was my first instrument.

As I mentioned, I started playing to attract girls. Then, by accident, I heard Eddie Van Halen, and later I discovered Yngwie Malmsteen's first album. I was mesmerized by their virtuoso playing, the tone, and the entire atmosphere surrounding it. That's when I really picked it up and started taking it seriously. At one point, I even left high school just to play guitar, though I did return later.

Sandeep Kulkarni (04:06.776) That's amazing. Touching on some of the names you mentioned, I live in Southern California right now and have spent more than half my life in the U.S., but I am originally from Mumbai, India. I was the lead vocalist for a metal band back in the '90s out there. My two guitar players at the time were complete shredders. Because I was the vocalist, I focused entirely on my own idols like Bruce Dickinson. But through my guitarists, I learned about all these legends—Yngwie Malmsteen, "Far Beyond the Sun", Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, and so on.

It became a routine thing for us because they were constantly playing that material. At one point, when we were covering instrumentals by those guys, they even asked me to play some keys. I told them to give me the chords and I'd do my best. I was really bad at it, but as a singer, you don't want to just stand outside while the band plays an instrumental! Even as a non-guitarist, listening to those greats blew me away. How can anyone play like that?

Igor Paspalj (05:37.088) Absolutely. The '80s was the peak era of the guitar shred movement. All of those names are still household staples, even though the industry has shifted today. There is a completely different style of playing now, with young heroes who have entirely different approaches. But those traditional guys are absolute legends. I actually saw a lot of them recently at the NAMM Show in Anaheim. They are still completely over the top.

Sandeep Kulkarni (06:09.762) I live so close to Anaheim but I couldn't make it to NAMM this year. Every time you go there, it's such an amazing experience.

Igor Paspalj (06:17.94) This year was actually my first time going, and I was completely blown away. It’s overwhelming. It’s so amazing that every hour or two I had to step outside just to clear my head before heading back in.

Sandeep Kulkarni (06:32.012) Yeah, you get so overwhelmed. The craziest part is walking down the hall and realizing, "That's that guy! That's that guy!" You see everyone there.

Igor Paspalj (06:41.298) Everybody is there, literally. Wherever you look, you see a famous YouTuber, a famous guitar player, an iconic drummer, keyboardist, or singer.

Sandeep Kulkarni (06:51.382) To give you a quick, funny incident from NAMM: a friend from my old band back in India came to LA a few years ago. We went to the show, took pictures with Marty Friedman and a few others, and were staying at the nearby Hilton. We ran back to the hotel to grab something, walked up to the elevators, and as the doors opened, John Petrucci stepped right in with a lady. At first, we didn't fully register it because his back was turned to us. But as he stepped out and offered her his hand, my friend—who completely idolizes him—just gave me this wide-eyed look like, "Did you see that?!" It was a hilarious moment.

Igor Paspalj (08:11.13) Yeah, you see everyone there. It’s an incredible platform for both people and gear. I was performing at the Enya booth, which took up about 20 minutes of my time daily, and the rest of the day I was completely free to roam around. It was great.

Suraaj Parab (08:36.346) Academically, you went very deep into musical theory and harmony. Being a guitar player myself, I also followed a theoretical path—I studied for my Trinity College London grade examinations. Today, fewer players take the academic route. How did studying music academically change the way you see and navigate the fretboard?

Igor Paspalj (09:22.558) I originally enrolled in music school just to embed myself in that world. I am a self-taught guitar player, so when I enrolled, I chose the music theory department rather than classical guitar. I was never into classical guitar and have never played it. I wanted to learn the actual theory of music and, more importantly, be surrounded by musicians to jam with.

In our region, most academic programs are strictly tailored to classical music education. They don't teach improvisation, modern music, or electric guitar; everything is highly traditional. But the network is invaluable. I pursued it all the way through university, earned my Master's degree, and started working at the Academy of Arts as a senior teaching assistant.

