by Tyler Frederick
Two Worlds Collide
Welcome to my new series! Music and watches go hand in hand seamlessly, and my objective with Tone & Time is to bring collectors, musicians, guitar and gear enthusiasts, or lovers of music in general together to talk about their passions. There’s a pattern of multiple passions for people in the watch world.
I’ve been a guitar player and a lover of heavier music since I was 14. Along my musical journey, I became obsessed with guitars, amps, pedals, and all sorts of gear connected to the instrument, which brought me to many online communities and enthusiast forums. From there, I discovered the beautiful world of progressive metal and the term “djent,” which is synonymous with one of my favorite bands of all time, Periphery.
Founding member Misha Mansoor is a man of many interests: music production, collecting guitars and equipment, cars and motorsport, and of course, watches. I had the opportunity to ask Misha some questions regarding his watch collecting passion, and to say it’s an honour is an understatement.
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My name is Misha Mansoor and I play guitar in a band called Periphery
What did your early days look like when you were starting out musically or creatively?
It was a time that was actually quite ripe for exploration. I discovered that I could use my gaming PC to record music, and I started playing around with different DAWs and recording software. It was kind of like a musical sandbox, I had no idea what I was doing or what I was trying to do, but it was a lot of fun just to see what I could make on my own, often quietly using amp modelers for guitars and programmed drums.
Funny enough, this is still kind of how I approach music today, but perhaps with a bit more experience and a bit more of a solid direction.
Who were, or still are, your biggest influences musically?
There are too many to list, but the heavy hitters would be bands like Meshuggah, Deftones, Dream Theater and Sikth. I also took a lot of influence from video games that I was playing at the time, I still do!
First watch you fell in love with?
It was probably the Omega Dark Side of the Moon. I thought the design was the perfect balance of modern and classic, and the Ceramic case made it surprisingly light so it didn’t feel unwieldy. I had it for a few years, but did have to send it in for repair under warranty, and in the time it was gone I started to look at some other watches, so I sold it not too long after it came back from that.
What’s your favourite watch from your current collection?
Definitely my Panda Daytona. I know it is a bit of a cliche or predictable watch, but I just always adored the way it looked, and after trying one on I knew it would be my grail watch. It’s so well designed, comfortable and feels like a real workhorse. Even if it lost all value marketwise, I’d still adore it.
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Do your philosophies with music and gear tie in with how you collect or buy watches?
Probably in some sub-conscious ways, but the more obvious connections are that I really love anything that represents an undiluted cross-section of art and engineering. I think a lot of my hobbies and interests revolve around that. That, and I’d love to experience a little bit of everything.
From gear nerd to gear nerd, what does your current rig look like?
As alluded to above, a little bit of everything. The live setup revolves around the Fractal Axefx III amp modeler, largely due to convenience and reliability. But in the studio, anything and everything from the vintage to modern era, analog and digital are all welcome here. Too many things to list, but I have a collaboration with Peavey called the Invective and that’s always on hand amp-wise. And for heavy tones my Horizon Devices Precision Drive and Compressor pedals are always in front.
For writing and recording, I’m finding it hard to use anything other than my Neural DSP Archetype amp. It was designed to be as all-encompassing as possible, and the convenience of being able to get pro sounding guitar tracks while effectively just recording DIs is just incredible.
From what I’ve seen, your recording rig is always evolving, adding more colours to your musical palette. What’s a piece of gear you’ve always wanted, but couldn’t pull the trigger?
One whole world I haven’t explored yet, but I feel I may fall into a rabbit hole sooner than later, is 500 series modules. Maybe even outboard hardware equipment in general. I’m much more of a producer/writer than I am a mixing engineer, so that hasn’t been quite as necessary. It is very appealing, but quite expensive.
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What game series’ or instrumental works shaped the way you build orchestral sections throughout your music?
The Final Fantasy series and the composer Nobuo Uematsu, unquestionably is my biggest influence with that. He is a massive influence in general, but as I started to explore orchestral libraries, I would try to recreate or cover some of my favorite Final Fantasy songs or sections to try to understand how he was using the Orchestra to write.
One watch, price doesn’t matter, what would you buy?
A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual, if money were not a factor. Let’s be honest, I’d be over the moon with Datograph Up/Down. I truly consider these to be the ultimate meeting of art and engineering, and the Datograph, especially the Up/Down, is externally pretty understated. But I could examine the absolutely insane case back whenever I wanted. Absolute perfection.
Big brands, Microbrands or Both?
It might not surprise anyone to find out that I love both. I think big and well respected brands have had to earn that respect through quality. With that said, I love how much microbrands push pure creativity and passion. Additionally, with the smaller or newer brands, there isn’t a brand tax, so it can be a great way to get phenomenal watches without breaking the bank.
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What’s the best guitar you’ve ever played?
I have spent so many years designing and refining my Jackson Signature models that it would be a crime for that not to be my answer. At this point they feel like such extensions of me that the only guitars I’m interested in outside of my models are things that are fundamentally different or just weird.
Based on your signature model with Jackson, has there been anything that’s stopped you from starting your own company? Or is it the consistency and what you’ve already developed with Jackson that built the most playable instrument for your needs?
I respect what a gargantuan endeavor it is to start a guitar company. With all my current ventures, hobbies and interests I just don’t think I’d have the time or energy to pursue that with what it would need to even have a chance of being successful.
I have been working with Jackson for a decade and a half at this point, and basically with the same people the entire time, so the setup has been really ideal for me. I work with a bunch of guitar nerds who have extreme attention to detail when it comes to guitars, and they make all the weird and crazy stuff I ask for, so I really cannot complain!
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What would you call your genre of music? Are there any avenues you have yet to explore?
I think a large contingent of the metal community would call it “Djent” which is fine by me, but I always considered it Progressive Metal. I think I’d like to make an album that has a very heavy Eurorack/Modular synth focus.
What does 2026 have in store for you? Anything you can tell us?
Lots of plans, but few I can talk about at this point in time. Outside of music I’d really like to do more Track Days.
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What’s one recommendation, anything you’d like, that our readers should check out? Literature, music, watches, etc.
I’m a really big fan of what Nodus has been doing with their watches. I bought one of the Canyon watches that they did as a collaboration with Matt Farah, the automotive journalist, and it just became my default daily driver (pun intended). I think their work is very well considered and thought out, so if you are a watch fan and not familiar with their work you might be surprised!
And that’s all folks..
I can’t say it enough: the deepest thank you to Misha for taking the time to answer my questions. Gaining more insight into his passions—how he thinks when it comes to guitars, gear, compositions, and interests outside of watches and music—was fantastic, and I’m grateful to have shared this experience with all of you.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read another one of my articles, and I’ll see you in the next one!
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About the author
Born into a family obsessed with motorsport, Tyler Frederick became enamoured with speed and beautiful cars at a young age. His love of Formula 1–and all things mechanical–eventually lead him to horology. You can follow him on Instagram.
Check out these other articles from Tyler:
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Off The Cuff articles are full-length, hands-on reviews of the watch in question and represent the opinion of the author only. All photos are original, unless specified otherwise. If you would like to have your watch reviewed on this site, contact us here.
Great article! The Bulb man himself.