
Having the ability to artfully add those "in-between" notes is a cornerstone of jazz guitar. Here’s how you do it.
Intermediate
Intermediate
• Understand the basic elements of the CAGED system.
• Learn the “rules” for adding outside notes.
• Expand your view of the fretboard in every key.
Have you ever asked yourself if you “know” all your scales? Well, one might answer that question with the chromatic scale. Simply put, the chromatic scale is all 12 notes. Chromaticism plays an important role in the construction of melodic lines in jazz, allowing dissonance to resolve into consonance. Jazz players are fond of a famous quote that basically states: No matter where you are on the neck, if you hit a “wrong” note you’re only a half-step away from a “right” one. This lesson will show how to integrate chromatics into major and minor CAGED scale forms, as well as provide examples of jazz lines. While this lesson centers around a major scale, this method of visualizing chromatic scales works with all scale types.
Let’s begin with a fingering for a chromatic scale. Ex. 1 shows an ascending and descending one-octave chromatic scale in open and first positions. We’re starting on C, so I used a Cmaj7 chord as the underlying harmony.
Ex. 1
Let’s expand that idea in Ex. 2. Here we are starting on F and playing a chromatic scale up to the A on the 1st string before descending to where we started. Because we aren’t using any open strings, this fingering can easily be moved up and down the neck.
Ex. 2
To clearly see how to integrate the chromatic scale into the major scale forms, I believe it’s best to start with one-octave major scale fingerings. Since we want these to be movable all over the fretboard, I’ve written them in 2nd position to avoid any open strings.
Ex. 3 is based on the “A” shape in the key of C.
Ex. 3
Ex. 4 is based on the “E” shape in the key of G.
Ex. 4
Ex. 5 is based on the “C” shape in the key of D.
Ex. 5
Ex. 6 is based on the “G” shape in the key of A.
Ex. 6
Finally, Ex. 7 is based on the “D” shape in the key of F.
Ex. 7
Now that we have our scale forms, let’s add in the chromatics by filling the spaces between the diatonic major scale tones. There are two possible fingerings for the chromatic scales derived from these forms, due to the guitar’s tuning. The following group of examples illustrates these fingerings.
Ex. 8 is based on the “A” shape in the key of C.
Ex. 8
Ex. 9 is based on the “E” shape in the key of G.
Ex. 10 is based on the “C” shape in the key of D.
Ex. 10
Ex. 11 is based on the “G” shape in the key of A.
Ex. 11
Finally, Ex. 12 is based on the “D” shape in the key of F.
Ex. 12
Generally, melodic lines are constructed using a balance of scalar and arpeggiated movement. Think of chord tones (root, 3, 5, 7) and the extensions (9, #11, 13) as areas of resolution. Chromatic passing tones are initially inserted between whole-steps, allowing connections and resolutions to chord and scale tones.
In measure one of Ex. 13, Ab is inserted between A and G, allowing a descending chromatic passage. Also, note the Eb inserted between E and D. Most of this example makes use of this device.
Ex. 13
In Ex. 14, I’m using mostly descending chromatic passing tones, but observe the ascending chromatics in measures one, two, and four. I briefly hit a C# in the first measure. Normally, I would resolve to D. Instead, I skip to E and then descend chromatically to D.
Ex. 14
By now, these chromatic devices should start to sound familiar to your ear. In Ex. 15, I’m pretty much sticking to ascending and descending chromatic movement.
Ex. 15
Ex. 16 balances the ascending and descending chromatic movement. Notice the four-note motivic sequence in measure two.
Ex. 16
Ex. 17 starts off with a very cool way to skip between two chord tones. In this case, we move from the root (F) to the 7 (E) and then descend chromatically to D. From there we skip up to the root and then leap down to A before approaching the root chromatically from G. When you start to isolate and analyze the nuances of these lines, they become easier to integrate into your own playing.
Ex. 17
Once you understand the basics of integrating chromatics into a one-octave major scale form, then you can apply those same principals to the full CAGED fingerings. Ex. 18 shows each fingering.
Ex. 18
Ex. 19 illustrates how to expand the full “C” shape to include all the chromatic notes.
Ex. 19
Ex. 20 expands on the “A” shape.
