Six String Sunday’s All New!
The most jam packed issue yet
Hi, it’s Brian from Chasing Sound! For the longest time I wanted to take my website and turn it into a digital version of the guitar magazines I loved reading growing up. Over time I’ve moved away from writing on my blog, and instead over the last bunch of years have focused all my time on making this newsletter and working on videos/livestreams for YouTube and social platforms. That’s just what I enjoy doing.
In the spirit of my original idea, I’m adding some new sections to the Six String Sunday newsletter. These will rotate a little bit, and I have some super fun ideas, but we’re kicking it off with three new sections.
Turn This Up is an album recommendation. This is something I’m spinning nonstop that I just have to share with you guys. Sunday Sound Off is a question of the week that I’m thinking about, and would love to get your feedback on. And The Player’s Corner is a chance to feature your own rig in this newsletter. You can read more about each section below. Either reply to this email or comment on Substack what you think of the new stuff!
🔊Turn This Up
This week’s album recommendation is When Words Aren’t Enough by Dan Huff. The album was released on CD, vinyl and digital by Baked Alaska records - the same folks who released Tom Bukovac’s solo album, and the Bukovac/Trapp record as well. Huff is a legendary guitarist who’s worked with everyone from Michael Jackson to Taylor Swift (hundreds of songs). He’s been making the rounds on YouTube lately to go over his playing style, show off some of the famous riffs he’s worked on over the years, spotlight his gear collection and more.
On this solo album, you’ll find incredible melody, phrasing and tone. If you’re a fan of guys like Bukovac, David Grissom, or Shawn Tubbs, I feel like you’ll love this album. I don’t even have a singular track I think you should check out, because I think you need to listen to the full album. Dan doesn’t hit you over the head with his mastery of the guitar - similar to Bukovac, all the lead lines seem very focused on being vocal and intentional. Plus each song turned my ear because the guitar, and all the other musicians for what it’s worth, sound so good.
For the time being the album isn’t on streaming platforms, but you can buy it and support Dan by purchasing it on Bandcamp.
❓Sunday Sound Off
The first Sunday Sound Off! I wanted to start with a question that I think everyone could answer - What’s the one moment you knew you wanted to play guitar? Was it a family member, popular musician, a certain riff that made you dedicate your time to learning this amazing instrument?
It’s easy to reply - either reply right to this email or if you’re viewing the newsletter on Substack, send me a comment.
🏡 The Player’s Corner
OK, let’s talk about what the Player’s Corner is all about. I think it’s a blast to find out what’s working for other guitarists, so here’s my call out to you - reply and send me photos of your setup. It could be your guitar, amp and pedalboard. Heck, it could even be what DAW you’re using to record and your recording gear. It could also include things like apps that are making your life easier. Also, why do you like your setup and what’s your favorite piece of gear? If I get enough submissions I’ll feature them in an upcoming newsletter.
🔗 This Week’s Guitar Links!
10 Guitar Buying Hacks You Need to Know - Are you thinking about getting a new guitar? If you're subbed to this newsletter, that answer is likely a heck yes. Five Watt Wrold has a great guide that breaks down the “hacks” for buying a guitar. They cover everything from figuring out if you really need a new guitar 😊 to the often-overlooked “exit strategy.” Before you buy another guitar, make sure you watch this.
How to Get Out of a Guitar Rut - Isn't getting into a rut one of the most common guitar related things? Kerry Marshall lays out three easy ways to kickstart your playing. We're talking about shaking up your listening habits, tackling a challenging riff/lick, and completely flipping your practice routine on its head. What do you usually do to get out of a rut?
Wanna Work On Your Own Guitar? Here's What Tech Tools You Need - Stew Mac is synonymous with guitar tools. It’s cool that they worked together with Premier Guitar to talk about what items are essential for working on your guitar. From your basic measuring tools to screwdriver kits and more, if you’re looking to work on your guitars, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. Do you like working on your own guitar collection, or do you prefer to take your guitars to a tech?
100 More Riffs (A Brief History Of Rock N' Roll) IN ONE TAKE! - The awesome Nathaniel from Chicago Music Exchange, a 1958 Fender Strat, and one hundred riffs all in one take!? I love stuff like this. These videos also remind me of songs I haven’t listened to in a while. What was your favorite riff?
Brad Paisley Accidentally Found a $30,000 Guitar Under Black Spraypaint - Brad Paisley was the first guitarist that took me from “ugh country is the worst”, to “wow, there is a ton of country guitar that I love”. Now, I listen to a good deal of country and grab a lot of inspiration for my own playing from the genre. Paisley is exactly who Rick Beato had on his channel recently for an interview. The two talk about his unique style, why he loves the Telecaster, and a fun story about finding a $30,000 guitar that a previous owner had spray painted black - it turned out to be a 1968 Tele!
