The Kings of Strings
Plus, Paul Davids compares 4 guitars from $400 to $60,000!
This week there’s so much going on in the guitar world - we have a new instructional book from Martin Miller, a new Paul Davids video that’ll make you think twice about guitar pricing/tone, Pete Thorn sits down with the guys at TPS, and IK Multimedia enters the ring with it’s $399 modeleing pedal.
Let’s get right into this week’s links!
All my favorite guitar links of the week
- COFFEE WITH JOHN PETRUCCI - Ola Englund sits down with one of his, and I'm imaging one of a lot of our favorite guitar heroes, John Petrucci. The two talk about everything from the early days of Dream Theater to video games, what Petrucci's practice schedule looked like, how to write solos, and a lot more.
- 5 Tips That WILL Break Your Guitar Playing Plateaus in 3 Minutes! - Want to shake up your practice routine? I think we all do from time to time. Sam Bell shows us 5 tips, ranging from metronome use and learning songs by ear, to one of my most popular tips - recording yourself! Also this week, Sam put out a helpful video with a simple way to combine an easy pentatonic pattern all over the neck. You can check that out here.
- Learn 5 Lydian chords that can add mood and atmosphere to your playing - In the latest edition of the 6SSC subscribers only update I talked about how I was getting back to focusing on modes this year. I was excited to see GW put out a post on the Lydian mode, and some chords you can construct from it. If you want to get into modes, focus on one a week and see how you can dream up new chords and lines from them.
- Martin Miller & Tom Quayle - Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix Cover) - Live at Guitar Summit 2022 - Both Martin Miller and Tom Quayle joined forces at last year's Guitar Summit, and put out an absolutely huge sounding version of Hendrix's “Little Wing”. If you haven't checked out Miller's other covers, head to his YouTube channel, and then be sure to check out his brand new modern rock guitar soloing book (affil link).
- SAME GUITAR, 4 BUDGETS! (Can you hear the difference?) - One of my favorite videos of the week comes from Paul Davids. He compares 4 similar Strats, but at very different price points - on one end of the spectrum is a 400 dollar Squier, and on the opposite end is an early 60's Strat that fetches 60 grand. I'm sure these guitars feel different to play, but audibly sounded so close to one another. What's your take?
- Pete Thorn At TPS! [Current Pedalboard, Suhr Sig & More] - Pete Thorn is a master of reviewing gear and making it sound great. Some of his demo songs could fit on a proper solo album (I'm still hoping for a Pete Thorn III album!) Pete hung out with the guys at That Pedal Show to talk pedals, his signature Suhr, and lots more.
- Jason Becker: His Complete 1990 "David Lee Roth" Interview (HD Audio) -
is one of my favorite fellow Substack writers. His back catalog of interviews is absolutely insane. He recently got permission from Jason Becker to put up this 1990 interview, during his David Lee Roth days. After releasing a solo album, and working with Marty Friedman, Becker was on his way to becoming a superstar. This interview is a little bitersweet, but I'm so glad Jason Becker is still with us.- Double J l The Kings of Strings | Tommy Emmanuel, Stochelo Rosenberg & Vlatko Stefanovski - I was lucky enough to see Tommy Emmanuel show up at the Grand Ol' Opry last year in Nashville. His skill in making an acoustic guitar always amazes me. Emmanuel, Stochelo Rosenberg and Vlatko Stefanovski got together for a new band, The Kings of Strings. If you're into gypsy jazz, check out this killer performance of the song “Double J”. You can pre-add the full ‘Live in Belgrade' album here.
- 5 Key Study Areas for Rockabilly Guitar - If you're into players like Brian Setzer, Rev Horton Heat, Eddie Cochran and other rockabilly legends, you should check out Adrian Whyte's channel. In his latest video, he gives us 5 areas you should focus on when studying this genre. I'm such a big fan of how his Gretsch sounds on this video. Also, even if you're not into this style of music, the study areas apply to learning guitar in general.
- Devin Townsend: “When you ask people about their favorite amp, the acceptable responses are always the cork-sniffin’ ones. If it’s an Axe-Fx, people go, ‘That’s sacrilege!’” - I got into Devin Townsend late (during his ‘Transcendence’ album), but I'm so glad I did. His song ideas and productions are always larger than life. Recently, Guitar World sat down with Devin to talk about his new album, drop tunings, and how fussy people get about digital amps.
- Bruce Springsteen launches his Telecaster across the stage – and accidentally hits his guitar tech in the head - Being from NJ, I kind of had to link to this one. Sometimes working for “The Boss” takes a painful turn. Hope Bruce's tech is OK!
- IK Multimedia Unveils the TONEX Pedal - There's a new kid on the modeling block, this time with IK Multimedia's new ToneX pedal. Not only can you model amps, cabs and pedals, you can also use this inside of your DAW as a plugin. We've been talking about this in the Chasing Sound Discord, and the biggest win we've been able to put forward for this pedal is its price tag - just $399! For its price point, I think this is going to be a great pedal for those looking to get started with modeling.
- New images of Marshall Blues Breaker reissue allegedly leaked - Speaking of gear, it's long been rumored that there would be a Marshall Blues Breaker reissue. Now, images are popping up all over the place of the pedal, its box, and more. I really hope we see this reissue come to light, because the original pedal sounded so good. We might see it as soon as the end of this month! Keep your eyes peeled to Marshall's website for more.
- Listen to Chris Shiflett’s "Banger" of a Single, “Black Top White Lines” - When he's not rocking with the Foo Fighters, Chris Shiflett's still busy with some solo work (check out his 2019 album 'Hard Lessons’). Shiflett just put out a new single which has a country rock vibe to it, and according to the post from Guitar Player features one of our favorites, Tom Bukovac as well.
Hey did you know, not only do I talk guitar each week, but I also teach it!
Try out a half an hour to see how much you can learn when you know the right things to practice. Whether you want to learn guitar, recording, mixing or more, I can help you out!