Some of the "ASK JON" questions from the past...
Q: Hi Jon, I can't wait to hear you perform live one day soon hopefully. I know that you have a Hilton Volume Pedal on you pedal board. How do you adjust your level setting on this pedal (is it from no volume?). Where on your line of FX have you placed the Hilton and why there? 
When do you like use it? Cheers, Jasper
A: I've used the Hilton volume pedal in a couple of different ways. When playing with my own band I've used it with the minimum volume setting (on the bottom of the pedal) set to a level which would allow me to very quickly change from a solo level to a rhythm guitar level. At the end of a solo section, I have a lot of stuff to take care of in a hurry: I have to remember the lyric to the next verse, prepare to sing again, end the solo in a convincing way, and switch to the rhythm guitar sound. Using the volume pedal, all I have to do is slam it heel down and I'm pretty close to the level I need. Then, if it's not exactly right I can fine tune the levelwith my guitar volume control when I have a chance.
Lately I've had the Hilton pedal on the pedalboard I use with Steely Dan, and I haven't been using the minimum volume control. The demands of that job are quite different from those on my own gigs, and the setup reflects that. The Hilton is so transparent and clean sounding, that I imagine it would sound fine pretty much anywhere in the signal chain. Typically I have it early in the chain, but after a wah (if I'm using one), one boost pedal (which is only there to raise the level of my lower output guitars to a level equal to the higher output ones), and before any other boost or overdrive pedals which are in front of the amp input, and, of course, before any pedals in the effects loop of the amp, like delays and reverb.
The placement of a volume pedal makes the most difference with overdrive and distortion pedals, and delay and reverb pedals. If you want the pedal to behave in a similar way to the guitar volume knob, then it needs to be placed before any overdrive and distortion pedals. In that case, you can reduce the amount of overdrive or distortion by pulling back on the pedal. If, however, you want to be able to get the most overdrive or distortion from the pedal, but you want it to be a little quieter in the mix (say, for a very distorted rhythm guitar sound), then putting the volume pedal after the overdrive or distortion gives you a kind of 'master volume' control
over the overall 'mix' level. You can still reduce the amount of overdrive with the guitar volume control, so this is perhaps a more flexible, if less 'organic' feeling signal path.
If you put the volume pedal after a delay or reverb, you'll notice that the reverb tails and the delays can get cut off very unnaturally with any pulling back on the volume pedal. This might be a useful special effect, but I always prefer the volume pedal before any delays and reverbs, which
allows a much more natural sounding trailing off of those time based effects.
Q: Wonder if you'd give your general thoughts on EQ? Do you have a setting that applies to all of your guitars, do you tweak the amp knobs specific to each guitar you are playing, etc? Also, how do your EQ settings vary from venue to venue, say a club like The Iridium vs an outdoor .jpg)
amphitheater? (I find when I play outside I tend to lose low end...curious as to your thoughts/strategy on that issue.) Thanks for sharing your art and passion. You are an inspiring and phenominal guitarist. Cheers! Brian
A: Hi Brian, thanks for your questions. If I'm recording in the studio, I will certainly adjust the guitar tone and volume controls and all of the amp and effects (if I'm using any) controls to get the recorded sound I'm after, and the settings will be different for each track I'm recording.
When playing live, however, I find some compromise is called for, especially if I'm using more than one guitar on the show. I usually set the amp for the sounds I need most often, like a fairly bright and only very slightly overdriven tone on one amp channel, and a darker, higher gain setting on the other.
The first I can use for a rhythm guitar sound on the neck pickup if I roll down the guitar volume a bit, and I can use it as a solo sound on the neck pickup with the volume up all the way. It's a little bright for the bridge pickup, but I can sometimes use it if I roll down the guitar tone knob.
The second channel I use most often as a solo sound on the bridge pickup, and occasionally as a crunchy rhythm guitar tone on the bridge pickup with the volume of the guitar rolled down. I also use it once in a while on the neck pickup, but when I do I almost always switch on a pedal - either the Xotic Effects RC Booster or a Keeley modified Ibanez Tube Screamer - which I set not for any overdrive but to remove some low end and to focus the mids and/or highs. Without the pedal that channel sounds too mushy and bass heavy on the neck pickup, since the amp EQ and overdrive is set for the bridge pickup.
