Steve Dawson Finds New Textures for Guitar Instrumentals
Steve Dawson may not be a household name, but with the release of 2014’s Rattlesnake Cage, he put himself on the radar of many acoustic guitar fans.
Pete Madsen
Pete Madsen is an acoustic blues, ragtime and slide guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He's the author of Play the Blues Like..., an essential guide for playing fingerstyle blues in open tunings.
Gear Review: National T-14 Cutaway
National Reso-phonic’s first 14-fret cutaway tricone, the T-14, has piqued the interest of resonator enthusiasts.
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Gear Review: Guild F-512 12-string
Introduced in 1968 as a special-order version of the 6-string F-50R, the Guild F-512 had varying appointments, including Brazilian rosewood backs and sides, before it became a regular model in 1974—and a go-to instrument for players such as Pete Townsend, Brian May, Tim Buckley, John Denver, and Dan Fogelberg.
Gear Review: Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge
If you’re a busker, singer-songwriter, or other performing musician, you’ll probably run into a situation where you wish you had a battery-powered amp. That’s where a smart new amp from Fishman—the 60-watt, two-channel Loudbox Mini Charge—can help.
Gear Review: Pre-War Guitars Model-HD
Pre-War sent a model HD (herringbone dreadnought) to AG, and I knew something was up when I saw the Harptone hardshell case.
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Video Lesson: Learn to Play Like Memphis Minnie in Open-G Tuning
Memphis Minnie’s guitar playing has gone mostly underappreciated through the decades, but for many blues-inspired fingerpickers she is a crucial link in the chain of Delta blues through to Chicago blues.
Gear Review: Genzler Acoustic Array Pro
With its solid-state electronics and light weight (just 27 pounds), the Genzler Acoustic Array Pro shares some pedigree with early Genz Benz amps.
Review: Martin Model America 1 and Standard Series D-28
In an era when tropical tonewoods such as mahogany and rosewood have become increasingly regulated and scarce, it makes perfect sense to make a guitar entirely from North American woods. The Model America 1 is based on the stalwart D-18, but with tonewoods that can be found in Martin’s—or maybe even your own—back yard.
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Video Lesson: Learn to Play Slide Like Jimmy Page
In this lesson, you'll get Jimmy Page's blues riffs and musical ideas under your fingers and learn how to take them somewhere new and exciting.
Gear Review: Hughes & Kettner Era 1
Housed in a beautiful wooden cabinet, the Hughes & Kettner Era 1 acoustic guitar amp is sleek—with its inputs and dials hidden from view, it looks like half of an audiophile’s home speaker system.
Video Lesson: How to Play Like Son House
Get your guitar tuned to open G and explore Son House's style - a visceral mix of string popping and bottleneck slide.
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How to Fingerpick the Blues Like Mississippi John Hurt: The Alternating-Bass Pattern
Apply the techniques players like Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, and John Fahey are known for to a 12-bar blues.
Video Lesson: How to Play the Blues Like Charley Patton
Get your guitar into open G tuning and learn to play bottleneck slide in the style of this influential blues guitarist.
Gear Review: Boss AD-10 Acoustic Preamp
With an all-in-one processor pedal like the new Boss AD-10 Acoustic Preamp, getting a good live sound has been made much simpler. Assuming a given venue has a decent PA system, you can show up with just a guitar and AD-10 in hand, dial up your sound, and off you go.
Video Lesson: Learn How to Play Like Tampa Red
Tampa Red intertwines the bass and treble voices, employing a dance-like approach. Get your guitar tuned to open-D and explore Tampa's bottleneck slide style.
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Gear Review: Tanglewood Java Series Parlor and Winterleaf Series OM
Despite being distributed in 60 countries and receiving the “All-time best-selling acoustic guitars in the UK” award by the Music Industry Awards, Tanglewood brand isn’t a household name in the US. But that may change now that the UK-based…
Gear Review: Gretsch G9511 Style 1 Single-0 Parlor Guitar
An affordable, fun-to-play small-bodied guitar with a refined tone.
Video Lesson: How to Play the Blues Like Skip James
Capturing the haunting, emotive quality of Skip James' music is a challenge. Learn to get into open-D-minor tuning and explore his evocative music.
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Gear Review: Fender’s Fortis F-10BT is a Sturdy and Excellent Performer
When I gig as a solo acoustic blues guitarist and vocalist, I usually take a small amp. But there are some instances, like when I play for crowds of more than 100 people, when the amp doesn’t quite cut it. Because of this I became intrigued with the idea of using powered speakers, instead of an amp, in situations where I need enough volume to fill up the space.
Video Review: Journey’s OF660 Carbon-Fiber Travel Guitar Is Easy to Assemble and Play
With composite construction and easily detachable neck, the Journey OF660 is truly a guitar you can take anywhere.
Video Review: Recording King Dirty 30’s RPS-7 and RPS-9 Have a Cool Old-School Vibe and Modest Price Tags
The Recording King RPS-7 and RPS-9 are modeled after Dust Bowl–era Montgomery Ward guitars, and they share some basic specs: Each guitar has a compact, style-0-sized body with a 12th-fret neck junction and a relatively long-scale fretboard, 25.4 inches.
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Video Lesson: Exploring Kelly Joe Phelps’ Slide Work in Open Tunings
Prewar blues is just a stepping-off point for Phelps’ intricate fingerpicking and soulful vocals. In this lesson, you'll adapt his open-D ideas to bottleneck style.
Video Review: Fender Paramount PM-3
This top-of-the-line guitar seems aimed toward a more refined, fingerpicking-based audience.
Video Review: Waterloo WL-S and WL-S Deluxe by Collings Guitars
With both the WL-S and the WL-S Deluxe, Waterloo has borrowed an old form as the template for brilliant new guitars that are awesome by any yardstick.
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Video Lesson: How to Play the Blues Like Booker White
Explore Booker ("Bukka") White’s playing in open-G and open-D minor and work your way up to his quick tempos and powerful driving rhythm.
