Editing Herman Li

{{Short description|British guitarist}}
{{Primary sources|date=February 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Herman Li
| image             = DragonForce Rockharz 2019 01 (cropped).jpg
| caption           = Li with DragonForce in 2019
| background        = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name        = 
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1976|10|03|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[British Hong Kong]]
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Power metal]]|[[speed metal]]|[[black metal]] (early)}}
| occupation        = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter|producer}}
| instrument        = Guitar
| current_member_of = {{hlist|[[DragonForce]]}}
| past_member_of    = {{hlist|[[Demoniac]]}}
| years_active      = 1993–present
| website           = {{URL|hermanli.com}}
| module            = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes|showflag=cp|c=李康敏|p=Lǐ Kāngmǐn|mi={{IPAc-cmn|l|i|3|-|k|ang|1|m|in|3}}|w=|j=lei5 hong1 man5|y=|ci=}}
}}

'''Herman Li''' ({{zh|c=李康敏}}; born 3 October 1976) is a Hong Kong-born British musician. He is one of the lead guitarists, producers and songwriters for the [[power metal]] band [[DragonForce]]. Li has played with the band based in England since it was formed in 1999 by Li along with [[Sam Totman]], both of whom are also the remaining original members of the band. Before DragonForce he was in the [[black metal]] band [[Demoniac]].

==Early life==
Herman Li was born on 3 October 1976 in [[Hong Kong]] and moved to [[France]], then to [[England]] during his teenage years. He speaks [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]] and [[Cantonese]] fluently.<ref>Pinnegar, Shane. [http://magazine.100percentrock.com/interviews/201408/68396 INTERVIEW – Herman Li, Dragonforce, August 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529081228/http://magazine.100percentrock.com/interviews/201408/68396 |date=May 29, 2017 }}, ''100% Rock Magazine'', August 27, 2014.</ref>

==Playing style==
Li draws influences from [[rock music|rock]], all subgenres of [[Heavy metal music|metal]] as well as [[Computer and video game|video game]] music; he often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 1980s, early 1990s arcade, and PC games. His playing style consists of fast descending and ascending [[legato]] and [[staccato]] licks, exotic [[shred guitar|scale runs]], making extensive use of the harmonic minor and [[Phrygian dominant scale]], extreme use of his [[whammy bar]], quick full ascending and descending [[sweep picking]] arpeggios, [[alternate picking]] and [[tapping|two-handed tapping]] on the higher frets as well as incorporating many other [[shred guitar]] style techniques.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2uNcxPY0LQ| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140618083019/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2uNcxPY0LQ| archive-date=2014-06-18 | url-status=dead|title=Herman Li and Sam Totman youtube guitar techniques and instructional|website = [[YouTube]]|access-date=2010-09-25}}</ref> Li sometimes uses a device called the Hot Hand that sits on his right hand like a ring, which causes extreme [[vibrato]] when shaken, giving him a greater capacity to emulate certain video game sounds. Li has stated [[Joe Satriani]], [[Steve Vai]] and [[Tony MacAlpine]] guitar playing heavily inspired his own style.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgPGYSNL-AU&index=2&list=WL |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/qgPGYSNL-AU| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=YouTube – DragonForce - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?|website=[[YouTube]]|date=September 6, 2017 |access-date=2017-09-06 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Li is left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed.

==Equipment==

===Guitars===
[[Image:DragonForce Rockharz 2019 26.jpg|left|thumb|Herman Li performing live with his signature Ibanez E-Gen guitar]]
Li uses Ibanez E-Gen guitars, his signature [[Ibanez]] models are based on his old [[Ibanez S#S series|Ibanez S Series]], which was retired from stage at the end of the Inhuman Rampage tour. The EGEN18 has a "Transparent Violet Flat" finish (transparent purple on a flamed-maple top), and the EGEN8 has a "Platinum Blonde" finish (natural wood finish with a flamed-maple top). Both have a rosewood fingerboard and gold hardware. The E-Gen model has many unique features and improvements over a standard S, including its versatile tone selection with coil tap switching for both the bridge and neck pickups, Edge Zero bridge (the EGEN8 has Edge III), custom [[DiMarzio]] HLM pickups (the EGEN8 has Ibanez pickups) and an extended scoop on the lower horn of the body, as well as a "Kung-Fu grip" on the upper horn shaped by Li's hand. It is currently Ibanez's flagship model for S body style guitars.