It helped me immensely. Even though classical theory isn't directly related to electric guitar playing, deep diving into harmony, counterpoint, and musical analysis helped me organize scale mechanics, chord progressions, and improvisation structures in my head. Formal education isn't an absolute necessity for guitar players—we have countless legendary players who never had any formal training—but if you have the opportunity, go for it. It will absolutely help you.

Suraaj Parab (11:06.254) Since the academic system around you was strictly built around classical parameters, was it difficult to apply those principles to the modern style you wanted to pursue?

Igor Paspalj (11:35.901) Not really, because I played piano as my obligatory secondary instrument throughout my music education. I didn't have to struggle with classical guitar formatting. I essentially started studying music from the ground up—learning how to read scores, practicing solfeggio, and doing ear training. Before that, I only knew how to read tablature. Because I built it from the basic fundamentals up, the transition was actually fairly smooth.

Sandeep Kulkarni (12:20.316) Your playing has incredible technical authority, but it is always exceptionally musical. How do you prevent music theory from becoming a creative cage, and ensure it serves as fuel for your music instead? A lot of players get trapped in the mechanical side of things.

Igor Paspalj (12:43.132) A lot of guitarists—and musicians in general—become utterly obsessed with technique. It becomes a race of, "Let's play as fast as we can, let's be the flashiest." There is nothing wrong with having speed, but you must find a balance. If you get trapped in pure speed, you easily start sounding like a buzzing chainsaw. It loses all musicality.

To avoid that, I spend a lot of time practicing improvisation over backing tracks. When I compose, my primary focus is always on creating a strong thematic melody. My songs usually start with a melody playing in my head, which I then develop, apply variations to, and eventually overlay with improvisation where I can showcase a flashier side.

It is vital to have a core theme that people can easily whistle or sing. If you anchor the listener with a melody that gets stuck in their head, you can go completely crazy during the solo section and nobody will mind. But if a song starts with mindless shredding without any melodic sense, nobody can listen to it for very long—not even me, and I love flashy playing!

If you analyze the great guitarists or even jazz masters, they always have exceptional themes. Look at the thousands of variations of Dave Brubeck’s "Take Five"—no matter what the musicians do during their improvised sections, the piece always works beautifully because the central theme is so powerful.

Sandeep Kulkarni (15:20.46) I completely agree. Coming at it from a vocalist's perspective, back in the '80s I would listen to certain guitarists and feel like the shredding was getting to be a bit too much. It lost its musicality to my ears because I couldn't sing along to any recognizable melody. I always wondered, "Where is the hook?"

Igor Paspalj (16:05.496) Exactly. You have to give the listener something substantial to grab their attention. Nobody is going to connect emotionally with 32nd notes played at 160 BPM right out of the gate. That's fine for technical exercises or tutorials, but nobody is going to put that on while making their morning coffee or driving a car. You need a hook, a core theme, and then you branch out into improvisation and variation. I am incredibly glad I didn't get caught in the mindless shredding trap that consumed a lot of players in the late '80s, which is ultimately why that specific era of instrumental music kind of collapsed.

Suraaj Parab) As a metalhead and a guitarist myself, talking to two fellow metalheads makes this a very happy moment for me! I have listened to many of your tracks, and one of my favorites is "Anthem" from the Full Throttle album. While I can hear the stylistic influences of Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen, it still sounds distinctively yours because it lacks that mindless shredding style. How did you cultivate this balanced approach that many newer players struggle to understand?

Igor Paspalj (18:28.746) To be completely accurate, "Anthem" is a very specific example. That track was intentionally composed as part of an instructional neoclassical shred package for JTC Guitar. It was purposely designed to be heavily influenced by Yngwie Malmsteen. I saw thousands of comments online from people criticizing it as a Malmsteen copy and telling me to make something original.

People on the internet rarely read descriptions, so I eventually gave up explaining that it was supposed to sound exactly like Yngwie! Due to copyright laws, you can't just take three official Malmsteen tracks and make JTC tutorials out of them. So, I composed a piece utilizing his exact framework—themes with variations using harmonic minor runs, two-string arpeggio sweeps, and distinct pedal points. I even recorded it on my Yngwie Malmsteen signature Fender Stratocaster with a scalloped fretboard.

