08
March
2015
Guitar Rondo: All New for 2015
In celebration of the upcoming release of Steve’s new album, Anthology, this site has been updated and re-launched. Read Steve’s updated Biography, listen to tracks from all of his albums, watch selected videos, and keep track of Steve’s tour dates.
Enjoy!
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Great new site! Steve Howe: my life-long favorite “stringed instrument maestro.”
Steve Howe is beyond amazing. I have been to over ten Yes concerts, four Asia Concerts and three solo concerts and he has been impeccably perfect on the guitar every time. I never saw the Steve Howe trio but I have their wondrous CDS. I saw Yes and ASia on the same night and Steve did not even get tired. There is something special in the British water supply for guitarists in light of the fact that England created Steve Howe, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Hank Marvin and many other fretboard virtuosos.
In the spring of 1972 Yes played at the U. of North Carolina – Wilmington. By that time I’d been a fan for 2 years and at the tender age of 18, Mr. Howe was my hero. I finagled my way on to the college concert committee with express intent of meeting SH. I was successful, I found him warm, receptive to my enthusiasm and he proudly showed me his recently acquired Gibson Switchmaster. I queried him about the B flat solo in Yours is no disgrace and he said he’d show me how he approached it. As I was sitting with my nose at Mr. Squire’s base pedals during the show . Sure enough when Yes played YIND, Mr. Howe caught my eye, turned straight in front of me and dutifully played the solo! After the show as any 18 year old might, I told Steve that I might as well give up the guitar…a pained expression came over his face and he said, “Oh! no, by all means don’t”. The end result, I’m still at it, ever grateful for words of encouragement which have stayed with me “all those many years”. Steve, I’ll never be able to thank you enough, I’ll pass it along though. Cheers.
I was wanting to know what kind of strings Steve prefers. I’m assuming he uses Gibsons, but not sure.
Hi Bill,
Here is the answer to your question, as provided by Steve’s tech, Joe Comeau:
“Steve has been using GSM (Guitar String Manufacturing), previously titled D’Aquisto. We’ve been with them for about 8 years now. Loves em, endorses em, they last a long time and he never breaks strings or gets bad strings.
Normal nickel wound electric for electrics and Phosphor Bronze for Acoustics. I have a large spreadsheet as every guitar is different. He doesn’t get standard gauge packs, we get only individual strings as every single one of Steve’s guitars use different gauges based on how easily they bend, the tone or the tension etc.”