Masterclass with Ariel Posen - Anything Ariel Posen and teaching related is something I’ll always watch. Ariel recently sat down for an hour long masterclass with JustinGuitar. If you’ve already seen some Ariel videos before, you may have heard this advice already, but if you’ve haven’t, check out this video - it goes over things like what slide you should use, how to develop your fretting hand when playing slide, how to get that great vocal-esque legato sound and more.
How To Solo Over Chord Changes: Simple HACKS (But So Effective) - I love this video from Charlie Long. Videos about playing the changes seem to come out every week, but this one has some interesting ideas in it. Mainly, counting up to the 3rd and backwards to the 7th to find those money chord tones when you’re playing lead. One of the best videos of the week.
The Most Mysterious and BEAUTFIFUL Guitar Technique - HARP HARMONICS TUTORIAL like Eric Johnson - I can't remember where I first heard it - it probably was Vai or Satch, but I've always loved the magical sound of harp harmonics. This video unpacks the technique that allows you to create those ethereal, harp-style guitar textures. Cordy shows us the Eric Johnson-esque way of doing this. It's all about getting that 12 frets above action going - and one benefit you'll get from learning this technique is that you'll start to see notes past the 12th fret a lot easier.
Why you choose the wrong key (and how to avoid it) - Justin Ostrander is one of my favorite teachers on YouTube. He's deep into the Nashville scene, and in this video he makes the case that melody is king. Instead of relying on theory-based ideas like modes or scales, the Nashville approach is to listen to the melody to determine its tonal center and then selecting chords that best support it. This leads to a more musical flow when you're selecting chords. What are you typically thinking about when determining what key a song is in?
Fix Your Aimless Guitar Solos with the “String Method” - If you're tired of your solos sounding all over the place, you should watch this video from Andrew Clarke. Andrew introduces a helpful exercise called the "String Method" that takes "The Advancing Guitarist” ideas and presents them over a very Mayer-style sounding backing track. The secret? Focusing on hitting those important chord tones, but with a twist: staying on just one string at a time. It forces you to actually think about the theory of the notes, and not just noodle when taking a lead.
How Can Guitar Players ACTUALLY Believe This? - MusicIsWin has returned with a new video that debunks some absurd guitar claims. The video dives into some seriously wild takes - from whether guitar stores are dead (spoiler: they're not!) to the endless Strat humbucker debate. I also liked his opinions on natural finishes, Flying V guitars, and how high your strap should be. For what it's worth, I'm part of club keep 'em high. What'd you think about these opinions?
“More like a complete rig than ever before”: Kemper gives its Profiler lineup a much-anticipated upgrade – can the MK 2 range fend off fierce competition from Line 6 and Neural DSP? - It has been a minute, but one of the original big players in the amp profiling world is back. Kemper has updated their lineup with MK 2 versions of their profilers. There's a lot of updated processing, seamless switching, and apparently some amazing impulse responses. I'm a Fractal and Neural DSP guy myself, and I wonder if Kemper has waited too long. Not only do you have those brands, but you also have a myriad of others all looking to make guitarists use their option. What's your take?
From Chuck Berry to Eric Clapton and Slash, every player uses the minor pentatonic – here’s how you can leverage the guitar’s most-used scale in your own playing - Can we just step back for a second and all agree that the minor pentatonic is the undisputed king of scales? (sorry major scale, I still love ya!) Everyone from Clapton to Hammett, Slash to Wylde and more have used these five notes to create some amazing solos. This post from Guitar World digs into why it's so powerful and shows you how to truly master it. There's some great fretboard diagrams, tabs and musical examples. If you're new to the scale, this is a great place to jump in.
One More Satellite - Paper Over The Cracks (Official Video) - Honestly, what can’t Dean DeLeo do? If that name isn’t familiar to you, Dean is the guitarist in the Stone Temple Pilots. He’s also worked on a number of amazing records outside of the band. One More Satellite is a new project that’s digging up some decade old material with singer Pete Shoulder of the UK. Imagine sitting on great music like this for over 10 years? To me this sounds more like STP than the current iteration of the band. If you’re a fan of this type of music, you gotta check out this new single.
The 100 riffs video blew me away. So cool to hear one riff after another. An amazing amount of creativity.
When I was 10 years old I heard More Than a Feeling by Boston. That is the day I yearned to play the guitar.