Johnny Marr: guitars auction @ Christie's

Buying one his guitars at a Christie's auction n London won't turn the buyer into Johnny Marr, but it will be something to brag about for sure. From The Guardian:

Johnny Marr is preparing to auction off about 80 of his guitars, including the Rickenbacker heard on This Charming Man.

Marr has partnered with Christie’s for the auction, which will take place on 17 September in London, with the collection – including amps and other equipment – available for the public to view in London and New York prior to the sale.

The star lots include a 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo, whose top estimate price of £80,000 reflects its indie music pedigree: as well as This Charming Man, it can be heard on What Difference Does It Make?, Still Ill, and Accept Yourself, and was also lent out to Noel Gallagher: it appears on the cover of Oasis’s debut single Supersonic. (It wasn’t used for the distinctive opening riff of This Charming Man, though, which was played on a 1950s Telecaster.)

Bill Wyman on his dirt cheap Dallas Tuxedo bass

Bill Wyman is still in awe with the sound of his Dallas Tuxedo bass, which he purchased for about £8 back in the day. He played it on almost all Rolling Stones albums, with songs from Sticky Fingers as his favourites. From an interview in Guitar Player:

'I Got the Blues' was probably one of the best songs I ever did with that one. 'Sister Morphine,' from the same LP, is another — a lot of the slow, bluesy things, the ballady things, songs where I wanted it to sound like a string bass. I can sort of slide on it because there are no frets, and I can almost get a little bit of that slap sound playing it with the thumb. I play every other bass with a pick, but I use my thumb on that one.

» billwyman.com

Randy McStine: "The Overview" rig rundown

Watch guitarist Randy McStine discuss his set-up with Julien Bitoun for Steven Wilson's The Overview tour. Most of it stock, which might come as a surprise, and he is always looking for opportunities to simplify his pedalboard.

» randymcstine.com

Berklee online: free Music Production Handbook

Berklee online is offering a free Music Production Handbook, so for those who are looking for some pointers to get the sound right, get cracking and pick it up before it disappears in yet another Stateside clusterfuck.

» .berklee.edu

Mike Gordon's 2024 bass rig

Watch Mike Gordon showing his extensive bass rig set up for the current Phish tour. No monitors on stage anymore, a pad to turn on his mike, plenty of pedals including ones for samples - mimicking a cat meowing, a Spock quote - and much, much more.

» mike-gordon.com

Thurston Moore: My Guitars & Me

Watch Thurston Moore discuss playing his 12-string Jazzmaster for My Guitars & Me with guitar.com. You can make beautiful noise pens, sticks, car antennas.

» thurstonmoore.com

Rory Gallagher's guitars and amps are up for auction

Rory Gallagher's guitars, including his iconic 1961 Fender Stratocaster, and amps will be auctioned by Bonhams in London on October 17th. Fingers crossed they don't end up in some fat cat's collection, never to be seen by the general public again. His brother Dónal Gallagher explains why he is letting go:

After nearly thirty years since my brother Rory’s passing, I now believe it’s time for other people to cherish Rory’s ‘orphaned’ 1961 Fender Stratocaster and the rest of his incredible instrument collection.

Since 1995, I have always felt that there was a mission to be fulfilled to cement Rory’s legacy and further widen the knowledge of his music. So, following much deliberation and reviewing of all options, in what is one of the most difficult and sensitive decisions to reach, I have decided to facilitate the release of his instruments for sale, so that these emblems of his legacy can be enjoyed by others.

Mike Gordon: shop talk @ Serek Basses in Chicago

Phish bass player Mike Gordon sat down for a shop talk about basses and much more at Serek Basses in Chicago. They make custom hand-built instruments, that ain't cheap.

» mike-gordon.com

Shred With Shifty Episode 1: Alex Lifeson

Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett has launched a new podcast, Shred With Shifty. In Episode 1 he talks with Rush maestro Alex Lifeson. The main focus lies on the Limelight solo.

» chrisshiflettmusic.com

"Open Mike" with Phish's Mike Gordon

Mike Gordon answered a couple of questions about his bass rig. Go deep. And weird. "O yeah, now we are swimming in the low end". He will be playing with his own band at a couple of US Festivals in June.

Live dates:

• 06/17 Northlands Music & Arts Festival in Swanzey, NH
• 06/22"Blue Ox Music Festival at The Pines Music Park, Eau Claire, WI
• 06/29 Peach Music Festival in Scranton, PA

» mike-gordon.com

Robert Fripp has launched his Guitar Craft website

Robert Fripp has launched his Guitar Craft website, to tie in with The Guitar Circle book and all things guitar. Visitors won't be able to play like him, but they might understand how he does things and why.