If I'm switching from a higher output guitar to a lower output guitar, like from a Gibson to a Fender, I'll often use another RC Booster to raise the volume of the Fender to match that of the Gibson, so it hits the amp in a similar way. If I don't do that I find I want to raise the volume on the amp, and that gets impractical during a live show. I don't usually want to change the EQ when I switch guitars, though, since I'm choosing that guitar because of its brighter, different sound most of the time.
I do find I set amp EQ differently in different environments, though. Every venue is different, so I make minor adjustments if it seems necessary. I don't do that as much if I'm using in-ear monitors, though, since the sound of the amp through the microphone is pretty consistent from venue to venue.
I haven't noticed any very consistent difference in outdoor venues as far as low end is concerned, but I often find that outdoor venues can make everyone play harder and louder because the room isn't reflecting sound back at them. That's when the in-ear monitors can really help, since I don't tend to react as much to the sound in the venue when I use them. Since most rooms are not well designed for sound, it wouldn't surprise me if low end can become a problem indoors, since stages and rooms have all sorts of resonant frequencies -bass buildup is a common one, and there are all sorts of other sonic quirks on most gigs.
Ultimately, EQ and tone is an area where I have to trust my instincts. It's difficult to play well unless the sound I'm making is a pleasing sound, so I struggle on every show to make it that way. It can be difficult and frustrating, but I suppose I keep coming back to music-making because every experience is different; it's always a challenge, often interesting, and once in a while, a real thrill.
Q: I'd like to ask a couple of questions about your Guytron GT100 & GT100FV.
#1 :How do you set the " Focus " & " Voicing " control on your GT100FV ?
- Do you set them at 12o'clock and use the amp same as the original GT100 or do you prefer to set them differently to tweak the original GT100 sound ?
#2 : Do you think it's better to have " Focus " & " Voicing " control on GT100 ?
I've just come across used GT100 head ( earlier model with two effects loops - one for low level and one for high level ).
I like the sound and the feel of the amp however I haven't been able to decide to pick it up or not because I've never played the GT100FV.So I just want to ask your opinion about the Guytron GT100 & GT100FV. Please let me know when you have a moment. Regards, Takeshi
A: I now have two brand-new GT 100 FV amps. The original GT 100 I had was pretty beaten up after 13 years on the road. I really loved the original amp without the FV controls, but I do use the FV controls on my amps. I like to keep things simple, so in a way I think I would prefer the amp without the FV controls, but I do like the sound of the amp with focus set on the second position and voicing set on the fourth position. That's how I usually set it. I don't think you'll find the amp feels all that much different with the FV controls, though it does give you more flexibility and control, and it certainly does change the response of the amp. If you're anything like I am, you'll like both amps equally well. My recommendation is to listen to an FV if you get a chance, but if the price is a good one for the GT 100, I don't imagine you would ever regret making the purchase, so you might want to grab it even if you don't get to compare the amps.
It's a pretty complicated design, but it's amazingly simple to use and always sounds great, no matter what the volume. I love the channel switching, the effects loops, and the master volume. It's always been my favorite amp because it has the right combination of features, tone, and simplicity.
Q: I saw the video of you graciously showing and explaining all your gear. Thanks for being so generous with other players who wonder how you get all those great tones. But for those of us who aren't at the same level and have to put all our gear in the trunks and back seats of our cars, a question: If you had to choose just one guitar, one amp and one effects unit to get a sweet, versatile tone for both leads and rhythm, what would they be? Thanks, and thanks for all the great music you've given us., Tim
A: That's a tough question, but I have some ideas. I'd probably get a CS336 or a Tele (my go-to guitars for a lot of things) but put special electronics in it. I like the versatility of Fralin's Unbucker pickups, so I'd put one of them in the bridge. I like his noise canceling P90, and I find that's a pickup I like in the neck position because it doesn't overload the amp or distortion pedal in the low end as badly as a humbucker and it has more 'cut,' but it's not noisy and sounds good. If it were a Tele, and maybe even on the semi-hollow, I'd put a middle pickup in - some overwound strat-style pickup with quite a bit of output so that it doesn't sound anemic next to the humbucker. I like Lollar's strat pickups, but I might look for a noise canceling one - there are probably some good ones out there by now.
