The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

Richard Walter, curator for Phoenix, Arizona’s amazing Musical Instrument Museum, joins us on this week’s Fretboard Journal Podcast. We talk about his background, his role at the museum and, most importantly, about MIM’s current exhibit, The Electric Guitar: Inventing an American Icon. The exhibit, which closes on September 15, 2019, gathers a wide array of historic and legendary instruments, including Speedy West’s Bigsby (profiled in a recent Fretboard Journal) and guitars from Alvino Rey, Bo Diddley and Les Paul. This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases with special thanks to FJ presenting sponsors Carter Vintage, Martin Guitars and Gibson.   Want to support the show? Get a discounted one-year digital subscription to our magazine for just $30. 

Most guitarists have seen a StringBender installed on a Telecaster at some point. But on an acoustic? That’s a pretty wild concept. On this week’s podcast, we talk to two of the finest flatpicking guitarists around - Trey Hensley & Chris Luquette – about the StringBenders that will soon be installed as an upgrade option on Preston Thompson Guitars. These two Thompson artists talk about the feel of a StringBender-equipped dreadnought, describe how it changes their playing and much more. Midway through the call, we patch in the one-and-only Gene Parsons, the device's storied inventor. He tells us how the StringBender was developed (thanks to Clarence White's inspiration) and even lets us know about a rather historic Martin D-18 that now has a StringBender installed in it. Want to know more? Check out our video with Try and Chris here: https://youtu.be/0SYOSsy4p20 Get a digital subscription to the Fretboard Journal magazine here: https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/collections/downloads/products/fretboard-journal-digital-subscription-offer  This episode is sponsored by Roberto-Venn, Gibson, Carter Vintage and Martin guitars. 

“Keep an open mind about [wood]. We’re not going to have these resources forever, especially if we’re not careful about them.” –Jayne Henderson Jayne Henderson (EJ Henderson Guitars) joins us on this week’s podcast to talk about learning the craft of lutherie from her dad, Wayne Henderson. We also hear about her custom inlay work (and the thought process that goes into it); her affinity for sustainable woods (including oak); building a guitar for Doc Watson; ukuleles and much more. Mentioned on the podcast: The Luthiers Apprentice blog, the Hampton Brothers cut Red spruce; John Arnold’s oak guitar.  This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases with special thanks to FJ presenting sponsors Carter Vintage, Martin Guitars and Gibson.   Want to support the show? Get a discounted one-year digital subscription to our magazine for just $30. 

On this week’s Fretboard Journal Podcast, we sit down with Gibson CMO Cesar Gueikian. Cesar’s story is fascinating: Long before he began working for the legendary guitar company, he was a successful business person and self-professed Gibson fanatic. These days, he gets to combine his finance background with his love for all-things-Gibson and has been a big part of the new Gibson leadership. During the course of our candid chat, he walks us through the challenges Gibson faces, tells us about some of the new models he’s most excited for and much more. This episode is brought to you by Mono Cases, Roberto-Venn, Carter Vintage, Martin Guitars and Gibson.   Order the new Fretboard Journal 44 by clicking here.   

On this week's FJ Podcast, we talk to Paul Heumiller, founder of Dream Guitars. Dream Guitars is a highly-curated, online store featuring contemporary high-end, luthier-built acoustic guitars. At any time, they typically have over 100 new and pre-owned instruments from makers such as Wayne Henderson, James Olson, Leo Buendia and Jordan McConnell.  During this chat, Paul tells us about the current market for these  instruments, explains what he thinks separates a great acoustic builder from the rest and much more.  This episode is brought to you by Mono Cases, Roberto-Venn, Carter Vintage, Martin Guitars and Gibson.   Order the new Fretboard Journal 44 by clicking here.   

A bonus episode this week! The Fretboard Journal's Ryan Richter talks to dobro, lap steel and pedal steel composer and instrumentalist Mike Grigoni.  Ryan says, "In 2001, I had the good fortune of meeting Mike Grigoni on a Bainbridge Island beach. 'You gotta know this guy...' was the party line that day, and it was right on the money. Before departing Seattle, Mike and I collaborated on music, and though it never bore much tangible fruit, it was wildly informative for me. Mike's ample skill as a leader, accompanist, and composer was an invigorating force that's as much of an inspiration now as it was then. (When working on my own music, I often employ the 'what would Mike do here" postulate.')  Mike's musical journey has taken him from traditional Bluegrass to Ambient music, a swing that could be a mirror reaction to his shift in academic focus from Ethnomusicology to Ethnography, a subject on which he's currently writing his dissertation in Durham, North Carolina.    Grigoni's current release Mount Carmel is out now on Taylor Dupree's 12K label.

This week, we travel all the way to Nazareth, Pennsylvania to interview Fred Greene (Vice President of Product Management at Martin Guitars) and Tim Teel (Martin's Director of Instrument Design). The decisions these two individuals make have a huge impact on Martin's current (and future) guitar offerings. We chat about the behind-the-scenes process of making new Martin models, how Martin prepares for big unveilings like the NAMM Show, the influence guitar forums have on their output, the guitar-building community in general and much more. This insightful chat is easily one of our favorite conversations about the guitar industry we've had to date.   This episode is brought to you by Carter Vintage, Martin Guitars and Gibson.  Order the new Fretboard Journal 44 by clicking here. 

Bassist extraordinaire Tal Wilkenfeld joins us on the Fretboard Journal Podcast to talk about coming to the US to pursue music, opening for the Who and about the making of her new album, Love Remains. We also talk about her gear of choice, including her rather unique baritone guitar (built in part by Jackson Browne).  This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases. Like what we're up to? Consider subscribing to the paper or digital edition of the Fretboard Journal. 

Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter Jacob Miller joins on this week's Fretboard Journal Podcast. We talk about gear (including the lucky horse trading he did to get his cherished '40s Epiphone archtop), his debut album ('This New Home') and much more.  This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases.  http://www.jacobmillermusic.net  

Mandolin great Andy Statman joins us on this week's Fretboard Journal Podcast to talk about his new album, 'Monroe Bus,' taking lessons from David Grisman, the influence of Bill Monroe, finding tone and much more.  Portions of this interview can be found on the Fretboard Journal's online piece on Statman here: https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/interview-andy-statman-on-monroe-bus/ But Andy was so insightful during that conversation that we decided to run the whole talk as a podcast. We hope you enjoy it. This episode is sponsored by Mono.