Michael Angelo Batio

Full Name : Michael Angelo Batio
Guitar : Dean Guitars
Pick : Dunlop Jazz 3's in black
Strings : Ernie Balls
Pickup : DiMarzio, EMG, Seymour Duncan
Effects : Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, Boss Digital Delay, Boss OD 2
Amps : Marshall JCM 800, 900, 2000, JMP 1 amps and pre amps and Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier heads, Marshall 4x12 cabinets
Experience Band : Nitro
Style Gaming : Shredd
Mainstay Engineering : Over-under technique, sweeping, left-right handed

Michael Angelo Batio also known as Mike Batio or MAB (born February 23rd, 1956) is a guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. His work has encompassed many genres, notably metal and metal sub genres. Batio was voted the "No. 1 Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003. He was also listed as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" by Guitar World Magazine, for which he wrote the column Time to Burn, and one of the "20 Greatest Shredders of All Time" by Total Guitar Magazine, both in April 2008. Batio also won the 2009 Guitar World Magazine Readers Choice award in the "Best Shredder"

Style

Batio is ambidextrous, a skill he taught himself. This enables him to play two guitars at the same time either in synchronization or using separate harmonies. This includes playing completely different parts at once, as shown while playing his famous Double-Guitar. Though naturally left-handed, he plays as right-handed when playing one guitar. Batio invented and often demonstrates the "Over-Under" technique,[9] which involves flipping his fretting hand over and under the neck rapidly, playing the guitar both regularly and like a piano.

 
Batio gave lessons to guitarist Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame) while at college. Morello has credited MAB with teaching him in a feature article in Guitar World Magazine in 2005. Michael also gave lessons to guitarist Mark Tremonti after Creed broke up and Tremonti wanted to learn more techniques. Batio is also widely known for his extremely fast and well articulated alternate picking, which he credits to his use of anchoring, or planting the fingers he does not use while picking on the body of the guitar to restrict motion.
 
Batio has an advanced knowledge of music theory, having a deep understanding of complex scale combination and time signatures which assist him in his compositions. Batio has cited F-sharp minor and F-sharp phrygian dominant as one of his favorite keys. He has described F sharp minor as a "demonic" key, giving a dark, evil sound.