Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

This week’s issue is jam packed with new guitar stuff! Rush’s Alex Lifeson has a more affordable signature guitar coming out, Phil McKnight shows us the essential tools he uses to set up guitars, someone plays “Sweet Child O’ Mine”…with their feet. Ya can’t make this stuff up.

Also just yesterday I did my first livestream for Chasing Sound on YouTube. If you caught the stream live, thank you! If not, I'd love to have you for the next one. Use this link for the replay, and make sure to subscribe to Chasing Sound so you know when the next one is coming up! Let’s get into this week’s links!

Do You Make These 3 Guitar Mistakes? - If you’re looking to record your guitar, you should check out the Recording Revolution’s latest video. In it, Chris Liepe talks about getting your gain staging right, crafting your tone as you’re creating your guitar parts, and taking a big picture look at your arrangements. Check out the full video to hear all about each tip.
A VAN HALEN 1 TONE SECRET! Hint... IT'S NOT THE GEAR! GUITAR LESSON - I loved this video from Pete Thorn, where he shows how EVH basically tuned to whatever sounded good, and had Michael Anthony tune to him. I always wondered why my regular standard tuning didn’t always sound perfect when playing along to Van Halen songs.
The Jimi Hendrix Signature Guitar That COULD Have Been - The ACOUSTIC BLACK WIDOW - This is some serious professional documentary style video! Guitologist recently posted a nearly hour long video about what allegedly was Hendrix’s favorite guitar before he passed. Then he goes on to repair/set up one of these guitars (which was limited to only 200!) If you want to learn about a super rare axe, you should check this out.
The MOST IMPORTANT Thing I LEARNED From HENDRIX - Want more Hendrix? Don’t we all? Tim Pierce talks about double and triple stops, and why Hendrix’s use of these made such a big impact on him. But that’s not all, he also talks about getting started with session work, and lots more. Pierce always hits us with a treasure trove of good guitar advice.
5 Basic Tools Every Guitar Player Needs To Do Set Ups - Phil McKnight tells us about 5 tools that you’ll need when setting up your guitar. Basic things like a tuner to a fret rocker, and even some extra ideas like getting tools for fret work, a soldering iron, and more.
Johnatha Bastos - Sweet child o' mine (GUNS 'N ROSES Cover)- You have to see this video to believe it. Johnatha has no arms, and still manages to play Guns ’n Roses “Sweet Child o’ Mine”…with his feet!
Eric Gales blowing minds - If you haven’t heard of Eric Gales’ incredible blues playing, stop reading this newsletter and go seek out everything he’s put out! In this video Guitar Pilgrim is the latest person to get blown away by his playing. He also pulls some of his riffs for us to learn.
Epiphone | The Alex Lifeson Les Paul Standard Axcess - If you’re a fan of Rush, this week we got news that Gibson will be shipping an Epiphone version of it’s Alex Lifeson Les Paul, and it’ll be less than $1K! The guitar looks beautiful, and features a Floyd/Graph Tech Ghost trem bridge. I usually give Gibson a lot of grief for their decisions, but this was a good one! If you’re a fan of Lifeson, go check out this new video from Leon Todd on “Rush Chords”.
Easy Guitar Licks That Sound Advanced! - Robert Baker is the king of these types of videos. Baker gives us a handful of great licks (with tab) that sound more difficult than they really are to play.
How I Got Away With Playing 11 FORBIDDEN Guitar Store Riffs - Looking for a couple laughs? Tyler from Music Is Win changes a couple of notes and the feel of some classic songs, to play 11 “forbidden” guitar store riffs. What’s your favorite?
My Favorite Thing To Practice On Guitar (You'll Be Surprised!) - Give this video some time, and it’ll be rewarding. David Wallimann talks about associating intervals with shapes. He starts with nursery rhymes, but you can see how these important shapes can inform your playing, when you’re playing real leads.
Mary Spender Interviews Molly Tuttle - Mary Spender recently sat down to interview Molly Tuttle. They talk about bluegrass, and how the genre influenced Molly in such a major way, not worrying about “having it all together” right at the beginning, practice ideas, and a bunch more.
Mark Lettieri Teaches me Creative Rhythm Guitar | Lessons with the Greats - Martin Miller has been doing this great series where he takes guitar lessons from various, awesome guitarists. This week he tapped Mark Lettieri to teach him rhythm guitar. There’s a reason Mark’s playing is so in demand, and this video shows us why.
Guitar Fills: What to Play When Your Singer Shuts Up - Guitar Player put together a good primer on using little rhythmic fills/leads to play in between vocals, in a number of different styles. This is a great place to start for mixing up your rhythm and lead playing.
What Is Scale Length? - Does scale length on a guitar make a difference? Rhett Shull heads to Righteous Guitars to answer that very question, and find out why different scale lengths have a different feel.
Daniel Donato - Back On The Train - 5/16/21 Gainesville, FL - Cosmic Country - I feel like Daniel Donato is on the brink of getting the credit he deserves for his incredible playing. In this video, Daniel and co. play Phish’s “Back on the Train”, live from Gainesville, Florida. Donato is one of the best Tele pickers out there right now.
Marty Friedman: “Much of the Japanese music that is currently very popular has a melodic structure that echoes a lot of '70s Western rock and pop“ - Marty Friedman’s love of Japan has been well documented. After leaving Megadeth early in the 2000’s, Friedman has made a big name for himself both in Japan and back in the States. His love of Japan shines through on his Tokyo Jukebox series - he recently released the 3rd volume in this series. Guitar World talks gear, songwriting and more with Friedman in this interview.
Fender Master Builders celebrate the Fender Play Foundation with 12 one-of-a-kind ‘Student’ guitars - When you think student guitars, you’re probably thinking of a kit guitar, that might cost around $100 or so. Fender is turning that upside down with the first 4 of 12 master built student guitars. These guitars are being made to celebrate Fender’s Play Foundation, which has already “donated over a million dollars in resources”. I wish I had one of these when I started playing!
Danny Elfman: “I’m not a shredder. My guitar on this album was the feedback and the messiness!” - Danny Elfman is a legend when it comes to putting together music for some of the biggest movies in the world. I have to admit, I was a little surprised to hear his first solo album, where Elfman picks up a guitar and rocks out. Check out this interview and his new album, ‘Big Mess’.