Interview with legendary Dixie Dregs, Kansas and Deep Purple axe slinger Steve Morse (June 2012)

Source: www.dimarzio.com

For the upcoming European G3 shows you will join forces with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Have you ever jammed with these two guys?

Yes, in fact, I've played with Steve Vai recently at the Ernie Ball 50^th anniversary concert, and with Joe sitting in with Deep Purple. Also, when G3 came to my home state, I sat in with the jam at the end of show.

The G3 tour has happened many times in the last 16 years. Did you follow those events? If yes, what did you think about them in general?

Yes, I've always noticed who has played on those tours, and once even got a concert report from my son, who was able to attend one of the concerts in our state while I was on tour with Deep Purple. I think it's a great idea, and Joe's general spiritual, positive approach to music has brought guitarists together that might not otherwise have found themselves jamming together.

Joe and Steve represent a different kind of guitar school than you. What do you think, will your unique style work in their musical environment, when it comes to jam?

We have more in common than different when it comes to our musical influences, I think. I think that my approach of trying to find a part that works well with the piece of music being played is also very similar to their philosophies, too. So my feeling is that it will be very natural and fun!

You got tons of instrumental material, so how will you put together your setlist for such a short performance?

That is a great question, and one that we haven't done yet! I think we will do a few Dregs tunes that I've written, which work well as a trio, plus a variety of SMB tunes that will touch on styles that might be unique to the listeners. In addition, I will probably play one or two pieces on electric classical guitar.

Who’s gonna be involved in your backing band? Could you introduce the line up?

Yes, and thanks for asking. Dave LaRue on bass, of course, and for the European leg, our drummer will be Dru Betts. On the South American leg, Dave on bass, and Van Romaine, our regular drummer will be back from his touring with Enrique Iglesius.

What did your band mates in Deep Purple think about the G3 request? As I know, you guys just began the preproduction works of the next Purple record, so the timing doesn’t seem perfect...

Right you are!  It means that I must get up and leave just after the basic tracks are recorded for our new DP album. If all goes perfectly, it shouldn't interfere with the recording schedule. However, if there is a delay in starting the track recording, all eyes will be on me leaving at a bad time. This, though, is the first time I have been able to do this G3 tour, after having to pass up other chances in the past due to endless touring with DP.  The guys in DP don't mind me playing in other venues, and this was scheduled for a time that I should have been done with the group recording.

As far as your recent activities, you are into a new project as well, this one’s called Flying Colors.  The other contributors in that band are Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue, and Casey McPherson. Who’s got the idea to put together this prog rock supergroup?

Our executive producer, Bill Evans, started this with the idea that myself, Neal Morse, and Kerry Livgren would write together and get a radio-friendly vocalist involved. It turned out a little bit different due to Kerry being unable to participate, but I love the final results.

Your alternate picking technique is incredibly accurate. How did you develop it over the years? Honestly, I’ve never seen a single guy who could play arpeggios this way that fast!

I intentionally changed from a more typical hammer-on, pulloff, legato style when I tried to learn some Bach violin partitas on my guitar. I noticed that with non guitar music, that my blues patterned riffs didn't work at all. In addition, I figured that if I picked every note, that I wouldn't have to worry about how I fingered the left hand, my right hand would just always pick what I fingered. I noticed that in other styles of music, guitarists and mandolin players often picked every note.

Also, your finger vibrato technique is unmistakable as well, it gives your solos a unique tonal voicing. How do you see?

It's a personal thing, how somebody does their vibrato. I've been told by other players that it is more of a violin vibrato than a rock guitar vibrato, but in reality, it's the expression that fits the way I hold the guitar with my left hand. On one note of the Deep Purple set, I have a very exaggerated vibrato for comedic effect, using my whole left arm that made Joe Satriani laugh and comment on it!

You use your left hand fingers for vibratos almost exclusively, and were never a big whammy bar abuser. Don’t you like the trem?

In the hands of a master, like the guys that will be onstage after me, it can be so beautiful. Or Jeff Beck, Michael Firkins, Holdsworth, etc. For me, it takes the sound slightly to a more metallic, less warm quality due to the bridge shape, and also keeps me from bending double stops in tune, due to the tension being changed by the springs. I tried a locking trem to fix that exactly, but still the sound changes slightly to me, so I only use the whammy for certain tunes that require it, then change back.

The Music Man Steve Morse Signature guitars are one of a kind instruments. They are famous for their unusual pickup configurations. The old blue one has two different single coils between the humbuckers. What’s their main role in the guitar?