Ex. 20
Ex. 21 expands on the “G” shape.
Ex. 21
Ex. 22 expands on the “E” shape.
Ex. 22
Ex. 23 expands on the “D” shape.
Ex. 23
Ex. 24 expands on the “C” shape in closed position.
Ex. 24
The following examples cover the full range of the scale forms. All of the examples are over a major 7 chord quality.
Ex. 25 makes a straight-ahead use of ascending and descending chromaticism. To avoid turning your line into a total chromatic passage with no whole-steps, it’s important to balance diatonic and chromatic movement. Of special interest in this line is measure four, which leaps from G to E to G and follows with an ascending chromatic approach to A.
Ex. 25
In measure one of Ex. 26, notice the chromatic descent from A to G. This is followed with an ascending Gmaj7 arpeggio. The rest of the line is made up of various ascending and descending chromatic movements. A special moment occurs in measure four, where D skips to Ab and then moves down to F# before resolving on G. The G is therefore approached chromatically from both above and below, which is called a double-chromatic approach.
Ex. 26
Ex. 27 kicks off with almost a boogie-woogie pattern. When it gets to A, a skip occurs from A to C# (root to 3) and then moves to a chromatic descent from B to A. Similarly, a skip in measure four moves from D to E before resolving chromatically to D.
Ex. 27
There’s more sequential writing in the first measure of Ex. 28. The first two beats establish a bit of a chromatic motif that catches the ear. Measure three uses one of my favorite chromatic devices, where on beat 3 you skip up from a root to a 5 and then drop to the 7 and descend chromatically as little or as much as you want. In this case, I went chromatically from G# to F#.
Ex. 28
Finally, we have Ex. 29. If you’ve made it this far you must really love chromatics! We kick off with a downward leap from the root to the 3 before ascending chromatically to the 5. Always try to keep chord tones on the strong beats, as this will help give your lines focus and direction.
Ex. 29
Samantha Fish: “Leaning Into the Edges—That’s Where the Real S**t Lies.”
In recent years, Samantha Fish’s most often-used guitar was this alpine white Gibson SG, but it ran into some issues last summer—“I ended up having to reglue the neck”—and it is now on hiatus.
The rising blues-rock star has made a dozen records, topped roots-music charts, played 150 dates a year, and opened for the Rolling Stones. Now her new album, Paper Doll, finds her at a hard-playing creative pinnacle.
Samantha Fish is moving in new circles these days—circles occupied by the kind of people you see a lot on classic-rock radio playlists. First there was the invitation from Eric Clapton to play at his 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival in L.A. Then there was the summer ’24 slot on Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. tour, followed by the Experience Hendrix tour, on which she dug into Jimi classics in the company of Eric Johnson, Dweezil Zappa, and other luminaries. And, oh yeah, she opened for the Stones in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the final date of their Hackney Diamonds jaunt. That’s right, the Rolling Stones.
If you’re already a fan of Fish’s tough Delta-mama singing and high-temperature guitar work, you’ll probably think that all this is just as it should be. You gotta reap what you sow eventually, right? And Fish has been sowing for a long time, from her bar-band days in Kansas City 15 years ago through eight rootsy, eclectic albums as a leader (not counting the two early-2010s discs she cut with Dani Wilde and Victoria Smith as Girls with Guitars, or her 2013 outing with Jimmy Hall and Reese Wynans in the Healers, or 2023’s tangy swamp-rock collaboration with Jesse Dayton, Death Wish Blues) to her current tour schedule of about 150 dates per year in North America, the U.K., Europe, and Australia.
Still, even with such a solid career foundation to draw on, mixing and mingling in the flesh with folks you’ve known all your life as names on record covers could be a little intimidating. Is it? “You know, I don’t ever think about it in those terms,” Fish says on the phone from her home in New Orleans. “So when you lay it all out there like that, it feels like, ‘Aw shit, that’s crazy.’ I mean, it is crazy. When I think about the goals that I’ve made over the years … honestly, I’ve crossed off a bunch of things that I thought were even ironic being on the list, because they just seemed so far-fetched. Every interview I’ve ever done, they were like, ‘If you could ever open up for somebody, who would it be?’ And I always said the Stones, ironically. Cause when the hell’s that gonna happen? I’m a guitar player from Kansas. That’s nuts.”With her Stogie Box Blues 4-string, heavy hitting style, and wide array of blues and rock influences, Fish is an artist of a different stripe.