On 9 May 2010 Li announced via Facebook that he had received a custom-made Ibanez 7-string guitar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.facebook.com/hermanli.online/posts/117626148270857 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/119116469710/117626148270857 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Facebook – Picked up my new...|website=[[Facebook]]|access-date=2010-06-25}}{{cbignore}}</ref> No details are known yet about this guitar, other than it has seven strings, and it is unknown whether it will be mass-produced for his E-Gen signature line.

Before the E-Gen, he had been known to play [[Ibanez_S#2008_S_Prestige_series|Ibanez S Prestige]] guitars. An Ibanez S470SOL (Japanese build 1995), a seven string [[Ibanez]] 540S7 (Japanese build 1991) (used in Revolution Deathsquad, Storming the Burning Fields, before the second verse and in the outro of Heartbreak Armageddon and the [[Bridge (music)|bridge]] section of Operation Ground and Pound), and an Ibanez S540FMTTS (Japanese build 1995). He has also been seen playing an Ibanez S2170FB and an Ibanez S2170FW. He also owns an [[Ibanez Jem]]7BSB, which has been used on every [[DragonForce]] album for recording rhythm guitar parts, an Ibanez J Custom RG, an [[RG2228|Ibanez RG2228]] (8-string model), and a [[PRS Guitars|PRS]] Modern Eagle, which he received as a gift from [[Paul Reed Smith]] and can be seen in the studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ydJ81jemeI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/_ydJ81jemeI| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=YouTube – In the Studio with... DragonForce|website=[[YouTube]]|date=December 2008 |access-date=2010-04-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Amplifiers and effects===
Li uses a [[Kemper Profiler]] as his primary amplifier.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Magazine|first=All That Shreds|date=2017-07-31|title=Herman Li Interview: "DragonForce Doesn't Have The Kill Or Be Killed Attitude"|url=https://allthatshreds.com/herman-li-interview-dragonforce-doesnt-kill-killed-attitude/|access-date=2021-01-10|website=Welcome To All That Shreds Magazine!|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
Li and fellow band member [[Sam Totman]] are featured as performing twin guitar solos of the [[power metal]] song "[[Through the Fire and Flames]]" which has appeared in several video games. In the [[Guitar Hero series|''Guitar Hero'' rhythm game series]], the song first featured in ''[[Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]'' as an unlockable bonus song. The song later appeared in ''[[Guitar Hero Smash Hits]]'' and ''[[Guitar Hero Live]]'', as well as ''[[Rock Band 3]]'' as [[downloadable content]]. The song also featured in ''[[Rocksmith 2014]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gameskinny.com/fbxiz/through-the-fire-and-the-flames-now-playable-in-guitar-hero-live|title = Through the Fire and the Flames now playable in Guitar Hero Live!|date = February 3, 2016}}</ref>

==Notable awards and achievements==
Li has won and featured in the following awards:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dragonforce.com/herman-li/|title=Herman Li – DragonForce|access-date=2010-04-10}}</ref>

*RIAA Certified Platinum Single "Through the Fire and Flames"
*RIAA Certified Gold Record "Inhuman Rampage"
*UK Silver Record "Inhuman Rampage"
*Music Radar/Total Guitar 2017 – Best Metal Guitarists in the World
*[[Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards|Metal Hammer Golden Gods]] 2009 – Best Shredder Award
*Grammy Awards 2009 – Best Metal Performance "Heroes of Our Time" Nomination
*Guitar World Reader's Poll 2007 – Best New Talent (winning by 70%)
*Guitar World Reader's Poll 2007 – Best Metal
*Guitar World Reader's Poll 2007 – Best Riff
*Total Guitar Reader's Poll 2007 – Best Solo "Through the Fire and Flames"
*Terrorizer Reader's Poll 2006 – Best Band "DragonForce"
*Terrorizer Reader's Poll 2006 – Best Musician "Herman Li"
*Terrorizer Reader's Poll 2006 – Best Live Act "DragonForce"
*Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2005 – Best Shredder Award
*Guitar World Magazine – 50 fastest guitarists

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
*{{Official website|http://www.hermanli.com}}
*[https://dragonforce.com/band/#wvc-tab-2 Li's profile at the official DragonForce website]

{{DragonForce}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Herman}}
[[Category:1976 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English heavy metal guitarists]]
[[Category:English lead guitarists]]
[[Category:English record producers]]
[[Category:British Asian musicians]]
[[Category:DragonForce members]]
[[Category:Hong Kong emigrants to England]]
[[Category:Hong Kong guitarists]]
[[Category:Hong Kong record producers]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:English Twitch (service) streamers]]
[[Category:British music YouTubers]]