If money and size were no object, I'd get one of my go-to amps, the Guytron GT 100 FV, the most versatile, easy-to-use amp I know, or something Bludotone makes. The Bludotones are built incredibly well. I prefer amp generated distortion, so effects would go in the loop of the amp, and I'd use what I use now: a Tech 21 Delay pedal and a Boss RV-5 reverb pedal. If I had to keep things smaller, I think I'd have to shop around a bit, since I'm not that familiar with the quality smaller amps out there. I've heard Top Hats I like, and some other brands, too, and Bludotone is making me a smaller amp for my own band's gigs where I often do the lifting myself, so I'll know when I get that one whether it will do the trick. It will be a 50 watt head with a single Celestion G 65 12 inch speaker in a cabinet, I think.
If I were using rented amps and needed a distortion pedal, I'd use what I like best that I have now, a Nobels overdrive special (not made anymore) and/or the Robert Keeley mod of the Boss Blues Driver. Rental amps I can deal with are the Vox AC30, and the Fender reissue blackface Deluxe Reverb or something similar. I'd want a couple of other effects, too, like a wah (crybaby or Vox), a tremolo (I like the Voodoo Labs one), and perhaps a Boss digital delay and a Hilton volume pedal. A tuner, and a good power supply, a slide, a capo, and I could do pretty much anything I ever need to. I hope that helps.
A: I played my Gibson CS336 through a wah pedal (don't remember which one, but probably a crybaby) straight into my Guytron GT100 FV amp into the Guytron 2 12" speaker cabinet. Pretty simple setup, no other pedals, just the amp overdrive.
Q: Could you please tell me what kind of hearing protection you use on stage/practice? Thank you for your time, Wayne
A: I use custom molded earplugs with filters that attenuate frequencies in a reasonably even way across the sound spectrum of either 9, 15, or 25db noise reducing capacity, depending on the gig and how loud it is. (I forget the name of the lab or labs that make them, but if you search for 'musicians earplugs' they will probably turn up - I get them through the musicians union.) Once in a while I do a gig where it's quiet enough that I don't use plugs (or in-ear monitors, which I sometimes use and which also reduce outside sound by about 30db), but on the Steely Dan or Dukes of September shows I always have them in.
Q; Of course I'm a fan, and by coincidence I saw a nice image of you playing 2 great guitars on your site. Next week I will be 40 and I'm deciding on buying a les paul goldtop 57 vos, or an ES339 with the fat 50's neck. Probably you don't have the time to answer this, but what do you think? I'm leaning towards the les paul. Is it worth the investment? I play popjazzrock, of course Thanks for your time, respect for your talent, Sincerely, Stefan
A: I have no way of knowing what type of guitar you'd prefer, but here's one bit of advice I'll share: go shopping for an individual guitar, not a type or model. Great guitars of any type or model are rare - find the actual instrument that sounds and plays in a way you truly love. If you don't, you'll probably be wasting your money.Q: I very much enjoyed watching your rig run through on Premier guitar web site. QUESTION: what extra tall frets did you put on the super cool wine red Les Paul custom ? I have a black 57 're-issue custom which I would like to refret and I like tall frets for string bending. Anything else you can say about the custom - how to come to choose it ? e.g. is it light weight for custom, ringing sound un amplified etc. It would be good to know what to look for in Les Paul custom...
Best regards, Carl
A: It was a gift, and it seemed worth putting some money into it, so I did. It needed the frets, of course, but also new pickups (I put the latest Fralin PAF style ones in there), and some electronic mods I typically do to all my guitars. I like the ebony fingerboard, I love the feel of it, it has a huge, fat tone, and the only thing I don't like about it is the weight - it's so heavy I can only play it for a couple of tunes a night or I'm hurting for days. That was the reason I bought an SG recently - I was trying to find a lighter way to get a fat tone like that. The SG is great on the bridge pickup, but the guitar just doesn't seem to have enough mass to give me much that I can use on the neck pickup. I'll probably use it a lot, though, since it's comfortable and pretty light
...All the best, and thanks for writing.
