The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

For this week only, we're sharing with you an episode of another podcast we produce... Acoustic Voices. Acoustic Voices is a collaboration podcast between the FJ and Breedlove Guitars, but it's just as eclectic and hype-free as everything we do. Our most recent interview for that show was with Lloyd Baggs, founder of LR Baggs. It's one of the best conversations we've had about guitars, inspiration and sound reproduction... and I wanted you all to hear it.  Lloyd explains a lifetime of tinkering and inventing, describes an  eye-opening experience he had with Ry Cooder's Takamine, recounts the ups-and-downs of perfecting pickups, and so much more. He's also building guitars again! (Longtime readers may remember the piece Andy Powers did for the FJ on Lloyd's one-of-a-kind guitar creations.) Acoustic Voices: A Guitar Podcast is an all-new collaboration between Breedlove Guitars and the Fretboard Journal magazine, can be found here:  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/21oZrV2fkDGZPPBnDGnx1g Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/acoustic-voices-a-guitar-podcast/id1547322420 Lloyd's photography:  https://www.instagram.com/lloydbaggs_theoriginal/?hl=en https://www.lrbaggs.com The Fretboard Journal's 48th issue is now available. Click here to read up on it and start your subscription. Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. And Breedlove! 

Tod Nelson was one of the first ten employees at Amazon. He started out packing books and, by the late 1990s, served as "punk rock editor" during the launch of that site's music store. After five years of working for the quickly growing company, he left and started a family on California's Central Coast. He'd eventually serve as the first executive director of Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Beyond his work life, Tod has been a lifelong guitarist and guitar collector with a passion for all-things-Gibson. He's also a survivor: In recent years, he's had not one but two lung transplants. Tod's love for music and musical instruments has helped carry him through his recovery, culminating in his most recent project: A Song A Day for Acoustic Guitar. He's teaching himself one new song a day for the entire year... and he's looking for suggestions on what tracks he should attempt next (his current repertoire is available as a Spotify playlist here). Feel free to shoot me suggestions for Tod via podcast@fretboardjournal.com. I've known Tod for over 20 years, but until this conversation, I had no idea just how important the guitar was to him or his recovery. I hope you enjoy this chat. It's unlike any other we've done to date. I hope you enjoy it. The Fretboard Journal's 48th issue is now available. Click here to read up on it and start your subscription. Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. 

You don’t need to be Jewish to appreciate the audacious project that guitarist Nathan Salsburg just pulled off: An album of vocal and guitar compositions created around passages he found in his copy of a bilingual Hebrew-English Book of Psalms. “I opened a Psalm book at random,” he says of his original writing exercise. “[I’d] find some English text that appealed to me… and then just start playing around with it. All the melodies are my own.” The resulting compositions he wrote on his Bourgeois acoustic were a far cry from the last time he heard many of these passages… at Jewish summer camp when he was a kid. Eventually, Salsburg recruited some of collaborators – James Elkington, Spencer Tweedy, Joan Shelley, and Will Oldham, along with Israeli singer Noa Babayof – to add their touches to the final album. It’s a record unlike any other that Salsburg has released to date and we thoroughly love it. Order Psalms here.  Two pieces of music referenced during the conversation: Jonathan Harkham and David Brook's Darcho (Bandcamp link) The Caretaker (YouTube link) The Fretboard Journal's 48th issue is now mailing. Julian Lage graces the cover. Click here to read up on it and start your subscription. Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. 

Chris Thile (Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek) joins us this week's Fretboard Journal Podcast for an introspective talk about the making of Laysongs, his new solo album. It's a project that has the groundbreaking composer/mandolinist meditating on themes of organized religion, god and church (he even recorded the project in a former Hudson, NY church). During out chat, we talk about the compositions found on the album, his vocal technique, Live From Here, and why even Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson F-5 mandolins aren't perfect as-is. It's a fun and insightful conversation with one of our favorite musicians.  https://www.christhile.com Originally recorded May 13, 2021.  The Fretboard Journal's 48th issue is now mailing. Julian Lage graces the cover. Click here to read up on it and start your subscription. Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. 

