The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

Richard Smith is one of the most impressive fingerstyle guitarists alive today. For our 52nd podcast, Smith stops by the FJ offices to talk about his unique upbringing, meeting hero Chet Atkins for the first time and his career today. At the end of this podcast, you can hear Smith perform a beautiful version of "Cheek to Cheek" on his signature model Kirk Sand guitar.

In the 1930s, Nationals and Dobro-branded guitars often featured a “frosted duco” finish, the result of applying a unique lacquer would seemingly crystalize on the instrument. The guitar finish equivalent of tie-dye, no two of these frosted duco finishes looks alike, but nearly every surviving example is gorgeous. Around 1937, National stopped using the finish altogether and it was quickly relegated to guitar geek history. Seattle-area guitar collector Rik Besser has spent years perfecting his own version of "frosted duco" and is now the go-to guy for these finishes. On this week's podcast, he explains his process and tells us about some of the new projects he's currently working on. 

For over a decade, Portland, Oregon’s Nial McGaughey has made a name for himself creating audiophile-grade guitar cables with his company Solid Cables. He’s also been not-so-quietly hard at work making and repairing guitar amps. On today's podcast, we talk to Nial about his various projects, how he got started, his "recycled" amps and much more.  http://www.hovercraftamps.com

Over the course of his 39 years as a luthier, Tom Ribbecke has become one of the world's great archtop guitar builders and a tireless educator, promoter and spokesperson for the world of hand-built instruments. Sadly, Ribbecke may soon lose the legendary workshop, teaching facility and home that he occupies in Healdsburg, California. On this week's podcast, we talk to Ribbecke about his vision for saving the property and transforming it into a center where luthiers can share their knowledge and elevate the craft of the guitarmaking even further. He describes a couple of ways guitarists can help him: by pre-ordering one of the Final 25 series of guitars that he will be building to a customer's specs or perhaps by joining him as a partner on the entire facility. Ribbecke only has about a month to secure the land and realizes that it's a long shot, but he's confident that someone may want to be involved in this unique endeavor.   Ribbecke likens the area around Healdsburg -- and all of the talented luthiers working nearby -- as the modern day Cremona of guitars. We here at the FJ hope his vision for world class center for lutherie comes to fruition. For more information on Ribbecke, his guitar creations or the Halfling model he invented, check out his site here. Or watch some of the many YouTube clips from the reality show based around his instrument company, Guitar Planet. And look for a feature on Ribbecke in a future issue of The Fretboard Journal. Update: There is currently a Kickstarter campaign to help create the Ribbecke Center for Stringed Instruments. As of March 5, 2012, over $25,000 has been raised but there are still many worthy rewards available in exchange for donating.  Background music is by Michael Chapman, from the newly reissued Rainmaker album. 

For the last few years, Char and Gordon Mayer of Mya-Moe Ukuleles have combined creating stunning ukuleles with an interesting business model. They hope, quite simply, to be the Collings or Benedetto of high-end, American-built ukes. In this week's podcast, we talk to the couple about how they got started making ukuleles, the incredible growth their company has seen in just a few years and just how they get ukes into the hands of some of the music world's biggest artists. In addition to being used by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder (who will be appearing on the cover of Fretboard Journal #24), Mya-Moes have been embraced by Dave Matthews, Florence & the Machine, Ben Harper and Trey Anastasio (Phish), to name a few. It's an interesting half-hour talk with one of the ukulele world's newest makers.

From his home in Louisville, Kentucky, we talk to guitarist and music historian Nathan Salsburg. By our count, Salsburg has released two of the best instrumental acoustic guitar albums of 2011: Avos, a duet record with James Elkington, and a solo album entitled Affirmed.  We chat with Salsburg about both records, the guitars he used on these projects and his unique day job, working for the Alan Lomax Archives. We also discuss some of his favorite guitar players, including Nic Jones (featured in the Fretboard Journal #21) and E.C. Ball (a huge influence on luthier/player Wayne Henderson). It's an interesting half-hour chat with one of the guitar world's rising stars.

"My days are very busy," pickup maker Seymour Duncan says with a laugh. It's no understatement. In addition to running one of the largest pickup companies in the musical instrument industry, Duncan is also serious about photography, the prehistoric art of flint knapping (he's on the board of the Stone Age Institute) and, of course, playing guitar. In addition, he still winds pickups for celebrities and average joes alike. Duncan has just released his first album on iTunes, simply called Seymour. It's an homage to some of his favorite guitarists and musicians over the years. "Whipped Cream" is his take on the tones of Eric Clapton; "Rincon Point" is a surf track; "Ice Pickin'" is for Albert Collins; "Mood for Jeff" is dedicated to Jeff Beck... and so forth. The album came about after Duncan purchased and began experimenting with a Pro Tools rig. When friends in the industry started to hear about his recordings, they sent Duncan additional gear and software. Eventually, with producer Doug Scott, he recorded around 30 tracks. Half of those made it on the 14-track album. "It just turned out really incredible," he says. "It's a very eclectic CD."  In this week's podcast, we hear more from Duncan about the album, his favorite artists over the years, those early days he spent at the Fender Sound House in London working alongside rock stars and more. It's a 45 minute talk with one of the guitar industry's living legends. 

Portland, Oregon's Eric Skye may be too humble to consider himself a great guitarist, but anyone who has heard this wonderful improviser in action would beg to differ. On this week's podcast, we talk to Skye about his early years playing music (including the job he held cleaning fish tanks so that he could pay for guitar lessons) and the music that inspires him today. We also hear about his new Santa Cruz signature model 00-sized guitar, which features many subtle refinements over the classic Martin design. All-told, it's a great 30 minute interview with one of the Pacific Northwest's best acoustic talents. 

With a name like Jonny Corndawg, you can guess that this week's podcast guest is going to be a unique one. And Mr. Corndawg does not disappoint. He's a quirky singer-songwriter influenced by artists such as Roger Miller, Michael Hurley and Jerry Reed. In this 20-minute interview, Corndawg walks us through his career as a musician and explains some of his stranger hobbies, including hand-tooling the leather that adorns his Telecaster and his hilarious attempt to bootleg his own album in India. He also tells us about the Givson (no, that's not a typo) archtop that he's currently touring with. All-told, it's one of the more humorous FJ podcasts and one of our favorite up-and-coming artists.

Bill Frisell is one of the most original guitarists alive today. His guitar tone is unmistakable, regardless of which instrument he's playing and his music blurs the boundaries of jazz, free-improv and Americana. In this week's podcast, we talk to Frisell about his latest project, All We Are Saying, an album composed entirely of John Lennon compositions. We also ask him about his ever-growing instrument collection, how he decides on his gear during a session, his writing process and much more. It's a 30-minute conversation with a true music maverick.