Son de Steve Rothery

Steve Rothery of Marillion Q&A


Q: Do you have a type of pick that you can't live without?

A: We have picks made for each tour. Standard size and shape and medium thickness

Q: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, what would they be?

A: TC Electronic 2290 because it's the best delay/effects controller ever made; Roger Linn Adrenalinn because it's such an inspirational unit, especially when driven by MIDI clock; Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere, a gritty and authentic sounding Leslie effect.

Q: Do you play another instrument well enough to be in a band?

A: I play bass guitar on my latest Wishing Tree album, Ostara. It's something I really enjoy.

Q: If a music chart were put in front of you, could you read it?

A: Possibly, but very slowly!

Q: Do guitar cables really make a difference? What make are yours?

A: Yes they do. Evidence audio and George L cables for me.

Q: Is there anyone's playing (past or present) that you're slightly jealous of?

A: Jeff Beck, because he's never lost the fire - unlike his contemporaries. I walked past him at Heathrow a couple of weeks ago and wished I'd had the nerve to tell him in how much regard I hold him (I did meet him in the studio about twenty years ago).

Q: Your house/studio is burning down: which guitar do you salvage?

A: The prototype of my Jack Dent Steve Rothery model: the only one in the world and a stunning guitar.

Q: What's your favourite amp and how do you set it?

A: It's a Groove Tubes Trio preamp and Dual 75 power amp. The three channels of the Trio are set:

Clean - full and warm sounding
Mean - slightly distorted
Scream – full-on distortion

Q: What kind of action do you have on your guitars?

A: It depends on the guitar, but usually low but not very low (so I can still play slide).

Q: What strings do you use?

A: Ernie Ball Super Slinkys 9-42 gauge

Q: What are you up to at the moment?

A: Recording an acoustic album, promoting the upcoming release of the second album of my Wishing Tree project, Ostara, which is released on 7th September (free track download and sound clips at www.reverbnation.com/thewishingtree http://www.reverbnation.com/th(...)gtree and working with an outstanding guitar builder called Jack Dent from North Carolina on a Steve Rothery model guitar. I'll also be selling/demonstrating Jack's guitars and giving guitar clinics across the world (see steverothery.com for details).

What piece of gear is most crucial to your sound? —Sonja Greggs

I suppose it depends which era. I’ve used so many different sounds. I’ve been primarily a Strat guy over the years. Originally, I played a Strat with EMG SA pickups and a locking tremolo. In more recent years, I’ve used a Blade Stratocaster and, more recently still, a series of guitars made for me by Jack Dent. He’s making my signature guitar. It’s just a phenomenal instrument. He made a superstrat for me, which I’d intended to be my signature guitar. But then he made another guitar with a more unusual shape. It’s got the Ghost Pickup System [a modular system that allows acoustic tones and MIDI capability on electric guitars]. The idea of using that guitar is what excited me about working on the new Marillion album we’ve just started writing. That’s the future direction, I suppose.



What instrument did you play on Less Is More, and why did you want to do an acoustic album? [The 2009 album contains acoustic remakes of Marillion tracks from 1989 forward.] —Matt Vanian

I mostly played acoustic guitar on the album—a Santa Fe. I also used a Cort acoustic on a couple of tracks and my Jack Dent guitars on a couple of electric tracks. We did the album to give us a bit of creative breathing space. We’ve been pretty busy making records over the past few years. The last studio album, Happiness Is the Road [2008], was a double album, so rather than go back into the whole routine of trying to write again, we decided to make an acoustic album of our older material. We used some weird and wonderful instruments on it. We thought that would be more interesting than making an MTV Unplugged–type album where we just strum the songs on acoustic guitars.

Pas sur de comprendre la question? Pour quels morceaux tu veux dire?

Je ne sais pas, mais je crois ne pas trop m'avancer en affirmant que l'analogman remplace le CE-300 vu que Steve m'avait lui même dit que c''était la pédale qui s'en rapprochait le plus. Le DC a toujours été dans une des boucles du TC electronics, depuis Season's End, peut être pour ajouter un effet de modulation sur les répetitions du delay?

Sinon, le rack dont je parlais plus haut + sa nouvelle Strat Jack Dent