The big reason for having them, is twofold: One, it allows me to switch to a lower output, higher treble sound, so that I can turn down the guitar, switch to it, and get a cleaner sound that compensates for the apparent high end loss caused by the reduction of the clipped notes which generate sideband harmonics. So I can clean up my sound for dynamics while still using a high gain amp setting. This is also why my single coil pickups are generally farther from the strings than the humbuckers. The second reason is that they are necessary for getting some Country sounds as well as funky clean sounds combined with the bridge humbucker.

So far the newer SM-Y2D model, it’s a little more conventional one. What was in your mind when you designed this particular guitar?

You're right. I noticed that there were 5 combinations that I used all night long, and the 4^th single coil was really best for a complementary rhythm sound in recording. So when Sterling and Dudley at Musicman told me that they could put a multipole switch in that would look like a regular 5 way switch, it allowed me to put all 5 combinations on one switch. The result is an easier to use guitar, but more importantly, the different bridge, wood lamination, and one less pickup gives it a more suitable guitar for a rock band. My 4 pickup regular guitar still has the most versatility, but I play the Y2D most of the night with Deep Purple.

You got a 100 watt signature amp head from ENGL. Could you introduce this three channel monster?

Yes. Channel 1 and 2 are the best of the ENGL amps that I sampled during our lengthy evaluation period. Plug any guitar straight in, put everything on “6” and it will sound great. The 3^rd channel addresses my obsession with midrange control. When guitar is mixed with a band, the midrange is what people really hear, since the highs and lows are masked by other instruments. This 3^rd channel gives the possibility of changing the midrange to allow a solo or melody line to jump out without getting louder on the VU meter that the soundman is looking at. There are 4 midrange knobs on that channel to give the most flexibility that ENGL's amazing design will allow without changing the silky high end that makes us love their sound.

How much are you a pedal type of guy? Do you got stompboxes in front of the amp and/or in the effects loop?

It depends on the situation. Normally, no I don't use them inline or in a loop, but as a separate effect going to a 'wet' amp. However, I have recently incorporated some very good sounding pedals into my SMB trio setup. So, for a Country sound, I use a Keely Compressor before the amp, and also a TC reverb pedal with my own 'toneprint' in the effects loop that can be switched in on the clean channel. Otherwise, both the long and short delays are simply fed by the dry amp, and are controlled by Ernie Ball volume pedals on their way to the 'wet' amp, which only makes sound when I push on those volume pedals, and that sound is 100% delay with no dry mixed in. The dry amp never has delay going through it. By the way, those are now TC flashback delays, because they have a 'toneprint' where I can download my own settings for the nature of the delay and modulation.

As a long time DiMarzio guy, what are your fave pickups?

Actually, I still use the pickups they have always made for me. Technically, they are signature pickups. In reality, they are put in at the Musicman factory as original equipment. I have us

ed this same humbucker pair for over 30 years!

Although you are primarly considered as a virtuoso rock player, your style is much more versatile, built from blues, bluegrass, country, and even classical influences. How did you melt all these things in one?

To me, all tonal music is very similar. For instance, if you only had 4 sentences to speak, you could change your dialect by only varying the way you pronounce the vowels or something like that. So, in music, by only changing the way I use, or don't use, chromatic passing notes, I can make a simple change of style. Obviously, to make a style feel authentic to an audience you really have to love and feel it. So, I am influenced by styles that I really love. Almost every bluegrass record I've ever heard has some amazing solos on it, and to me, Bach was the very first power metal player, BB King really does get amazing tone and feeling from a single note. If you love it, it's easy to emulate at least some part of any style.

How do you see, is it important for every rock guitar players to know huge chord vocabulary, as well as different scales and modes?

Yes, but even more importantly, to know how chords are built, and be able to form them to fit the situation. For example, if you start with a 3 note chord, can you do the close voice leading technique to play through the entire chord sequence, all using only 3 notes, moving as little as possible?  If you know chords by rote only, you might jump all over the guitar neck with no continuity. Rock players often discover close voice leading by accident, but we should all know the basics of harmony, since guitar is the closest thing to the perfect instrument of communication!

What advice would you give to younger players who would achieve great tone and technique?

First, feel what you are trying to play. Second, build a tool chest of technique that you can choose from. For example, can you play a phrase legato, muted, alternate picked, finger picked, etc?  Can you do a slow bend, pre bend a note, add vibrato before or after a bend? Can you do volume swells and also use the same idea with the tone control? Can you play your guitar straight into the amp and adjust the tone to best fit your guitar? Most guitarists practice with a much more effected sound than would be best for a recording or performance with other musicians. Try less distortion and effects when playing live. Mute the strings that you are not playing in order to stop them from ringing while you are elsewhere, don't depend on a noise gate to take care of that. Practice every day and end every practice session with something fun that makes you glad you play!