It was at Sound Messe Osaka 2024 that I discovered HEX Guitars (hexguitars.com) made in Korea. Here's an interview with Sean and a demo of one of the headless models presented during this Japanese show. HEX Guitars Interview & Demo Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For
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Adrian Bellue, interview of the Fingerstyle musician at the Sound Messe Osaka
Wednesday, 17 July 2024
Here's an interview with guitarist Adrian Bellue (adrianbellue.com) at Sound Messe Osaka, where he was present as a demo artist. Adrian's Fingerstyle guitar style is very much his own, blending both acoustic and Metal styles. Adrian Bellue interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. Audio version available
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Jack Gardiner, interview at the Montreux International Guitar Show
Monday, 08 July 2024
Meeting and interviewing Jack Gardiner (jack-gardiner.co.uk) at the 2024 Montreux International Guitar Show was one of the highlights of the show. The Swiss-based British musician ran a workshop for a week prior to the show, and was scheduled to play at the concerts afterwards. Jack gardiner interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep
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As I often repeat that recording yourself is a very powerful tool for progress, I'm preaching by example with this video. In it, I play the theme from Chris Isaak's Wicked Game on slide guitar. For this session, I first recorded the arpeggio and then improvised over it on the bottleneck. Wicked Game on Slide
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Dowina Guitars, the full history of the brand told by Erika Marinova
Friday, 05 July 2024
It was during the Montreux International Guitar Show guitar show 2024 edition that I had the pleasure of meeting Erika Marinova, who runs the Slovakian acoustic guitar brand Dowina Guitars (dowina.com). It was a wonderful meeting that enabled me to learn a lot about this European brand. Interview Erika Marinova Until the next interview or
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Claudio Pagelli boutique builder interview at the Montreux International Guitar Show
Thursday, 04 July 2024
Interview with Swiss boutique builder Claudio Pagelli from Pagelli Guitars (pagelli.com) at the Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch). This craftsman has his own vision of the guitar, and his instruments are incredible on every level. Here's a new interview with this key figure on the European guitar scene. Claudio Pagelli interview Until the next interview
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The American musician Josh Smith (joshsmithguitar.com) was in Japan for the Sound Messe Osaka to play demos on the joint stand of Vemuram and Two Rock / Divided by 13 (see Eli Lester interview in this article). Of course, we took the opportunity to do an interview and find out a little more about Josh's
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Here's a live demo recorded during the FAQ on June 26th, 2024 of a luthier guitar from Dejardin Guitare (dejardinguitare.be). This is the Krugger model, a splendid 15" Hollow Body with an original design by Ghislain Dejardin. Live demo Recording configuration Photo Album For more info:Luthier Guitar DemosGear Archives
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Matteo Mancuso & Bacci Guitars, interview “A Musician and His Guitar Builder” series
Wednesday, 26 June 2024
In the series of interviews with A Musician and His Builder, here's a great encounter at the Montreux International Guitar Show 2024 between Italian musician Matteo Mancuso and Italian luthier Bruno Bacci of Bacci Guitars (bacciguitars.com). Matteo Mancuso and Bruno Bacci interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre
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Acoustic Fingerstyle guitarist Jon Gomm (jongomm.com) was once again present at the Montreux International Guitar Show for the 2024 edition. We interviewed him to find out more about his current projects. Jon Gomm interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. Audio version available on The Guitar Channel
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Belgium-based Portuguese luthier Diogo Pereira of Pereira Guitars (pereiraguitars.be) was exhibiting at the Montreux International Guitar Show 2024 with several colourful guitars. Here's a luthier guitar demo recorded on site of his ETL model. Pereira Guitars ETL demo For more info:Boutique Guitar DemosLuthier Interviews
One fine day in April 2023, Théo Cormier (theocormier.fr) stopped by the showroom to try out a guitar. It was a Telecaster made by the French builder Laurent Jourdan under his brand J-Bro (jbro-customguitars.com). The cameras were rolling, the result was a completely improvised session of sublime solo guitar playing. For more info:Luthier Guitar DemosLuthier
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Sully Guitars, Jon Sullivan guitar builder interview about the new Trella LS
Friday, 21 June 2024
American boutique guitar builder Jon Sullivan of Sully Guitars (sullyguitars.com) talks in this interview about the Trella LS, a new model he is adding to his range with a traditional Gibson scale. We take the opportunity to talk about his strategy for guitar shows and the state of the boutique guitar market worldwide. Jon Sullivan
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Double demo recorded at the Montreux International Guitar Show of two amazing guitars built by Belgian luthier David D'Ascenzo of Denzo Guitars (denzocustom.com). Configuration used: ZOOM UAC232 audio interface and Blue Cat Audio Axiom software. Denzo Guitars demo Photo album Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For
Guitar-in-hand interview with Jon Gomm (jongomm.com) in his hotel room in Germany during Guitar Summit 2018. Jon Gomm interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Guitar in Hand InterviewsAcoustic Archives
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Peace Hill FX, Koji Tagaki interview with the tube amp preamp builder in Osaka
Monday, 17 June 2024
Koji Tagaki is the Japanese boutique builder of Peace Hill FX tube preamps (peacehillfx.com). We had agreed to meet in person at Sound Messe Osaka to do an interview. It was a pleasure to meet him, especially as I left with a superb model SSS preamp that he gave me as a gift. Koji Tagaki
