Susan Weinert
There's an incredibly vibrant guitar scene in Europe, and in fact there are many American players who've transplanted themselves in Germany because of it. It seems the audiences are excited about coming out to hear new music, new musicians—even if they don’t know you or aren’t familiar with your style of music. I’ve played in bars, culture centers, and festivals, and along the way I’ve met an array of extraordinary acoustic guitarists and musicians. Susan Weinert is one of them. What touched me most when I first heard her play at Peter Coura's small, smokey guitar shop in Frankfurt, was the heart and soul that came through her hands. Colors, textures and emotions melted out of the guitar—sometimes in a rapid fire of single notes, other times as thick, rich, rhythmic chords, all of it seemingly without any effort and in perfect time. I knew then and there that I wanted to play with her.
Susan Weinert is a jazz guitarist. Her first guitar at age seven was a nylon string, which didn't quite fit her body size and small hands. The Classical repertoire didn't quite touch her heart, either, and after three years she put it down. Two years later she got a steel string guitar and found the right teacher. After hearing her play, he told her she needed an electric guitar and she managed to get one from her father as an Easter present. Together, with her teacher and her Gibson ES-335, she began the study of jazz. Growing up in a town with a great music scene, Weinert was able to build her chops not only by practicing, but by playing with other musicians, and eventually by writing her own music and performing locally with her own band.
In 2000, she returned to the nylon string guitar, seeking its warmth and intimacy—but this time playing her own jazz compositions. Peter Coura, who has built her five electric solid body guitars, sent her to Albert & Mueller, a German guitar builder, and together they designed her guitar. It's a smaller body, not as deep and with a smaller neck profile. The frets are not as far apart as on a typical classical guitar—which suits Weinert’s Alan Holdsworth-style of covering six or seven frets at a time. It's also a cutaway, since Weinert's jazz chops take her all the way up and down the neck.
Now—it's already a bit unusual to play jazz on a nylon string guitar, but Weinert's acoustic setup gets even more interesting. Used to using synth sounds with her electric guitar, she wanted to have that option with the nylon string. It would give her a larger palette of tones to draw from. She chose the RMC Acoustic Gold system which is a 13-pin hexaphonic (separate output for each string) piezo pickup, with a Roland VG-8 Module for her synth sounds. Through the use of a Rocktron MIDI Mate foot controller and volume pedals, she can create any blend of synth and acoustic sounds that she wants. I've had the honor of hearing in her acoustic duo featuring her husband, Martin Weinert on upright bass. She may use 100% synth sounds for certain melodic phrases, but she never over-uses the synth effect. A lot of times she'll bring in a really warm, string-like pad along with the nylon string to add elements of space and texture. I've also been lucky enough to have her play with me on my CD, UnCovered. It's a collection of cover tunes, and we picked Sting's “Fragile” to really feature Weinert's nylon sound—but what she added with the synth sounds truly took the song to a new place. No matter what the blend is, Weinert is always true to the music.
Her advice to young players: “Learn how to play your instrument—take it seriously! Practice every day, but always make it musical. Engage your creativity at all times, be open to playing with others and focus on making the music work, not showing off what you can do.”
Vicki Genfan
Vicki is redefining singer/songwriter culture; 2008’s Guitar Player Magazine Guitar Superstar winner, she is an acoustic virtuoso, singer, composer and storyteller rolled into one astounding person.
vickigenfan.com
SUSAN'S GEARBOX
Guitar: Albert & Müller nylon-String guitar CL2 with cutaway albert-mueller.de
Pickup: RMC Acoustic Gold Standard rmcpickup.com/acousticgold.html
Amp: AER AcoustiCube 3 + AG 8 (as a wedge)
aer-amps.info
EFX: Rocktron Intellifex
Roland VG 8
Roland & Boss volume pedals
Rocktron MIDI Mate foot controller
Mixing-board: Mackie 1642 VLZ Pro
FOH: HK Audio Linear Pro System
Phat Machine
The Phat Machine
The Phat Machine is designed to deliver the tone and responsiveness of a vintage germanium fuzz with improved temperature stability with no weird powering issues. Loaded with both a germanium and a silicon transistor, the Phat Machine offers the warmth and cleanup of a germanium fuzz but with the bite of a silicon pedal. It utilizes classic Volume and Fuzz control knobs, as well as a four-position Thickness control to dial-in any guitar and amp combo. Also included is a Bias trim pot and a Kill switch that allows battery lovers to shut off the battery without pulling the input cord.
Silk Worm Deluxe Overdrive
The Silk Worm Deluxe -- along with its standard Volume/Gain/Tone controls -- has a Bottom trim pot to dial in "just the right amount of thud with no mud at all: it’s felt more than heard." It also offers a Studio/Stage diode switch that allows you to select three levels of compression.
