Marcus Siepen (born 8 September 1968) is a German guitarist, best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.André Olbrich André Olbrich (born 3 May 1967) is a German musician, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of power metal band Blind Guardian, in which he serves as one of the main composers with other founder Hansi Kürsch. Olbrich was ranked num ...

. He has also been part of the band

Sinbreed Sinbreed is a German Christian metal band who play power metal, formed in 2005 in Wiesbaden. Biography Sinbreed was founded as Neoshine, and made it to release three demos under that name, but was forced to change to Sinbreed in order to avoid ...

and live member of Demons & Wizards.

Personal life

Siepen is divorced and has a son from his first marriage. He has since remarried. Growing up in a Roman Catholic family, Siepen claims to not be religious, and that he doesn't believe in God. He views

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as a human philosopher, "a very charismatic person with a great view of how people should live together."Die Band – Blind Guardian Interview

Equipment

Since 1995, Siepen has been an endorser of

Mesa/Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a sm ...

amplifiers, using various Triple Rectifier heads and multiple preamps. As of 2010, his main rack consisted of a three-channel Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier "Recto Reborn" head, with a Fractal Audio Axe-FX II providing effects. He uses two Sennheiser wireless units, one as a backup, and his old two-channel Rectifier as a backup. When doing overseas shows, he solely uses an Axe-FX II. Previous versions of his rack featured the two-channel Triple Rectifier as his main amplifier, a Rocktron Intelliflex instead of the Fractal for effects, and either a Mesa Boogie TriAxis preamp or Rectifier Recording Preamp instead of his two-channel Triple Rectifier as a backup. For guitars, Siepen has made most use of

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

and

ESP Guitars is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and Bass guitar, basses. They are based in both Tokyo and Los Angeles, with distinct product lines for each market. ESP Company manufactures instruments ...

, with Gibson being his preferred brand nowadays. Up until the late '90s, Siepen mostly used ESP guitars with Blind Guardian co-guitarist

André Olbrich André Olbrich (born 3 May 1967) is a German musician, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of power metal band Blind Guardian, in which he serves as one of the main composers with other founder Hansi Kürsch. Olbrich was ranked num ...

, both guitarists making use of custom-made Horizon and Mirage guitars, although Siepen has been seen using other shapes, such as a custom-built model based on the

Jackson Randy Rhoads The Jackson Rhoads is a model of electric guitar, originally commissioned by guitarist Randy Rhoads and produced by Jackson Guitars. Origin The Concorde Randy Rhoads' first Jackson prototype was the white, pinstriped, asymmetrical Flying ...

. He can sometimes be seen with a custom

ESP Eclipse ESP most commonly refers to: * Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability ESP may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Music * ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars * E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...

, but he does not use this model often. His current main guitars, since then, have been several Gibsons, mostly Les Paul models, his main two being a Les Paul Custom and a Les Paul Standard Premium Plus. Most of his guitars, including the previously two mentioned models, feature dual

EMG 81 The EMG 81 is a popular active humbucker guitar pickup manufactured by EMG, Inc. It is usually considered a lead pickup for use in the bridge position, paired with EMG's 85 as a rhythm pickup in neck position (Zakk Wylde is famous for this configu ...

pickups, Suhr Doug Aldrich pickups, and TonePros hardware.

References

External links

Marcus Siepen on blind-guardian.com

Blind Guardian official website

Marcus Siepen blog
(not updated since 2014)
Marcus Siepen website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siepen, Marcus 1968 births Blind Guardian members Living people German heavy metal guitarists German male guitarists People from Krefeld