For my independent music, however, I don't overthink it; I just naturally combine my influences. I wouldn't call my style revolutionary compared to modern players like Tim Henson, who are doing incredibly original things like blending hip-hop rhythms with highly intricate tapping on the guitar. My style is nothing incredibly complex; it’s just me combining my classic influences, prioritizing melody, and letting loose when the moment calls for it. I just play around, record an idea when it hits, and leave it at that.

Suraaj Parab (21:11.459) That is incredibly humble of you.

Igor Paspalj (21:19.894) I don't think it's humble; I think it's realistic. I try not to over-inflate my self-image. If people enjoy listening to what I do, I am incredibly happy. You can claim to be the greatest player in the world, but if nobody is listening, that’s just your isolated opinion. My definition of success is simply having an audience that follows my music and engages with my instructional courses. That is more than enough for me.

Suraaj Parab (21:51.867) Looking at your career path, you have made several massive moves. One of the biggest transitions was relocating to Dubai to build a life and career there. What did that experience teach you about artistic and personal reinvention, given how vastly different the culture and lifestyle are?

Igor Paspalj (22:35.127) Before moving to Dubai, I was a senior teaching assistant at the Academy of Arts in Bosnia. I was swamped with academic paperwork, statistics, and lectures on counterpoint and musical analysis. It started to drain me. I had a band at the time and we would gig once or twice a week on weekends, but then I'd have to go right back to the routine of university admin work.

I moved to Dubai to work as a guitar instructor at the American School of Dubai (ASD), which has a phenomenal campus. It allowed me to pivot away from heavy academic theory and focus entirely on playing guitar with students. At the same time, I started gigging with resident bands in the city.

The Middle East and parts of Asia are unique because they offer a structure you rarely find anywhere else in the world: you can join a residential cover band and perform every single night as a full-time, stable job. They handle your medical insurance, provide flights back home, and pay a consistent salary for you to perform six nights a week with one day off. Eventually, the balance tipped, so I left the teaching position to dedicate myself entirely to live performance.

Over a five-year span in Dubai, I performed in over 3,000 live shows. Most musicians don't hit 1,000 shows in their entire lifetime if they are only gigging on weekends! I was playing large corporate events and premium resident gigs alongside world-class musicians from South Africa, Indonesia, the UK, Mexico, and the USA. It gave me an immense amount of live experience and allowed me to perfect my improvisation. Even though I was in cover bands, I only played the exact album solos if they were truly iconic and definitive to the song—like Brian May's solo in "Bohemian Rhapsody". If a song had a more loose, improvised solo on the record, I would never bother learning it note-for-note; I would always create something of my own. It was a phenomenal playground to test new gear setups, refine my tone, and develop my live chops every single night.

Sandeep Kulkarni (26:15.158) That's spectacular. I was actually just in Dubai and Abu Dhabi this past December for the F1 race, and it is a fascinating place. What stands out to you as the most unique takeaway from being a full-time working guitarist in that Middle Eastern hub?

Igor Paspalj (27:01.959) In a single word, it was amazing. You simply cannot find that specific lifestyle or opportunity anywhere else. In the U.S., outside of maybe a highly selective residency in Las Vegas, you won't find companies hiring full-time rock bands to play every single night. It was an incredible routine: it’s sunny every day, you feel like a rockstar, and your days are completely open to relax by the pool or work on your own projects.

When evening comes, you head to the venue for a two or two-and-a-half-hour performance. The best part is that all the heavy PA gear, speakers, and sound systems are permanently installed at the venue. You literally just walk in, plug your guitar in, and play. Afterward, you hang out with friends, grab a drink, and head home. During the daytime hours, I utilized that freedom to compose my own music and record my YouTube videos.

Then COVID-19 hit, and the entire live entertainment industry shut down overnight. The landscape has recovered since then, but I am entirely out of the commercial cover scene now. I relocated back to Europe where my wife has her career, we had a child, and I am busy traveling for solo clinics and corporate work across Europe and Asia. There's no reason for me to return to the daily club scene in Dubai now, but it was a magnificent chapter in my life.