Photo by Jim Summaria
Fish spits out the sentences above in a fast, excited spray, one word tumbling over another. Then she pauses for a second, and it’s clear that wheels are turning in her head. Her voice gets more playful. “I’m gonna start speaking some even wilder things into existence just to see what happens,” she cracks, her grin nearly audible over the line. “A billion dollars!No, money’s evil, but you know what I mean.”
“I wanted to lean into superpowers.”
Given her formidable chops, it’s not that daring a leap to suggest that Fish could be capable of playingsome wilder things into existence, too. She’s certainly off to a good start with the just-released Paper Doll, her ninth solo album overall and third for Rounder Records. Whether your personal taste leans more toward nasty string-snapping riffs (the aptly titled “Can Ya Handle the Heat?”), sizzling slide escapades (“Lose You”), or high lonesome twang (“Off in the Blue”), you can’t deny that the album’s loaded with prime guitar moments. And its two longest tracks, “Sweet Southern Sounds” and “Fortune Teller”—“longest” being a purely relative term (they’re both under six minutes)—offer listeners just a taste of the neo-psychedelic fantasias that can occur when Fish stretches out in concert.
“People always come up to me and say, ‘You’ve got to figure out a way to capture the live feeling on a record,’” she reports. “Sometimes you go into the studio and it’s like, ‘Shit, I gotta make the song work for vinyl, so let’s cut it down,’ and you end up hacksawing away some of these parts that are kind of the feeling and heartbeat of the song. This time we set out to make something that felt live.”
Fish made her recording debut in 2009 as the leader of the Samantha Fish Blues Band, with the punny-titled in-concert indie album Live Bait.
Photo by Curtis Knapp
That’s one way in which Paper Doll differs dramatically from its predecessor, 2021’s Faster, which delved into a poppier territory of synths, beats, and high-tech production (and, in this writer’s opinion, did so with great effectiveness; one of Faster’s highlights, “Hypnotic,” sounds like it could have been recorded at a late-night dance club hang with Prince and the Pointer Sisters). In contrast, obviously electronic sounds are nowhere to be heard on the new disc, and the music referenced stays firmly in the American roots category: soul, rock, country, juke-joint blues. For some artists, a stylistic shift like this could be seen as a retrenchment, but for Fish, it’s the result of a major departure. This is the first time she’s ever used her road band—keyboardist Mickey Finn, bassist Ron Johnson, and drummer Jamie Douglass—to make a studio album.
“Everybody’s scratching their heads about what genre this falls into, but I know where every song started—with a blues riff.”
“Usually,” Fish explains, “I’ve worked in studio situations where there’s been a producer and they want to put the people they know together. So it was cool to bring in the band that I’ve been playing with for the last couple of years instead of session musicians. I feel like the dynamic was different—the familiarity, and just kind of knowing where the others were gonna go. It might be a minute difference to a listener, but for the players in the room, it helped breed another sensibility.”
Also helping in that department was producer Bobby Harlow, late of Detroit garage-rock revivalists the Go. Paper Doll is the second Fish album that Harlow’s produced; the first was 2017’s Chills & Fever. But whereas that album was all covers, the focus this time was on original songs, more than half of them co-written by Harlow with Fish before he was even considered to produce the album.
“Last March, Bobby came out to a show we did in Detroit,” Fish recalls. “We went out to lunch, and because I was working on writing songs, I asked him to do some co-writing with me, because I love the songs he wrote for the Go. He’s really fun to be in a room with when you’re making something, because he’s incredibly devoted to it. So we started writing, and then a few months later the label was like, ‘We gotta make this album, who’s gonna produce it?’ Well, we’re on the road all summer, so I don’t know when y’all expect us to do this record. But Bobby was available, and it was like the universe bringing us back together. He was passionate about the kind of songs I was writing, and he understood where I wanted to go with it.”
Samantha Fish's Gear
Before finding her SG, Fish’s main guitar was her Delaney signature model thinline style, with a fish-shaped f-hole.
