Guitar World

Guitar World's Matt sits down with Steve Morse at NAMM, to talk about the signature Music Man he's been refining for 40 years. Steve gets into why Fender and Guild never worked out, how pickup placement shapes his two-pickup blend, and why he treats the volume knob as his main effect rather than something you set and forget. He also talks about the new album Triangulation with Eric Johnson and John Petrucci, writing with his son, the homemade mute he built to work around his arthritis, and the six months he spent as an airline pilot before a gig he refused to cancel ended that career. Plus getting pulled on stage with Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what he learned watching Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather play behind a singer. 00:00 Intro 01:21 How he ended up with Ernie Ball 03:46 Why Fender and Guild didn't work out 04:31 Designing the Music Man signature 05:53 Pickups, controls and the volume knob 10:23 Spares, and three guitars stolen at gigs 11:25 The new album with Eric Johnson and John Petrucci 13:58 Eight-strings, muting and homemade gadgets 16:19 Playing with arthritis 17:01 Quitting music to fly for the airlines 20:54 Sitting in with Lynyrd Skynyrd 22:57 Writing with his son 24:00 Facing mortality 24:59 Gigs with Eddie Van Halen, Lukather and Albert Lee Subscribe to Guitar World: https://www.youtube.com/@guitarworld?sub_confirmation=1 More at: Guitar World: https://www.guitarworld.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GuitarWorld Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guitarworldmagazine Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuitarWorld TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@guitarworld_official #SteveMorse #ErnieBall #MusicMan #NAMM2026 #GuitarWorld