Midge Ure

According to this article from Vintage Guitar magazine, in the 1980s, "Ure relied on an Ibanez Roadstar. 'It was stock until I had everything onstage painted grey for the Return to Eden tour--flooring, backdrop, and back line,' he explained. 'It looked fantastic, and the color remained on the guitar after the tour. It became not only my signature guitar, but my favorite. You know how an instrument can feel just right?'

Midge Ure plays an E-mu Emulator II during Ultravox's performance of "Vienna" at Live Aid (beginning at 2:50).

This has been edited from the Schools programme "Science Topics" broadcast in 1983. This episode was title "Electronics In Action" and contains footage of the band performing on the Oxford Road Show in 1982, tinkering with Lament in the studio and Midge demo-ing antique synth!

In this tweet, Ure states that in 2018 he's been playing a Lemon Drop.

In this image from Ultravox's 1981 live performance at London's Crystal Palace, Ure can be seen playing a Strat.

In this 1980 live performance of "New Europeans" with Ultravox, Ure can be seen playing an SG2000. The distinctive headstock and logo can be seen fairly clearly at the 1:52 mark. This interview with Electricity Club makes it clear that Ure was specifically playing an SG2000 model from the late 70s onwards.

This interview with Electricity Club indicates that in 1977 Ure "was able to negotiate with the Japanese company to make his first synth purchase, a CS50, at half price."

"I needed 16 channels plus effects returns, and I have to be particularly flexible with these shows as we are taking in such a variety of venues – from proper theatres to a tithe barn, would you believe," she smiles, adding; "All the gear has to go either in cars or a splitter… so I needed something small enough to squeeze into tight spaces. I'd already used a Behringer X32 last year, and thought it sounded great – plus it was easy to structure to the way I engineer. It's also very affordable, so it becomes an absolute no-brainer." - Ure about Behringer X32.

"Ure today has his recording studio set up in a lightweight office building based down the back of his garden at his home just outside Bath in UK county Somerset and uses a DAW system running Logic or ProTools on Apple Macs, depending on the requirements of the project in hand, with MOTU 828 audio interfaces and an AMT8 MIDI Interface. Ure has an M-Audio MIDI fader desk and NHT Pro monitor system."

In this video Midge Ure talks about his signature V100MU

This has been edited from the Schools programme "Science Topics" broadcast in 1983. This episode was title "Electronics In Action" and contains footage of the band performing on the Oxford Road Show in 1982, tinkering with Lament in the studio and Midge demo-ing antique synth!

From about 2:10-2:25, Midge Ure says that he had an Atari 1040ST.

This article from Vintage Guitar magazine states of Ure's guitars, "More recently, he has donned a Les Paul Standard and a signature model made by Vintage – the MU V100 Goldtop."

This article from Vintage Guitar magazine states of Ure's guitars, "More recently, he has donned a Les Paul Standard and a signature model made by Vintage – the MU V100 Goldtop."

This article from Vintage Guitar magazine talks about the making of Ure's Fragile album. It indicates that the "bass parts are mostly samples or synthesizers save for a few played on a Fender Mustang, chosen for its short scale."

According to the H&K website's artist page, Ure uses a GM36 for live work.

According to the H&K website's artist page, Ure runs his GM36 amplifier through a TM212 cab.

This 2013 profile for Australia's The Music website notes that "Ure is playing his guitar through a Vox 150 watt 1x12 combo." (The VTX150 is the only Vox amplifier that matches this description, and was available at the time of publication.) Says Ure, "'This thing is amazing, a modelling amp with a valve front end so you get all the warmth and drive you would want but with the ability to pop patches anytime you like. Although once I get the sound I like, I don't like to change patches. I like the one sound.'"

In this 2013 profile for Australia's The Music website, Ure indicated that he was touring with a Vox VTX150 amplifier. "Pedal-wise, Midge is keeping things fairly simple and for tonight's gig was using a Boss Blues Overdrive to compensate for the hire amp's lack of grunt."

In this image posted to Ure's Facebook page Ure appears to be preparing to record a guitar track with his POD.

This image posted to Ure's Facebook page shows three guitars he was performing live with in 2012. The 12SDC is pictured on the left.

On the "Links" page of Ure's old website, it states, "Midge uses Line 6 effects pedals both in live shows, and when recording his electric guitar. He started with the original 'kidney' shaped Pod, and has now moved up to the Pod XT pedal board."

The "Links" page at Ure's old website states, "Midge was a user of Vox AC30 amps in the days of Ultravox..."

The "Links" page at Ure's old website states, "Midge was a user of Vox AC30 amps in the days of Ultravox, so he is more than happy with using the most recent addition to the Vox family, the AD120VT. This amp has 21 effects and 16 different amp sounds modelled on original amp characteristics."

In this interview with Australian Musician, Ure tells the story of buying his first guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, which he refinished and traded for a 330. The story begins as the video clip opens, and continues through to 1:14.

In this interview with Australian Musician, Ure is asked what his favorite effect pedal is. He responds that at the moment, he favors a Zoom multi-effects unit. While Midge does not specifically name the model, his description of the unit and its size leads me to believe it is the G3Xn as opposed to the rather larger G5n.

"Ure today has his recording studio set up in a lightweight office building based down the back of his garden at his home just outside Bath in UK county Somerset and uses a DAW system running Logic or ProTools on Apple Macs, depending on the requirements of the project in hand, with MOTU 828 audio interfaces and an AMT8 MIDI Interface. Ure has an M-Audio MIDI fader desk and NHT Pro monitor system."

Most of his classic synths have been made redundant and today he works predominantly with soft synths and samplers augmented mainly by hardware such as his Roland JV2080, Kurzweil K2500R, and Proteus 2000. The system uses MOTU 828 audio interfaces and an AMT8 MIDI Interface.

Most of his classic synths have been made redundant and today he works predominantly with soft synths and samplers augmented mainly by hardware such as his Roland JV2080, Kurzweil K2500R, and Proteus 2000. The system uses MOTU 828 audio interfaces and an AMT8 MIDI Interface.

A Mac G5 tower can be seen in Midge Ure's studio (ninth photo).