Photo by Frank White
Guitars
- Alpine white Gibson SG
- Gibson Custom Shop ES-335
- Delaney 512
- Stogie Box Blues 4-string
- Danelectro baritone
Amps
- Category 5 Andrew 2x12
- Fender Hot Rod DeVille
Effects
- Dunlop volume pedal
- Analog Man King of Tone
- JHS Mini Foot Fuzz
- Electro-Harmonix Micro POG
- MXR Carbon Copy
- Boss PS-5 Super Shifter
- Voodoo Lab Pedal Power ISO-5
Strings, Picks, & Slides
- Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (.010-.046)
- 1.0 mm picks (any brand)
- Various brass and ceramic slides
And where was that? “I wanted to lean into superpowers,” Fish quickly answers. “What are my strengths, what are the things that people know me for and recognize me for, and what can I amplify to make this a real statement record? It’s funny, because everybody’s scratching their heads about what genre this falls into, but I know where every song started—with a blues riff.”
Born out of the blues it may have been, but when the Paper Doll material reached the studio (actually, two studios: the Orb in Austin and Savannah Studios in L.A.), it went through some changes, partly due to the band’s contributions, partly due to Harlow’s conceptual leaps. “Bobby’s like a musicologist,” Fish says approvingly. “He’s deep. He pulls from so many different spaces, and he’s definitely introduced me to some things that I wasn’t hip to over the years. That’s done a lot to shape my musical tastes.” If you’ve had the significant pleasure of attending one of the many gigs in which Fish breaks out proto-punk nuggets like the MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams” and Love’s “7 and 7 Is,” well, now you know the guy to thank.
“This time we set out to make something that felt live.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, one of Paper Doll’s best tracks, “Rusty Tazor,” is a similar romp through the garage. In a rare case (for this album) of the producer bringing in someone he knows, Harlow tapped Mick Collins of cult faves the Gories and the Dirtbombs for backing vocals. “He adds such a personality to that song,” Fish says. “And I’m a punk rock fan. I love that whole era. I just love this raw, uninhibited way of playing. There’s nothing precious about it. Leaning into the edges—that’s where the real shit lies.”
Because the Paper Doll sessions took place in between periods of touring, Fish only brought her road instruments, including a new white Gibson SG and Stogie Box Blues 4-string cigar box guitar (see sidebar for more on her personal collection). But both the Austin and L.A. studios presented plenty of other options. “A ton of guitars,” Fish remembers with a laugh, “in varying degrees of disrepair. I used a rather unruly [Gibson ES-] 335 in Savannah for ‘Sweet Southern Sounds.’ You know how some guitars fight you when you play them? Well, I like a little bit of fight, but not so much that I’m pulling the strings out of the saddle, and it was fighting me like that. It was hard to push the strings down, I could only bend in certain places. But that just made the performance more intense, and it sounded good. There was also a Tele and a Strat that they had at the Orb. We had so many tools at our disposal, it was like, ‘Let’s go nuts and play with everything we can.’”That choice of m.o. also sounds like a positive way to respond to a career moment that Fish calls “an incredible ride. Especially in the last year-and-a-half, two years, it’s just upped the ante even more. There’s nothing more to do, really. I went out, I played to the best of my ability and I did the thing that I’ve been working hard to do for the last 15 years or so. And it’s awesome to be able to show up in that capacity and perform alongside people that I’ve really looked up to. I just feel grateful. I know I’m lucky.”
Fish’s Favorites
Fish has a brawling style of playing slide, often on her cigar box. “Lose You,” on her new album, is especially representative of her approach to the classic blues technique.
Photo by Jim Summaria
For nearly a decade, Samantha Fish’s primary stage axe has been a 2015 alpine white Gibson SG that she bought new online. She’s still got it, but last year it ran into some trouble. “I ended up having to reglue the neck over the summer,” she says, “and it’s been having tuning issues. So Gibson sent me another white SG that’s just beautiful, in great shape. The neck’s a bit fatter, which is cool, different from mine. I’ve been using that one a lot”—indeed, the new SG is all over Paper Doll. “I’ve hung onto it, and I feel bad about that. I don’t want to be the person who borrows a guitar and keeps it. But it just played so great, and it was like, ‘I need this thing. What can I do to keep it?’ Luckily, the people at Gibson have been so good to me over the years.”