Q: I am Emilio from Italy and would like to express my congratulation for the guitar solo in weather in my head (as far I understood from internet info you played both solo in the song). It is wonderful, and each time I listen it again I found some little new details. I 
like to listen until the fading at the end of the song. Which guitar did you use and which pedals? Thanks a lot, Emilio
A: Thanks, Emilio, I appreciate that. That was my Gibson CS 336. I'm not sure which amp I used, but it was either an old Fender Vibrolux Reverb amp or my Guytron GT100 FV amp through a Marshall 4 x 12 cabinet. I'm pretty sure it's the Fender amp, though; it sounds like it to me. No pedals.
Q: I saw you last evening @ The Fox Theater in St. Louis...Excellent show - top-tier and fun, who could ask for more! I especially loved your playing on "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo". Your tone was remarkable, and your execution inspiring. What particular pedal/amp combination were you using to get that beautiful clean tone? Thanks and take care, David
A: Thanks, David; I'm glad you could get to the show. For that seldom-played tune, I was using my Gibson CS336 on both pickups for the banjo style rhythm part on beats 2 and 4; the bridge pickup for the first solo section (a pedal steel part on the original recording); and the neck pickup with the tone rolled back about halfway for the melody with the horns near the end of the song.
The pedals that were active were only two, both in the effects loop of the amp, a Tech 21 delay pedal and a Boss reverb pedal, which I leave on most of the time, with the delay set to a short, single, dark sounding repeat, and the reverb set on its 'plate' setting with a fairly dark tone and low mix level. The amp I was using that night was a Bludotone Bludo-Drive, and for that tune I only used the clean channel.
One thing that seems to make that first solo section sound more like the pedal steel in character is my using my thumb and middle finger, rather than the pick. I used the pick for the rhythm part, and also for the melody with the horns at the end, but for that 'faux pedal steel' sound I hide the pick with my index finger and use the remaining fingers and thumb, and it really changes the tone that results.
Mostly, I'd guess you're hearing the tone of the amp. The Bludotone has a deep, rich, Fender-style clean channel, and it's a 100 watt amp with a lot of headroom. I've heard big, beautiful sounds similar to that out of good Super Reverbs, too, though, so I think it's a fairly easy thing to get with the right amp. A big cabinet can help, of course - a Deluxe sounds great that way, too, but the bigger cab and multiple speakers are bound to deliver more than a small amp like that can, especially in a big room.
Q: I have a tech question that I was hoping you might enlighten me on. I noticed your pots and switch on your SG were rearranged and it appears that the pot located in the original switch position is your main volume control regardless of what pickup your using. How cool is that!!! I have been using a G&L ASAT tele and love that one volume "Go To" control. I would love to be able to do that with my SG as well. Would you please let me know how this mod can be done or who you might recommend that could do it for me. Or would you have to kill me after you told me
Thanks so much an look forward to the next time your at the Sands in Bethlehem PA. Thank you for the inspiration.Cheers, Dave
A: Thanks, Dave - I get that master volume mod done on all my Gibson guitars. I don't like being surprised when I switch pick ups to find that the other volume control was up or down too far. Also, the pick up selector on a lot of Gibsons is in the place where I'm most likely to hit it by accident when I'm strumming. So I move it out of the line of fire, and put that master volume as close as possible to my right hand. The only potential drawback of doing the mod is that you can't do that cool effect where one volume control is all the way up and the other is all the way down and you 'play' the toggle switch, if you know what I mean. Also, it doesn't look quite as nice. But for me convenience wins over looks. Any competent electric guitar repair man can do that mod, though it is a lot more difficult on a 335 or 336, because you have to do all the work through the f-hole. It should be pretty simple on the SG. You just have to decide where to put the tone controls and which control you want to be the 'dummy.'
Q: I am a guitarist currently studying at Paul McCartney's Institute of Performing Arts in Liverpool, and at the moment I am compiling research on what it takes to be successful as a guitarist in the Music Industry. I am hoping to put together a business plan for my time after university, and I regard you as a very successful guitarist so hoped you could perhaps take a moment to give any advice? I am a big fan of your work and playing style, but of course I understand if you are busy, it is not a problem at all. All the best, Richard B.
