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Freedom Custom Guitar Research, a boutique guitar builder from Tokyo – Showroom & Demo
Wednesday, 08 May 2024
It was during my first trip to Japan for the Sound Messe Osaka in 2019 that I discovered luthier Makoto Fukano and his work via his brand Freedom Custom Guitar Research (fcgrtokyo.com). This Japanese craftsman is based in Tokyo, both for the showroom shown here and for his workshop (see the visit in another episode).
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Japan is a country of guitar aficionados, as you can see when you visit a guitar store. This is the case in Tokyo, where there are several districts with multi-storey guitar stores. Here's a visit to Ochanomizu and Shibuya. Tokyo guitar store visits Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar!
Here is the full report for day 3 at the 2024 Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch) in Switzerland. The interview of the day is with Erika, the owner of Dowina Guitars (dowina.com). MIGS 2024 Day 3 report Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:MIGS ArchivesGuitar
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Here is the full report for day 2 at the 2024 Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch) in Switzerland. Part 1 / Part 2 Interviews of the day: MIGS 2024 Day 2 report - Part 2 Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:MIGS ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier
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Here is the full report for day 2 at the 2024 Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch) in Switzerland. Part 1 / Part 2 Interviews of the day: MIGS 2024 Day 2 report - Part 1 Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:MIGS ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier
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Here is the full report for day 1 at the 2024 Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch) in Switzerland with an interview with Jack Gardiner. MIGS 2024 Day 1 report Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:MIGS ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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Vintage Authority, interview with Italian Vintage collector Roberto Gandolfi
Thursday, 25 April 2024
Interview with the Vintage guitar collector Roberto Gandolfi de Vintage Authority (vintageauthority.com / rockandvintage.it) at the Guitar Show Padova (guitarshow.it) in Italy. Roberto Gandolfi interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Padova ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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Rufini Guitars, luthier interview Matteo Rufini at the Guitar Show Padova and demo
Thursday, 25 April 2024
Interview with Italian boutique guitar builder Matteo Rufini from Rufini Guitars (rufinifineinstruments.com) at the Guitar Show Padova (guitarshow.it) in Italy. As a bonus, you will have a demo recorded during the show. Matteo Rufini interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Padova ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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Bona Guitars, Cristian Bona interview at the Guitar Show Padova and guitar demo
Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Interview with Cristian Bona from Bona Guitars (Instagram) at the Guitar Show Padova (guitarshow.it) in Italy. As a bonus, you can hear a demo recorded on site of Cristian's instrument. Cristian Bona interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Padova ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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Switzerland, Japan, Italy: The Guitar Channel once again tours the world of guitar shows for its subscribers
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Spring is a busy time for guitar shows. As it happens, between the end of April and mid-May there are three major guitar shows taking place in Switzerland, Japan and Italy. The Guitar Channel will once again be out and about at these three events: The Guitar Channel, the guitar mediaoffering the best coverageof guitar
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Marconi Lab Guitars interview with Guido at the Guitar Show Padova, Italy
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Interview with Guido from Marconi Lab Guitars (marconilab.com / egoguitar.com) at the Guitar Show Padova (guitarshow.it) in Italy. Marconi Lab Guitars interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Padova ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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Walko Guitars, presentation of four Made in France boutique instruments
Monday, 22 April 2024
Nicolas Walkowiak from Walko Guitar (walkoguitars.com) is a luthier based in Toulouse. Here is a presentation with four short demos of the four luthier guitars he brought to the showroom. Marinka Arsis Road One Aged Black Road One Butterscotch For more info:Luthier GuitarsLuthier Interviews
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Josh Smith, interview before the Joe Bonamassa concert in Paris
Friday, 19 April 2024
American musician Josh Smith (joshsmithguitar.com) has a solo career well underway, but he also regularly accompanies his good friend Joe Bonamassa. Here's an interview in a box at the Dôme de Paris just before the concert. Josh Smith interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. Audio version
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Tom Strahle, from Justin Bieber to video game music – Part 1
Wednesday, 17 April 2024
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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Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird is a monument to Southern Rock. Its Slide guitar intro is as beautiful as it is memorable. As the tempo is not very fast, it's an excellent exercise in sound quality and accuracy. Free Bird Slide guitar intro Recording of a work session from April 15th 2024: Setup To record the
