Charles Janssen is the luthier for Schwung Guitars (www.schwung-guitars.com), he is based in The Hague, Netherlands. We first met via Facebook and then in Berlin at the Holy Grail Guitar Show where he was present as a visitor. Charles came to the showroom in Paris with nothing less than six of his instruments to present
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Premium Access
Andy Manson interview, luthier for John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and more
Friday, 18 May 2018
At the 2018 Holy Grail Guitar Show, I had the opportunity to do an interview with Andy Manson, a legendary luthier who worked for Led Zeppelin's bassist John Paul Jones. In this in-depth interview I revisit with him his career. I have to say it was an honor and a true pleasure to interview this
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
One of the novelties of the 2018 edition of the Holy Grail Guitar Show was the presentation by the Finnish luthier Juha Ruokangas of a new guitar model, the Emma Maria archtop, named after his wife. Here is an interview to know everything about what led this luthier to develop this new instrument in a category
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Free Content
David Wallimann interview – 100k subscribers guitar teacher on YouTube
Monday, 09 April 2018
David Wallimann is a long time online friend who is an important Youtube guitar teacher with more than 110k subscribers on his YouTube channel. We almost met during the last NAMM but he couldn't make it at the last minute so we decided to do this Skype interview to talk about our respective projects built
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Jack and Joe Napoli are the two brothers behind the American boutique pedal builder Analog Alien. They were exhibiting as usual at the Winter NAMM, a perfect opportunity to catch up with them and get a few stories from them, straight from the show floor. www.analogalien.com Napoli brothers interview - Analog Alien Analog Alien is
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
One of the great novelties of the NAMM 2018 was the great announcement of Taylor Guitars, the new V-Class bracing system developed by Andy Powers, the master builder of the Californian manufacturer. The Guitar Channel went to meet the luthier to know everything! Andy Powers interview Podcast Audio version of the interview available in the
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Free Content
Bruno Pelletier-Bacquaert interview – 2018 projects on brunojazz.com
Wednesday, 07 February 2018
Bruno Pelletier-Bacquaert is the official Jazz consultant for The Guitar Channel. It was via his intermediary that I was able to conduct interviews with jazz greats such as Gilad Hekselman, Jonathan Kreisberg, Nir Felder and Mike Moreno. Bruno was in Paris for a few days before returning to San Francisco where he usually resides for
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Adriano Sergio is one of the luthiers who was part of the NAMM 2018 Boutique Guitar Showcase. Jamie Gale's Boutique Guitar Showcase was an entire section of the show floor where you could find high end luthiers from around the world. Previously interviewed in 2015 at the Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin, here is
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Premium Access
Tommy Emmanuel interview – Guitar in hand in Paris – Accomplice One
Friday, 19 January 2018
Tommy Emmanuel is one of the greats of the guitar at the moment and not only in the Fingerstyle domain. The Guitar Channels proposes you for the 3rd time an interview with the Australian maestro for a Guitar-in-Hand video. His album Accomplice One, which will be released in January 2018, is excellent with incredible duets
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in All, Interviews
Sam Tharp is an entrepreneur who is behind the Fretish service (fretish.com) which aims to be a kind of AirBnB for instruments. Admit that the idea is awesome! You go on vacation or business trip and bingo in a few clicks you can potentially rent a guitar for your stay. Well, that's in theory because the
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
For your information you will see in the graph below (taken from the website of Libsyn, the service I use to host my podcast) that the trend is overall positive for the number of downloads of podcasts for the year 2017. In total, this represents a +54% increase in downloads between in 2017. In the second half
- Published in News
Pete Thorn is a musician who works a lot, whether to produce his excellent videos on guitar gear or to tour behind great international stars around the world, he never stops. After Paris in 2013, our paths crossed again but at the end of the world this time since this new interview was held in
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
At the first edition of the Guitar Summit in Mannheim in September 2017, The Guitar Channel had the opportunity to meet and interview Dieter Roesberg, the editor-in-chief of the Gitarre & Bass guitar magazine and organizer of the show. Below is the interview with this great professional in the field. Dieter Rosberg interview Audio version
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Free Content
Drew Roller interview – Director of the documentary “Acoustic Uprising”
Monday, 11 December 2017
The world of acoustic guitar is currently booming with locomotives such as Andy McKee, Jon Gomm, Maneli Jamal, Antoine Dufour and many others who follow the path opened by Michael Hedges, Don Ross and other guitarists. The documentary Acoustic Uprising tells the story of this movement. This film was directed by Drew Roller, an Australian
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Free Content
Guitar Review – Halfbreed Springer model by Springer Guitars
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Back in September, The Guitar Channel proposed you to listen to a guitar only using the audio file of the review. The objective was to use more our ears than our eyes to evaluate the sound. The suspens is over, now is the time to reveal the mystery guitar! It's a guitar hand built by
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
Premium Access
Guitar review – Sorcerer 62 MJS Guitars – Luthier Godefroy Maruejouls
Friday, 08 September 2017
Godefroy Maruejouls is a French luthier who has been building high quality guitars, acoustic or electric. Last time we reviewed one of his acoustic instrument, this time this is an electric guitar called the Sorcerer 62. MJS Sorcerer 62 review Audio version of the review For those into audio, here's the podcast version of the
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
In order to change from the usual format of guitar review, here's a new idea: you will find below the audio recording of a guitar reviewed on The Guitar Channel, the goal is to guess which guitar or at least which kind of guitar it is!