An even more recent addition to Fish’s electric arsenal is a Custom Shop Gibson ES-335 in silver sparkle finish, purchased in the fall at Eddie’s Guitars in St. Louis. “Because I played a 335 on ‘Sweet Southern Sounds’ in the studio, I was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna need one live, so of course I have to get this one!’ I’ve always wanted a silver sparkle, and this one is pristine. I’m so scared of the first scratch I get on it, or buckle rash. I’m probably gonna cry!”
Fish hasn’t been playing her Delaney SF1 Tele-style “Fish-o-caster” so much recently, but another Delaney model, the hollowbody 512, is still getting lots of action (often tuned to open D for slide use), as is her Stogie Box Blues 4-string, equipped with a P-Bass pickup. Her Danelectro baritone, Bohemian oil-can guitar, and clutch of Fender Jaguars are also safe at home, along with her current acoustic main squeeze, a new Martin D-45.
YouTube It
Samantha plays Jimi in this September 2024 performance from the most recent Experience Hendrix tour. The selection: “Fire.”
Intermediate
Intermediate
• Get familiar with power chords on every string set
• Create new sounds with tried-and-true shapes
• Use the entire neck with compelling power-chord-based lines
We all know that grip, but power chords actually come in many forms and sizes, and they fit equally well in a powerful riff or a more ethereal-sounding part. This lesson presents a handful of examples aimed at extending your power-chord vocabulary, with particular attention to range and orchestration.
Power chords represent a true staple for many of us guitarists. Accessible yet captivating, they provide the foundation for a lot of music we love. I still remember the countless hours spent playing Nirvana or Green Day riffs when I first picked up the guitar. Fast-forwarding to my current career as a session player, I’ve found myself extending the use of power chords to many different purposes and styles.
Power chords indeed come in many shapes, making for a comprehensive tool to have in your arsenal. In this lesson I’m going to focus on a few key aspects:
- No matter where and how you play them, power chords always sound tight, economical, and effective, tracking really well even when using large amounts of distortion, reverb, or delay.
- Power chords are well known for delivering dynamic, high-energy parts in the low/mid register, but they work equally well for creating textures in the higher portion of the fretboard.
- Power chords are versatile, and they feel “at home” in a wide variety of genres and styles.
The first part of the lesson focuses on extending our knowledge of power chord shapes across the fretboard, and is made up of four preparatory exercises, each one focusing on a specific key, set of strings, or guitar arrangement. The second part of the lesson is aimed at providing six practical applications of these concepts, spanning different styles of music.
The main goal of this exercise is to develop familiarity with power chord shapes that start from the 5th of a given chord (5-1-5), instead of just the root (1-5-1). When combining the two, it is possible to play multiple iterations of the same chord progression up and down the neck on a string-set of your choice, providing more flexibility in terms of range and voicing. Ex. 1 illustrates a I-V-VI-IV chord progression in the key of E, to be executed using three-note power chords on the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings. The style chosen for this sequence is fairly common to a lot of rock and pop-rock applications.
Ex. 2 is structured exactly as Ex. 1, but changing the key, string set, and guitar arrangement. Here you’ll find a I-V-VI-IV chord progression in the key of A, played using three-note power chords on the 5th, 4th, and 3rd strings. The style chosen for this example is a palm-muted arpeggio with a nostalgic, ’80s feel and sound. Notice how, despite the key, the shapes of each chord are the same as the ones in Ex. 1.
Ex. 3 is another iteration of the same concept. This example illustrates a I-V-VI-IV chord progression in the key of D, to be played using three-note power chords on the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings. The sequence is executed using a syncopated funk pattern. You’ll notice how the two basic power-chord shapes (1-5-1 and 5-1-5) present a different fingering on this specific string set compared to the previous two exercises, but the interval structure of the chords does not change.
As the last preparatory exercise, Ex. 4 is a I-V-VI-IV progression in the key of G, to be played using three-note power chords on the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings. The style for this one is a classic palm-muted arpeggio using a dotted-eighth-note delay. These shapes might feel a little unconventional, but they make for a great resource when playing textures in the upper register of the guitar.