Suraaj Parab (29:02.458) In 2020, you won the prestigious Guitarist of the Year award, which was an absolute milestone. What did that massive recognition change for you, and what did it leave untouched?

Igor Paspalj (29:35.059) It changed a lot in terms of my career architecture and industry visibility, but it didn't change anything about who I am or how I play. I didn't let it go to my head. Guitar World was a legendary magazine I read religiously as a kid, and looking at the past winners—like Guthrie Govan back in 1993, or Mark Tremonti—made it an honor.

Winning the award instantly put my music in the global spotlight. Major gear companies reached out for endorsements, my YouTube channel jumped from 2,000 subscribers to over 102,000 in a very short span, and it opened up lucrative paths for gear reviews and masterclasses. It eventually led to me designing my own signature guitar. It did a lot for my professional options, but creatively and personally, I stayed exactly the same. It simply gives you a broader spotlight.

Sandeep Kulkarni (31:17.55) Following up on that spotlight, when Music Radar named you one of the best new guitarists in the world in 2021, did that title bring a wave of performance pressure, or did it grant you more creative freedom?

Igor Paspalj (31:36.337) To be completely honest, I strongly dislike terms like "best guitarist." The 2020 award was "Guitarist of the Year" for that specific year, which I can completely live with because it highlights productivity or a specific moment of public interest. But "best"? There is no such thing as the best guitarist. And if there were, it certainly wouldn't be me.

Even if you are labeled the best within the neoclassical genre, what does that mean? Does it mean you can automatically play jazz, classical, blues, or country at that same elite level? There are genres where I can barely play two cohesive licks. Nobody is universally the best, and the concept simply doesn't make sense to me.

Sandeep Kulkarni (32:35.514) It is incredibly refreshing to hear how grounded you are. Suraaj and I see this frequently in the industry—musicians who master one specific style and mistakenly believe they can effortlessly conquer any other genre. As a vocalist, I see this debate constantly where people claim learning one specific vocal technique allows you to sing absolutely anything. I always tell them let's not even start that debate!

Igor Paspalj (33:33.554) Exactly. Can anyone realistically picture Yngwie Malmsteen sitting down with a big, thick Gibson ES-335 archtop on a pristine clean channel playing authentic jazz? It wouldn't work. Similarly, you couldn't hand B.B. King a scalloped Stratocaster and expect him to shred through "Far Beyond the Sun". And it shouldn't work! Why should it?

Of course, there are rare, one-in-a-million anomalies like Guthrie Govan. I have watched him live and studied his videos extensively; he is one of the most terrifyingly proficient players alive. If he plays country, he sounds authentically country. If he plays blues, he embodies the blues. If he plays neoclassical, it sounds incredible. But players with that universal capability can be counted on one hand.

You don't need to be a master of every single craft. If you are a phenomenal blues player, focus on being an incredible blues player. There is absolutely no requirement for you to master fingerstyle classical guitar or progressive shred styles to be a complete artist. If someone thinks they can play everything flawlessly, they are usually mistaken.

Suraaj Parab (35:22.65) You have successfully collaborated with global music companies across different cultural hubs, particularly in China. What have you learned from navigating those creative partnerships across distinct languages, cultures, and consumer expectations?

Igor Paspalj (35:52.592) China has evolved into an incredibly sophisticated and massive market for musical gear. A decade ago, there was a widespread cultural prejudice in the West that instruments manufactured in China were inherently cheap, plastic copies. While that may have been true for low-end gear in the past, today there are serious, high-end manufacturers producing instruments that are completely on par with premium brands like Suhr, Tom Anderson, or American Fender Strats if they are built by the right company.

The scale of their market is mind-blowing, and the public interest in rock and shred guitar is massive. When I toured there, I walked into clubs in cities like Shanghai and Wuhan on a standard Monday night and saw local bands ripping through heavy metal sets.

In Europe and the West, people are often unaware of how advanced their music scene is due to outdated assumptions. I performed at Music China a few months ago, which is essentially the NAMM Show of Asia, but it is literally the size of five NAMM shows combined. It is so gargantuan they have internal shuttle buses running constantly to transport visitors between the various exhibition halls. It is absolutely spectacular, and I love working out there.