Herb Deutsch: Moog pioneer

Tape Op has an in depth article about the recently deceased Moog synth pioneer Herb Deutsch. Without him electronic music would have taken way longer to catch on. He is the man behind the keyboard interface among other things that were essential for the instrument to become playable and start a sonic revolution.

Mark Ronson: "Black to Black" song breakdown for BBC Maestro

Watch Mark Ronson going back on his work on the demo of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black for BBC Maestro.

» amywinehouse.com
» markronson.co.uk

Steve Hoffman on cutting the Creedence 180+ vinyl reissues for Analogue Productions

Engineer Steve Hoffman explains the cutting process for the 2014 reissues of the Creedence Clearwater Revival albums for Analogue Productions on his forum The basics are pretty straightforward:

Simple really, well not simple but by the book.

1. We get the Creedence Master tapes and give a listen.
2. We get an original Allen Zentz RCA pressing and give a listen.
3. We prepare the master tape for all analog cutting, running down each song for tone/volume.
4. Kevin Gray does the cutting part, I concentrate on the tonality and dynamics part.
5. We cut side 1.
6. We cut side 2.
7. Lunch

And so on.. Any questions?

» stevehoffman.tv

Randy Bachman: reunited with his Gretsch guitar after 45 years

In 1977 Randy Bachman's Gretsch guitar was stolen from his hotel room in Toronto. Canadian fan William Long tracked it down for him. He found a YouTube video by Japanese musician Takeshi playing the instrument. He agreed to give it back to Bachman, in exchange for a similar guitar. The handover took place at the Canadian embassy in Tokyo. From the AP News report:

Bachman searched and found the guitar’s “sister” — made during the same week, with a close serial number, no modifications and no repairs.

“To find my guitar again was a miracle, to find its twin sister was another miracle,” Bachman said.

TAKESHI said he decided to return the guitar because as a guitar player he could imagine how much Bachman missed it.

“I owned it and played it for only eight years and I’m extremely sad to return it now. But he has been feeling sad for 46 years, and it’s time for someone else to be sad,” TAKESHI said. “I felt sorry for this legend.”

Steven Wilson & Richard Barbieri: interview on Guitar Bonedo

The folks of German guitar gear site Bonedo talked with Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri about the making of the new Porcupine Tree album. The three parts (1, 2, 3) can be found on their YouTube Channel.

Richard Barbieri: "Gear Talk" video

Watch Richard Barbieri talking about keyboards he used on the new Porcupine Tree album Closure / Continuation. He uses a lot of old school analog synths, including a rebuild version of the Prophet-5. Since he is not a very technical player, he relies on the controls to create the sounds he wants and needs for his soundscapes.

Blurring parts is a huge part of his ambient approach. Listening to badly tuned radio when he was a kid - listening to two songs at the same time - and Brian Eno's work with Roxy Music are his main influences.

Closure / Continuation will be released in a wealth of formats on 24th June 2022.

» porcupinetree.com

Gavin Harrison: "Gear Talk" video

Watch Gavin Harrison talking about the drum kit he used on the new Porcupine Tree album Closure / Continuation. He is obviously very happy with his custom-made drum sticks.

When he hits the bass drum, a signal is sent to his drum seat, so that he can feel the beat. This tactile system, made by Porter & Davies, helped him to get rid of the big speakers he would need to make him hear what he is playing.

Closure / Continuation will be released in a wealth of formats on 24th June 2022.

» porcupinetree.com

Steven Wilson: "Gear Talk" video

Watch Steven Wilson talking about the gear he used on the new Porcupine Tree album Closure / Continuation, including a cheap Mexican Telecaster and a new one that is made to look old and does not need a lot of gain to sound real. His trusted Paul Reed Smith guitar is also still part of the equation. He used it for Of The New Day, plugged into a cheap practice amp.

"The best sounds that you get are the sounds that happen almost instantly. Don't even think about it. When you make demos, and you are thinking too hard about what you are doing, quickly dialing up a sound, it's hard to beat that later on." Also: he reveals how to make major 7th chords sound evil.

Closure / Continuation will be released in a wealth of formats on 24th June 2022.

» porcupinetree.com

1967 Gibson Guitars Factory Tour Documentary

A blast from the past about building guitars. A rediscovered documentary shot in the Gibson factory has been digitized and now is up on YouTube:

In the fall of 2020, Gibson unearthed an unmarked reel while digging through vault archives. Intrigued by the discovery, Gibson TV producers took that reel and had it digitally remastered. The footage you are about to see was shot at Gibson's Factory in 1967. It has never been seen until now.

» gibson.com