A: Hello Richard, Thanks for your intriguing question. It's a challenge to give advice in such a broad way, but I will give you some brief thoughts. Do what you love. Do what you are naturally good at doing. If you can manage to get paid for those two things, you will likely feel successful. I know that's not "guitar" oriented advice, but after many years it seems to be what works for people. I'd also stress that relationships are what success is founded on. It's wise to prepare oneself musically, of course, but successful musicians are usually good at "people skills" as well as music skills.
Q: I've been a big fan of yours since I saw the Chroma video several years ago. I also love the Complete Rhyming Dictionary and your work with Bob Berg and Jim Beard. What I love the most about your playing is the fact that you don't toss out a bunch of notes to dazzle people. I think that is one of the toughest things for a musician to learn. I know it has been for me (I'm still working on it!) How did you come to possess this skill? You must just be a natural good listener. Carl C.
A: I think what you're referring to in your question is the whole idea of taste in music. I have always found that the players I enjoy most are the ones who are the most naturally lyrical, who always seem as if they're "singing" through their instrument. Though I am as awestruck as anyone when I hear a player with extraordinary technique, I rarely enjoy the music that results unless it also sounds "sung" or "felt" by the player in a genuine, natural and spontaneous way. Greater and lesser music can can be made with or without dazzling technique; there doesn't seem to be any consistent correlation between dazzling technique and quality music. For myself, though I am never satisfied with my technical skill, I have felt that I get closer to a more natural self-expression as time goes on, mostly as a result of a better perspective on things, an improved ability to listen well, and a mental attitude more than a physical skill, though music-making certainly makes technical demands on me. Mostly, I think, for me it's about trusting my own musical instincts, tastes, and desires, rather than getting hung up with what others do, or what I think they might expect.
Q: First, I have to say the recent Steely Dan gig I saw in the UK was superb. A big part of that was due to your very creative and tasteful playing. Great work, and what a great band! Previous Steely guitarists have tended to either completely reinvent a solo, or go for a more or less note-for-note copy of the originals. I thought your approach worked really well - distilling out the "essence" of the original solos, taking that as a reference and then feeling free to expand and add to that, and come up with fresh ideas. That way, you're still reminded of some of the classic original solos, but there's a nice balance of new and old ideas. Was this approach your own idea, or did Donald and Walter make suggestions? Also, I guess there were fairly detailed charts for the songs. Do these specify particular chord voicings at some points? The voicings are so key to Steely Dan's music, I was wondering how much freedom you had for this. Were you playing written voicings for some parts of songs, or did you try different ideas during rehearsal and work out what worked best with Donald and Walter?
A: I'm happy to hear you put my intentions into words so eloquently when you say "distilling out the "essence" of the original solos, and then feeling free to expand and add to that." That sounds exactly like what I was trying to do. The most daunting task was to find the right balance, (often different for each song), between getting the spirit of the original across and playing in a way where I felt and sounded natural, genuine, free, and comfortable. This was easier on some tunes than others, naturally, because the originals were played by so many different players. (It would be unlikely for any one person to be equally comfortable playing all the songs if he were trying to get some of that original "essence" to come through.) In all the months of playing with Steely Dan, I think only once did I get anything close to a specific direction as to what to play. In general, I was completely free to play the gig the way I thought it should be played. Walter and I did get together early on before the band rehearsals to figure out who would play what parts, etc., but there was never a discussion about solo approach, sound, or anything like that. The charts for the tunes were only chord charts with changes and occasionally voicings (for keyboard, never for guitar), but I always treated the records as the starting point for deciding what parts and voicings would work best, and then varied those parts as necessary or appropriate, or when asked by Donald or Walter to try something else if it seemed to them that the overall sound required something different.
Q: As a musician, how did you mentally prepare yourself to be able to play an entire set of some of the most critically acclaimed guitar parts in pop music history? Did you study transcripts or just listen to the originals? I felt that you achieved a nice blend of the original signature lines but also infused the set with your own feel as well. Any input on your mental state of mind as you prepped for the tour? Dan B.
