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Rig Rundown: Deep Purple’s Steve Morse

The guitarist details the signature Ernie Ball Music Man guitars, Engl amps, and specialized effects he uses on the road.

The Steve Morse Signature Special is a 100-watt Engl head that Morse controls via MIDI footswitch for 3-channel selection, gain tweaking, and nuanced midrange tonal shifts on the specialty third channel. It features two master volumes and two different effects signals. Morse uses one of the effects signals to activate his TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb. Morse describes Channel 1 as “the most expensive clean amp you’ve ever heard. It sounds like cost is no object.” Channel 2 is that “bread and butter distortion sound that everyone loves.” And Channel 3 is a specialty channel with four midrange controls that shift centers and combine with a separate mixer at the end of the signal. “It’s great for soloing,” Morse says.

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