Sandeep Kulkarni (38:08.478) Speaking of products and engineering, let's talk about your Enya Iris Smart Guitar. It represents a wild intersection of traditional performance and modern digital technology. What specific problem were you aiming to solve with its creation, and what elements of it feel uniquely yours?

Igor Paspalj (38:32.729) The Iris is part of Enya's broader Inspire series, which takes traditional electric guitar frameworks and integrates smart processor capabilities. For my custom Iris model, I customized the physical look, specified the aesthetic finish, named it after my daughter, Iris, and custom-voiced the pickup outputs to my exact preferences.

The engineering behind these guitars is fascinating: they are constructed entirely from a carbon fiber composite rather than traditional tone woods, and they feature a built-in digital effects processor and an internal speaker. This makes them the ultimate tool for a traveling musician. You literally just turn the guitar on, connect it via Bluetooth to your phone app, and you can edit clean or high-gain amplifier models, delays, reverbs, and modulation in real time.

You can stream your backing tracks directly through the guitar's internal speaker and jam along without plugging into a single external device. If you are sitting in a hotel room and want to practice or lay down ideas, you don't need to carry around micro-amps, audio interfaces, cables, or laptops to run plugins.

Furthermore, it features a USB OTG output, allowing you to record your playing directly into your phone or laptop. I have around 56 guitars at home, but I constantly find myself leaving my Iris right on my bed. If an idea hits me, I don't have to walk over to my studio desk, boot up my computer, turn on the audio interface, and load a DAW. I just flip the switch on the guitar and play immediately. And if you don't want to use any of the smart digital features, you can just leave it turned off, plug a standard cable into the jack, and it functions perfectly as a traditional passive guitar with excellent custom pickups running into your standard amplifier or pedalboard. It is incredibly stable and versatile.

Sandeep Kulkarni (41:28.632) That is brilliant. So it houses advanced onboard tech, but can instantly default back to being a pure, traditional electric guitar.

Igor Paspalj (41:36.341) Exactly. The carbon fiber build makes the neck completely impervious to humidity and extreme temperature changes, so you never have to constantly fiddle with the truss rod when traveling. And it sounds fantastic. When people hear it blind, they have no idea it isn't made of traditional wood.

I firmly belong to the camp that believes the specific wood species of an electric guitar body plays an infinitesimally small role in the final tone compared to the pickups, amplifier, and signal chain. I know some traditionalists argue it's everything, but that's my practical experience.

Suraaj Parab (42:22.202) I completely agree. There are fantastic engineering videos on YouTube proving that on an electric guitar, the tone is generated by the string moving through the pickup's magnetic field, not the wood. One creator even stretched guitar strings over a completely open space with no wood body at all, and it sounded exactly like a normal electric guitar through the amp!

Igor Paspalj (42:45.483) I saw that exact video! The major tonal difference between a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul isn't because one is alder and the other is mahogany; it’s due to the foundational construction architecture. It’s the difference in scale lengths, a bolt-on neck versus a glued-in set neck, and humbuckers versus single-coil pickups. Those mechanical elements combine to create a distinct sound profile.

The industry creates this massive, romanticized science around "tone wood" for electric guitars, but I don't let it bother me. I own guitars made of all kinds of materials—some sound great, some don't, but it usually comes down to the pickups and the setup. Just find an instrument that feels comfortable, stop stressing over whether it’s crafted from 20-year-old certified Brazilian mahogany, and just practice your instrument!

Earlier in my career around 2010, when I bought my first serious digital processor—the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx—I caught myself falling into a dangerous trap. I spent two weeks straight browsing forums, downloading presets, and auditing thousands of speaker impulse responses. I suddenly realized I hadn't actually practiced or played a cohesive piece of music in weeks! I was just playing a single riff, looping it, and obsessively analyzing the frequency profile. Find a tone that sounds decent, lock it in, and spend your finite energy practicing your actual playing. Excellent technique will make you sound infinitely better than searching for a magical digital preset.