A: Well, I'm afraid my answers about preparing myself are going to be pretty much the same as anyone else who finds himself in a similar position! The same way you get to Carnegie Hall! Practice! For me to be comfortable on any job I really have to know the music well. It's only then that I feel I can listen to everyone else and really play as a part of the ensemble in a spontaneous, fresh way. I'm a pretty quick study after many years of playing, but I ended up putting in a lot of time deciding what to play, learning all of the music (not just the guitar parts), and playing the stuff and looking for ways to improve it all the way through the tour. I also found that I'm not comfortable unless I have confidence in the equipment I'm using (and thanks to Skip Gildersleeve, the guitar tech, I was as confident as I think it was possible to be). This meant that I often had the neck off the Telecaster to adjust the truss rod, and I was often messing with the gear to make sure things were right. I also need to be confident that my hands and my head are working right, so before each show I got into the habit of spending 20 to 30 minutes by myself casually warming up on each of the two (different) guitars I used on the gig. I found this not only got my coordination working, but also helped to focus my mind on the job.
Q: I was wondering how you go about deciding what guitar to play for each song in the set? I thought about this as I watched you guys play at the Sony studio for the Steely Dan concert. I was surprised to see that you used a Tele in Josie (I am going by memory here), as I always thought that particular guitar part was done with a clean sounding Strat. Do other band members help you decide what guitar to use, or is it up to your taste and musical ear/experience to make that decision? The reason I ask, is that I struggle with my two main Stratocasters when trying to decide which to use for the particular song set that is given to me. One is clear like a bell, and the other like the Texas Special (lots of mids, good for blues, certain kinds of rock, etc). And to make it all the more complicated, I plan one day to purchase a Gibson ES-335, 336 or something similar, such as a Guild Starfire IV (haven't played one of those yet) because of the different sound, which I also enjoy. Any thoughts? Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond. Sincerely, Daddyo
A: I guess first of all, I chose which guitars I was comfortable playing that I thought would be appropriate for SD and for me. I brought a couple of other guitars to the first rehearsals, but the only two that I found myself reaching for again and again were the 335 and the Tele. They seemed to give me both a range of sounds (including two classic sounds, the Gibson with Humbuckers and the Fender with its single coils), and guitar tones that would complement Walter's sounds, which all were coming from Sadowsky Strat-style guitars. The two other most common guitars I might have chosen, I guess, would have been a Strat and a Les Paul, but I don't own a Les Paul at the moment, and I have never enjoyed playing Strats (though I have one, and love the sounds one can get from them). I also have a couple of Sadowsky guitars that are Tele-shaped, but are set up like Strats with a tremolo arm and three pickups (including a humbucking option in front and back), and though they sound great and are fantastic to play, I felt that they wouldn't offer as simple an answer to the question of complementing Walter's sound, so I stayed with the Tele and the 335 which sounded quite different from the first. As far as deciding which guitar to play on which songs, I did try to use the records as a starting point, but usually only in a general way, not ever trying to copy the sound exactly, but rather making some sort of assessment about the spirit of the track, and the overall attitude, something I could then take and try to make my own. I think even expert guitarists and producers could easily guess wrong about what guitar was used to create a recorded sound on many records, and I think tone is such a function of the player's head and hands, that it would be a great waste of my time to get hung up with attempts to imitate recorded sounds. In my experience, I can rarely identify which guitar I was playing on a recording once enough time has gone by so I don't recall the particular circumstances of a session, but I can always tell that it's me. I think I'd often be able to guess the amp type before the guitar, too. There are so many variables in recording, that I decided to find a few solid sounds I could comfortably work with on the live gigs, and stick with them. Basically, I tried to find a happy balance between honoring what I loved about the spirit of the recordings (and occasionally the notes, too), and playing in a way that felt natural to me and offered me room to express my personality freely. Thanks for the interest and the good questions.
Q: So Jon, what's your favorite Steely Dan track? Chris D.
A: Favorite SD track? There are so many for me - off the top of my head the ones that spring to mind are: Babylon Sisters; Third World Man; Aja; Deacon Blues; Gaucho; Glamour Profession; Home at Last; Negative Girl; Hey Nineteen. After looking over the list, close seconds are: Chain Lightning; Dirty Work; Night By Night; Pretzel Logic; Rikki...; Black Friday; Bad Sneakers; Dr. Wu; Any World...; The Caves of Altamira; Don't Take Me Alive; Green Earrings; The Royal Scam; Black Cow; My Rival; Time Out Of Mind; Almost Gothic; Gaslighting Abbie; Here At The Western World; FM.
