For years I went back and forth between 9s and 10s on my Telecaster, always frustrated with both gauges for different reasons. 9s, although easy to bend, were just not as full sounding, and I had to be careful not to "overplay" them, as they really needed to be played with a light touch. 10s, while certainly fatter sounding, always felt a bit too stiff for my liking. There just seemed to be to much of a difference in tension between the two sets. Finally, a friend clued me into the 9.5-44 D'Addario set, and I found to be the perfect happy-medium between the 9 and 10 gauges.    

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

2023 Danocaster single cut in Duco red

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

Mirage compressor pedal

#askzac #guitarstrings  #daddariostrings

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In the summer of 1968, Fender released their most unconventional finishes to date, the Blue Flower & Paisley Red finishes. Available on only the Telecaster and Telecaster Bass, their striking appearance was made possible by a new product line from Borden Chemicals of Columbus, Ohio, "Cling Foil." This new "beautifully embossed" & "beautifully printed" foil was a product designed to go on refrigerators, tv-trays, cabinets, and boxes of all types to make them look more hip and modern. Somehow, Fender decided to take this existing product being sold in hardware stores and paint shops, and glue it to the front and back of their non-contoured Telecaster. Today we take a deep dive with an original 1968 Blue Flower Telecaster, and look at the differences between it and a standard Tele, detail the novel finishing process it required, and theorize as to why these are so much harder to find than their paisley brothers from 1968-69.

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The Blues Brothers movie was a blockbuster in the summer of 1980. Even with a 27.5 Million dollar budget, that's 102 million in 2024 money, it managed to make that back in a couple of weeks. A sequel was even being discussed, but plans were shelved when John Belushi passed away in 1982. Today we take a look at the impact of the movie on both viewers, and the careers of its musical stars, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, and John Lee Hooker. We also take a look at the guitars used in the film by Steve Cropper, and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. We end with a short lesson showing how to play Murphy's intro to "Sweet Home Chicago."   

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

1953 replica Telecaster

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


#askzac #bluesbrothers #stevecropper

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Today we look back at Delbert McClinton's 1989 Alligator Records release, Live From Austin. The year it was released, I was 16 and a drummer friend gave me this album on cassette, and I completely wore it out. Having not been exposed to much besides top-40 of the 1980s, and the contemporary gospel music of the day, The Texas Roadhouse music of McClinton was a revelation with its big, sweaty horns, incredibly tight rhythm section, and fine harp work. The band also featured the guitar work of David Millsap and Stephen Bruton, who brilliantly complemented each other with both their tones and parts. In a conversation with another Delbert veteran, James Pennebaker, I was clued into the fact that Bruton was sitting in with the band for the Austin City Limits TV taping that was also used as the audio for the "Live From Austin" album. Besides diving in on this wonderful album, we also take a look at the influence of the late great Stephen Bruton.

Amazon Link to album
https://amzn.to/3Vg7fW2

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/3G0J7CgCqslFZf9XMSimIj?si=zTuTt-_qRKWqIOwfToJ-8Q

Bruton playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6MSreKA4PmWffPtJ1wJoZ3?si=96fc6ab90856495d

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 #stephenbruton #delbertmcclinton 

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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.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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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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