Ask Zac

To Support the Channel:
https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

Spotlight on the greatest unknown Memphis guitarist, Clarence Nelson. He was a major influence in both style and tone on Steve Cropper, Reggie Young, and Chips Moman. Clarence was an African-American guitarist who worked with bandleader, Ben Branch, and from there influenced the younger players that saw him live, or watched him in the studio on early Stax, American, and Hi/Royal sessions. Nelson also toured with both James Carr and William Bell in the 60s and 70s. He should be credited as an early adopter of the Telecaster in Memphis, and how he paved the way for others with his funky low string licks, and stuttering bends.

Much thanks to Red Kelly's excellent detective work on Clarence which can be found here.
http://souldetective.com/case8part1.html

Also, check out my interview with Reggie Young where we discuss Clarence Nelson later in the video
   • Reggie Young | Tr... 

Michael Ross mentioned Clarence in his piece on Reggie
https://www.premierguitar.com/artists...

Gear Used:

1957 Fender Esquire with an added vintage neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Rewind of bridge pickup by Ron Ellis.

Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46 Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3uD1WnZ

Pick:
D'Andrea Medium-Heavy

Amp:
2021 Fender Vibro Champ Reverb

Effects used:
amp verb

#askzac #guitartech #telecaster

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

The pick is how many of us strike the string and create a sound with the guitar. Like most of you, I have been on a pick journey for many years, and I must say an enjoyable one, as most picks cost a dollar or less. The pick we choose makes a huge difference in our tone, and also changes the way we feel and experience the guitar. Today I walk through the various picks that I have used over my 37-years of playing the guitar. What made each one good, but also why I moved on. I end on my favorite pick, a celluloid Medium-Heavy pick made by one of the original pick makers, D'Andrea. 

These guys have some of the D'Andrea MH .84 picks

https://www.stringsbymail.com/dandrea...

Gear Used:

1957 Fender Esquire with an added vintage neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Rewind of bridge pickup by Ron Ellis.

Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46 Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3uD1WnZ

Pick:
D'Andrea Medium-Heavy

Amp:
1964 Vox AC10

Effects used:
MXR M300 Reverb on the Spring setting

#askzac #guitartech #guitarpicks

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

I have gotten numerous questions over the past 2-years about the Ask Zac theme. Here I show both how to play it, and the story about how it came about. I touch on the hand pain issues I have dealt with over the past 3 years, and how the theme came about as a way for me to both strengthen my hands, and be musical.

Here is a link to the tab
https://www.askzac.com/post/ask-zac-t...

Gear Used:

1957 Fender Esquire with an added vintage neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Rewind of bridge pickup by Ron Ellis.

Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46 Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3uD1WnZ

Pick:
D'Andrea Medium-Heavy

Amp:
2021 Fender Vibro Champ Reverb

Effects used:
amp verb

#askzac #guitartech #telecaster  #guthrietrapp

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

Anyone playing Delta-Blues with deep tremolo, whether on an album or as frequently used in soundtrack work, owes much to Pops Staples's groundbreaking guitar style. His spooky and tremolo-soaked guitar set the mood for the Staple Singers brand of Gospel and Protest tunes that put them on the map in the 50s and 60s. In this episode, we take a look at his upbringing in the Jim Crow south, and how he moved to Chicago to find better opportunities for his family. In this episode, we look at both the incredible musical influence that Pops had and also how his guitar work was sadly hidden away to pave the way for their Stax R&B hits.

Spotify Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4dX...

More great info on Pops from my friend Michael Ross
https://www.premierguitar.com/artists...

Amazon link to Greg Kot's book on Mavis and the Staples  https://amzn.to/3is2HJz

1957 Fender Esquire with an added vintage neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Rewind of bridge pickup by Ron Ellis.

Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46 Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3uD1WnZ

Pick:
D'Andrea Medium-Heavy

Amp:
2021 Fender Vibro Champ Reverb

Effects used:
amp verb and tremolo

#askzac #guitartech #telecaster  #popsstaples

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

In a recent Livestream, I was asked if there was any certain piece of gear I was looking for, and I responded that I would love to find a good old (1930s-50s) acoustic guitar. I then followed with that I was not in a position to afford something like that, and someone mentioned Baxendale Conversions. I found that Scott Baxendale takes old Kay, Harmony, Silvertone, and Regal acoustics from the 1940s-1960s, and converts them into instruments that are scarily similar to same era Gibson and Martins. In today's video, I lay out what Scott Baxendale does to these vintage budget instruments to make them take flight with much greater volume, tonal range, and much better playability. In the video, I am playing a 1950s Kay, that has been converted into an 8-string mandocello, but I hope to find a 6-string conversion soon.

