Q: What strings (brand/gauge) are on your No. 1 right now? How long do you keep rocking them?
Zach Irons — Irontom, AWOLNATION
A: I use Ernie Ball .010s. In Irontom, I like to keep them on for as long as I possibly can as a joke and I’m lazy. With that being said, I like how they feel and sound after four shows. In AWOLNATION, they usually get changed out before every show, which I don’t love but I certainly cannot complain. When I’m home, I literally never change them unless one breaks, which rarely happens.
Current obsession: I just ordered an 808. It hasn’t been delivered yet but I’ve definitely been obsessed with the idea of it and the impact it's had on so much of my favorite music of all time. So in the end, I might only be obsessed with the idea.. who’s to say. I’m also always obsessed with wah. I feel that there’s always new ways to use it and new ways to reinvent what it does.
Photo by Brandon Daniel
Gary Gladson — Reader of the Month
A: Elixir Nanoweb .009–.046. Depending on how busy I am, they sound fresh for weeks. I’ve been using them for years now, even for the acoustics.
Current obsession: The music of Lightnin’ Hopkins. I’ve been listening to him a lot recently and breaking down his style, incorporating those turnarounds into my playing, like in “Mojo Hand.” When I hear him play, I can hear his personality and that’s the ultimate goal of art to me: to have your personality stamp show through. When I get into a rut with my playing, stripping things down and rebuilding back to make the notes have more impact is the best way to come back. There are other players that help with that, too, but he is the current obsession!
John Bohlinger — Nashville Correspondent
A: I love new strings, but I am a very, very lazy man. Currently, I will need a tetanus shot if I play one more show on my three main guitars. D’Addario’s NYXL strings are made for us: the indolent and cheap. They have a little life left in them right up until they break. I’ve used .010–.046 for the past 20 years.
Current obsession: After years of wetting down every note with verb and/or delay, lately I’ve been enjoying the high and dry. It occurred to me while listening to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. Every note is definitive.
Rich Osweiler — Associate Editor
A: I’m pretty consistent with .045s, but not a particular brand so much, so when I do get around to changing the strings on my favorite P every three to four months (or six), I like to mix it up. Currently, “Blondie” is sporting Rotosound RB45 nickel roundwounds.
Current obsession: Dayglow. I won’t/can’t admit this to my daughter, but it was indeed my tween who introduced me to Sloan Struble’s music, which has become one of my favorite things to listen to the past few months. His uber-hooky, guitar-driven indie pop is DIY at its finest.
“The Player II Series represents our continued evolution in design and functionality,” said Justin Norvell, EVP of Product, FMIC. “We listened to the feedback from musicians around the world and incorporated their insights to refine and innovate our instruments. The re-introduction of rosewood fingerboards is a restoration of the ‘original Fender recipe’ and will no doubt be a fan favorite - but we didn’t want to stop there. We’ve also incorporated our rolled fingerboard edges for a broken-in feel, upgraded hardware, and have some new body options as well- which underscores our commitment to providing players and creators with the tools they need to express their unique sound and style. The Player II Series is not just an upgrade, it's a detailed re-imagining of our core silhouettes, highlighting our dedication to quality and the continuous refinement of our instruments.”
Additionally, Player II offers new options for chambered ash and chambered mahogany bodies for the Player II Stratocaster and Telecaster models, which will be available in October. Designed for musicians ready to elevate their craft, the Player II Series sets a new standard for quality and performance in the mid-price range.
Fender Player II Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar - Coral Red
Fender Player II Jaguar Electric Guitar - Aquatone Blue
The 2018 CCL Deco Custom, in all its Pelham blue glory.
Anyway, we became friends and I started working on him pretty early—my 40th birthday was approaching, and that meant it was time for us to start designing his first solidbody build. If you stopped on this page, it’s because the photo of the finished product caught your eye. Beautiful, right? The 2018 CCL Deco Custom: Never shall there be another.
Old National Glenwood guitars were my design inspiration, but I wanted a slim waist like a PRS and the like. We used a solid block of korina to start, routed like MacGyver to get the knobs and switches where I wanted them. Dale builds all his own lathes and machines (usually out of lumber, y’all), as the task requires. This beast took some creativity—it’s tight wiring under that custom-steel pickguard. Many were the preliminary sketches. Four coats of Pelham blue, 11 coats of nitro. Honduran mahogany neck, Madagascar ebony fretboard with Dale’s signature not-quite-Super-400 inlays. He designed the logo; I just said, “Make it art deco.”
We sourced all the bits and bobs from StewMac and Allparts and Reverb and the like, mostly to get that chrome look I so adore. Graph Tech Ratio tuners, Duesenberg Radiator trem (had to order that one from Germany), TonePros TP6R-C roller bridge. The pickups were a genius suggestion from the builder, Guitarfetish plug ’n’ play 1/8" solderless swappable, which means I have about 10 pickups in the case to choose from: rockabilly to metal. And both slots are tapped, with the tone knobs serving as single- to double-coil switches. I put the selector on the lower horn to accommodate my tendency to accidentally flip the thing on Les Pauls—definite lifesaver.
Reader and guitar enthusiast, Cody Lindsey.
Dale offered to chamber this monster, but I said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It weighs in at 11 pounds, if it’s an ounce. We carved the neck to match a ’60s SG, so it’s like the mini bat you get at the ballpark on little kids’ day. Easy peasy. 1 11/16" nut, 25" scale, jumbo frets, just 2 1/8" at the 12th fret.
Delivery in its lovely, hygrometer-equipped Cedar Creek case actually happened a month or two shy of my 41st, but hey, you can’t rush these things. We ended up with a studio Swiss Army knife; it does a bit of everything and does it effortlessly. A looker, too. Dale didn’t spend his career doing this kind of thing—he was in IT or some such—and I imagine he’s winding this “hobby” of his down these days, enjoying retirement with a bottle of Killian’s and a lawn chair at Duluth Blues Fest. But this guitar will live on as a marker of his skill and otherworldly patience. It sits at the head of the class in my practice room, welcoming any visitors and bringing a smile to my face every day. And Dale, my friend, I’ll be 50 before you know it....
Cody requested that Dale design an art deco logo for the guitar’s headstock.