Recently I had the pleasure to have no less than 4 beautiful examples of instruments from Sully Guitars (sullyguitars.com) at the showroom in Paris. Those guitars are built by the American luthier Jon Sullivan aka Sully. Here are the playing sequences only of the review I recorded of those guitars. Here the models heard in
Jon Sullivan, also known as Sully from Sully Guitars (sullyguitars.com), was visiting France on holiday to attend the Paris Guitar Festival for the first time and… to pop into the showroom for an interview, guitar in hand. Part 1 / Part 2 Interview Jon Sullivan aka Sully Until the next interview or gear review, keep
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Swiss luthier Claudio Pagelli from Pagelli Guitars (pagelli.com) recounts his luthier fail stories. That’s right, even the best (perhaps especially the best, in fact!) make mistakes, and that’s what drives them forward and helps them become who they are. Claudio Pagelli interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre
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After a brief encounter at NAMM 2026, here is an in-depth interview with American musician Adam Levy (adamlevy.com). He has just released a superb album entitled Household, which is a delight to listen to. We also discuss the live album recorded with the Molly Miller Trio. Part 1 / Part 2 Adam Levy Interview Until
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After a brief encounter at NAMM 2026, here is an in-depth interview with American musician Adam Levy (adamlevy.com). He has just released a superb album entitled Household, which is a delight to listen to. We also discuss the live album recorded with the Molly Miller Trio. Part 1 / Part 2 Adam Levy Interview Until
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Following one of my interviews in Italy at the Bologna guitar show with Marco Ferrari from Dreamaker (dreamakeramps.com), Arnaud, a long-time subscriber to La Chaîne Guitare, ordered an amplifier from him. I had the pleasure of testing this amplifier at the showroom. Here is the video of this superb sound machine. Dreamaker 01_20PS amp demo
American pedal manufacturer Mason Marangella, founder of the Vertex (vertexeffects.com), was present at NAMM 2026 in collaboration with Gator. Here he is in an interview talking about the market at this year's NAMM, guitar pedals, and his projects. Be sure to check out Mason's videos with iconic studio guitarists on his YouTube channel, they're awesome.
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The Wood Wire Volts (woodwirevolts.com) event held its second edition during NAMM 2026 a few kilometres from the Convention Centre in a place called The Colony. The space is great, you can chat quietly and the selection of exhibitors is excellent, with many boutique manufacturers, mainly American. It's well worth taking a few hours to
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German luthier Nik Huber from Huber Guitars (nikhuber-guitars.com) recounts one of his luthier fail. Nik Huber interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Luthier Fail Stories
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The Brazilian born musician Kiko Loureiro (kikoloureiro.com) was one of the pro giving a masterclass at the 2026 edition of the ToneFest in Tuusula, Finland. It was a pleasure to record a third interview with this amazing guitar player. Kiko Loureiro Archives Kiko Loureiro interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.
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Here is an interview with Finnish luthier Juha Ruokangas of Ruokangas Guitars (ruokangas.com) at the 2026 edition of ToneFest (tonefest.fi) in Finland. The craftsman builds high-end electric guitars with a small team of luthiers and sells his instruments worldwide. He is a leading figure in the world of guitar making. Juha Ruokangas interview Until the
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As a big fan of Jude Gold (judegold.com)and his podcast No Guitar Is Safe (link), I love interviewing this musician, who is also a member of the legendary band Jefferson Starship. Jude Gold interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:NAMM
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Canadian musician Ariel Posen (arielposen.com) has released a new album entitled Bannatyne. This album is splendid. It features high-quality songs, arrangements that are polished but not overdone, and, as always, that incredible guitar sound with its inimitable touch. Ariel Posen interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.
