Featuring shred-masters Herman Li and Sam Totman, the British power metal band DragonForce delivers a high-adrenaline, twin-guitar onslaught that takes no prisoners. Riffing together with incredible precision at dizzying speeds, the virtuoso duo were recently recognized for their skills by axe fans around the globe, earning the Number 11 spot in a Guitar World readers’ poll that chose “The 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time.”

Playing with accuracy at such a blistering pace requires the mindset of a world-class sprinter, with the adoption of a tenacious workout ethic and disciplined practice regimen. What does Herman Li use to help keep his chops in shape for the rigors of the stage and studio? The eBand JS-10 Audio Player with Guitar Effects, of course! Like an increasing number of pro players, Herman has found that eBand’s convenient, all-in-one approach and great sound makes his practice inspiring, productive, and fun.

We caught up with Herman before he hit the road again to support the latest DragonForce release, The Power Within. During our visit, he discussed how he uses eBand, his favorite BOSS pedals, his thoughts on tone, and much more.

Lots of pro players have discovered eBand. Why do you use it?

I use the eBand because for many years I looked for a solution so that I can practice easily when I’m on tour. It’s always been difficult to move an amp onto a tour bus—it takes so much space. Or backstage, people care more about putting their riders around. [Laughs.] The eBand is so small, and it has everything I need.

In the past, I’d have a little amp and it never sounded really good. And it didn’t have any effects, [and I’d have to] plug my phone into my computer to get some sort of backing track to jam with. With eBand, you basically get everything in one. I can tune my guitar. I have my backing tracks, which I can store, and copy across from my computer onto it.

What specific features do you like to use in eBand?

I can load up my DragonForce songs to jam along before the show, maybe even put in the whole set list and pick the songs I want to listen to and go through. And at the same time, if I don’t want to just play the songs again, I can play through a bunch of [eBand’s] pre-programmed backing tracks in all different keys. It’s not just like playing E Minor only—I’m warming up with all different keys. It kind of exercises my brain in what I need before a show, to deliver the best show possible. Not just mentally exercising, but also my fingers and everything all in one.

Sometimes [I put in] not just DragonForce songs, but also songs I like. You know, it’s like my little portable music player. Because after practicing and after the show is done, you can use this as the party amp. We put it in the dressing room and blast out music loud when our friends are around hanging out. It’s actually beyond just practicing; it’s also fun as well.

Do you use the JS-10’s dual inputs?

The great thing about the new one we have here, apart from the [front-panel] AUX input where I can plug in the iPod or phone or whatever, [is] we can plug in two guitars. In a two-guitar band, it makes it easier. We don’t have to have two [eBands] anymore. Now we’ve got one. And the bass player can also plug in if they want to.

Do you feel that the new eBand’s 2.1 stereo speaker system with subwoofer is an improvement compared to the original eBand JS-8?

Yeah, the improvement on the new JS-10 is the tone of it. A lot of the time, we are on a moving bus, or backstage and maybe you can hear the support band playing, and it’s loud in the dressing room. [The JS-10] has got enough punch that you hear good tone. And a good tone affects how you’re going to play. If you’re playing through a fuzzy, crackly amp, you’re not really getting any fun or enjoyment out of it. This actually makes you want to practice. I have it not just on tour; I actually have it in my studio right on the desk, so I don’t have to switch on my big rig just to play a bit of guitar when I have some song ideas. I can record right on it if I want to.

How do you think eBand can help guitar students?

One of the things that can really help you, in terms of improving as a player, is the slowdown function. You can put a favorite song in, load it up, and you can slow it down and learn it. And you can gradually speed it up. So, it’s not like half-speed and then even slower. You can gradually improve the speed, slowly.

It actually helps me to warm up. I play my own songs slower sometimes, because I don’t want to get my hands too tired before a full show. You know, we do like 90 minutes, and your hands are tired just warming up playing all the songs. So, sometimes it’s good to just do that. And I’ll loop the solo sections and slow them down a little, just to get my fingers warm and make sure I’m hitting the right notes. And then later on, you speed it up and you’re ready for the show.

When did you start using BOSS pedals?

The first time I started using BOSS pedals must have been back in ’93. I tried some other cheaper brands—they were half the price. When I was a student, [I thought] maybe the half-price, plastic-y one was okay. Until I actually plugged a real BOSS pedal in, I didn’t know—wow, the difference in tone is really a big. I had a Heavy Metal pedal back then, and also the orange Distortion pedal.

Why do you use BOSS pedals now?

A lot of people ask me why I choose the BOSS pedals. [There are] a lot of things happening now with software and all that, and for me a lot of these things don’t feel like a guitar when you plug them in. They just feel like I’m playing through a computer. I feel like my guitar is going through 10 processes and all that to make a sound. It’s very thin. When I plug in BOSS pedals, it always feels like a guitar, you know, what I’m used to—the dynamics, the feel of the strings, the attack, everything. And that’s important, you know. Of course, sound is important. But without the right feel of the guitar, you just cannot perform. You’ve seen so many musicians sometimes choking because the pedals are not sounding right. For me, [BOSS pedals] always sound good.

Do you have a favorite BOSS pedal?

I’ve always liked the delay pedals. For me, I usually just use distortion and delay. And with the BOSS pedals…I like to have the option to plug it in and out of my rig. That’s a great thing, you know. I don’t have to replace a whole preamp. I use my preamp, and I can just patch different sounds in.

There’s a lot of discussion these days about tone. What does tone mean to you?

For me, tone means a few different things. The way the fingers are making the tone, and the way the instrument sounds, the whole thing is connected together. I think they are related to each other. Your fingers can’t really play, your mind can’t really play if you’re hearing something that doesn’t sound good. You’re not going to get your tone immediately sometimes, you know, straightaway. Through experience and trying different pedals, you realize what is good stuff and what is good sound.

Do BOSS pedals help you get better tone?

For me, when I go to a BOSS pedal, I plug in and they always feel like the classic sounds that I’m used to hearing and I like to play with. BOSS pedals are definitely good for tone and are also really flexible. The great thing is also the reliability. For us musicians, no matter how much we care for the gear at home, we go on tour and it gets knocked around, thrown around. People spill beer on [your pedals], your singer jumps on them and steps on them, and reliability’s really important. And I remembered when I first got my BOSS pedals, the warranty was like five years. No other pedals were doing that.

Have you used BOSS pedals for recording?

A BOSS pedal that I used recently on the new DragonForce album, The Power Within, was the [ST-2] Power Stack. I used that for a few songs, little solos, a little rhythm guitar, just because that pedal is really flexible. There are not that many knobs, but when you change [them], you really change the sound drastically. You can really dial in all different kinds of tones. That’s what I like about it.

What’s next for you and DragonForce?

We’re on a long tour coming up. We’re hitting every corner of the earth now. We’ve got South America, Europe, Asia, and that will pretty much last the whole 2012 until Christmas. Then we’ll have a little break and we’ll carry on touring for The Power Within.