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MusicRadar
MusicRadar
Entertainment
Jonathan Horsley

“It’s a $20 plugin… I love it because sometimes the problem with digital sounds is they just lack a little bit of character”: Steven Wilson reveals the plugin that's on "almost all" the guitars on his new space rock epic

Steven Wilson performs live onstage with his custom shop Fender Telecaster. The stage is illuminated in green stage lights.

PLUGIN WEEK 2025: The issue of digital vs analogue and the pursuit of great guitar tone is a debate without end, but maybe we should take note from Steven Wilson who argues that the technology allows us to have it both ways.

Turns out that Wilson’s favourite guitar plugin, which was used across most of the electric and acoustic guitars on his audaciously epic prog album, The Overview, is a tape emulation that applies lo-fi cassette textures, and while it might be digital, it is analogue-inspired, and Wilson says it is ideal for adding character to his sound.

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