Truetone Lounge

Guthrie Trapp is one of the finest guitarists in Nashville, TN, a town known for its amazing musicians. In Part 2 our Truetone Lounge interview, we learn about his Country Guitar ArtistWorks lesson series, and how his students all over the world are able to share their videos with him and get personalized help with their playing. We also dive headfirst into gear talk, with Trapp sharing some of his tone concepts. These concepts include how he dials in his amps, and how he uses pedals to enhance an already great-sounding amp tone. Guthrie also showcases 3 of his favorite instruments, a 1969 Gibson ES-335, Russ Pahl Jr Tele-style, and his Danocaster Double-Cut Strat-style.

In our Holiday Recap and Viewer Favorites episode, we take a trip down memory lane and look back at some of the best moments of our first season of the Truetone Lounge.

In the latest installment of the Truetone Lounge, Jedd Hughes sits down with us to amaze us with his playing and jaw-dropping stories. From growing up in the Australian outback to his “first gig” in Nashville being at the Grand Ole Opry, to his stellar work as a sideman, session work, and of course his deeply moving new album, West, it all gets covered here. Throughout the interview, Jedd’s singular playing style showcases why he is such an in-demand musical collaborator with many of the finest artists in modern music. Hughes also covers a bit of his favorite gear including a mid 60’s Teisco K2L, 1957 Telecaster, Collings OM-1JL acoustic, Ebo amplifier, and his small pedalboard.

We chat with our good buddy, JD Simo, and see what he has been up to in 2020. Simo also shares a lesson in the challenges of playing simple parts, and in arranging multiple guitar parts.

In our Truetone Lounge interview with session guitarist Jerry McPherson, we look at his beginnings in Texas, early tours and sessions with Amy Grant, and his transition to his current position as a full-time and in-demand session player. We also look at his favorite session tools, and his patented robot arm, that at the touch of a button, moves a set of microphones to various cabinets in Jerry's amp isolation room. But this episode is about so much more than his bio and gear. It is packed with Jerry's insights on playing parts, how to use effects, and how to keep a listener engaged throughout the course of a song. This episode is pure gold for the aspiring session guitarist.

Jeff Senn, renowned guitar builder and guitarist, is the second guest on our Truetone Lounge series. During the interview, Senn speaks in-depth on his beginnings as an instrument repairman, his years as a touring professional, his transition over a decade ago into a well-respected guitar builder, and his instrumental band, Crazy Aces. Interspersed, Jeff demonstrates 2 of his own Original Senn instruments, along with a vintage 1959 Guyatone that helped inspire his latest release, the Original Senn Model 1.

In part 4 of our Truetone Lounge interview, John plays and tells the stories of some of his favorite guitars.

Grammy Award-winning producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, John Leventhal, shares what he has been up to in 2020, and clues us into his guitar part on Shawn Colvin's "Get Out Of This House."

In the latest Truetone Lounge, we take a trip down to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to meet up with Swamper, Jimmy Johnson at 3614 Jackson Highway, home of the Muscle Shoals Sound. In our interview, Johnson covered everything from his early days as Rick Hall’s first employee, through all of his groundbreaking work with Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Seger. Along the way, we get amazing anecdotes about Tom Dowd, Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Duane Allman, Eddie Hinton, and Pete Carr. Jimmy also shares of his involvement in the award-winning Muscle Shoals documentary, and how the film came to fruition.

In this Truetone Lounge episode, we present Justin Ostrander, part of the new crop of session guitarists in Nashville, TN.