Unlocking the Fretboard with Hybrid Pentatonics
Plus the 40th anniversary Dragon, CAGED Tips, and Duane Allman’s Guitars
Happy Six String Sunday! I’m putting the finishing touches on this week’s issue on Saturday, before heading out tonight to see Yngwie Malmsteen shred it up in my home town. Expect some photos in next week’s issue!
This week, we’ve got a bunch of great links - from hybrid pentatonic workouts and Nuno Bettencourt licks to insights on the CAGED system and the awesome history of Duane Allman’s guitars. Let’s get into this week’s links!
This week’s links!
Hybrid Pentatonic Scale Workout - The pentatonic scale is the bread and butter scale for tons of guitarists, including myself. Any lesson on changing these five notes is usually interesting to me. David from Late Night Lessons expands on the pentatonic with a hybrid scale, that includes a few chromatic notes. The scale is a great workout for your fretting hand, and also will give you a little fretboard visualization practice at the same time.
Does CAGED Help When Learning Songs? - Many people use the CAGED system to understand chords, scales, and notes all throughout the fretboard - but how does it help you when trying to learn a song? David Pots from Song Notes uses the classic "Scarlet Begonias" from the Grateful Dead to show how the system can allow you to choose tonal options by moving chords and licks all around the neck.
The PRS Private Stock 40th Anniversary McCarty Dragon - PRS just announced a 40th anniversary Custom 24, and the 40th Anniversary Dragon. Not only does the Dragon look like a piece of art, it also introduces new pickups and more. I loved hearing Paul himself talk about the guitar. If you want to go even further in depth, you should check out AMS' interview with Paul. I learned so much. And if you're just getting into the brand, you should check out this spotlight from Guitarist, where they talk about how the SE line is putting out some phenomenal instruments, at great price points (I can personally attest to this!)
The FASCINATING History of Duane Allman's Guitars - If you're an Allman Bros. fan, you should check out this video from Dylan Adams. He touches on the awesome history of all of Duane Allman's guitars. From Goldtops to SG’s, and his last guitar the ‘Hot Lanta’, this is a fun trip down memory lane. Side note, Derek Trucks who honored the legacy of the band while playing with them for years, is also one of the best slide players of all time. Guitarist came out with a short lesson on how to play slide in standard tuning. If you want to start playing slide, without fussing with your tuning, check this out.
Nuno's Crazy Lick Will Humble You! - I can always count on Robert Baker to put out a cool video on 80's shredders. This week's video covers an insane lick from Nuno Bettencourt. I know Nuno gets his praise every once in a while, and that definitely happened recently when everyone was talking about the “Rise" solo, but I still feel like he's underrated. In this video, Baker shows us a sick Nuno lick (with tab), that'll really challenge you.
The One Scale That Unlocks Soloing, Licks, and Phrasing - If you want to get a 10,000 ft. view of why the major scale is so important, watch this video from Kerry Marshall. He starts the video talking about the number system, and why using the major scale becomes somewhat of a template to see scales and more all over the fretboard. Seems like we have a lot of fretboard visualization links this week, which is great. You get to see the same concept taught from different angles.
“From January 2024 to now, we sold 334 units. I went after it, but it plummeted”: Why JHS Pedals is discontinuing Ross Pedals – just over a year after resurrecting the legacy brand - Interesting to see this behind the scenes look at just how hard it is to run a pedal company. JHS resurrected the Ross brand a few years back, but the interest for that series of pedals plumetted over time. Being able to hear what Josh is doing at JHS or Brian is doing at Wampler (via his podcast and videos), has been eye opening. Did you pick up any of the Ross pedals on this recent go around?
“An overdrive pedal this tiny is a bit ridiculous. Turns out, making it small also makes it pretty awesome.” Roughly the size of a nine-volt battery, the Cicada may be the world’s smallest effect pedal - You've heard about mini pedals, but what do we call pedals that are the size of a 9V battery?
Play FASTER and DESTROY TENSION! Here's How!!! - Ben is one of the best guitar teachers on YouTube. He always has a helpful lesson, nearly every time he puts out a video. This week's lesson is all about playing with last tension, and gaining speed in the meantime.
How To Pick FAST - Follow up Ben's lesson, with this video from Bradley Hall. He talks about playing in speed burts for a short amount of time to gain speed, rather than ramping it up over time. What've you tried in the past to gain speed on guitar?
Jared James Nichols “Simplicity Always Wins” | AMS Interview - I love linking to AMS interviews - for one I worked under Ryan Dacey who's one of the hosts in many of the interviews, but more importantly, I love the great questions the guys ask, and how funny and relaxed the interviews usually are. This one with Jared James Nichols is awesome!
Building Robben Ford’s Latest Pedalboard [For Autumn & Winter 2024 Gigs] - Dan from TPS builds a new board for the legendary Robben Ford! I loved hearing Dan's process behind putting it together, and all his great tips. Stay to the end to see Ford playing the rig.
Warren Haynes Performs “Terrified” and “Lies, Lies, Lies” LIVE at Sweetwater Studios - We talked about Warren Haynes' newest album in a previous issue. Check out two songs from that album, live from Sweetwater Studios