Artist Spotlight :: Mike Hilbun

Bio

Based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, Mike Hilbun is the lead guitarist for the pop rock band LVVRS. A versatile musician in his own right; he plays a wide variety of genres from funk to jazz, rock to pop, and R&B to gospel. This has led him to work with artists such as Billboard Top 100 charting R&B artist Cupid, two time Grammy winner Terrance Simien, AGT Golden Buzzer recipient Chapel Hart, #1 Billboard charting gospel artist Anthony Nelson and the Overcomers, and many more.

What/Who inspired you to pick up your instrument?

I was very much inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Van Halen. Their relentlessness when they play just grabbed me from a very young age. The Beatles were a huge influence as well. I’m constantly blown away by their constant innovation and melodic sense. Finally, when I went to college, I was (and still am) inspired heavily by Pat Metheny for the same reasons that Hendrix and EVH inspired me.

What piece of musical advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to the beginning of your musical journey?

I think I’d tell myself to focus additional time on writing and singing. I’ve been very fortunate to keep busy and employed, specializing in guitar and recording/production, but the opportunities for writers and singers are much more vast.

What keeps you excited about playing?

I’m about to become a father, and I want to be able to provide for my family by doing what I love. I want to prove to my children that, despite how hard it seems, it’s possible to do what you’re passionate about for a living. The idea of having my son at one of my shows one day, looking up at me in awe, keeps me driven and excited.

Desert Island 3 pedal pedalboard (not including tuner)

Source Audio Collider, Eventide H9 Max, and Analogman King of Tone. If there’s no amp, I’d swap the King of Tone for my Strymon Iridium.

When you find yourself in a musical rut, what techniques do you use to break out of it?

The best thing that gets me out of a rut is just transcribing my heroes to see what they’re doing. I’ll usually try to cop not just a lick but a technique that they do. Right now I’m trying to take a couple of things from Derek Trucks and apply them to non-slide guitar!

Who is your favorite artist/band today? And who was your favorite artist/band 10 years ago?

10 years ago, I was in college, so I’d have to say my favorite artist was Pat Metheny. I still love him. He’s so musical. My favorite band that I’ve discovered recently is the Band Camino. I found them through listening to Matteus Asato.

When you find yourself in a music store, what is your go-to riff when test-driving gear?

Funk riffs in E!

What is your most prized/cherished piece of gear? And why?

I don’t know if I’d call this “gear” per se, but my Grandmother’s piano is by far and large my most cherished musical item. Apart from that, I’d have to say my limited edition champagne Fender American Strat. It’s so unique, and it’s the first “expensive” guitar I ever got myself.

What is the next big musical purchase you're hoping to save for?

Easy. Fender ‘65 Princeton Reverb “Bordeaux Reserve” in Wine Red and a Tobacco Sunburst Gibson ES-335

Gear Breakdown

My pedalboard is set up to be extremely versatile and get a vast array of sounds across a variety of genres. In addition to playing with LVVRS, I work in a couple variety bands so I need to be able to access funk, rock, pop, jazz, blues tones for leads and rhythm across a pretty large repertoire at the push of a button. The Boss ES-8 is the brains of my operation. In all my bands, I have a lot of the major changes programmed into the tracks so that they can trigger my patch changes via MIDI without me having to be next to my board. This frees me up to focus on playing and performing. Also I don’t have to sprint across stage to trigger my lead patch if I end up travelling a bit at the bigger venues! Finally, my Dunlop Volume X pedal is used as an expression pedal to control different parameters on some of my patches. My Rattlesnake Cables get my signal in and routed through multiple outs on my board!

Signal Chain:
Shure GLXD16+ -> Dunlop 95Q Wah -> Boss ES8 -> Stereo out to FOH/Passthrough to Amp for Stage volume

Boss Loops:
1- Empress Compressor MKII
2- MXR Rockman x100
3- Strymon Iridium
4- Vertex Boost v2
6- The Pill Pedal
7- Eventide H9 Max
8- Source Audio Collider Delay + Reverb

Bands / Projects

LVVRS

LVVRS Instagram

Listen on Spotify

Social Links

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