Dave Murray life and biography

David Michael Murray is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as one of the earliest members of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

Throughout his career, Murray has used and endorsed Marshall amplifiers almost exclusively, other than on the 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Seventh Son...' albums and their respective tours, when he instead used Gallien Krueger amps. He has used Fender Stratocaster guitars almost exclusively as well.

His black 1957/63 (the body is from a '63 and the neck is from a '57) Stratocaster, previously owned by the late Free guitarist Paul Kossoff, was used from circa 1976-1990. Murray states that he "bought it from an ad in the papers," and was later used as a template by Fender to manufacture an Artist Signature model in 2009, while the original now resides in a glass case at his home.

Murray has occasionally performed with various Dean, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP and Jackson electrics as well. As for acoustic guitar performances, Murray has used Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitars live for the song 'Journeyman'. He also used a Gibson Chet Atkins solid body acoustic on the 'Fear of the Dark' tour for the song 'Wasting Love'.

Murray used his 1957/63 Strat (equipped with DiMarzio Super Distortion and PAF humbucking pickups) extensively, retiring it at the end of the 'Seventh Son...' tour in 1988, when he switched to Jackson guitars.

Since returning to Fender in 1995, following several years from 1986 - 1993 when he endorsed ESP and Jackson, Murray has had several variations of the Stratocaster made for him by Fender. The first was the prototype for what was to become the Hot Rod Re-Issue series.

Currently his main guitar is 2 - tone sunburst Fender Californian Series Stratocaster with 3 Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickups and a chrome Floyd Rose tremolo system. He also plays a Gibson Les Paul Traditional model, which his guitar technician, Colin Price, states was originally brought in for Adrian Smith to try, but was then bought by Murray for practising on tour, and a cream USA Floyd Rose Classic Stratocaster (with a 22-fret maple neck and same electronics and hardware as the sunburst Strat) on stage.

Discography
Iron Maiden:
1980: Iron Maiden
1981: Killers
1981: Maiden Japan
1982: The Number of the Beast
1983: Piece of Mind
1984: Powerslave
1986: Somewhere in Time
1988: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
1990: No Prayer for the Dying
1992: Fear of the Dark
1995: The X Factor
1998: Virtual XI
2000: Brave New World
2003: Dance of Death
2006: A Matter of Life and Death
2010: The Final Frontier

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