What to Look for When Buying a Gypsy-Jazz Guitar, from Tone to Playability
A gypsy jazz guitar's optimal setup differs from that of a regular steel-string
These articles originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Guitar Lesson: How to Play the Blues Like R.L. Burnside
If you like your blues with funky drive, listening to and learning Burnside’s riffs and licks will get your mojo working. Learn to play in his raw percussive style.
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Ask the Expert: How Does a Truss Rod Work?
The truss rod is a long metal rod installed in a channel running most of the length of your guitar’s neck. Here's how it works and how to tell if it needs adjustment.
Gypsy-Jazz Guitar Lesson: Learn ‘La Pompe Manouche’ Style in 6 Easy Steps
The importance of a solid rhythmic foundation is at the heart of Gypsy-jazz guitar
Twin Shelley Park Gypsy-jazz guitars inspired by beloved family members
Novelist Joseph Skibell had these Selmer-style instruments built in memory of his mother’s twin siblings.
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GFA Launches its First Guitar Summit Orchestra for Kids
This summer, upwards of 30 young guitarists will participate in the first-ever Guitar Foundation of America’s (GFA) Guitar Summit
Linda Manzer, Jean Larrivée, Grit Laskin, and More Luthiers Honor Canada’s ‘Group of Seven’ Painters with Artful Guitars
Seven Canadian luthiers spent months building guitars inspired by Canada's famed "Group of Seven" painters.
Video Lesson: How to Use Chord Grips to Generate Great Soloing Ideas
Solos don’t have to be fast or fancy to be effective!
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Video Review: Seagull’s Coastline Momentum Offers an Affordable Workhorse of a Dreadnought
This slope-shouldered dreadnought sports Adirondack spruce bracing, a compound-curve top that increases structural integrity, an Indian rosewood fingerboard, a compensated TUSQ saddle, a custom-polished finish, a double-function truss rod, and a set-neck system that resists warping and changes due to climate.
Video Review: The D-1 Authentic 1931 Is a Note-Perfect Replica of a Rare Martin Dreadnought
The D-1 is one of the latest members of Martin’s Authentic lineup, in which the company recreates its prewar designs in highly accurate detail
Review: The New Bedell Revolution Parlor Is a Feast for the Ears and Eyes
A big part of what makes the Revolution Parlor such a satisfying instrument is how smoothly it plays.
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Acoustic Guitar Sessions Presents Dan Stuart & Thomas Heyman
Two veterans of the paisley underground, recent friends, Dan Stuart (of Green on Red and Danny & Dusty) and Thomas Heyman (of the Chuck Prophet Band) dropped by the AG Sessions studio to share acoustic renditions of Heyman's "Keep the River on the Right" and Stuart's "The Greatest," a tribute to heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali.
Acoustic Guitar Sessions Presents Glen Phillips with Jonathan Kingham (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) [VIDEO]
Glen Phillips and Jonathan Kingham, who play together in Toad the Wet Sprocket (and separately in other projects), stopped by the AG Sessions studio to perform two songs from Phillips' solo album, Swallowed by the New, released in 2016.
Acoustic Guitar Presents Mandy Fer and Dave McGraw
The Pacific Northwest songwriting duo of Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer recorded their latest album, Off-Grid Lo-Fi entirely, well, off the grid, using wind and solar to power their rustic log-cabin studio. During a visit to the AG Sessions studio, Fer showed that she means business as she delivered a percussive…
Learn to Play Gypsy-Jazz Favorite ‘Swing Gitan’
I first heard “Swing Gitan” backstage at a Djangofest jam between some younger players in Seattle, who were playing it as if they themselves had written it! (That’s true of Gypsy-jazz players, many who really get inside every song they play). It’s a great vehicle for the showy, virtuosic style…
