Truetone Lounge

An unseen star of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis movie is guitarist JD Simo, who was tasked with replicating the original parts and tones played by Scotty Moore, James Burton, Hank Garland, Reggie Young, and Tommy Tedesco. In today's special collaboration with Ask Zac, we sit down with Simo, as he tells the tale of how he was asked to take part, and the gear he used to replicate the legendary guitarist's riffs.

We also take a look at his soon-to-be-released album Songs From The House Of Grease. Recorded with his trio, the album features his recently acquired Danocaster Singel-Cut, along with an ancient Alamo amp and a venerable 1965 Deluxe Reverb. Simo also shows off his new Xact Tone Solutions built pedal board.

During David Hood's 50-plus-year career, he has played on more hits than just about any other bassist on the planet. From Bob Seger to Wilson Picket, and Rod Stewart to the Staple Singers, Hood provided the bass lines for countless Pop, Rock, and R&B hits that we all know and love. Many of us became aware of David through the beautifully made Muscle Shoals documentary from 2013, which focuses on the story of Rick Hall and his former proteges, the Swampers. Here, David, the last of the Swampers sits down with us at his former home away from home, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, to lay down his own story.

Russ Pahl is one of the busiest guitarists and pedal steelers in Nashville, with credits ranging from Robert Plant to Carrie Underwood. He is a multi-instrumentalist, who moves between both instruments and musical genres in such a fluid manner, that he is just at home playing lead guitar with Dan Auerbach on Austin City Limits, as he is playing hardcore country pedal steel in Vince Gill's touring unit. In our Truetone Lounge interview, Russ covers his career, what he feels has kept him in demand over the last 30-years, and his highly customized guitar and pedal steel rig.

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Carl Rydlund is the guitarist you are hearing on many of the movies you have watched over the last 20-years. Major films he has worked on with famed film composer, Hans Zimmer, all feature Carl's guitar work. Today we sit down with one of the soundtrack kings, who recently moved to Nashville to continue his film work, and to take a teaching position at the renowned music-focused Belmont University. In our interview, Rydlund discusses his musical upbringing, his move to Los Angeles, and how his work as a copyist and guitarist on Hanna-Barbera cartoons turned into the soundtrack work that has defined him over the last 20-years. Rydlund also shares very practical advice for those wanting to get into soundtrack work, and also takes a very sensible look at gear, and what one actually needs to get the job done.

Kenny Vaughan is the perpetually calm and composed guitar slinger that is just as at home touring with Marty Stuart as he is fronting his trio in a club or recording in a studio with the likes of everyone from Lucinda Williams to the Pretenders. With an extensive background in rock, punk, country, and jazz, Vaughan brings a seemingly never-ending bag of tricks to every musical situation he participates in. In our Truetone Lounge, we drill down as to how he seamlessly moves between various genres, how he has held his gig with Marty Stuart for over 20 years, and his seemingly utilitarian view on gear.

In today's Truetone Lounge interview with Lindy Fralin, the pickup man shares how repairs and rewinding in the 1980s led to the creation of his own pickups and how he eventually earned his current position as one of the industry leaders in both vintage replicas and groundbreaking original designs.

Jason Lollar is one of the premier pickup makers in the world, and even wrote a book on the basics of winding, and how to turn your mother's sewing machine into the perfect winder. In our Truetone Lounge interview, Jason takes us through his schooling at the Roberto-Venn School of Lutherie, and how he transitioned from guitar builder to pickup winder for many of the great guitar builders of today. Lollar also reveals the R&D that is involved in birthing new pickup designs, and how his work has influenced an entire generation of winders.

Jimmy Olander's opening lick on Diamond Rio's "Meet In The Middle," let the listener know that they were about to hear something new. His double-bender meets banjo fingerstyle sensibilities created a singular sound that would lead off most of the band's hits over the next 3 decades. Today, we sit down with Jimmy in his home studio and get the full story of his climb from out-of-work banjo player, to double bender Tele man with multi-platinum success. Jimmy also gives us the inside scoop on his Joe Glaser-built Telecaster style guitars, and how he began using Matchless amps.

Truetone Lounge | Ron Ellis

Ron Ellis, fueled by his love of great tone, and enabled by his background as a scientist, broke the code and began producing some of the most vintage authentic electric guitar pickups a little over a decade ago. Via his thorough research and analysis of working and broken vintage pickups, he discovered both the recipe and the proper ingredients to replicate various eras of holy-grail winds. Soon, he was breaking those rules to create modern interpretations to meet the very specific tonal demands of virtuoso players such as Julian Lage, Brad Paisley, and Josh Smith. In Today’s Truetone Lounge, we get his back story and all of the serendipitous turns that led to his involvement in The Blackguard Book and to eventually becoming one of the great modern pickup winders.

We had tons of comments on Ray's first episode, and additional questions posted, so we followed up with a second spot with Ray. In this episode, he talks about his playing style, gigging with the Everly Brothers because he "needed the money," interviewing Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore, and his acoustic instrumental recordings, including his take on Paganini's 5th Caprice.