"Everything flows from the music." - Dana Bourgeois What happens when one of the world's most-loved domestic boutique acoustic guitarmakers joins forces with an expansive Chinese instrument maker? On this week's Fretboard Journal Podcast, we talk about just that with Dana Bourgeois, founder of Bourgeois guitars. We hear about how Bourgeois' partnership with Eastman Instruments transpired back in 2019, how the two companies currently collaborate on projects and even get the scoop on some soon-to-be-released instruments that Dana is designing. Lastly, we learn about the new transcontinentally-built Touchstone Series guitars, designed and voiced by Dana's Maine-based team, but largely built overseas. The result is an affordable take on the kind of The FJ is proudly offering a Touchstone OM prototype for sale on August 16, 2021 via this link: https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/collections/merchandise/products/fj-exclusive-bourgeois-touchstone-om Recorded June 10, 2021 via Zoom (sorry for the occasionally glitchy audio). The Fretboard Journal's 48th issue is now mailing: Click here to read up on it and order your subscription. Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. 

Maury Rutch, founder of Maury's Music, joins us this week for a candid talk about running an independent guitar store through a pandemic, his love for Martin guitars and his new short-form podcast (The Maury's Music Podcast). Rutch's story is a unique one: He left a factory job in the late '90s to sell bone saddles and guitar parts for Martins on eBay. Eventually, he added Martin accessories to his store's lineup and then, finally, the guitars themselves. Maury gives us a candid and honest peek at the ups-and-downs of running a guitar store, describes his perfect gigging Martin, plus a lot more.  Check out Maury's Music Podcast here: https://www.maurysmusic.com/podcast Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine here. Our 48th issue has begun mailing to all subscribers. Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing; Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. 

On today's Fretboard Journal Podcast, we talk to Scott Bass, co-founder of the forthcoming Headstock Guitar Lover's Festival, taking place November 6-7, 2021 in San Diego, California.  https://guitarloversfestival.com Scott tells us about his vision for the new show, the setting it'll be held in, some of the luthiers who have already signed on to exhibit, and a lot more. For years, Scott has produced events celebrating surfboard artisans around the world; it'll be fun to see his spin on what a guitar show looks like. Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine here. Our 48th issue mails this week. Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing; Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. 

The Fretboard Journal... Book Club? Today, guitarmaking legend Richard Hoover of the Santa Cruz Guitar Company joins us for a unique conversation about reading, reflection and empathy. He shares the two books he's reading now and invites listeners to submit questions, thoughts or reflections on the pair. We also learn about Richard's reading habits in general, his upbringing in California, how SCGC weathered COVID, the impact the scientific method had on his builds, and much more. It's a unique glimpse into the mind of one of the great acoustic guitarmakers of the modern era. The books Richard is currently reading: W.E.B Du Bois' 'The Soul of Black Folk' (Amazon link)  'The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi' (Amazon link) https://santacruzguitar.com If you have a comment on this show, reach out to us via podcast@fretboardjournal.com. Don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes, too. Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine here. Our 48th issue mails this week.    Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  Extra thanks to Calton Cases and Martin Guitars for sponsoring all that we do. 

A “labor of love.” That’s how Sam Plecker (Vista Kicks) describes Pulga Jams, the unlikely Beatles and power pop-inspired EP that he recorded during the pandemic while holed up in a resurrected California ghost town. During this week’s conversation, Sam describes his one-of-a-kind quarantine situation (and how it came to be), the gear he lugged into the historic Pulga, California school house that he converted into a recording studio (including a Silvertone Jupiter guitar, a 1961 Fender Deluxe, and a vintage Tascam 388 eight-track machine), his musical upbringing in Roseville, California and a lot more. It’s a fascinating chat with a young musician on the rise. Check out Sam’s EP here: https://withkoji.com/@SamPlecker?fbclid=IwAR0gjB7mC1uRYj6TWx1KpHr-GbP8Ab3VW56dYpEyJHZQxLklqAghNkXLjqk  Brought to you by Calton Cases and Martin Guitars.   Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine here.   Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.  

For our 328th podcast, we celebrate the music of Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence (1910-1984) and the forthcoming release of Encore: Unheard Recordings of Bahamian Guitar and Singing (out July 16, 2021 on Smithsonian Folkways). Recording engineer, musician and producer Peter K. Siegel joins us to talk about how he recorded these 13 tracks (both in NY and at Spence's home in Nassau), the unlikely guitar that Spence used (it's not what you think), and the music traditions of Andros that led to Spence's singular sound. We also get some advice on other Bahamian music to check out, learn how a former member of the Baha Men (yes, the "Who Let the Dogs Out" band) is trying to keep Spence's music alive, and hear about Siegel's recording session with Doc Watson. It's a great chat.    Go to fretboardjournal.com to hear four tracks from 'Encore' here. Pre-order the album here or via Bandcamp.   Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine here.   Don't forget, we now host an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing;Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.