To Support the Channel, go to my store at - www.askzac.com Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Pick and fingers is a fabulous "picking hand" technique. In the beginning, it can seem clumsy, and daunting, but it is very rewarding once mastered. In this episode I spell out my first experience seeing a guitarist using this technique in the mid-1980s, and how a Danny Gatton Instructional video from that era really helped me "get it" by separating out the picking hand and fretting hand parts to make fo...
Apr 17, 2023•15 min•Ep. 26
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com I bought a mandolin after seeing two of my favorite guitarists, Albert Lee & John Jorgenson play mandolin on TV in the early 90s. I loved the sound, and the real change of color and tone they offered the bands they were playing in by putting down their electric guitars and picking up the mandolin. Wanting to be like my heroes, I bough...
Apr 16, 2023•22 min•Ep. 25
To Support the Channel, go to my store at - www.askzac.com Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Like most of you, I have been listening to a lot of music lately while stuck at home. With all of the "Top 10" lists, I thought I would list off the 10 albums that influenced me the most, and why. The Albums: Bob Wills - Tiffany Transcriptions Vol 5 Merle Travis - The Merle Travis Guitar Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant - 2 Guitars Country Style Elvis - The Sun Sessions Chet Atkins - Mister Guitar Buck Owe...
Apr 15, 2023•25 min•Ep. 24
To Support the Channel, go to my store at - www.askzac.com Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac It might seem subtle, but it isn't. Tremolo before overdrive produces a much more interesting tone because the tremolo is fluctuating the amount of signal going into the overdrive so the sound is getting dirtier and cleaner as the signal goes up and down. It is amazing how much we take for granted what order we think effects should be in, and how we should really experiment to find out what we like bette...
Apr 14, 2023•16 min•Ep. 23
To Support the Channel, go to my store at - www.askzac.com Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac After my amp videos on the Deluxe Reverb and the Fender Harvard, I had a number of requests for a head-to-head comparison of them. I also answer questions about brass vs steel saddles on Telecasters, good Tele-type guitars at a reasonable price, under $3,000 option for a bender equipped guitar, and why Leo gave the Tele a square neck heel, and the Strat a rounded one. GEAR USED: 2019 Danocaster Blackguar...
Apr 13, 2023•18 min•Ep. 22
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com Ever since I heard "Rainy Night in Georgia," and I found out who the guitar player was, I have been a fan of Cornell Dupree. In this episode, I give a bit of history and show some of his playing techniques, such as sixth, 4th's, and double stops, and how his choice of strings probably influenced his bending and tone. My Spotify Playlist f...
Apr 12, 2023•20 min•Ep. 21
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com For many years I had heard about Fender Rock-N-Roll strings, and how they were used by Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Cornell Dupree, Roy Buchanan, Jimi Hendrix, and many, many others. They were pretty much the standard for light gauge strings until Ernie Ball and D'Addario started eating up Fender's market share in the 1980s. I found out th...
Apr 11, 2023•17 min•Ep. 20
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com At an early age, I fell under the spell of Steve Cropper watching the Blues Brothers movie. From there, I went back and became familiar with all of his incredible work with Atlantic, and Stax/Volt records with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T and MG's and many others. Through reading guitar magazines in the 1980's I first heard of t...
Apr 10, 2023•21 min•Ep. 19
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com I love maple cap neck Telecasters, and I give you the why, and the history of these guitars that were only made in large quantities from 1966-1968. The maple cap necks began to appear after Fender switched from maple necks to maple necks with a separate rosewood fretboard in 1959. Holdouts wanted a maple neck, so Leo began to quietly offe...
Apr 09, 2023•17 min•Ep. 18
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com I first played through a mid 60's Deluxe Reverb amp as a 13-year-old in South Texas in 1986. It took me over 24 years of wandering, but I finally came back to the Deluxe Reverb in 2010, and have been happy ever since. In this Ask Zac, I take you on my wandering through the tonal amp desert, that finally got me back to the venerable Deluxe...
Apr 08, 2023•23 min•Ep. 17
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com Here is my take on the new La Brea Brad Paisley pickup set. Gear Used: 2014 Crook Custom Vintage Paisley http://www.crookcustomguitars.com/ Strings: D'Addario 9.5-44 strings EXL120+ https://amzn.to/3a5qxVi Amp: 1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion V30 speaker Cables: George L's. #askzac #guitartech #telecaster Support the show...
Apr 07, 2023•14 min•Ep. 16
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com Today we talk about B-Benders. I cover some of the untold stories of the B-Bender, showing some of the missing pieces of the story, including that of the Dean Porter bender, and the Dave Evans Pullstring. I also spend some time showing some fun B-Bender licks. Spotify B-Bender playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4XQ... Gear Used: 1...
Apr 06, 2023•20 min•Ep. 15
To Support the Channel: Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Or check out my store at - www.askzac.com In today's Ask Zac, I show James Burton's intro to the Gram Parsons tune "Ooh Las Vegas," and breakdown the Ask Zac intro music. I also cover some of my thoughts on setup and getting a good Telecaster tone. Link to the Dan Erlewine setup book I rec'd https://amzn.to/2Qimg9b GEAR USED: 2019 Danocaster Blackguard (1953 Telecaster Style) with Ron Ellis 52T (Bridge) and Julian Lage (Neck) https://dano...
