Ask Zac

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I bought a mandolin after seeing two of my favorite guitarists, Albert Lee & John Jorgenson play mandolin on TV in the early 90s. I loved the sound, and the real change of color and tone they offered the bands they were playing in by putting down their electric guitars and picking up the mandolin. Wanting to be like my heroes, I bought a mandolin and began a long and fruitful journey that I hope you too will consider going on. In this Ask Zac, I cover a few essential techniques for the guitarist to know when they begin playing mandolin, and some mandolin features to look for that make a huge difference in their playability for guitar players.

My Spotify Playlist for great Mandolin tracks
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/39b... #askzac #guitartech #mandolin

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Like most of you, I have been listening to a lot of music lately while stuck at home. With all of the "Top 10" lists, I thought I would list off the 10 albums that influenced me the most, and why.

The Albums:
Bob Wills - Tiffany Transcriptions Vol 5
Merle Travis - The Merle Travis Guitar
Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant - 2 Guitars Country Style
Elvis - The Sun Sessions
Chet Atkins - Mister Guitar
Buck Owens - I've Got A Tiger By The Tail
Merle Haggard - I'm A Lonesome Fugitive
Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign
Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner
Delbert McClinton - Live From Austin

Honorable additions
Lester "The Road Hog" Moran - Alive at the Johnny Mack Brown High School
Fabulous Thunderbirds - First Album
JJ Cale - Naturally
Willie Nelson - Stardust

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/18C... #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

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It might seem subtle, but it isn't. Tremolo before overdrive produces a much more interesting tone because the tremolo is fluctuating the amount of signal going into the overdrive so the sound is getting dirtier and cleaner as the signal goes up and down. It is amazing how much we take for granted what order we think effects should be in, and how we should really experiment to find out what we like better, instead of just doing what everyone else does. Along the way, I talk a bit about Pops Staples, and I also compare my 1965 Deluxe Reverb amp's tremolo with the Analogman modified Boss TR-2 on my board.

GEAR USED:
2019 Danocaster Blackguard (1953 Telecaster Style) with Ron Ellis 52T (Bridge) and Julian Lage (Neck)
https://danocaster.com/

Strings: Ernie Ball 10,13,16, 24, 32, 42. Made from singles I had. Nickel-Plated Steel. A non-pure nickel variation of the Rock-N-Roll set. 

1965 Deluxe Reverb amp with Celestion V30 speaker
effects used:
Mirage compressor pedal
Boss TR-2 Tremolo
Ibanez Mostortion
9v power via Truetone CS6  https://amzn.to/38S9rZK

If you want to get more into Pops Staples, read the Michael Ross "Forgotten Heroes" article devoted to him here: https://www.premierguitar.com/article... #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

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After my amp videos on the Deluxe Reverb and the Fender Harvard, I had a number of requests for a head-to-head comparison of them. I also answer questions about brass vs steel saddles on Telecasters, good Tele-type guitars at a reasonable price, under $3,000 option for a bender equipped guitar, and why Leo gave the Tele a square neck heel, and the Strat a rounded one.

GEAR USED:
2019 Danocaster Blackguard (1953 Telecaster Style) with Ron Ellis 52T (Bridge) and Julian Lage (Neck)
https://danocaster.com/

Strings: Ernie Ball 10,13,16, 24, 32, 42. Made from singles I had. Nickel-Plated Steel. A non-pure nickel variation of the Rock-N-Roll set. 

1965 Deluxe Reverb amp with Celestion V30 speaker
1959 Harvard with Jensen P10R

Axcess Electronics BS2 Buffer with isolation transformer (to deal with ground loop)
Live Wire (Guitar Center In-House Brand) ABY Switch (Copy of the Morley ABY)  https://amzn.to/3b4fZXi #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

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Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
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Venmo @AskZac 
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Ever since I heard "Rainy Night in Georgia," and I found out who the guitar player was, I have been a fan of Cornell Dupree. In this episode, I give a bit of history and show some of his playing techniques, such as sixth, 4th's, and double stops, and how his choice of strings probably influenced his bending and tone.

My Spotify Playlist for Mr. Dupree:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/39w...

Lesson book with some history by Cornell Dupree and Dave Rubin
https://amzn.to/2xSPzZT

Great article by my friend, Michael Ross, on Cornell
https://www.premierguitar.com/article...