Gear used in this video:

2021 Baxendale Mandocello conversion of a 1950s Kay acoustic.


#askzac #guitartech #telecaster

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

When LEGO released their Fender Stratocaster and Princeton Reverb amp set, my childhood and adult obsessions collided. As a child, I was given LEGO sets for Christmas and birthdays throughout the late 70s and early 80s. By 1985, I was 13 years old and had switched gears from LEGO to the guitar, so the little bricks went into the attic for close to 20 years. When my children were born, the LEGOs came out of hiding, and I began to enjoy building with my kids, and recently began getting sets of my own like the UCS Snowspeeder, and Slave I. With the release of this LEGO/Fender collaboration, my obsession with building bricks and electric guitars collided head-on.

Amazon affiliate link to the Fender Stratocaster LEGO® Ideas Fender® Stratocaster™
https://amzn.to/3s64Ksp

#askzac #lego #fender #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

In this episode, I walk through the process I use for stringing, stretching, and tuning on a vintage-style Telecaster. These methods are geared towards Telecasters with split-shaft tuners and 3-saddle bridges. These methods were learned from gurus like Joe Glaser, Dan Erlewine, and Lindy Fralin, and during my tenure as Brad Paisley's guitar tech. 

I cover the following:

1. Importance of winding as little string as possible on the tuner shafts.
2. How to lock unwound strings in place on vintage split-shaft tuners.
3. How to fix a saddle with a burr, causing the "sitar' effect.
4. Why you should be conservative with nut lubricant.
5. How to stretch the strings to promote tuning stability.

Amazon affiliate link for D'Addario NYXL 10-46 strings
https://amzn.to/3uD1WnZ

#askzac #guitartech #telecaster

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

Being a huge Bass 6 fan, there are 2 major types, the Danelectro and the Fender. And of course, being fully immersed into the "sickness" I had to finally have one of each. In today's episode, I look at the strengths and weaknesses of both designs. Not really a shootout, but more of a look at which might be more suited to you, unless of course you are like me and need both types.

Gear for this video:

2000 Danelectro Hodad Bass 6 Baritone six-string bass
2018 Squier Bass VI

Strings:
La'Bella flat wound BassVI - Amazon affiliate link -  https://amzn.to/3rvJY57
Ernie Ball Bass 6 strings round wound - https://amzn.to/34z5exR

Pick:
D'Andrea Medium-Heavy

Amp:
1964 Vox JMI AC10 with 12" Celestion Blue Alnico Speaker in a custom cab built by Kyle Bollendorf.

Effects used:
Boss RV-2
Analog Man Sunface 2N Fuzz
Amp tremolo

six-string bass baritone guitar tic tac

#askzac #guitartech #telecaster #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

One of the biggest questions you should ask yourself when setting up in a room is "How should I position my amp for the best tone?" This is the struggle of every guitarist, as they strive to get a good tone to inspire themselves, and hopefully put on a better show. In this video, I explain a number of key positioning and baffling concepts that will help you get great sounds, and will hopefully keep the soundman happy too.

Here are some of the issues addressed:

1. Multiple ways to baffle your amp depending on how much reduction is required
2. Pros and cons of the amp on the floor.
3. leaning back the amp.
4. Turning the amp around.
5. Amp on a chair to hear yourself better, and reduce low-end rumble
6. What to do in an overly reverberant room

1957 Fender Esquire with added vintage neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Rewind of bridge pickup by Ron Ellis.

Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46

Pick:
D'Andrea Medium-Heavy

Amp:
1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion Vintage 30 speaker, and bright cap clipped on the vibrato channel.

Effects used:
amp verb and tremolo

#askzac #guitartech #telecaster #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

Support the show

To Support the Channel:
Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
Venmo @AskZac 
Or check out my store for merch  - www.askzac.com

Duane Allman wasn't always a Gibson/Marshall guy. In today's episode, we cover the era while he was with the Allman Joys, The Hourglass, and his much-celebrated session career in Muscle Shoals. During this era, he mainly played a Telecaster with a homemade fuzz unit attached to the instrument, or a Strat with a Fuzz Face through Fender amps. It is also during this time period that he saw Jesse Ed Davis playing slide with Taj Mahal, causing him to pursue slide with a vengeance.

Gear for this video:

1957 Fender Esquire with added vintage neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Rewind of bridge pickup by Ron Ellis.

Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46

Pick:
D'Andrea Medium-Heavy

Amp:
1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion Vintage 30 speaker, and bright cap clipped on the vibrato channel.

Effects used:
amp verb
Analogman Sun Face 2N Fuzz

#askzac #duaneallman  #telecaster

Support the show