Suraaj Parab (45:14.212) You are describing "GAS"—Gear Acquisition Syndrome—perfectly! I fell into that exact rabbit hole for years, spending thousands of dollars on high-end boutique pedals and complex pre-amps. Eventually, I realized I didn't need any of it and sold the entire massive board. Today, processing power is so advanced that units like the Neural DSP Quad Cortex give you everything you need in a compact footprint.

Igor Paspalj (46:08.3) Exactly. There has truly never been a better era to be a guitar player because high-quality technology has become incredibly affordable. I remember the absolute first digital modelers that entered the market 30 years ago—we don't need to name them—and they admittedly sounded quite harsh and artificial.

I understand why traditional "dinosaur" players became fiercely anti-digital if their opinions were formed by those early units. But today, a 200 to 250 euro digital unit houses processing power and modeling algorithms that sound vastly superior to a massive, 3,000-euro rack unit from 20 years ago.

Digital modeling has come incredibly close to replicating the exact response of a tube amplifier. It is infinitely easier to record, effortless to transport to a gig, and a dream for live sound engineers because there are no loud microphones bleeding on stage. The biggest names in the industry are completely phasing out massive refrigerator racks in favor of compact floor modelers.

Sandeep Kulkarni (47:48.942) You are entirely right. That technological evolution isn't just limited to guitar gear; it has completely revolutionized pro audio, software plugins, and cell phones.

Igor Paspalj (48:13.672) Exactly. I was reading an article detailing how the very first supercomputer brought into Bosnia in the '80s possessed a mere 32 kilobytes of memory and a 5-megabyte hard drive that required massive, wall-sized cabinets to house. It cost 3.5 million dollars! Today, the standard smartphone in your pocket has more processing power than the entire world had combined back then. The same exponential leap has occurred with guitar modelers, pro audio plugins, and digital car displays.

Suraaj Parab (49:14.522) In the end, it boils down to individual flexibility. People waste years fighting the analog versus digital war, when the real metric of success is how adaptable you are as a player to utilize modern tools to your advantage.

Igor Paspalj (49:31.786) Absolutely. I have conducted blind audio tests with some of the most stubborn, analog-only purists I know. We recorded a Marshall tube head mic'd up traditionally into a DAW, and then recorded the exact same line through a Fractal Axe-Fx. When played back, they couldn't guess which was which; their results were a completely random 50-50 split.

The disconnect usually comes from the physical experience on stage. When you switch to a digital modeler live, you are typically monitoring your sound through an in-ear monitor or a flat-response stage wedge. That feels fundamentally different than standing directly in front of a physical 4x12 cabinet that is physically pushing air against your back. That physical thud is what guitarists miss, not the actual audio quality. But as far as the audience out front is concerned, the signal coming through the PA sounds identical. More and more pros are happily prioritizing convenience and consistency.

Suraaj Parab (51:18.99) When your videos first randomly appeared on my YouTube feed, I was immediately struck by your style. Having spent years studying precise players like John Petrucci, I noticed your finger positioning and economy of motion were incredibly unique. Getting to talk to you today makes it completely clear why you stand out: you possess an incredible openness to evolution, gear, and life.

Igor Paspalj (52:24.683) I appreciate that, but again, it’s just my personal practical take. If someone genuinely prefers hauling a traditional tube amp, I respect that completely. For my lifestyle and workflow, the digital route is simply undeniable.

When I started playing guitar, our country was just emerging from a devastating war. We had absolutely no money, and my first gear setup was incredibly poor. My very first multi-effects unit was a tiny, plastic Zoom 505. It sounded exactly how you’d expect a cheap '90s plastic pedal to sound, but I was thrilled to have it! I simply couldn't afford a real tube amplifier setup back then.

When I finally could afford a tube amp later in my career, I found it introduced a massive headache for commercial cover gigs—you need complicated routing, effects loops to run delays and reverbs cleanly, and an enormous pedalboard. When I finally bought my first Axe-Fx and hooked it up to a pair of studio monitors, it sounded phenomenal right out of the box. I didn't care that traditionalists joked it looked like an old VCR recorder; it sounded brilliant.

