Mojo Classic Ruokangas Guitars review: a Telecaster coming from Finland

Juha Ruokangas is a Finnish luthier well known on The Guitar Channel since he has been the subject of several interviews and has also animated a series of luthier chronicles. Juha (pronounced Yu-A) manufactures with a small team of luthiers instruments of very high quality entirely by hand, without the help of CNC (ie without Computer Numeric Control machine).

Peter Holmsröm interview, guitar player from the Dandy Warhols

The Dandy Warhols were in Paris for a concert, a perfect opportunity to record this video interview with their guitar player Peter Holmström.

Mark Lettieri interview during during 2017 NAMM X-Jamm concert

During the Winter NAMM 2017 the traditional X-Jamm concert organized by BMP Promotion took place. Mark Lettieri from Snarky Puppy was there to play with his trio some great tracks. Mark Lettieri interview Until the next interview, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.

Taylor Guitars is one of the biggest guitar manufacturers in the world, as such this company has an important responsibility in terms of environment. For a long time the San Diego firm has a responsible policy to ensure its supply of wood for its production of instruments. Taylor Guitars has even hired Scott Paul as

Riverside Strymon overdrive pedal review - Powerhouse tone machine

Until now Strymon proposed mainly pedals in the delay and modulation field, with the Riverside they are now getting in the overdrive business.

Uli Jon Roth - Tokyo Tapes Revisited (2 CDs & DVD)

Uli Jon Roth is one of the sacred monsters of the guitar.

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Colt Westbrook interview from Walrus Audio during NAMM 2017

During the 2017 NAMM, The Guitar Channel had the opportunity to meet Colt Westbrook, CEO of Walrus Audio, American maker of boutique pedals.

The first Gear Evening of 2017 was held on February 23rd with D'Angelico for guitars, Walrus Audio for pedals, Positive Grid for the digital amp head and Pedaltrain for the pedalboards.

"The Burst" is a guitar made by the luthier Mikaël Springer as a tribute to the mythical Les Paul Standard 1959 by Gibson.

Guitar factory tour with Andy Powers - Taylor Guitars facility (Tecate, Mexico)

It is always a rare event to visit a guitar factory. First because there are not that many of them around the world and then because it is rare to be able to access those facilities easily. After visiting Taylor Guitars on the American side in California in El Cajon near San Diego, The Guitar

Andy Timmons interview: Theme From A Perfect World, his new album

During the 2017 NAMM there was no time to record an interview with the one and only Andy Timmons even though we met during the great X-Jamm concert so a couple of weeks later we organized this Skype interview to catch up.

2017 Guitares au Beffroi festival / Salon de la Belle Guitare: organizer interview

The 2017 Guitares au Beffroi (www.guitaresaubeffroi.com) festival and its guitar show the Salon de la Belle Guitare will have its 5th edition from Friday March 24th until Sunday March 26th in Montrouge, right next to Paris. There will be luthiers coming from more than 10 countries, check-out the full list on the festival website. Interview with Armel Amiot

Paul Reed Smith (@prsguitars) interview guitar in hand - 2017 Winter NAMM

The Guitar Channel is a fan of the PRS brand, period. I know it's a brand that's less fashionable than it used to be. It is true that the trend of ultra-flamed tables is not so strong. Nevertheless I think it is a brand that tries to renew itself without stopping. I hope they will find the second wind they deserve. It should not be forgotten that when PRS started, the American electric guitar industry had reached a truly calamitous level of quality and that Paul reversed the trend almost by himself.

Tommy Emmanuel - Music Gone Public DVD
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Tommy Emmanuel – Music Gone Public DVD

Tommy Emmanuel is an amazing Fingerpicking guitarist but he also plays very well the electric guitar who is a real phenomenon on stage. I had the opportunity to see him on stage at the New Morning in Paris (after we recorded an audio interview), he put out incredible show just him alone on stage with his guitar.

Guitar D'Angelico model EX-SS: an elegant lady to play Jazz

Finally a Jazz guitar reviewed on The Guitar Channel! Yes, everything happens. Here is the D'Angelico model EX-SS in a very standard configuration: archtop type guitar with two humbuckers.

D'Angelico EX-SS video review

Audio version of the video available in the podcast:

Photo album

What I enjoyed the most

The sounds
The built quality
The confort of playing

What I enjoyed the least

Too much gold hardware!

Conclusion
For a budget of around $1,500, the EX-SS offers a very good guitar that should delight the fans of Jazz and Blues.

Brian Wampler (@wamplerpedals) interview - 2017 Winter NAMM

It's becoming a well-established tradition to do an interview at the NAMM with Brian Wampler, boss of the pedals of the same name. Indeed, this is the third time that this happens. Not only are the Wampler pedals of excellent quality but in addition Brian is a businessman who does not hesitate to talk about his trade in a very open way.

2017 X-Jamm: interviews with Kumpel, Allen, Gales, Lettieri and concert images

During the NAMM 2017, Blue Mouth Promotions (www.bluemouthpromotions.com) hosted on Saturday January 21st 2017 a concert called the X-Jamm with a wonderful program:

Mark Lettieri (guitarist of Snarky Puppy who played with his trio)
Travis Larson
Cameron Allen
Teddy Kumpel
Andy Timmons
Mike Keneally
Tony Macalpine
Andy West

What a bunch of six string greats! A great opportunity for The Guitar Channel to do interviews right out of the stage.