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Luca Cesaroni from Cloe Guitars, boutique guitare builder interview in Osaka
Thursday, 13 June 2024
At the 2024 Sound Messe Osaka, Italian boutique guitar builder Luca Cesaroni of Cloe Guitars (cloeguitars.com) was present as an exhibitor and also as a participant in the Legacy Project initiated by Quebec artisan Mario Beauregard. Here was a meeting with a highly talented transalpine luthier. Luca is also involved in Secret EFX (secretefx.com), a
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I discovered the American musician Tom Strahle (tomstrahle.com) via a Paul Davids video. As I was preparing my 2024 California campaign of reports and interviews, I thought it would be interesting to meet him at his home. I was wrong, it was fascinating! So here's an in-depth three part guitar-in-hand interview complemented by another video
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Keisuke Nishi, Legacy Project interview at the Sound Messe Osaka
Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Here's an interview with Japanese luthier Keisuke Nishi of Keystone Stringed Instruments (keystone-si.com) at Sound Messe Osaka. Keisuke is one of Mario Beauregard's 5 apprentices and as such participated in the Legacy Project. Keisuke Nishi interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Luthier InterviewsSound Messe
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Jamie Gale is the founder of the Boutique Guitar Showcase (boutiqueguitarshowcase.com), which offers boutique luthiers an interesting alternative for showcasing their instruments around the world. For the first time, Boutique Guitar Showcase was present in Japan at Sound Messe Osaka. Here's an interview with Jamie Gale, a connoisseur of high-end guitar lutherie, where he explains
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Steve Klein, interview in Japan with the legendary builder for Klein Guitars and demo
Saturday, 08 June 2024
American luthier Steve Klein is a living legend of modern lutherie. He was exhibiting at Sound Messe Osaka with his Klein Guitars brand (kleinsbench.com), which offers guitars Made in Japan (like the one I'm offering you to listen to as a demo) as well as instruments he still makes himself in the USA. Steve Klein
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Guitar builder Michihiro Matsuda (matsudaguitars.com) is without doubt one of the most inventive and creative craftsmen in the business. The instruments he makes are always extraordinary. For Sound Messe Osaka 2024, he came with a guitar based on a Yamaha SG 800 model, which he completely deconstructed to make a guitar truly his own. The
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The guitar builder Michihiro Matsuda presents an incredible guitar
Friday, 07 June 2024
Japanese-American luthier Michihiro Matsuda (matsudaguitars.com) was one of the exhibitors at Sound Messe Osaka 2024. He presented an incredible guitar. It's a Yamaha SG 800 model that he has completely rebuilt into an instrument completely apart. Bonus: an on site recorded demo of this luthier guitar. Michihiro Matsuda interview Until the next interview or gear
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Two Rock Amplifiers and Divided by 13 Eli Lester interview at the Sound Messe Osaka
Thursday, 06 June 2024
Eli Lester, head of American high-end tube amp brand Two Rock Amplifiers (two-rock.com), was present at Sound Messe Osaka as an exhibitor in tandem with Vemuram. I couldn't find the opening to interview him at last year's NAMM, but I did in Japan! Here's a man with a singular career path, since he was a
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Demo of the finest electric guitars at Sound Messe Osaka 2024 – Part 2
Thursday, 06 June 2024
One of the advantages of covering far-flung guitar shows like the Sound Messe Osaka is that you can hear instruments that can only be found there. Here are some awesome luthier guitars recorded with a simple Zoom UAC-232 audio interface and Blue Cat Audio's Axiom for amp and effects emulation. Guitars demoed in this article:
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Michael Sankey, Canadian boutique guitar builder interview at the Sound Messe Osaka
Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Canadian luthier Michael Sankey (sankeyguitars.com) was part of the Boutique Guitar Showcase at Sound Messe Osaka with two exceptional instruments, which he presents in this interview. Michael Sankey interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Luthier InterviewsSound Messe Reports
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Recorded demo of guitar built by luthier Egon Rauscher from Soultool Customized Guitars (soultool.com) at Guitar Show Padova 2024 with a Zoom UAC-232 audio interface and Axiom from Blue Cat Audio's Axiom (bluecataudio.com) for amp and effects simulation. Soultool Customized Guitars guitar demo Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar!
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Soultool Customized Guitars, Egon Rauscher Swiss guitar builder interview in Padova
Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Swiss luthier Egon Rauscher is a craftsman I've been coming across at shows since 2015. He was exhibiting with three of his Soultool Customized Guitars instruments (soultool.com) at the Guitar Show Padova. As he was my neighbor during the show and as I dig his work , we recorded a new interview. As a bonus,
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Sound Messe Osaka 2024, interview with the organizer Marr Takeda
Monday, 03 June 2024
This was the 3rd time La Chaîne Guitare had traveled to the Land of the Rising Sun to cover Sound Messe Osaka (sound-messe.com), arguably Japan's biggest guitar show. Here's an interview with show organizer Marr Takeda of Dolphin Guitars (dolphin-gt.co.jp). Marr Takeda interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar!
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Deimel Guitarworks Firestar and Doublestar demo – Guitar Show Padova
Sunday, 02 June 2024
Recorded demo of two instruments built by Frank Deimel of Deimel Guitarworks (deimelguitarworks.com) at Guitar Show Padova 2024 with a Zoom UAC-232 audio interface and Axiom from Blue Cat Audio's Axiom (bluecataudio.com) for amp and effects simulation. Deimel Guitarworks Firestar and Doublestar demo Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar!