At one point, I even performed live sets using early software plugins on a laptop. I ran AmpliTube and Guitar Rig on a laptop connected to a MIDI floor controller with a built-in audio interface. The tone was amazing. It was a bit risky back then because laptops could overheat and crash mid-show—which actually happened to me once, forcing me to tell the band we had to take an impromptu break while Windows rebooted! But today, platforms like MainStage and Gig Performer are bulletproof. It’s an incredible workflow.

Sandeep Kulkarni (55:04.662) I have used MainStage paired with a MIDI controller on stage extensively for my own vocal processing over the years, and it works wonderfully. Your comment about the Axe-Fx looking like a VCR is hilarious because when my guitarist first brought one to rehearsal years ago, I stared at this black rack unit and asked, "What on earth is that VCR thing?"

Igor Paspalj (55:36.326) It completely looked like one! An even funnier design is the classic Kemper Profiler head—it looks like a piece of vintage medical equipment or a green lunchbox toaster with random lights and buttons. People would look at it on stage and ask, "Why did you bring a toaster to the gig?"

Guitar players are notorious for listening with their eyes rather than their ears. If they see a wall of Marshall 4x12 cabinets on stage, they immediately decide the tone is legendary, even if it actually sounds like a harsh, buzzing mess. But if they see a brilliant virtuoso playing through a small Kemper toaster, they bias themselves to think it sounds digital and flat. It’s pure visual prejudice.

Suraaj Parab (56:45.946) Looking back at the incredible scope of your journey from the Balkans to Dubai and across global stages, what do you hope your students and listeners ultimately take away from your body of work?

Igor Paspalj (57:12.589) Honestly, I keep it very simple. It brings me an immense amount of joy when listeners tag me in photos or send screenshots of them listening to my tracks in their cars, at work, or while having their morning coffee. Music isn't meant to be locked away in an isolated room where you play solely for yourself and complain that the world doesn't understand your genius. Getting your music into the daily lives of everyday people is the ultimate achievement.

The same applies to my JTC Guitar students and masterclass players. When they tag me in videos showing that my picking techniques or theoretical exercises helped them break through a technical plateau, it fulfills me completely. If my practical advice works for them, that is my definition of success.

Suraaj Parab (58:33.114) What stands out to me most from our conversation today is that true artistic mastery isn't just about technical precision; it is defined by your core perspective on life, your adaptability, and how you view music.

Igor Paspalj (05:59.35) Thank you. I truly look at all of this through a very straightforward lens. I refuse to overthink it or construct an elitist ego around it. I focus entirely on doing what I love. If people connect with it, that’s fantastic. If they don't, that's completely fine too—but luckily, more people seem to like it than not, so I am incredibly happy. Just keep it simple, practice hard, and don't overthink the process.

Suraaj Parab (59:34.87) Brilliant. Thank you so much for your time, Igor.

Igor Paspalj (59:39.609) Thank you guys for having me. This was a fantastic, incredibly relaxed conversation. I enjoyed it immensely.

Sandeep Kulkarni (59:49.23) Absolutely. This conversation is a beautiful reminder to everyone that elite playing isn't merely a product of mechanics; it is forged through identity, resilience, and the practical choices you make over time. Keeping it simple and focused on the joy of the sound is everything.

Igor Paspalj (01:00:13.86) Exactly. It really is as simple as that.

Suraaj Parab (01:00:21.626) To our global audience, thank you so much for tuning in. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend. Go stream Igor’s incredible tracks—especially "Anthem"—on Apple Music, Spotify, or your favorite streaming platform. Check out his updates on Instagram, and definitely check out his definitive instructional courses on JTC Guitar. Take it from a fellow guitarist: his technical breakdown is phenomenal. Thank you all, and we will see you on the next episode of The Artist Conversation.

Sandeep Kulkarni (01:01:06.478) Thank you, Igor.

Igor Paspalj (01:01:07.0) Thank you. Bye, guys!