Ask Zac

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Nashville is a "Telecaster-Town," a common phrase bandied about, and many will stress the  importance of Tele ownership if one wants to work as a pro guitarist in Music City.  Surprisingly, the Tele did not immediately earn this status the day Leo Fender introduced the Broadcaster in 1950. In fact, it took more than a decade after its release before it became an essential for 615-area session men. The trailblazers of the Tele include, Jabo Arrington, Billy Sanford, and Fred Carter Jr, though lesser known names, they made both the sound and the playing techniques associated with it Nashville essentials. 

A major sub-plot of this story takes place in Shreveport, LA, where Billy Sanford & Fred Carter Jr, along with James Burton, and Roy Buchanan were all performing and hanging out together in the late 1950s. Together, these players forged a style based around the use of the Telecaster, and utilizing a mix of Delta Blues, Rockabilly, Western Swing, and wild string bending allowed by their shared use of banjo strings.   

Jabo Arrington article from VG mag
https://www.vintageguitar.com/40127/jabo-vince-and-broadcaster-0048/

Strings: 
D'Addario NYXL 95-44
https://amzn.to/41rnl0V

2023 Headstrong Lil' King with 12" Eminence GA-SC64 speaker
https://headstrongamps.com/lil-king-amp


#askzac #telecaster

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A discussion with my friends, JD Simo, and Dan "Danocaster" Strain about how they set pickup height on Telecaster type guitars. The discussion begins with a look at Simo's 2nd Danocaster, and how he had just changed the pickups to a set of Budz 58s, that then evolves into a discussion on pickups as JD adjusts his new instrument. We also discuss pickups that favor harmonics over fundamental tones, and how JD and I love our Headstrong Lil King amps.

2023 Headstrong Lil' King with 12" Eminence GA-SC64 speaker
https://headstrongamps.com/lil-king-amp

Danocaster Guitars
https://danocaster.com/

#askzac #jdsimo #danocaster

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Today we look at forgotten R&B guitar greats Chips Moman, Tommy Cogbill, Booker T. Jones & Joe South. They each played on huge hits, yet are rarely hailed, and worse yet, many times their parts are credited to other players. We right this wrong by looking at Chip's part on "Respect," Tommy's on Seesaw," Booker's on "I Forgot To Be Your Lover," and Joe's work on "Chain Of Fools." 

CORRECTION Estelle, not Mae Axton founded STAX.

Playlist Chips Moman, Tommy Cogbill, Booker T. Jones & Joe South
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6m3jIsJDPv2YsxJaMDfZ23?si=b85ionyPTBekDoX20wYf0w&pi=u-fPRZ8oNKTjCz

1967 Fender Telecaster - stock except for compensated saddles. Refret by Nick at Glaser Instruments

More on the 1967 Maplecap Tele
https://youtu.be/K62c9ycOTlU

Amp:
2023 Headstrong Lil' King with 12" Eminence GA-SC64 speaker
https://headstrongamps.com/lil-king-amp

Strings: 
D'Addario NYXL 95-44
https://amzn.to/41rnl0V

#askzac #r&bguitar #telecaster

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Tips and tricks to help you unlock a wider array of tones from your Telecaster. We look at a combination of picking hand placement, and some counter-intuitive pickup choices to create a wider array of sounds from the simple 2-pickup Tele. 

Rosanne Cash performing "500 Miles" with John Leventhal on guitar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_XgghFZt1o

#askzac

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Today's episode features two legends of the Nashville music scene, Joe Glaser and Steve Wariner. Glaser's innovations include a neck plate mounted bender system, 3-pickup Tele-style builds, Plek fret leveling and nut cutting technology, Music City Bridge hardware and tool supply, and running the world-respected Glaser Instruments repair shop in Nashville. Steve Wariner is one of the most acclaimed singer/songwriters & guitarists to ever hit Music City. The 4-time Grammy Winner formed a guitar style using two Glaser Bender-equipped guitars, a Strat-style with beautiful neck inlays, and a red 3-pickup Tele. Both instruments became closely associated with Wariner via the many public appearances, videos, and photos featuring them. Today Joe and Steve discuss the inspiration and creation of these instruments, and how their collaboration helped shape their careers.

We also look at Jeff Senn's painstakingly made copy of Steve's red 3-pickup Tele that was made for Wariner to fly with when he wants to leave the original at home.

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If you play gigs with an electric guitar, you have most likely been told to "turn it down" multiple times in your performing career. To help you address this common problem, we look at a variety of methods for dealing with electric guitar volume, including the pros and cons of each. These include turning the amp around, having the amp behind the stage, using plexiglass shields that reflect sound, and the use of sound-absorbing baffles.

Speight Baffles
https://www.speightbaffle.com/

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Albert Lee shares the background and process of recording Emmylou's seminal Luxury Liner album released in December 1976. From the gear he used, to how the musicians were presented with the tunes before recording. This was taken from an informal discussion backstage with Albert at London's O2 arena.

#askzac #albertlee #emmylouharris

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Nacho Banos, the patron saint of the Telecaster, compares a 1950 Broadcaster and a 1953 Telecaster backstage at a Brad Paisley concert in Zurich, Switzerland. He takes us fully down the rabbit hole comparing electronics, finish, screws, neck shape, and everything else you can think of.

To dive deeper on this subject, check out Nacho's amazing Pinecaster Book.
https://pinecasterbook.com/

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My first memory of seeing a guitar in person was seeing a Buck Owens “American” guitar leaning against a couch at a neighbor’s house while visiting my grandmother in the mid-1970s. Soon after seeing it, I understood its significance by seeing Buck play an identical one on the Hee Haw television show. Later, via the influence of Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, and the Desert Rose Band in the 1980s, I would dig back and start listening to all of the great albums that Owens made through the 50s and 60s that in turn influenced my heroes. Through the years, I kept looking for one, but one was never up for sale nearby, as I really wanted to see what this Harmony-made mail-order guitar was like. It wasn’t until recently that I was able to test out and acquire one of these red, white, and blue beauties from one of the fine chaps at Glaser Instruments, and I was able to finally join the “Buck Club.” This of course threw me down the rabbit hole of finding out everything that I could online from sites like SilvertoneWorld.Net and even calling up Buckaroo Jim Shaw, who continues to run Buck’s Crystal Palace club in Bakersfield, CA to get the full low-down on the story behind it. And though Owens is certainly the star here, I have to give Pat Smear of Nirvana, and the great Ryan Adams credit for their role in raising the “cool” factor on these crazy 70s creations. To close the episode, I share the story that Jim Shaw shared with me that they sold hundreds of warehoused versions of the Buck models to cover their expenses during the pandemic. It was hard for me not to see this as Owens working things out from beyond the grave. 

Special thanks to Buckaroo Jim Shaw, and Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace.
www.BuckOwens.com

Also for the wonderful information gathered from Silvertone World.
https://www.silvertoneworld.net/acoustic/1219buckowens/1219_Buck_Owens_American.html

#askzac #buckowens #buckowensamerican

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One of my Patreon members offered to send me his PRS NF-53 to check out, as he was curious as to my take on Paul Smith's version of a Tele-Style guitar. Being both a Telecaster fan, and having a great appreciation for Paul's high level of fit and finish, I said yes to his proposition. The NF-53 is quite a well-built, and well-thought-out instrument, and while not truly traditional, it does offer features that would make it incredibly useful for those who are adverse to the vintage-style Telecaster family.

Thank you to Jesse.

2023 Paul Reed Smith NF-53

1965 Deluxe Reverb with a WGS ET65 speaker

#askzac #prsnf53

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