The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

Vintage guitar enthusiasts are quick to point out the differences between various makers, tone woods and construction techniques. But can you identify with just your ears what you’re actually hearing? That was the premise behind Matt Munisteri’s Blindfold Guitar Challenge at the 2015 Fretboard Summit. We assembled a variety of vintage instruments for Munisteri to play behind a thin curtain while the audience had to guess what they were actually hearing. This set features some great playing by Munisteri (who could make any guitar sound fantastic) and some thought-provoking commentary on the merits of various collectible instruments. At various points, Munisteri is also joined by Bill Frisell, Eric Schoenberg and Michael John Simmons. Though ran out of time before Munisteri could play through all of the guitars we collected backstage, we’re happy to announce we’ll be throwing the next Fretboard Summit October 14-16, 2016 at San Diego’s Rancho Bernardo Inn. With any luck, we’ll make the blindfold guitar challenge an annual tradition and have a whole new batch of vintage guitars for Munisteri to try out in California. Go to www.fretboardsummit.com for details and ticket information.

Luthier TJ Thompson returns to our podcast to tell us a bit about his new website, proluthiertools.com. On the site, TJ is selling some of the exacting tools and guitar parts he’s developed over the last few decades repairing vintage Martin guitars, including bar fret stock, belly and pyramid bridges and more. TJ also tells us about a few of the projects that have crossed his workbench recently, his use of technology in fixing old guitars and more. Whether or not you have an old Martin guitar or need these tools, it’s fascinating to hear about their development from one of the world’s finest luthiers. Some choice sound bites from TJ heard in this conversation:“The only thing I abhor more than self-promotion is advertising.”“[The California neck reset] is the only repair that I can’t really reverse.” “I thought I could just solve this problem up front before people glue the wrong bridges on with the wrong footprint.”“A lot of people think that you’re supposed to use a quarter sawn piece of wood for a bridge blank. Although it looks nice in that cut, they almost always split through the pin holes and eventually the saddle slot splits, too.”“It looked like Breaking Bad over here. I had my Walter White outfit on: The goggles, the gloves, the smock, the whole thing...” For more information, go to proluthiertools.com. Special thanks to our friends at D’Addario for sponsoring this episode.

For our 96th podcast, we talk to Josh Rosenthal of Tompkins Square records. In its first decade, Tompkins Square has released dozens of essential albums for guitar lovers, including the Imaginational Anthem series, records by E.C. Ball, Max Ochs, Roscoe Holcomb and others. On this podcast, we chat with Rosenthal about how this label started, his love for acoustic guitar music and why he decided to celebrate the label's tenth anniversary with a custom guitar commission from builder Trevor Healy. It's a fun chat with one of the true visionaries of the modern music industry.

Bridge plates, neck resets, refinishes… these are the issues that cause sleepless nights for many vintage guitar enthusiasts. On November 7, 2015 at the first Fretboard Summit, Mass Street Music’s Jim Baggett addressed some of these issues and many more during a panel discussion with Mark Stutman (Folkway Music), Jay Hostetler (Stewart-MacDonald), Richard Johnston (Gryphon Stringed Instruments) and Eric Schoenberg. During this 45 minute talk, the group discusses how guitar restoration has evolved over the years, some of the misinformation that can be found on guitar forums and how to best discuss repair work with your local luthier. Whether you have a priceless collection of pre-war Martins or just a ‘60s guitar that needs a little TLC, this is enlightening and unfiltered discussion with some of the true experts of the acoustic guitar world. Special thanks to PRS Guitars for being the Summit’s podcast and video sponsor. For more information on the Fretboard Summit, visit the Summit’s page here.

There is only one musician in the world who can sing the praises of bluegrass legend Don Stover, describe the merits of vintage Sunn amps and tell you that he’s working on a suite of 12-tone music for tuba and banjo all in one 20 minute conversation. That man is banjo legend and experimenter Danny Barnes. read more

For our 93rd podcast, we talk to Seattle musician Eli West, who is just about to wrap up a Kickstarter campaign to fund his first solo record. West is a prolific musician, perhaps best known for his work in Cahalen Morrison & Eli West. His forthcoming solo album features a host of guest performers, including Bill Frisell and Dori Freeman. We talk shop with West about the album, his background and also the acoustic and electric gear he’s been using both on the road and in the studio. Support Eli West’s Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1601033742/the-both-by-eli-west?ref=video read more

The first-ever Fretboard Summit was filled with magical music performances and informative lectures but one clear highlight was this session featuring Joe Henry and David Crosby discussing the art of record production. This candid, hour-long conversation started with Henry asking Crosby about If I Could Only Remember My Name One, but it quickly stretched far beyond that topic and hit upon inspiration, timelessness and the pitfalls that an artist can make inside the studio. They also fielded questions from some of the Summit attendees in attendance. read more

The term “living legend” gets tossed around a lot these days, but Seattle’s Michael Gurian certainly fits the bill. Gurian is currently in his 55th year of building instruments and instrument parts. Long before today’s boutique guitar movement, he was hand-crafting guitars for players such as Bob Dylan, David Lindley and Paul Simon. Today, Gurian helms a factory on a floating barge in Seattle where he and his small staff fabricate purfling, bridge pins and inlays for several well-known guitar makers. During this interview, he talks about his role in the lutherie community, his plans to build instruments again and his love for the oud. read more

Every time we check in with musician Julian Lage, he seems to have a cool new project brewing. For our 90th podcast, we talk to the ridiculously talented guitarist about his forthcoming electric guitar trio, his recent purchase of a Blackguard Tele, the recording of his stellar solo acoustic album World’s Fair and his plans for November’s Fretboard Summit. The Fretboard Summit takes place November 6-8, 2015 at the Costanoa resort in California and includes performances by Lage and Chris Eldridge, Bill Frisell, Blake Mills, Matt Munisteri, Bryan Sutton, Joe Henry and David Crosby. Tickets are selling fast but are still available at www.fretboardsummit.com/home

Most modern electric guitar builders focus on classic Fender and Gibson designs but Anthony Paine of Harvester Guitars is inspired by the unusual: Wandre guitars of the ‘50s and ‘60s and Travis Bean instruments of the ‘70s. On our 89th podcast, we talk to Paine from his Melbourne, Australia workshop to hear about his background in design, how he painstakingly makes aluminum-necked instruments and how social media has expanded his customer base. To see more of these unique, bespoke instruments, follow Harvester Guitars via their website, Facebook or Instagram.