Q: I have seen Steely Dan with many different guitarists over the years, but your performance at Shoreline in Mountain View, CA was really inspiring. There are very few who have "fit" the sound as well as you did, while maintaining some originality of your own. It is obvious that you put considerable time into preparation. Are there any "real world" charts available for Steely Dan songs? The ones I see online and in books are full of errors and often don't give the correct voicings. If you have anything available that you might be able to email me, I would appreciate it - this is just for my own learning. Also, what kind of rig do you use to get that awesome creamy tone? I was in the lawn at the show and could not make out the name on your primary stage rig. I think what I was looking at began with a "G", but that is about all I could make out. I assume it was some sort of custom hand-built tube amp, but am not sure. Regardless, the sound of your 335 through that rig was really exceptional. I wish that I could have been closer to the stage to pick up more of the direct sound, but your FOH guy did a great job anyway. Take care, and best regards from Northern California, Chuck K.
A: The amp is made by Guytron. Check out http://guytron.com/ for more info. Unfortunately, I don't know of any available SD charts. The records are my sources for all of the details. We have basic chord charts with an occasional voicing written out, and I sometimes make charts for myself when I'm learning a tune. I try to get away from using any charts at all on the gig, though, because I feel more confident and comfortable that way, and I feel I listen to everyone else better when I'm not lost in the written music. I always recommend listening to the records for figuring out the right voicings, etc., though I know from experience how challenging that can be sometimes.
Q: I liked the mp3 of "Rolling with the Punches". Very poppy and commercial (in the best sense of the word). Did you use your Guytron for the recording? Regards, Norm G.
A: I did use the Guytron on all of the recording, and on "Been There" I also used a Fender Deluxe for one of the guitar tracks.
Q: Let me thank you for the two fantastic shows I saw this year in Irvine, CA and in Raleigh, NC (that one was the best). I guess my only question is which album did you hear that made you want to play guitar or were you simply born with a guitar in your hand? John B.
A: I'd have to say it was the Beatles that made me want to play guitar, even though it was a construction paper, Elmers' glue imitation John Lennon Rickenbacker guitar that I first strummed to shreds while jumping up and down on my parents' furniture! I began with some piano lessons, then some saxophone, and years later decided to play guitar seriously,when my interest in music where the guitar was so prominent increased. (I heard Cream, Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin!)
Here are some questions and answers having to do with music and guitar study and practice which address some common topics:
Q: I saw you last night with Steely Dan and it was one of the best shows of my life. The band and music was incredible and so was your tasteful playing. Thank you for that, I really enjoyed it. My question is about your practicing habits. When you started to become a serious musician, what were your practice sessions like? What did you work on?
A. When I decided it was time to really study the guitar, I was fortunate to find a great teacher named Harry Leahey. He was an accomplished jazz guitarist, the best sight-reader I'd ever seen, and knew the guitar and its possibilities better than anyone I'd ever met. I followed his lesson plan, which was vast. He had me doing all sorts of scales; arpeggios; chord inversions; chords played through scales; chord-melody arrangements of songs; jazz-style lines played in every possible position starting with every possible finger; picking exercises; left hand finger exercises; sight-reading practice in both treble and bass clefs; and music for solo violin and/or guitar played with a pick. At the same time, I was taking classical guitar lessons (I never got very far with them) and studying music at college, taking many theory and composition courses, studying ear training and solfege, and getting exposed to all sorts of music in the classical tradition, including a lot of modern 20th century stuff. Though I was only a beginning jazz player at the time, I was beginning to work in that field, so I was also learning lots of jazz tunes, transcribing lots of jazz solos I liked by all sorts of players, including saxophone, trumpet, piano, vibes, and guitar players.
