steven rothery's squier guitar

i am a huge fan of marillion, and have matured greatly in a musical sense from listening to them. one example is that i am a guitar player and i used to be a HUGE classic rock fan mainly because it was all guitar driven. prog has helped me escape my guitar shackles and experiance many new types of music.

so getting back to my main point, i was watching marillion's marbles dvd.. or was it brave.. i dont remember it was a while ago.. anyways i noticed that rothery was playing a squier. now i've been playing guitar for about 4 years now and i know a decent amount about guitars, and a squier is not one for professional musicians to use. i dont think its a bad guitar, i play one occasionally and i love it most of the time (my primary guitar is a gibson sg).

anyone else find it somewhat funny that a glorious musician like rothery uses a guitar built for beginners? or is there some secret meaning behind it that i'm not aware of?

On the From Stokes Row to Ipanema DVD I think he uses a Strat, but I do remember that on Recital of the Script he had a Squier, maybe it's just his vintage guitar?

yeah i've noticed that too e-dub. and you're right, it could just be the shell.. i mean he had to have customized it a little bit. maybe its like a little joke or something, idk. i think its great though, because i have an sg, and my friend was trying to get rid of her squier, so i told her i would take it. she thought i was crazy because i already had a perfectly great guitar.. but i was just like "my boy steve uses one, they're not THAT bad". and they're really not.

true that, true that

I imagine it's that perticular guitar that has a good feel and  sound. A lot of big time guitarists have bargain brand guitars for that reason. Originally the Gibson Les Paul Jr.'s were meant to be beginners models but their feel and sound have made them sought after (and priced accordingly). I have read good reviews for some Squires being as good as higher priced Fenders.

I heard once that the guitarist from Def Leppard used a Squier in the studio

Don't knock Squiers! They're great guitars for the money. With a few upgrades (better pickups etc) they are not "just for beginners" but can be near equals to more expensive models. 

MaReam GeneTree wrote: rupert wrote: If a good musician decides to use a special instrument it/he  has a reason. Squier is not a bad label at all, so if S.R. feels comfortable playing one why shouldn't he ??? i never implied that he was wrong in using it, i was merely pointing out an interesting observation. i think it's a great thing that he uses a squier, because it proves that PERSONAL SUBJECTION will always rule over the status quo.