Ex. 5 is what I call “fake drop tuning.” I find this application to be extremely helpful to add depth to riffs in the lower register, especially for heavier styles of music. The idea is to substitute in standard tuning any power chord in root position (1-5-1) with its inversion starting from the 5th degree (5-1-5), allowing us to “simulate” the sound of a drop tuning (drop D on this example).
Ex. 6 implements power-chord shapes on different sets of strings, allowing us to play a high-register/textural part conveniently contained in a box between the 12th and 17th frets. Some passages of this exercise include notes that aren’t just roots and fifths, albeit still in line with the diatonic nature of the harmonic sequence.
Ex. 7 features a different way of articulating a two-note power chord (1-5), by playing the fifth not on the string right next to where the root is, but skipping to the next highest one instead. The end result is a leaner-sounding alternative to a standard shape, and can be quite helpful when playing chord melodies in the mid-to-high register of the guitar.
Using a similar approach to Ex. 6, Ex. 8 implements power-chord shapes on different sets of strings to craft a fast-paced funk guitar part in the style of Cory Wong. Notice how the entire chord progression is contained in a total of six frets.
Ex. 9 shows a way to use two-note power chords to imply a certain harmonic sequence over a pedal point. On this specific instance, the pedal is provided by an open D string, with power-chord shapes on the 2nd and 3rd strings layered on top, configured both as 1-5 and 5-1.
Ex. 10 is one last arrangement featuring a combination of power-chord shapes in a box. The goal stays the same: to create a guitar part that sits in a specific part of the mix, providing a distinctive sonic quality. All chords are embellished with notes that aren’t just roots and 5ths, but still in line with the diatonic nature of the progression.
I hope these examples were able to provide some fresh new ideas on how to use power chords in a variety of settings. I encourage you to make these concepts your own, and to try to apply them when crafting a new guitar part. You might find the simplicity of power chords refreshing and, ultimately, inspiring.
With ultra-lightweight construction, slim neck profiles, and a quick-swap pickguard system, Venus Revolution guitars provide tonal versatility and personalized flair.
Venus Guitars, a bold new name in the music world, has officially launched with a mission to empower female musicians with thoughtfully crafted gear designed specifically for them. Driven by the belief that every player deserves an instrument that fits, inspires, and elevates them, Venus Guitars is setting a new standard for inclusivity and performance in the music community.
At the heart of the Venus Guitars launch are the three distinct Venus Revolution guitar models, each thoughtfully designed to cater to a range of players and budgets while maintaining the brand's core ethos of comfort, customization, and quality:
Venus Revolution: Perfect for players seeking an accessible yet high-performing instrument, this model sports the innovative Quick-swap pickguard system and ergonomic hourglass design that define the Venus Revolution series. Weighing just 5.5 pounds, Venus Revolution offers a lightweight white jabon body, slim roasted maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard, plus dual humbuckers with coil-splitting for tonal versatility. Priced at $899
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Venus Revolution Elite – Dark Roast: Another USA-crafted masterpiece, the Dark Roast model features a roasted basswood body, a figured roasted maple neck, and a royal black fingerboard, also weighing less than 6.5 lbs. DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary pickups provide vintage-inspired tones, while the the Hipshot US Contour Trem ensures smooth, precise vibrato control. Its rich woodgrain finish offers timeless elegance and dynamic tonal flexibility for players who value simplicity and sophistication. Priced starting at $2799
Venus Revolution guitars are designed with innovation and inclusivity at their core. Here’s what makes them unique:
- Ultra-Lightweight Construction: At around 6 pounds, these guitars are designed for maximum comfort without sacrificing tone or durability.
- Slim Neck Profile: Crafted with smaller hands in mind, the slim roasted 24" scale maple necks ensure smooth and effortless playability.
- Quick-Swap Pickguard System: Customize your guitar’s look in seconds by changing the shape or color of the pickguard—no tools required.
- Tonal Versatility: High-quality pickups deliver a wide range of tones, from warm cleans to beefy, powerful overdrive.
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"The Venus Revolution isn’t just a guitar—it’s a statement,” shares Christine Taunton, Product Specialist and spokesperson for Venus Guitars. “It’s an instrument that reflects who you are as an artist and a player. Venus isn’t just about filling a gap—it’s about creating instruments that make women feel powerful, seen, and unstoppable."