This was a busy time, as you can imagine, and I was putting in long days. I worked with Harry for a couple of years at least, and then decided to go to a former teacher of his, Dennis Sandole, a well-known teacher of jazz players in Philadelphia. Dennis also had a wide teaching plan, but there was one way it was radically different from Harry's. When I had been going to Harry, there was so much material to cover each week that I barely had time to familiarize myself with the stuff, and never was able to acquire any real technical facility on any of the material. And though it was an amazing growth period for my brain, and I learned so much about what was possible on the guitar, it was not a great growth period for my playing from a standpoint of technique. Dennis's lesson plan, on the other hand, was a monthly cycle where each week there would be unique material, so each week there was a lot less stuff to master. Dennis expected students to put in at least four hours a day on that week's lesson material only, and he claimed he could tell if you hadn't done your time! I discovered there that the key to technical facility was lots of repetitive practice, always playing at a tempo you can control, and paying attention to efficiency of technique. For me that turned out to be the 'missing link' of my training, and though I still don't consider myself a very highly accomplished technician, that period brought about a big change in my playing.
Q: Should I study jazz? What players should I listen to?
A: I spent a lot of time studying jazz, and I feel I benefited greatly from it. I don't think I would have been able to play the Steely Dan gig without the training I had.
I can't really recommend that you do or don't study jazz, since only you know whether it is of any interest to you. I always find it's best to just try to do what you love and do what is natural to you. If you can always do those two things, you will probably take the quickest route to being the best you can be. Of course for many of us, making a living comes into play, and that can influence one's priorities.
I also don't like to recommend players, since I truly believe that you should be studying and listening to the players who move you the most right now. Your tastes will probably change as you develop, and you'll want to study other players and other music as you change. There's no great benefit that I can see from taking someone else's opinion about this. There's no harm in listening to people that others recommend, of course, but it's more important for you to learn to develop a discriminating ear for what you like. That's the only way, and probably the best way, to develop your own musical personality, in my experience.
Q: I know you studied with Harry Leahey and Dennis Sandole. Would you talk about your right hand picking technique?
A: I was never able to fully embrace Dennis's idea of the straight wrist approach, though while I went to him, I tried to use it strictly. I have come to feel that for a certain kind of precise, efficient, and even-toned playing (and with pick guitar for me that's usually in a jazz vein) there is one critical thing about the right hand/arm technique: the hand should be "free floating," that is, not anchored anywhere near the bridge, so that the movement from string to string comes primarily from the elbow, not from a change in the angle of the wrist. This allows you to access any string (and allows large string skips) without having to move the wrist much. I do find, however, that I adjust the wrist a little to ensure that the pick strikes the string as parallel to it as possible, which allows the shortest up and down repetitive picking stroke, and improves the consistency of the sound, which is crisper when the pick strikes from an exactly parallel position.
However, since I rarely find myself playing jazz in that pure form I aspired to play it 30 years ago, I find I've almost completely abandoned any fussiness or strictness about right hand technique! (Left hand, too, for that matter, since I'm bending a lot of strings, which requires the thumb up on top of the neck as an anchor to do well.) Sometimes the parallel pick attack is too sharp or clean sounding, and I'll vary the angle on purpose for a "messier" sound. And sometimes I'll mute the strings at the bridge, which, of course, can't be done without anchoring the wrist. And I find that in order to get certain sounds from the guitar I have to do some different things with the right hand - like if I want to get a particularly twangy sound I have to strike the strings very close to the bridge, for example, which means the elbow anchors in a different spot, or not at all, depending on the size of the guitar. So I certainly vary the approach for expressive purposes. Also, the extra heavy picks I use to use worked well for a jazz sound and technique, but I found them very difficult to use when playing any rhythm guitar strumming type part - that technique requires a lot of "give' in the pick (and a very loose, flexible wrist) to feel comfortable and to sound relaxed, and since it's a considerable pat of my gigging repertoire as a sideman, I got tired of switching picks for different styles and settled on a medium thickness and learned to live with it. If I find myself on a gig where it's all jazz tunes all night, I'll switch to a heavier pick, but it does mess with my touch a bit, so I try to get by mostly with the medium. There is something "fat" sounding about an electric jazz guitar played with a very heavy pick, but I dislike the "click" noise that always seems to go with it - though you don't hear it as much in a band setting with the guitar amplified. As I play more I find that I've tried to make my particular approach work in different styles, and I approach any gig a little less like a purist than I used to. I guess it's an attempt to be practical and a desire to make things simple, more than anything.