Both pedals offer the following features:
- 9-volt operation via standard DC external supply or internal battery compartment
- True bypass switching with LED indicator
- Pedalboard-friendly top mount jacks
- Rugged, tour-ready construction and super durable powder coated finish
- Made in the USA
Static Effectors’ Street Series pedals carry a street price of $149 each. They are available at select retailers and can also be purchased directly from the Static Effectors online store at www.staticeffectors.com.
Galloup’s Plek tech Adam Winarski preps a Yamaha acoustic for the machine.
Presently, many certified guitar-repair specialists possess the expertise required to deliver an instrument that both sounds and plays wonderfully. The standards set by manufacturers and distributors have significantly risen, safeguarded by rigorous quality protocols to guarantee the best possible acoustic experience for customers. Additionally, lutherie training has raised the bar for critical processes, and one of the most tricky is fretwork.
Traditional fretwork once involved manual labor, with technicians utilizing sandbags or similar supports to steady the neck as they straightened it with a truss rod during the filing process. A notable advancement in this field came in the mid 1970s when Don Teeter, an author and repair expert, imposed a new method: fixing the guitar body to the bench and using blocks to maintain the neck in a playing position. This refinement was one of many in the continued quest to produce superior instruments by standardized methods.
An example of the Plek’s readings from an acoustic guitar.
Photo courtesy of Galloup Guitars
In the late 1970s, another pivotal innovation was introduced by Dan Erlewine. He created an advanced fret jig with a specialized body-holding system and neck supports, adding another layer of precision to the repair process. During my collaboration with Dan in 1985, we developed a rotating neck jig that counterbalanced the forces of gravity, keeping the instrument in its playing orientation while adjusting the neck supports. This step represented a significant leap in establishing control and standardization of fretwork procedures in our industry. By 1986, our approach had evolved into a freestanding workstation coupled with a sophisticated hold-down mechanism and enhanced neck supports, culminating in increased accuracy, efficiency, and consistency. Over the decades, the Erlewine/Galloup rotating neck jig has become a benchmark in numerous shops, enhancing fretwork performance.
"This step represented a significant leap in establishing control and standardization of fretwork procedures in our industry."
By the 1990s, automated and computerized technologies permeated the guitar manufacturing and repair sectors. Initially applied by import companies in the mass production of guitars, the technology, although expediting processes, did not immediately achieve high execution standards. However, the tech dramatically improved over time, with computer-driven systems eventually transforming the industry. Contemporary automated production utilizing such advancements meets exceedingly high standards of precision. Some bespoke guitar manufacturers, such as Steve Andersen, were pioneers in adopting these methods, but it was companies like Taylor that established them in the modern era.
Inevitably, the progression of technology extended beyond the mere production of parts. Around 1995, German engineer Gerd Anke envisioned the integration of computer-assisted technology into enhancing instrument playability, giving rise to Plek technology, which uses computers to precisely measure and analyze the various components of a guitar, like neck relief, fret height, nut and bridge specs, and more. Nashville guitar-repair tech Joe Glaser was among the first to recognize the machine’s value, followed by San Francisco luthier Gary Brawer. When Heritage Guitar Inc. invested in a Plek machine, the guitar industry could no longer disregard the significance of this innovation.
“The machine’s scanning data confirmed that there was one nature of an ideal fret plane, done by hand or machine, and unsurprisingly, it conformed exactly to what physics predicts, not personal mojo.”
In the spring of 2022, Galloup Guitars obtained its first Plek machine. Promptly, our technician Adam Winarski paved the way for the Plek’s integration in our shop. Now, it’s a rarity for an instrument to leave our shop without having undergone Plek analysis and machining. Impressed by the results of our integration, we created “Intro to Plek” as a course for all students enrolled at the Galloup School of Lutherie, offering our students a practical introduction to this technology. We furthered this educational initiative with a comprehensive one-week intensive “Plek Certification Training Course” for both students and the public. This advanced Plek course serves those seeking to boost their knowledge base and employability in this high-precision field.
Plek is rapidly becoming an industry standard for major manufacturers and smaller shops alike. However, this does not mean that those without access to this technology cannot execute proficient fretwork. Personally, I continue to use my Erlewine/Galloup neck jig—not only out of nostalgia, but also because it remains an excellent method for delivering accurate and reliable guitars. Still, it’s undeniable that the process of fretting, fret dressing, and analytics of fretted instruments has undergone significant transformation, resulting in better sounding—and playing—guitars. And ultimately, that’s what it’s all about.