Gear for this video
1967 Telecaster
1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion Vintage 30 speaker #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

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Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac
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For many years I had heard about Fender Rock-N-Roll strings, and how they were used by Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Cornell Dupree, Roy Buchanan, Jimi Hendrix, and many, many others. They were pretty much the standard for light gauge strings until Ernie Ball and D'Addario started eating up Fender's market share in the 1980s. I found out that the set was a strange gauge by modern standards (10,13,15,26,32,38) and that they were of different construction, having pure nickel wound strings, with round cores. Most modern wound strings are nickel-plated steel and on a hexagonal core. Fender stopped regular production of the set years ago, but I found that Pyramid made a "Jimi Hendrix" inspired set, that is to the exact specs of the old Fender set, and decided to try them. In the video, I start off with my regular D'Addario 9.5-44 set with nickel-plated steel/hex core wound strings, and then change strings on my 1967 Telecaster, and let you hear the difference.

Gear for this video
1967 Telecaster -
D'Addario XL120+ 9.5-44 strings https://amzn.to/3a5qxVi
Then switch to the Pyramid set mentioned above
1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion Vintage 30 speaker

Correction: There were 2 string factories in Battle Creek, MI. GHS, and VC Squier. Fender was supplied strings by VC, and then Fender bought them out in the early 1960s. The Fender String factory in Battle Creek was shuttered in 1981. Fender owned the Squier name and used this for a line of guitars starting in the early 1980s.

Pyramid "Jimi Hendrix" set
https://www.stringsbymail.com/pyramid...
#askzac  #purenickelstrings #telecaster

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At an early age, I fell under the spell of Steve Cropper watching the Blues Brothers movie. From there, I went back and became familiar with all of his incredible work with Atlantic, and Stax/Volt records with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T and MG's and many others. Through reading guitar magazines in the 1980's I first heard of this strange amp called a Fender Harvard. Fast forward to 2016, when I finally found and purchased a 1959 Harvard, and it became part of my small stable of favorite amps. In this episode, I give some history on both Cropper and the Harvard and demonstrate the unique sound that makes it, in my opinion, the best small tweed amp Fender ever made.


References:
Steve Cropper lesson book  https://amzn.to/39u0Dd3
The best history of Stax - Soulsville - https://amzn.to/3aAEATd

My Spotify playlist highlighting Cropper tracks where he used the Harvard amp
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ar...

Dave Hunter's Harvard amp article for Vintage Guitar Magazine:
https://www.vintageguitar.com/15163/f...

Gear for this video
1967 Telecaster -
D'Addario XL120+ 9.5-44 strings
1959 Fender Harvard amp
#askzac  #stevecropper #telecaster

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I love maple cap neck Telecasters, and I give you the why, and the history of these guitars that were only made in large quantities from 1966-1968. The maple cap necks began to appear after Fender switched from maple necks to maple necks with a separate rosewood fretboard in 1959. Holdouts wanted a maple neck, so Leo began to quietly offer guitars that had a separate maple fretboard. These "maple cap" necked Telecasters lack a skunk stripe on the back of the neck, or the walnut plug on the headstock. The earliest versions are from around 1962 and 1963. By 1966 they are standard issue, and are being produced in large quantities. In early 1969, Fender reverts to 1 piece maple necks with the skunk stripe, and the maple cap neck era is over.

Gear for this video
1967 Telecaster -
D'Addario XL120+ 9.5-44 strings
1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion Vintage 30 speaker
#askzac  #guitartech #telecaster

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I first played through a mid 60's Deluxe Reverb amp as a 13-year-old in South Texas in 1986. It took me over 24 years of wandering, but I finally came back to the Deluxe Reverb in 2010, and have been happy ever since. In this Ask Zac, I take you on my wandering through the tonal amp desert, that finally got me back to the venerable Deluxe Reverb, and also give some nitty-gritty info on how I set my amps, which tubes I use, and what type of speaker I prefer.

RESOURCE:
Here is a good description of important vs less important tube slots on Fender amps
https://www.kcanostubes.com/content/f...

#askzac #guitartech #telecaster

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Here is my take on the new La Brea Brad Paisley pickup set.

Gear Used:
2014 Crook Custom Vintage Paisley
http://www.crookcustomguitars.com/
Strings: D'Addario 9.5-44 strings EXL120+
https://amzn.to/3a5qxVi

Amp: 1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion V30 speaker
Cables: George L's. #askzac #guitartech #telecaster

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