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Mike Keneally interview – NAMM 2017

Mike Keneally is a unique musician who plays with Joe Satriani and who accompanied Steve Vai and Frank Zappa. He was visiting Winter NAMM 2017, here he is in an interview. Interview Mike Keneally Until the next interview, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.

Isaac Jang luthier in Hollywood, Los Angeles
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Isaac Jang luthier in Hollywood, Los Angeles

I met Isaac Jang for the first time in Berlin during the 2016 Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin. Isaac was born in Korea and arrived in the US when he was 13. After being an apprentice with master luthier Kathy Wingert for 9 years, he setup his own shop to build his own high-end acoustic guitars. As he proposed me when we met in Germany, I contacted him while organizing the 2017 NAMM trip to see if he would actually be my guide in Los Angeles to help me discover the guitar places in that city.

Tomo Fujita interview
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Tomo Fujita interview – NAMM 2017

Tomo Fujita was really one of the musician The Guitar Channel was anxious to meet during the 2017 Winter NAMM.

An interview to know all you need to know about Reverb.com

What better than to ask all the questions we have to one of the guy in charge at Reverb.com in order to understand better how this marketplace works?

2016 Winter NAMM - The Guitar Channel

Here're the interviews done during day 1 of the NAMM:

Justin (Elixir Strings)
Andy Powers (Taylor Guitars)
Scott Paul (Taylor Guitars)
Dave Brons

Thursday - Friday - Week-end

NAMM 2017 - Week-end interviews

Justin (Elixir Strings):

Andy Powers (Taylor Guitars):

Scott Paul (Taylor Guitars):

Dave Brons:

Justin from Elixir Strings:

Andy Powers (Taylor Guitars):

Scott Paul (Taylor Guitars):

Dave Brons:

Until the next interview, keep on playing the guitar!

Pierre.

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2016 Winter NAMM - The Guitar Channel
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NAMM 2017 wrap-up: 24 interviews to watch!

This year again the NAMM was incredibly rich for The Guitar Channel. Just take a look at the numbers below to be convinced.

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2016 Winter NAMM - The Guitar Channel

Here're the interviews done during day 1 of the NAMM:

Colt Westbrook (Walrus Audio)
Kevin Drost (Reverb.com)
Jake Shimabukuro
Mike Keneally
Rob Balducci

Thursday - Friday - Week-end

NAMM 2017 - Interviews day 2

Colt Westbrook (Walrus Audio):

Kevin Drost (Reverb.com):

Jake Shimabukuro:

Mike Keneally:

Rob Balducci:

Colt Westbrook (Walrus Audio):

Kevin Drost (Reverb.com):

Jake Shimabukuro:

Mike Keneally:

Rob Balducci:

Until the next interview, keep on playing the guitar!

Pierre.

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2016 Winter NAMM - The Guitar Channel
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NAMM 2017 – Interviews day 1: Fujita, Wampler, PRS

Here're the interviews done during day 1 of the NAMM:

Tomo Fujita
Brian Wampler
Paul Reed Smith

Thursday - Friday- Week-end

NAMM 2017 - Interviews day 1
Note: sorry for the not up to par sound quality due to an accidental change of a setting on my H2.
This was corrected for all the other interviews.

Tomo Fujita:

Brian Wampler:

Paul Reed Smith:

Tomo Fujita:

Brian Wampler:

Paul Reed Smith:

Until the next interview, keep on playing the guitar!

Pierre.

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Gear Evening 23/02/17 - D'Angelico, Walrus Audio, Positive Grid, PedalTrain

This Gear Evening will happen on Thursday February 23rd from 7pm to 10pm. The exhibitors who are all Pro Backstage Pass subscribers are

D'Angelico www.dangelicoguitars.com (guitars et basses)
Walrus Audio www.walrusaudio.com (pedals)
Positive Grid www.positivegrid.com (amps and simulation)
Pedaltrain www.pedaltrain.com (pedalboard)

Thursday February 23rd from 7pm to 10pm
Studio Luna Rossa
24 Rue Primo Levi 75013 Paris
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Mandatory inscription :
Facebook event
Google+ event
Meetup event
What's a Gear Evening?
A Gear Evening is a moment of sharing between guitar enthusiasts with guitar gear to try (guitar, amp, pedals) in a rehearsal studio equipped as it should be.

Gear Evening 23/03/17 - Soultool, Maybach, Anasounds, IT-11 Audio, Reverb.com

The Gear Evening on Thursday March 23rd from 7pm to 10pm will take place right before the Guitare au Beffroi festival which starts on Friday.

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John Mayer presents his new PRS amp during the NAMM 2017

One of the important announcements of NAMM 2017 was the release of a new John Mayer 100W all tube amp by PRS. As a media The Guitar Channel was invited to the press conference. Usually I am not very fan of the exercise of the press conference as it is usually limited to basically reading a press release or pretty much so.

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NAMM 2017 – Video coverage via Snapchat replay

Here's the full Winter NAMM report from The Guitar Channel 100% shot with Snapchat on an iPhone 6s. It's quite amazing what you can do with just a smartphone nowadays! Few people use this very useful feature from the app: you can export to a video file your story when you want.

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2016 Winter NAMM - The Guitar Channel
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NAMM 2017: The Guitar Channel game plan

For a third consecutive year, The Guitar Channel will be present at the Winter NAMM which is held every year in Los Angeles in Anaheim.

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