This week’s issue is filled with great lessons - we have everything from where to get started with hybrid picking, to a eye-opening tone tips video from Joe Bonamassa, and much more. I also have a few links to brand new music you can check out - new Liquid Tension Experiment, John Mayer, and announcements from other guitarists too. There’s also a little bit of gear news, with Norm at Norman’s Rare Guitars possibly finding one of the first ever Telecasters ever made. Let’s jump right in!

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Where to start with: Hybrid Picking Chris Brooks - Chris Brooks has authored some of my favorite guitar books. I’m currently working on his 100 Arpeggio Licks For Shred Guitar book, and have one of his books on sweeping too. This week’s video from Chris takes a look at getting into hybrid picking, and what the basics are. If you’ve ever wanted to gain extra speed, or find an easier way to play tricky phrases, check out hybrid picking, where you’re using a pick and your fingers at the same time.
HUGE Guitar Tones With Double-Tracking - “What’s the simplest way to fatten a recorded guitar tone? Record it again!” I couldn’t agree more! Double tracking is one of my favorite recording hacks, and always produces interesting tones. In this video, That Pedal Show gives us tips on how to achieve a great double tracked recording.
Make the Dorian Mode Sound GREAT - Ross Campbell is back this week with 3 awesome licks that use the Dorian mode. If you’ve never tried to play modally, the Dorian mode is a great place to start (after Ionian, of course). The great thing about Ross’ licks, is that they don’t sound too scalar/mechanical. These licks all have a very JTC-Guitar era Guthrie Govan vibe to me.
Joe Bonamassa's Gibson Les Paul tone tips guitar lesson - This video from about 7 years ago just came across my YouTube recommended feed again, and damn is it good. The video shows Joe Bonamassa using a Les Paul into a combo amp, and getting a plethora of different tones from only that. I feel like if you’re reading this newsletter, there’s a good chance you might like gear. I’m the same way! But there’s something refreshing of just using guitar into amp to create your tones.
How Good was Jimi Hendrix, REALLY? | Friday Fretworks - Now that it’s been 50 years since Hendrix has passed, Chris Buck takes a look at just how good Jimi was really. Not only was Hendrix ahead of his time, he’s influenced, and will continue to influence players for decades to come.
The Hendrix Hack For Beginners! - Robert Baker’s video is a perfect tie in to the video above. If you feel like it’s hard to learn from the greats - Hendrix, EVH, etc. Baker makes it easy to learn Hendrix “hacks” - like double stops, using your thumb, playing small leads around chords, and lots more.
1951 Fender Telecaster | History with Norm at Norman's Rare Guitars - Norm from Norman’s Rare Guitars may have found one of the first Telecasters of all time! Not only is the serial number close to the Broadcaster, which came before the Tele, but many other signs like the hardware it uses, point to it being one of the earliest models of the Tele. Not only is it from ’51, it’s also in incredible condition, which makes it even rarer.
Pro Guitarists ask Paul Reed Smith 22 Questions | PRS Guitars - Many people from around the guitar world got together to ask Paul Reed Smith 22 questions! I loved Paul’s answer about not being so precious with bumps and nicks on guitars, his thoughts on social media stars, taking care of your instruments in a “throw away world” and even who he’d make the aliens listen to, whenever they land on our planet.
Rick Beato Teaches As Much Theory As Possible In 1 Hour - What else can I say about Rick Beato, that I haven’t said already? The guy is a true treasure in our industry. If you’ve never learned anything about theory, spend an hour with Rick.
Making Metal MAJOR Again with Modal Transposition Magic! - Ben Eller is back, and making metal songs sound goofy and happy, by transposing them into major. It’s cool to see Ben’s process around doing this.
Why theory helps with learning songs? - In addition to Ben and Rick’s videos above, this is a third that explains why theory is so important to know. For Licklibrary’s video, it’s all about using theory to help us learn songs. Is it required to know theory? Of course not, but it sure does help.
How to get GOOD at ACOUSTIC GUITAR (my philosophy) - This is one of my favorite videos that Paul Davids has ever put out. Paul guides you through playing open cowboy chords, to being an acoustic guitar pro. I love how each little step that Paul provides gives us things to work and build on. Whether that be arpeggiating lines, using percussive elements, hammer-ons and so much more. If you play acoustic guitar, no matter what level you are, you should check this out.
Top 10 Guitar Solos That Changed My Life - Rhett Shull always delivers with his YouTube videos. In his latest, rather than just putting together a simple list of his top 10 guitar solos, he got a band together and does the solos himself. Some really great picks on here!
My Top 5 - Albert Collins - I really enjoyed watching Josh Smith talk about his top 5 Albert Collins licks. But the top of the video, and Josh reflecting on Albert’s personality was even better.
Carlos Santana reveals Kirk Hammett will guest on his new album, Blessings and Miracles - Good news! Santana’s latest album is “90% complete”, and will feature a guest spot from Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. This isn’t the first time Hammett has worked with Santana though - Santana’s song “Trinity” features Kirk and Robert Randolph makes an appearance too!
John Petrucci-led supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment unveil blazing new song, Hypersonic - In more music news, prog supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment just released a new video for the song “Hypersonic”. That makes 3 tracks that are out for our listening pleasure, with the full album dropping on April 16th.
John Mayer previews 80s-inspired single from forthcoming album - John Mayer has previewed a new song from his upcoming album, and I think Guitar.com’s mention of what fans are saying about the song really hits the nail on the head - “Fans have noted similarities between the song and the music of Toto, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins.” Really looking forward to hearing the track in its entirety.
Johnny Marr is working on his fourth solo album - Final bit of new music news is that Johnny Marr is currently working on his 4th solo album. I’ve always loved Marr’s work in the Smiths, but also really enjoyed his solo output. Go check out his 2014 album ‘Playland’, and let me know what you think.
The "Lost Highway" Podcast #50: Steve Vai // Daniel Donato Cosmic Country - This is quite possibly the most trippy I’ve heard Steve Vai. There’s only so much guitar talk in this episode of Daniel Donato’s “Lost Highway” podcast, but the life lessons from Steve Vai are interesting to listen to.
This Simple Three-Chord Progression Opens the Door to Many Genres - Guitar Player makes the case as to why the I, IV, and V chords form the “triumvirate” of so many different genres of music.
Glitch guitar: 7 creative ways to destroy and rebuild your riffs - If you’re a fan of Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead or Minus the Bear, and you’d like to cop their glitchy guitar styles, you should check out this article from Guitar Player. GP gives some song recommendations for inspiration, and more importantly goes over what pedals and techniques can help you get these sounds, so you can play them in the studio, and even live.
Lemmy‘s ashes have been put into bullets and given to his friends - Not exactly guitar related, but Lemmy and Motorhead were a super influential band for decades. This might be the most “metal” way to go out.
“Demolition” A Collection of Short Guitar Jams by Shawn Tubbs - I’ve been really enjoying this album from Shawn Tubbs. Every song is under 3 minutes, and many are under 2. I love the preciseness of the album. Shawn gets right to the meat of the song right away, with no filler. There’s everything from blues and country to rock and more on here. There’s also a cool backing tracks version you can pick up, which you can find here. Go support indie artists! A good day to do this would be when Bandcamp waives its revenue share, where all the money goes to the artist. You can read more about that here.