Review setup
Path: guitar > jack > Kelt V-Twin amp > Shure SM-58 > Tascam DR-70D
No equalization applied or reverv or anythyng: just the dry signal coming from the SM-58
The settings on the amp were the sam throughout the review
Any idea about the guitar?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
Free Content
Jessica Lynn interview: Country music singer and guitar player
Wednesday, 09 August 2017
Jessica Lynn is a Country music singer and guitar player who tours a lot in Europe. We did this audio interview while she was right in the middle of a big European tour.
Subjects discussed
Her first guitar
Her influences
How she went into Country music
The process she uses to write a song
The experiences she had from the road
Her next projects
Jessica Lyn video clip - Not Your Woman
Jessica Lynn is often referred to as the ‘new’ Shania of pop-country and one can easily see why.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Kenny Wayne Shepherd continues a career filled with excellent albums. Lay It On Down is no exception and offers a beautiful collection of Blues, Blues/Rock and Country songs. It will not change the face of the world, it does not invent much but God, it is excellent music!! In the interview below Kenny talks about how
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
The Mag Mic system from Seymour Duncan is a solution that is seen more and more often in the instruments of pro musicians. So recently Adam Miller came to the Backstage showroom for a Guitar in Hand interview with his guitar made by the luthier Jeff Traugott which is equipped with this system, same for Shai
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
Premium Access
Pedal Review Strymon Sunset, double overdrive/boost Swiss army knife
Friday, 02 June 2017
Here's the Sunset, the latest effort from Strymon to attack the analog kingdom of overdrive and boost pedals. After the Riverside also reviewed on The Guitar Channel, this new double pedal propose another angle with 6 types of overdrive and boost, 3 per sides of the pedal, that you can combine. In fact you can have A going into B, B going into A or both running in parallel.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
On the recommendation of Bruno Pelletier-Bacquaert, I contacted Julia Crowe via Twitter to receive her book My First Guitar. Let me tell you right away that I loved this book from the first to the last page.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
The compressor is an effect that is always a bit intimidating because of the number of parameters often: attack time, release time, compression ratio, output volume, etc. That's why Alexandre Ernandez, the designer of Anasounds, made the choice with this Lazy Comp pedal to propose a compressor with ... one button!
The parameter controlled by this single button is the percentage of mixing between direct sound and compressed sound.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
Here is in review a new exceptional guitar, the Unicorn Classic model built in the Finnish luthier Juha Ruokangas workshop. It is an instrument that was kindly lent me by a backstager (thank you David!). Given the very small number of guitars made by Juha and his team, it was an unexpected opportunity to test a guitar of this caliber.
We are indeed here in the super high-end realm. The price of this model with the options included in this specific instrument (superb table, gold hardware, etc.) requires a budget of about 9 500 €.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
Eric Bibb is a very prolific musician who is now releasing Migration Blues, a magnificent album about a theme which is very tragically present in the news. Supported by the French harp player Jean-Jacques Milteau and by Michael Jerome Browne for a multitude of stringed instruments (guitars, mandolin, banjo, etc.), Eric delivers here a masterly work that is a treat to listen to.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Francisco Rodriguez is a Spanish luthier The Guitar Channel interviewed during the Holy Grail Guitar Show.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
Free Content
Pedal Review – Rumble Seat from Analog Alien: overdrive/delay/reverb in 1 unit!
Friday, 17 March 2017
Analog Alien (www.analogalien.com) is an American brand of boutique pedal that offers a range of products with a very original look and a beautiful palette of sounds.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
Premium Access
Mojo Classic Ruokangas Guitars review – A Telecaster coming from Finland
Wednesday, 15 March 2017
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).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Gear
The Dandy Warhols were in Paris for a concert, a perfect opportunity to record this video interview with their guitar player Peter Holmström.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
Premium Access
Andy Timmons interview: Theme From A Perfect World, his new album
Saturday, 18 February 2017
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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
- Published in Interviews
