Australian guitarist Sophie Giuliani is home for a well earned rest after a year filled with countless opportunities working with some of the most prominent people in the US music industry. From graduating college to writing masterclasses, playing at major festivals and touring.
Sophie left her home in Shepparton Victoria in June 2021 where she had already gained worldwide attention from her 100k followers on Instagram. She spent the next 9 months finishing her music degree at Musicians Institute in Hollywood California, making the prestigious Dean’s list for every quarter.
Able to finally work on her OPT (occupational practical training) Sophie didn’t waste a minute, eager to put her talents to use. Her first project was to design and compose a masterclass for one of the most popular online guitar communities Pickup Music., with its 20,000 subscribers. Her master class has been one of their most successful to date.
Sophie is also endorsed by many of the most well known guitar companies such as Fender, Taylor guitars, Suhr Guitars, D’addario and many more. Sophie is highly regarded by many companies and often her work includes doing product demonstrations and promotions for them.
Sophie is still on a high after coming off her first tour ‘Aftershock’, Alexander23’s (Alexander Glantz) headline tour. Her role as lead guitarist took her from 2 major festivals, Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas and Firefly in Delaware to Canada and North America. Sophie was able to utilise a variety of different skill sets with improvised solos to playing Bass on three songs. When asked of the biggest highlights, the young guitarist responded with, playing a custom Suhr guitar gifted to her by the company and the final show at the Wiltern having family from Australia in the audience was a very special moment.
Pressed further about her touring gear, Sophie told us, “The guitars I used for the Aftershock tour were a Custom Spinster by Willows guitars made in South Korea. This guitar is loaded with Kloppman HB59 pickups & features a 6 way HH coil split scheme making it one of my most versatile guitars. The other guitar I used was a Scott Henderson Signature Suhr. One of my favourite features on this guitar is the single coil pickups, for a Strat they’re pretty quiet. It also has a thicker, shorter tremolo arm. I also used a Fender Meteora bass. For amps and pedals, I went fully digital with a Line 6 Helix. We crafted different patches for each song and used a variety of amps and pedals.”
“I was endorsed by Fender prior to my move to the US,” Sophie explains about her endorsements. “They reached to me through my social media, the same with Willows. I got my first Suhr guitar for my 18th birthday from my parents (which I was extremely lucky to get). I had been recognised by the company from using it in my own videos online, and had made connections with them at the NAMM show in 2020.”
One of the best things about the Aftershock tour for Sophie though, were the lifelong friendships she made after living on a tour bus with everyone for 5 weeks. When asked what she misses most about home it was her dog Lucy, her family and her mum’s cooking. “I really miss playing through my gear at home, especially my Two Rock amp, as I’m using a fully digital rig when in the US”, said Sophie.
Sophie will return to Los Angeles in mid January heading straight into rehearsals with many more exciting opportunities waiting for her. We all wish Sophie safe travels and we will all be watching to see what 2023 has installed for the young guitarist.
CHECK OUT SOPHIE’S INSTAGRAM PAGE