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In 2026, The Guitar Channel travelled to Finland for the first time to cover ToneFest (tonefest.fi), the country’s biggest guitar show. Here is an interview with Petri Matero, organiser of this wonderful event and owner of the shop Tonefest Guitar Gallery (tonefestguitargallery.com), also located in Tuusula, just north of Helsinki. A big thank you to
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Curtis Novak (curtisnovak.com) is an American manufacturer of boutique pickups and also the organizer of the Wood Wire Volts event (woodwirevolts.com), which held its second edition in 2026 alongside NAMM. It was striking to see the expansion of this event, which doubled in number of exhibitors. Curtis Novak interview Until the next interview or gear
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Young American musician Taj Farrant (tajfarrant.com) was at NAMM 2026 at the Eminence booth, where he was presenting a signature speaker. Here he is in an interview just before his demo. Thanks to AMS Amplification (amsamplifiers.com) for putting us in touch with Taj. Taj Farrant interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on
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I am often asked how I choose the people I interview. Here is an article describing the strategy I have always used in this area. With more than 1,500 interviews under my belt, the approach is clear. The priorities The priorities regarding who I interview are simple, my choice will always be: For me, the
Sunday was the third and last day of the Paris Guitar Festival in Montrouge (parisguitarfestival.com), it was a great finale for this 2026 edition. Report for Sunday 08/03/26 Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Paris Guitar Festival
Saturday is always the big day at the Paris Guitar Festival in Montrouge (parisguitarfestival.com), it was definitely the case for the 2026 edition with a lot of visitors and plenty of good music. Report for Saturday 07/03/26 Photo album Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more
This time of year, when the Paris Guitar Festival in Montrouge (parisguitarfestival.com) returns, is always a joy! The quality of the exhibitors and the programme is always top notch. Here is a 7min video report to give you an idea of the guitar show part of the event. Report for Friday 06/03/26 Photo album Until the
The second and final day at the ToneFest (tonefest.fi) was a superb day with lots of visitors again, lots of great encounters, beautiful music and six interviews. Interviews of the day : Many thanks to Petri Matero of ToneFest Guitar Gallery (tonefestguitargallery.com), organiser of this event, who financed a large part of my travel expenses.
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The second and final day at the ToneFest (tonefest.fi) was a superb day with lots of visitors again, lots of great encounters, beautiful music and six interviews. Interviews of the day : Many thanks to Petri Matero of ToneFest Guitar Gallery (tonefestguitargallery.com), organiser of this event, who financed a large part of my travel expenses.
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Here I am! I'm at ToneFest (tonefest.fi), the guitar show held in Tuusula, 20 km north of Helsinki, Finland. Around fifty exhibitors, mainly Finnish, are present with a splendid assortment of acoustic and electric guitars from luthiers, boutique pedals, amplifiers, as well as a luthiery school, book and kit sellers, and a distributor. It was
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Here I am! I'm at ToneFest (tonefest.fi), the guitar show held in Tuusula, 20 km north of Helsinki, Finland. Around fifty exhibitors, mainly Finnish, are present with a splendid assortment of acoustic and electric guitars from luthiers, boutique pedals, amplifiers, as well as a luthiery school, book and kit sellers, and a distributor. It was
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The Finland ToneFest guitar show (tonefest.fi) doesn't start until tomorrow, Saturday, but given the flight schedule, it was easier to arrive the day before so I could be ready to go as soon as the show opened. So I arrived in Helsinki late this morning. Here's a quick video update. Hello from Helsinki Until the
One Mississippi is the title of the album of American bluesman Eric Bibb (ericbibb.com). Here he is, guitar in hand, in a Parisian hotel, talking about it in an interview. Eric Bibb interview Serge Fathom interview with Eric Bibb For those who want more, here is the interview by Serge Fattoh from Global Africa Telesud
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Thanks to a long-time subscriber to La Chaîne Guitare (thank you, Michel!), I was able to get in touch with Polish musician Robert Pieculewicz (Facebook page). Here he is in a Zoom interview to learn about his career and his projects. Robert Pieculewicz interview The Guitar Channel podcast The audio version of the video is
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It's always very interesting to interview Zach Broyles from creator of boutique build Mythos Pedals (mythospedals.com) and high end guitar store Highvoltage Guitars (highvoltageguitars.com) because he is a keen observer of the guitar market. Listen carefully to this entrepreneur because his vision of the industry is comprehensive. Zach Broyles interview Until the next interview or
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Ariel Posen (arielposen.com) was one of the musicians programmed at the Wood Wire Volts (woodwirevolts.com) event at The Colony, a few kilometers away from the NAMM Show convention center. Here is for a quick interview to talk about his 2026 projects. FYI, we will soon be recording an in-depth interview to discuss his new album, Bannatyne.
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Swiss luthier Egon Rauscher from SoulTool Guitars (soultool.com) recounts one of his luthier fail. Egon Rauscher interview Until the next interview or gear review, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. For more info:Luthier Fail Stories
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