With the abundance of amp sims and plugins available in today’s market, is the age of the traditional guitar-and-amp rig over? Porcupine Tree guitarist Steven Wilson certainly seems to think so.
Speaking in the latest issue of Guitarist magazine, Wilson explains how “there’s never been more ways to process, twist and mutate sound”, adding, “It’s a gift for someone like me, who thinks of himself primarily as a producer.
The cornucopia of new technology allows Wilson to mix “the two worlds of the vintage and the modern”, he explains. On his latest solo record, The Overview, listeners can hear him flavouring more vintage-style guitar tones with fresher sounds courtesy of newer plugins and processing.
“I’m not a purist,” he insists. “I’m not interested in getting vintage tones for the sake of it. I like vintage tones, of course I do, and there are some on this record. But I’m a massive fan of what you can do in the digital realm.”
Wilson even goes on to label the guitar as “old-fashioned”, explaining that modern processing could unlock a new lease of life for the instrument. “I love the guitar, but it’s an instrument that belongs to the 20th century in many ways,” he admits. “So it’s a question of, what can you do to reinvent [the guitar’s] vocabulary to make it seem relevant?”
He praises the work of his longtime collaborator Randy McStine, noting that he encourages Wilson to embrace new production and mixing techniques on his solo record. “Randy, being the young whippersnapper that he is, understands that,” he says.
“It was really fascinating to go down that road with him. We tried to create something in the tradition of the epic guitar solo but in a way that perhaps was fresher to people who’ve heard that before.”
Steven Wilson’s new album The Overview is out now.
