Pete Madsen

Pete Madsen

Pete Madsen is an acoustic blues, ragtime and slide guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He's the author of Play the Blues Like..., an essential guide for playing fingerstyle blues in open tunings.

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four portrait illustrations in a side-by-side grid depicting Booker White, Memphis Minnie, Robert Johnson, and Elizabeth Cotten all playing acoustic guitars

Learn to Play in Open G

A lesson on how to play fingerstyle blues in this popular open tuning, using examples from classic songs by Elizabeth Cotten, Robert Johnson, and more.

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Beard A-Model Odyssey resonator guitar

Gear Review: Beard A-Model Odyssey

With its mixture of vintage and modern appointments, the Beard A-Model Odyssey resonator guitar has a stunning look that is certain to captivate the audience at any gig.

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National Reso-phonic M-14T Thunderbox resonator guitar

Gear Review: National M-14T Thunderbox

Although known for its steel and brass instruments, National also offers many wood-bodied guitars, both tricone and single-cone biscuit bridge style. The M-14T Thunderbox is the most recent addition to National’s M series of single-cone mahogany resonators.
guitar slides

Video Lesson: How to Play Bottleneck in a Range of Styles

Slide/bottleneck guitar can evoke flavors ethereal and lyrical or aggressive and bombastic. From Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” to Elmore James’ “Dust My Broom” and on to Debashish Bhattacharya’s Indian slide musings, this approach delivers a wide spectrum of sounds, emotions, and cultural touchstones.
MagSlide magnesium acoustic guitar slide

Gear Review: MagSlide Magnesium Guitar Slide

The most common materials for bottleneck slides are steel, brass, glass, and ceramic. I have also seen slides fashioned from copper tubing and plastic cylinders. Now comes the MagSlide, made of magnesium, the eighth most abundant element, as well as the lightest structural metal on earth.

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Alvarez-Yairi Honduran DYM60HD acoustic guitar

Gear Review: Alvarez-Yairi Honduran DYM60HD

The partnership between Yairi and Alvarez goes back several decades, with the Alvarez-Yairi stamp reserved for Alvarez’s finest instruments. While much of Alvarez’s line is manufactured in China, the Yairi-branded guitars are made in a small shop in Kani, Japan, where modern power tools are eschewed in favor of hand tools, like spokeshaves for carving necks, and hide-glue construction is standard throughout.

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Guild F-512 12-string acoustic guitar

Gear Review: Guild F-512 12-string

Introduced in 1968 as a special-order version of the 6-string F-50R, the Guild F-512 had varying appointments, including Brazilian rosewood backs and sides, before it became a regular model in 1974—and a go-to instrument for players such as Pete Townsend, Brian May, Tim Buckley, John Denver, and Dan Fogelberg.