Gear for Guitar

We are back, after a bit of a sabbatical. Join Matt as he interviews Chris Kroenlein, the guy behind K-Line Guitars. Chris shares with us his background, the different models K-Line offers, what makes a K-Line a great guitar, the build process, his view on relicing, and much more.

This is Part 6 of our Montreal Guitar Show Series, a series of interviews Derek Dodson and Matt conducted during the MGS. Today, we have our last three interviews. We start out with Claudio Pagelli, the great Swiss archtop builder. Then Derek interviews Sheldon Dingwall, who’s extremely well known for his basses and has started building guitars again. And last, but definitely not least, we are joined by the acoustic luthier Mark Blanchard. Not only does Mark build wonderful steelstrings, he also builds classicals and archtops. As with the previous interviews, all three of these were conducted right in the middle of the show. So, there is a lot of noise—people talking, guitars playing, and Cappuccino machines rumbling. We apologize for any difficulty with the sound quality.

This is Part 5 of our Montreal Guitar Show Series, a series of interviews Derek Dodson and Matt conducted during the MGS. Today, we have another of the electric guitar rock star makers, Chuck Thornton from CP Thornton Guitars, Principals Alexander Calorasi and Gavin Scott from the new and innovative electric guitar company, Alexander James Guitars, and Classical & Flamenco luthier, Jeremy Clark of 52 Guitars. As with the previous interviews, all three of these were conducted right in the middle of the show. So, there is a lot of noise—people talking, guitars playing, and Cappuccino machines rumbling. We apologize for any difficulty with the sound quality.

This is Part 4 of our Montreal Guitar Show Series, a series of interviews Derek Dodson and Matt conducted during the MGS. Today, we have four excellent interviews-- amazing electric builder Nik Huber, premier acoustic builder Kathy Wingert, Jason Verlinde, the publisher of the Fretboard Journal, and Marc Lupien of XXL Guitars. As with the previous interviews, all four of these were conducted right smack dab in the middle of chaos. So, there is a lot of noise—people talking, guitars playing, and Cappuccino machines rumbling. So, we apologize for any difficulty with the sound quality.

This is Part 3 of our Montreal Guitar Show Series, a series of interviews Derek Dodson and I conducted during the MGS. Today, we have famed luthier George Lowden, one of Matt's heroes. Archtop builder Peter Hopkins sits down with Derek to discuss his build philosophy and what he strives to achieve with each guitar he constructs. Electric guitar builder Doug Kauer has been building guitars for a while, but is new to the business of selling them. He has a great perspective and is a fun conversationalist.

This is Part 2 of our Montreal Guitar Show Series, a series of interviews Derek Dodson and I conducted during the MGS. We have three excellent interviews, all brought to us by Derek. Legendary archtop builder Tom Ribbecke is on tap. Innovative electric builder Sam Evans, from Cardinal Instruments delivers a funny and informative conversation. And, acoustic luthier, Jeff Bamburg talks about his new builds, particularly those using true temperament fretting.

This the first part of a six episode arc we will call the Montreal Guitar Show Series. Each of these six episodes will contain 3-4 of our interviews. Part 1 opens with famed steel string and archtop luthier, Linda Manzer; Mike Potvin, a great electric builder known for using cool and exotic woods, and Otto D’Ambrosio, an accomplished young archtop builder who also designed Eastman Guitars's El Rey series. We hope you enjoy the series. We sure did. Everyone we spoke with was gracious, kind, and extremely passionate about what they do.

We were very lucky to get Eric Schoenberg on the show for a conversation with Matt. Eric is the co-designer and creator of the Schoenberg Soloist-- an amazing instrument that used the classic, vintage Martin OMs as inspiration, but went much further. Eric shares with us his background as a player, how he got into guitar design, his illustrious partnerships with guys like Dana Bourgeois and Bruce Sexauer, some of the amazing guitars to have passed through his hands, his build philosophy, and much more.

We are very excited to have Jim Soloway of Soloway Guitars join Matt and Derek. Together they discuss Jim's Swan, Gosling, and new Carve Top. Jim also announces a new model that will be ready in about 6 months. He talks about his build philosophy, how he came to use the innovative 27" scale, and how he became a builder. And, of course, much, much more.

Derek and Matt tackle Episode 10, sharing their pedalboards with each other, complaining about used gear prices, and discussing cool boutique pedals they've had and/or tried. Tom Murphy from Parkway Music gives a review of the Carl Martin DeLayla pedal. A very cool delay.