Steve Morse’s longstanding relationship with Ernie Ball Music Man dates back many years, preceding his extensive tenure with Deep Purple, his career revival following a guest appearance with Lynyrd Skynyrd, and even his hiatus from music to pursue aviation.
Despite this 40-year association, the origins of Morse’s signature Ernie Ball Music Man guitar can be traced even further back to his acquisition of his first serious electric guitar.
Frustrated by the limitations of that initial purchase, a Stratocaster, Morse took a hands-on approach, much like Eddie Van Halen did.
“The first serious guitar I bought with my own money was a new sunburst Strat in 1967,” he shared in a recent interview with Guitarist. “I eventually removed the neck from that guitar, attached it to a Telecaster, and created my ‘FrankenTele’ with humbuckers and single-coil pickups. The pickup configuration became the foundation for my [Steve Morse signature] Music Man guitars.”
As expected, the Morse signature model serves as the centerpiece of his setup.
“It all starts with the guitar: my Music Man signature model, which features four pickups—along with a Roland synth pickup GK-2,” he explained. “This guitar allows me to control volume and tone, enabling me to reduce gain while boosting the high-end by selecting one of my single-coil pickups mounted farther from the strings.
“The neck pickup is strategically placed to ensure it maintains its intended position, allowing the guitar to feature a 22-fret fingerboard while still providing that essential fullness in the neck pickup.”
Since leaving Deep Purple on good terms, Morse has remained active, reuniting his solo band and launching a feature-rich signature 20W tube head in collaboration with Engl.
Related Topics
- How Does Tightening a String on a Guitar Affect Its Natural Frequency?
- How to Play G/B on Guitar
- Taylor Guitars Teams Up with Jacob Collier to Launch Signature 5-String and 6-String Models
