Chris Letchford

Chris Letchford (born October 7, 1984, in Houston, Texas^[1]) is an American guitarist. He is the lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Scale the Summit. His technical ability has been recognized in magazines such as Guitar World,^[2] Revolver,^[3] and All Metal Resource.

Background

Letchford began playing guitar when he was 8 years old. He had over 6 years of private guitar lessons before applying to the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, majoring in the GCA program. Along with this education, he also attended Berklee College of Music with a major in music.

While at the Musicians Institute, he formed Scale the Summit with his friend and fellow guitarist Travis Levrier, and drummer Pat Skeffington, who they met there in 2004. They added bass guitarist Jordan Eberhardt to complete the lineup.^[4]

Equipment

Letchford endorses several guitar and amplifier companies. For recording and playing live, he mostly uses guitars custom-built by Luthier Mike Sherman (one 7-string and two 8-strings), as well as guitars he makes himself. He also plays a headless 7-string guitar with fanned frets, which was made for him by the Swedish company Strandberg Guitarworks. For amplification, his main rig consists of Mesa Boogie equipment. For effects, he uses a Fractal Audio Axe-FX Ultra and an Ernie Ball volume pedal.

Discography

With Scale the Summit

• Monument (2007)
• Carving Desert Canyons (2009)
• The Collective (2011)

Notes