“This guitar has been on albums that sold probably eight or nine million copies, and I bought it for about $200!” Steve Rothery on the guitars that changed his life – and why you don't have to spend big to find the guitar of your dreams

While promoting his latest record, 2025’s Gentō – a collaborative effort with Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning (released under the Bioscope moniker) – Marillion’s Steve Rothery took a moment to dial in with Guitar World to reflect upon his three most important guitars.

And yes, Marillion fans – Rothery’s ’99 tobacco burst Blade RH-4 is on the list. In fact, Rothery says it’s the guitar he’d rush in to save if the building – whatever building that might be – were burning down. “I’ve got maybe eight or nine Blade guitars,” he says. “Not one of them is the same as that one.”

Rothery also sings the praises of his well-worn 1985 MIJ Squier Strat and early ’90s custom Steinberger M-Series doubleneck. But, as beloved as those three curios are, he’s open to new possibilities. That said, there’s a caveat.

“I don’t think there’d be any guitar that would supersede them,” he says. “But I’m still buying guitars. It’s about the classic line, ‘How many more guitars do you need?’ The answer is always, ‘Just one more!’ [Laughs] I tend to [sell] anything I’m not playing, so, ultimately, you do the best with what you’ve got. Then again, if you’re working and can afford it – or if you’re just passionate about guitars as things of beauty, why not? [Laughs]

“I know some people who have more guitars than chords they’re able to play. They have them because they love them and love owning a piece of craftsmanship and a work of art.”

MIJ Squier Stratocaster SQ (1985)

I bought this black Squier Strat in 1985. It’s got EMG pickups, a mid-boost, and a Kahler locking tremolo. It’s the guitar I used on Marillion’s albums from 1987’s Clutching at Straws up until 1999, so it’s been important for me and defined the way I play to a certain extent.

I often used it with a Roland JC-120 and, for solo sounds, with an Analog Man [modded Boss] DS-1 [distortion] and some delay. It does everything I want it to do. It’s very resonant – it kind of chimes.

And I love Kahlers; even now, I find them to be the most expressive of all tremolo units. It’s a trade-off where maybe you lose a bit of sustain, but they’re incredibly expressive.

This guitar has been on albums that sold probably eight or nine million copies, and I bought it for about $200! I’ve never been a snob about guitars; it’s about the quality of the wood. And in that period of time, the mid-Eighties, a lot of great guitars came out of Japan from that particular factory. So it’s just whatever works. Ultimately, whatever the transfer says on the headstock doesn’t affect the tone whatsoever.

Blade Steve Rothery RH-4 (1999)

The Squier was my main guitar until ’99, when I started using the Blade, which has two Lindy Fralin single-coils and the Blade humbucker. It’s a passive guitar, but it’s got a mid-boost you can switch in, along with a maple neck. It’s the most versatile guitar I’ve ever played, and it seems impossible to get a bad sound out of it.

It’s all about the combination of a guitar and amp that work well together. For instance, the Squier with the EMGs – that guitar worked well with the JC-120 and performed well with Marshalls, so I’d use it for grungier stuff. But the Blade works so well with the Groove Tubes Trio, which is a three-channel preamp.

So a combination of those two elements makes the Blade incredibly versatile. I can put it on the humbucker and kick in the mid-boost, and it really sort of sings through on Trio.

That’s a fantastic lead sound without using any pedals – well, maybe just a bit of delay. It’s a classic sound, so I suppose I started using a more traditional sort of valve amp with the Blade. It kind of lent itself to that approach.

Custom Steinberger Doubleneck M Series (1990-1991)

This was built for me in the early Nineties. I had it done before Marillion’s Holidays in Eden [1991], I think. That’s a really unusual guitar; I don’t think I’ve really seen another one like it in the world with three single-coil pickups and a transposing trem on the six-string like that.

It’s a very different-sounding guitar. It’s bright, chimey, and versatile. I’ve used it on some of our most important tracks, especially on Marillion’s Afraid of Sunlight album [1995]. I used it on the opening track, Gazpacho.

There’s another track on that album called Cannibal Surf Babe; I used the transposing trem to make the E string go all the way down to a low B, so it’s really down there. And I used it on a track called Beautiful, which was a hit in South America. It’s just got a lot of clarity, and it’s a lot easier to play than a lot of electric 12-string guitars like Rickenbackers, which usually have quite narrow necks. It also has more tonal versatility.

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