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The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

Each week, the Fretboard Journal interviews some of our favorite musicians, instrument builders and historians.
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The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast
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Now displaying: October, 2023
Oct 25, 2023

Richard Walter, Senior Curator of Phoenix's incredible Musical Instrument Museum, joins us to talk about MIM's new exhibition, 'Acoustic America: Iconic Guitars, Mandolins, and Banjos.' This exhibit, running from November 10, 2023 - September 15, 2024, features a staggering array of legendary instruments owned by the likes of David Grisman, Elizabeth Cotten, Mississippi John Hurt, Earl Scruggs and others.  

Read all about it here: https://mim.org/special-exhibitions/acoustic-america/

Rich tells us about how he landed his position at MIM, how he and his team care for these priceless instruments, the guitars that are closest to his heart, and so much more. 

The Fretboard Journal is planning on having a meetup at MIM sometime in early 2024. Reach out to us at podcast@fretboardjournal.com if you'd like to join us. 

If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and consider joining the Fretboard Journal's new Patreon page.

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal: https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

Get a discounted digital subscription and get our 52nd issue immediately: 
https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/collections/downloads/products/fretboard-journal-digital-subscription-offer

Our podcast is sponsored by Mike & Mike's Guitar BarPeghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); and Stringjoy Strings (get 10% off your order with the FRETBOARD discount code). This episode is also sponsored by iZotope. Use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off off your Izotope order. You can also get 10% off your Native Instruments software at Native-Instruments.comwith code RUIN10. Some restrictions apply.

Oct 18, 2023

TJ Thompson and Folkway Music's Mark Stutman are two of the most respected authorities on Earth when it comes to the repair and restoration of 1930s and '40s vintage acoustic guitars. In this unforgettable session from the 2023 Fretboard Summit, TJ and Mark share some never-before-heard revelations from their decades of working on rare and collectible Martins and Gibsons.

During this conversation, you get to be a fly on the wall and hear two repair people at the top of their craft, geek out on the little details that add up. They talk about guitar rosettes, popsicle braces, bridge plates, neck angles, how wood ages, 1970s Martins, and so much more. It's a 90-minute masterclass on the minutia and magic found inside old instruments...and why it's so hard to make a new, luthier-built instrument sound "old." We hope you love it. 

Registration is now open for our 2024 Fretboard Summit in Chicago: https://fretboardsummit.org/

Links:

TJ Thompson: https://proluthiertools.com/
Mark Stutman: https://folkwaymusic.com/

If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and consider joining the Fretboard Journal's new Patreon page.

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal: https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

Get a discounted digital subscription and get our 52nd issue immediately: 
https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/collections/downloads/products/fretboard-journal-digital-subscription-offer

Our podcast is sponsored by Mike & Mike's Guitar BarPeghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); and Stringjoy Strings (get 10% off your order with the FRETBOARD discount code). This episode is also sponsored by iZotope. Use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off off your Izotope order. You can also get 10% off your Native Instruments software at Native-Instruments.com with code RUIN10. Some restrictions apply.

Oct 10, 2023

This is one of our favorite interviews to date: FJ contributor, guitarist, singer-songwriter and educator Adam Levy joins us for a very special interview about his new trio record, 'Spry,' his new book with Ethan Sherman ('String Theories') and so much more.

Adam recounts stories of growing up in California and watching his grandfather, George Wyle, serve as a musician and music director on TV shows. He talks about his first Hollywood session, taking lessons from Ted Greene, working alongside Norah Jones (and writing his first song, ever, for her), playing with Tracy Chapman, working at Guitar Player (and how his guitar once ended up on the cover of GP), working on 'Spry,' the art of titling instrumental tracks, and so much more. Adam also shares a bunch of insights from his new book with Ethan Sherman, 'String Theories,' which we can't recommend enough.

https://www.adamlevy.com/

https://stringtheoriesbook.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and consider joining the Fretboard Journal's new Patreon page.

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal: https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

Get a discounted digital subscription and get our 52nd issue immediately: 
 https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/collections/downloads/products/fretboard-journal-digital-subscription-offer

Our podcast is sponsored by Mike & Mike's Guitar BarPeghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); and Stringjoy Strings (get 10% off your order with the FRETBOARD discount code). This episode is also sponsored by iZotope. Use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off off your Izotope order. You can also get 10% off your Native Instruments software at Native-Instruments.com with code RUIN10. Some restrictions apply.

Oct 3, 2023

George Gruhn will need little introduction to most Fretboard Journal followers.

George is, quite simply, one of the most respected vintage instrument authorities in the world and the owner of Gruhn Guitars, one of the best guitar stores on the planet. So why, at the age of 78, did he want to take a stab at creating his own guitar line? "I want to have fun," he tells us. "And fun means designing new items, doing things that are meaningful... I did this because, while the world does not need more clones of Martin, Fender or Gibson, there is space for something that is new...but it needs to have a reason to exist."

On this week's podcast, we talk to Gruhn about these new guitars, which he's dubbed the Versitar line. We hear about how his guitar creations have evolved from the Tacoma instruments he designed decades ago; why he decided to build his own guitar factory in Lebanon, Tennessee; and why there may be more models coming...and a dealer network beyond his own store. We also hear about his favorite tonewood combinations on these instruments, his take on the vintage instrument market in 2023 and so much more. 
 
 
https://guitars.com/gruhn-versitar
 
 
I've spoken to Gruhn numerous times over the last 20 years and I've never heard him quite this excited. I hope you enjoy our chat.

Love our podcast and want to support it? Join our Patreon and get episodes ad-free along with bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal: https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

Get a discounted digital subscription and get our 52nd issue immediately: 
 https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/collections/downloads/products/fretboard-journal-digital-subscription-offer

Our podcast is sponsored by Mike & Mike's Guitar BarPeghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); and Stringjoy Strings (get 10% off your order with the FRETBOARD discount code). This episode is also sponsored by iZotope. Use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope order and check out the new updates for Ozone 11 and their vocal software, Nectar 4.

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