Awesome interviews with Haynes, Morse, Posen, and Marcus King
Plus, Joe Satriani’s new live rig in a plugin
This week’s issue has new music from Matteo Mancuso, multiple interviews with guys like Warren Haynes, Steve Morse and Marcus King, plus an exercise from Ben Eller that’s sure to make your pinky a whole lot more powerful. We also have Chris Sherland talking about the CAGED system, a hot take from David Gilmour, and more. Let’s get right into it.
This week’s guitar links
“Thank you for rescuing me when I decided that I was going to quit music”: Eric Clapton pays emotional tribute to his Bluesbreaker bandmate and blues mentor John Mayall - We lost John Mayall this week at the age of 90. If you haven't heard the legendary 'Blues Breakers: John Mayall w/ Eric Clapton' album, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Clapton wondered if he would quit music entirely if it wasn't for Mayall - he put up a touching tribute video which you can see inside the post.
Matteo Mancuso - Paul Position - Matteo Mancuso came out with a new song this week, where he's playing a killer baritone guitar from Bacci. The song is titled “Paul Position", because it has a bunch of nods to Paul Gilbert. As you might expect, the playing is amazing, and the left and right hand technique is out of this world. Matteo combines regular riffs, with some really fun slapping. What do you think of this track?
Ariel Posen: Tunes, Tones and Touring - Speaking of baritone guitars, Ariel Posen is no stranger to low or differently tuned guitars - he's been one of my favorite players over the past couple of years. Posen recently sat down with Five Watt World to talk about some of his favorite pedals, and how he crafts the perfect setup. Ariel also talks about "putting in the reps”, when talking about playing gigs, songwriting, and much more.
UNLOCK the POWER of Your Little Finger!!! - Without a doubt, the pinky is often the least powerful finger on your fretting hand. But there’s a ton of different exercises that can help strengthen that digit so you can use it in all sorts of different licks. Check out Ben Ellen’s latest video for an exercise that’ll whip your pinky into shape. One thing to keep in mind with working on this type of exercises with a non-dominant finger, make sure to take it easy and don’t over exert yourself. The last thing you’d want to do is get a hand injury that’d prevent you from playing.
CAGED: the easy way - If CAGED is confusing to you, and you’d like a quick primer on why it’s so powerful, you should check out Chris Shetland’s latest video. I love Chris’ videos, because they’re always simple to understand and to the point. You won’t waste any time learning useless ideas or concepts.
Warren Haynes Talks Guitar Tone, Pedals & Playing [Plus - Will He Like The Rig We Put Together?] - If you want to go behind the scenes of Warren Haynes’ rig, this The Pedal Show episode is a great starting point. Haynes talks about gear, working with the Allman Bros., slide guitar playing, and so much more.
Marcus King and His Gibson Guitars Live From Guitar Center Nashville - After you’re done watching Warren Haynes’ interview, pop on over to this one from Marcus King. Marcus recently headed to GC in Nashville, to talk about all his great Gibson guitars, and to play a few songs.
Ernie Ball String Theory ft. Steve Morse - Whether it be with Kansas, Deep Purple, or the classic Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse has had a huge impact on the guitar world. Here he sits down with Ernie Ball to talk about his start with music and getting a band together, all the great projects he’s worked with, and some great tips for guitarists.
“There’s nothing quite like it. It’s my favorite new amp”: Joe Satriani devised the perfect amp to harness Eddie Van Halen’s greatest tones – and you can get a plugin version right now - A couple weeks ago I mentioned that Joe Satriani was teaming up with IK Multimedia, to release a pretty amazing plugin of his favorite amps. This week, IK has updated the plugin with Joe's favorite new live amp, and the crazy part is that you're able to get the plugin version even before the physical version comes out! Check out the post for more.
“No brand new guitar sounds as good as an old one”: David Gilmour thinks vintage guitars are superior - I love David Gilmour's work in Floyd, but you can file this one under the bad takes pile. Case in point, this recent story from The Police's Andy Summers.