For more information, please visit venus-guitars.com.
Introducing the Venus Revolution Guitar - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Our columnist takes a good look at his guitars—and a stroll down memory lane—via famed luthier Joe Glaser’s new, free Gearcheck service.
I started buying gear in junior high and I’m still using some of it. My organizational skills have not really improved since then, so the inventory looks like a stamped-on ant pile. The daily 6-strings are stuffed on racks in my room and in gig bags or cases near my door, good-to-go. The less-used guitars are hidden in closets, stashed under couches/beds, and loaned out to friends. Then there are six or seven old battle axes that I’ve played for years that have grown so valuable that they now spend most of their time locked in a huge gun safe in the guest room. I’ve tried several times to catalogue the tools using a notebook, and then a few different long-since-dead computers. I had no idea how many guitars I owned ... until now, thanks to my friend Joe Glaser’s Gearcheck.
Glaser, a famed luthier here in Nashville, started Gearcheck as a software platform for cataloging instruments. Gearcheck gives you a personal and private digital gear room where you can list instruments’ basic model details (year, wood, pickups, etc.), then document them with photos, receipts, Reverb listings, reputable repair records, appraisals, insurance details, as well as your setup specs, string gauge, action, and relief. I even track who I loaned them out to or where they are stored. This is not static information, and tracking the life of a guitar this way gives insight and builds the stories that we care about. All of this establishes provenance, which is a difference between just something and something collectible.
If you’re interested in how this works, go to gearcheck.com. The free membership gets you 1 GB of memory to list your instruments. You can subscribe to get more memory should you need it. To give you some idea of what 1 GB worth of gear looks like, I have 55 instruments listed (49 guitars, 2 mandolins, 3 pedal steels, 1 lap steel) with between three to 12 photos per instrument—some with short descriptions and some with long war stories of modifications, accidents and gig abuse, as well as high points of the instrument’s history. So far, I’ve used .93 of my free gigabyte. I’m setting a limit now: My gear gluttony ends at .999 GB of storage.
The listing process was good for me. I spent my free time over the past 10 days, working late into the night, tracking down all my guitars. I discovered a few I had not seen in years and thinned the herd a bit. I also found some guitars that were great but had some glitch that kept me from playing them, like this killer Kiesel Custom Shop T-build whose middle pickup was wired out of phase, so I finally got off my ass and rewired it, and while I was at it, I swapped the original pickups that were a bit too hot with some Pete A. Flynn ’buckers that I’d been holding.
“My favorite instruments have had a Red Violin-style odyssey.”
Once I decided who made the cut, I started taking photos and uploading guitars starting with my favs. At first, I just listed the main details and basic photos, but then I thought, “Why not make it more about the stories?” Stories are always more interesting than things.
My favorite instruments have had a Red Violin-style odyssey. Their pasts before I got them are mostly guesswork and imagination, but I can document the highlights of my short time in their history. For instance, my 1954 Les Paul has a second jack input in the body that was later refilled. No idea what that was about, but Michael Wilton of Queensrÿche, who sold me the guitar, documented what happened during his time with it. Wilton played it on Queensrÿche’s albums Promised Land and Hear in the Now Frontier. Wilton replaced the bridge pickup wire in the cavity (because the original disintegrated) and replaced a dead potentiometer. Since I’ve had it, Glaser refretted and Plek’d the neck, and added his Stud Finder bridge. I’ve also played it on a ton of gigs. Now I’ve got all these details safely documented on Gearcheck, along with some photos of me playing that goldtop with Lainey Wilson on her first awards show.
Similarly, my 1969 Fender Thinline had some mysteries when I bought it from Chicago Music Exchange. I’ll never know why somebody added a second input jack, but I did document my adding a Glaser B-bender and a 22-fret sweet, flat neck that Fender’s Chip Ellis built to replace the original neck that never really fit in the neck pocket.
Antonio Stradivari made 960 violins between 1666 and 1737. At least 282 still exist and are potentially being played. I imagine, with some basic care, that at least several guitars I live with today will still be rocking 350 years from now. I’m glad I can document our brief time together. You don’t really own legacy instruments, you just keep them for the next player, all the while adding to their legacy.