Michael Romeo
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| Michael Romeo | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael James Romeo |
| Born | March 6, 1968 New York, NY U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Progressive metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1994 - present |
| Associated acts | Symphony X Ayreon |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom ESP M-II Deluxe |
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Michael James Romeo (born March 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Symphony X.
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[edit] Early life
Michael Romeo's introduction to formal music training began with piano lessons at a young age.[citation needed] He also played clarinet. However, it wasn't until after hearing his first KISS album that he seriously considered switching to the guitar. He ended up purchasing a cheap acoustic guitar at a garage sale.
Influenced by Led Zeppelin, Rush, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Emerson Lake & Palmer,[citation needed] he became serious about the guitar after listening to the albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman from Ozzy Osbourne. He was also heavily influenced by the neoclassical technique and style of Randy Rhoads.[citation needed] At this time, he began classical guitar lessons.[citation needed]
Romeo currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, Christina Romeo, and his children.[citation needed]
[edit] Style
Romeo takes his influences from a wide range of sources including Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen, Shawn Lane, Al Di Meola, Uli Jon Roth, J.S. Bach, Mozart, John Williams and Frank Zappa, although he draws most heavily from a neo-classical style reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen. Despite this, Michael manages to maintain an identifiable signature that sets him apart from other players in this genre by fusing exotic scales and arpeggios (such as the half-diminished, whole tone and Mohammedan scale), non-standard rhythms, and time signatures.
Although he has received coverage in many guitar magazines around the world, he is best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Symphony X which he founded in 1994 after a request by Zero Corporation, a Japanese record label who were impressed by his demo tape. This would eventually become his first and only solo album The Dark Chapter.
A technical player, Romeo is most famous for lightning-fast alternate picking, sweep picking and tapping though he also uses the economy picking technique, despite the fact that his style relies more on a softer legato attack and his trademark tapped string-skipping arpeggios. He is regarded as not only an exceptional soloist, but also for his complex rhythm guitar parts that make heavy use of artificial harmonics. These playing techniques have been demonstrated on the instructional guitar video, The Guitar Chapter, viewed here.
[edit] Equipment
| Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Caparison Guitars |
| Period | 2005–present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Woods | |
| Body | Mahogany |
| Neck | Hard Maple |
| Fretboard | Maple |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Schaller S-FRT (Floyd Rose type) |
| Pickup(s) | 2 Humbuckers Neck: DiMarzio Tone Zone Bridge: DiMarzio X2N |
| Colors available | |
| White | |
Since 2005, Romeo has taken advantage of a new custom model, Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom, which he used to record Symphony X last album, Paradise Lost. Throughout his career,Michael has also also used ESP M-II Deluxe guitars with EMG Active pickups and Fender Stratocasters to perform and record other albums from the band.
In terms of amplification in the studio, Michael uses an Engl Fireball as well as a recently acquired Engl SE E670 that is used strictly for recording purposes. Live, Michael uses both the Engl Fireball and Powerball models. Recent photographs that have been made available at Symphony X Official Website show Michael also using other amplifiers from brands such as Marshall and Madison. He has also been known to use a Mesa Triaxis for recording.
In terms of effects, Michael pairs his various amplifiers with a TC Electronics G System and a Boss NS2 Noisegate.
[edit] Side Projects
As a guest musician for Ayreon, Romeo has played guitar solos on the song Dawn of a Million Souls (featuring lead vocals by Russell Allen), from Ayreon's 2000 album Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator, and on the song E=MC², from Ayreon's 2008 release, 01011001.
[edit] References
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