Apr 05, 2023•19 min•Ep. 14
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com A good friend of mine gifted me a Squier Bass VI, and I have had so much fun learning about the instrument, and how to use it in both performance and recording environments. In this episode, I share both the Danelectro 6 string bass and the Fender Bass VI's history, and the players that put them both on the map. I also give some EQ, effec...
Apr 04, 2023•16 min•Ep. 13
To Support the Channel: Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Or check out my store at - www.askzac.com I focus on the Boss VB-2 Vibrato in the continuing "favorite pedals" series. It is a killer pedal, that Boss improved upon with their more recent VB-2W "Waza Craft" version. Where the old one had noise/hiss issues when bypassed, the Waza Craft version has a special bypass mode that addresses the original"s weak point. The original pedal has been used to great effect by John Jorgenson with the Dese...
Apr 03, 2023•12 min•Ep. 12
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com The Ibanez Mostortion is one of my all-time favorite dirt boxes. Besides giving some history, I also demo it with my Ron Ellis pickup-equipped Danocaster Blackguard and even share some great ways to use the powerful EQ section of the Mostortion circuit to get some killer tones. GEAR USED: 2019 Danocaster Blackguard (1953 Telecaster Style)...
Apr 02, 2023•19 min•Ep. 11
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com Everyone needs a crazy thrown-together parts guitar. Why? Because you never have to stop modifying them! In this episode, I give the story behind my Tele that I have toured all over the world with and changed everything on it except the body's finish. My Frankenstein even has a Joe Glaser B-Bender that I had installed back in 1997. I show...
Apr 01, 2023•20 min•Ep. 10
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com In the latest Ask Zac, we answer some viewer questions concerning who played lead guitar on Conway Twitty's "Tight Fittn' Jeans" and what a typical day as Brad Paisley's guitar tech looked like. While reminiscing about my Paisley days, I also share a funny story about a t-shirt fiasco. Note: Lew Houston was the pedal steel player with Con...
Mar 31, 2023•24 min•Ep. 9
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com Tom's correction is in the video here. YT won't let you edit videos that are already published. • In response to Za... The Nobels ODR-1 has been around for a while, but it was not always seen as a "cool" overdrive pedal. Looking back, there is one man that really spearheaded its popularity, and his name is Tom Bukovac. In this episode, I ...
Mar 30, 2023•11 min•Ep. 8
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com Bobby Womack was an underrated master of R&B Guitar, who influenced many, wrote the book, and/or popularized much of what is considered the R&B guitar vernacular. From his use of sixths, sliding fifths, and double-stops, he helped stamp out a much-copied style of guitar. I walk through his time with the Valentinos, Sam Cooke, Aret...
Mar 29, 2023•13 min•Ep. 7
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com James Burton is one of the most important, and influential guitarists of all time, and in this episode of Ask Zac, I answer "why." To do this, I demonstrate some of his playing techniques, talk of his very early use of light gauge strings, and the exposure he had due to his appearing on the Ozzie and Harriet Show, Shindig, and many filmed...
Mar 28, 2023•20 min•Ep. 6
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com In our first Viewer Mailbag episode, I answer some questions from viewers. First up, I was asked to compare the APC Adder Tele neck pickup in the Crook Paisley with the Ron Ellis "Julian Lage" neck pickup in the Danocaster Blackguard. For completeness' sake, I also bring out my original 1967 Telecaster and demonstrate its original neck pi...
Mar 27, 2023•12 min•Ep. 5
To Support the Channel: Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Or check out my store at - www.askzac.com In the Daniel Lanois autobiography, Soul Mining, Lanois tells of using Bill Lawrence soundhole pickups, a trick he learned from U2's The Edge. After reading, I was reminded of an interview I did with John Leventhal for Vintage Guitar Magazine back in 2017. When interviewing John, he spoke of his live electric setup, and that of his acoustic, that was a bit more complex than most as he used both an...
Mar 26, 2023•12 min•Ep. 4
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com I have a deep love of Telecasters and Telecaster-style guitars. In late 2019, I received my special ordered Danocaster Blackguard with a Ron Ellis 52T (Bridge) and a Julian Lage (Neck) pickup. I demonstrate the Danocaster and also share my long friendships with both Dan Strain and Ron Ellis, and share what makes them both such in-demand c...
Mar 25, 2023•11 min•Ep. 3
On the anniversary of Reggie Young's passing, January 17, 2019, Zac Childs pays tribute to him in this episode of Ask Zac. Reggie was more than a great guitarist, he was a great person. Through personal anecdotes, and sharing those of others that Zac has collected, we get a look at Reggie the man. Also in this episode, Zac dissects the intro, verse, and chorus guitar parts of "Drift Away." He also covers Young's gear through the years, and how at heart, Reggie was a bit of a gear minimalist, rel...
Mar 24, 2023•19 min•Ep. 2
To Support the Channel: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AskZac Tip jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Or check out my store for merch - www.askzac.com Zac talks about Steuart Smith's long and fruitful career as a session man and touring guitarist. His beginnings with Rodney Crowell through his current work with the Eagles is covered along with his session highlights and what gear he has used through the years. My Vintage Guitar Magazine interview with Steuart in the Feb 2020 issue https...
Mar 23, 2023•13 min•Ep. 1