During a visit to the showroom, Tanguy Kerleroux (tanguykerleroux.com) fell in love with the Red Apple guitar by luthier Loïc Muller (mullerguitare.fr). The cameras were still on, I pressed Record and voilà, a 100% improvised demo. Démo Red Apple from Muller Guitare by Tanguy Kerleroux Photo album Configuration de la démo A guitar to try
At NAMM 2024, I had the pleasure of doing another in-depth interview with Tomo Fujita (tomojustfunky.com). It was an opportunity to talk about one of his illustrious former students, John Mayer. In this video, Tomo gives a great advice to guitar players to always get better. Tomo Fujita wise advice Full Interview with Tomo Available
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Oopegg Guitars, Kazuma Tanabe interview at the Sound Messe in Osaka, Japan
Tuesday, 09 April 2024
Interview with guitar designer Kazuma "Kaz" Tanabe from Oopegg Guitars (oopegg.com) at the Sound Messe (sound-messe.com) in Osaka, Japan. As a bonus, following the interview, you'll get a demo of the Trailbreaker presented by the craftsman. Kazuma Tanabe interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more
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Interview with Yoshi from KZ Guitar Works (kzguitarworks.com) at the Sound Messe (sound-messe.com) in Osaka, Japan. As a bonus, two awesome instruments by KZ Guitar Works are demoed. Yoshi interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Sound Messe ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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At NAMM 2024, I had the pleasure of doing another in-depth interview with Tomo Fujita (tomojustfunky.com). It was an opportunity to talk about one of his illustrious former students, John Mayer. In this video, Tomo explains who might be the next John Mayer among his students. Tomo Fujita about the next John Mayer Full Interview
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Schecter Custom Shop Los Angeles – Guided tour and Michael Ciravolo interview
Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Just after NAMM, I took the opportunity to visit the Schecter Guitars Custom Shop in Los Angeles. By contacting Nick Johnston, I was able to get the contact to organize this visit, with the added bonus of an interview with Michael Ciravolo, Schecter's president. Let me take you on a tour of this Custom Shop,
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Joey Landreth, interview with the slide guitar player at NAMM for DSM & Humboldt
Saturday, 30 March 2024
Interviewing Joey Landreth (joeylandreth.com) wasn't in my plans at all, but the opportunity arose thanks to Chilean pedal brand DSM & Humboldt (simplifieramp.com). Joey was giving a private demo in a hotel outside NAMM of the brand's new model Simplifier X preamp. Joey Landreth interview The DSM & Humboldt Simplifier X Here is the super
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French pro audio software publisher Blue Cat Audio (bluecataudio.com) has a well-stocked catalog of high quality paying plugins, but it also has free versions that are real nuggets. Such is the case with Free Amp (link to download page), a free plugin offering three guitar amps with all the classic settings. Here is a demo
When Thierry Le Guenne of Ted Guitars (tedguitars.fr) decided to reinterpret the Flying V in an aluminum version, the result is the Concorde. Of course, the guitar is fitted with internal LED lights for a real cool effect on stage! Let's see how the guitar sounds on video. Concorde Ted Guitars review Until the next
Demo of a Gletty Guitars (glettyguitars.com) model Alu SG MkIV recorded at the Montreux International Guitar Show. Gletty Guitars demo Specs Photo Album For more info:Luthier Guitar ReviewsLuthier InterviewsMIGS Archives
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Martin Miller interview at the Montreux International Guitar Show
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Interview with the German musician Martin Miller (martinmillerguitar.com) at the Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch). Martin Miller interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:MIGS ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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Carl Verheyen, interview guitar in hand in his Los Angeles home – Part 2
Monday, 25 March 2024
Carl Verheyen (carlverheyen.com) is a session musician from Los Angeles who has also been a member of Supertramp for many years. Suffice to say, he's had a pretty incredible career. Here he is in an interview, guitar in hand, in his Los Angeles home. Part 1 / Part 2 Carl Verheyen interview Until the next
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Oroborus Guitars, interview with German luthier Tobias Traub at MIGS
Saturday, 23 March 2024
Interview with German guitar builder Tobias Traub from Oroborus Guitars (oroboruscustoms.com) at the Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch). Tobias Traub interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:MIGS ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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Aryawoods International, Biju Nair interview at the Sound Messe in Osaka, Japan
Thursday, 21 March 2024
Interview with Biju Nair from Aryawoods International (aryawoods.com) at the Sound Messe (sound-messe.com) in Osaka, Japan. Biju Nair interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Sound Messe ArchivesGuitar Show ReportsLuthier Interviews
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ON Guitars, Christoph Noe guitar builder interview and demo of the Elster model
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Interview with guitar builder Christoph Noe from ON Guitars (on-guitars.com) at the Montreux International Guitar Show (migs.ch). As a bonus you will be able to watch a demo of the P90 equipped Elster model. Christoph Noe interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:MIGS ArchivesGuitar
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