Ask Zac!

Site was down for a while due to some technical difficulties, but is now back. Continuing to write and play as much as I can. Vintage Guitar has posted a number of my interviews and reviews on their site:

First off, my last interview with Brad Paisley.

And Nashville Trailblazer Brent Rowan

Thirdly Keith Urban

A couple of reviews:

Victoria Regal II Amp
Fender GE Smith Telecaster
Savage Audio Macht 12X amplifier

But that is enough linking of articles. Right now I am working on a couple of product reviews, and a feature on rising Nashville Tele player, JD Simo.

On other fronts, been enjoying my Les Paul with Antiquity pickups immensely. I do have some other great guitars that have gotten less attention lately. I would be speaking of my Crook Strat style. Bill Crook built this guitar for me in 2004.

I happened to take the Crook Strat with me to play at my church this last Sunday, after having used the Les Paul at rehearsal. In between services my friend running sound thanked me for bringing the Strat as it cut through the mix better than the Paul in the room. I guess that is why I need more than 1 guitar. What else do I need now………

I got my 59 Reissue Les Paul in May last year. After leaving it stock for about a year, I decided to do a little hot-rodding to it. I liked the stock Burstbuckers, but was looking for a set that was a bit more balanced. With the stock set, if I set the tone on my amp for the bridge pickup, by the time I switched to the neck, it was all mud.

I tried a couple of different models of replacement pickups, but was not finding what I was after. During a conversation with my Editor at Vintage Guitar Magazine, he indicated I should really try a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity Pickups. I decided to take the plunge, and went ahead and asked that they make the pickups a bit underwound to help in their clarity. A week or so later, THEY ARRIVED!! That was quick. I then installed them, and my buddy Steve Bliss took pictures of the process for posterity. Here we go!

First I removed the stock Burstbuckers, and set the Duncan’s in place

Then, I carefully pulled the cables through to the control cavity.

After pulling the cables through, I marked the bridge pickup so that I could solder the guitar properly.

Next, I attached the pickups to the body via the pickup rings as to not bang up the guitars top while I do the soldering in the rear control cavity.

Here I am cutting the cables to the proper length for a clean install.

For the curious, here is the specifics of one of the pickups showing DC resistance, who wound them, and magnet type.

I was very happy with the final sound. Much more clarity in the neck position, and well balanced in all three positions. Kudos to Maricela Juarez at Seymour Duncan for winding such an exceptional set of pickups.

It’s been a while, so here is a quick one. Here is my latest pedalboard.

It has on it a Visual Sound CMP66, Open Road, VV10 Visual Volume, Sonic Research Tuner, Demeter Tremulator, Boss Vibrato, Boss DD-5 Delay.

Also, I recently put a Celestion G10 Greenback in my ri Princeton, and oh what an improvement over the stock, bright Jensen.
Really been enjoying the new, smaller rig.

I made the annual trip to Anaheim CA, for NAMM 2009. It was crazier than ever. With all of the talk of the economy, it was a nice feeling for once to be over-run with people at a trade show. As usual, we shared a booth with the kind ladies at George L’s, and Pedaltrain. Visual Sound introduced 2 new pedals, the Open Road Overdrive, and the True Tone Clean Boost. I did not get the chance to take many pictures, but here is one of my boss, Bob, and the Steves.

Here is one of me in demo mode:

Here is one of the entire booth:

And one of the pedal board:

Recently, I have become a believer in TonePros locking tail piece studs, and decided to stop by their booth and pick up a AVRII locking bridge to put on my Les Paul. They were kind enough to sell me one, and yes, it made a noticeable improvement in the stability of the guitar. I must also add that the Tonepros guys are a funny, and rowdy bunch. Hats off to Mac for his great stories. I still don’t know if he was telling the truth or not. Special thanks go out to James Pennebaker with Fender for letting us borrow an amp for the show, and to J. Hayes with PRS who showed me the elusive “James Bond” chord.

When I was 17 years old, I decided I wanted to start taking guitar lessons again after 2 years of going it alone. I went to the local music store, Clawson’s Music in Corpus Christi, and signed up with Pat Grogan. Pat toured with Willie Nelson, and was a staff guitarist on the Big “D” Jamboree, out of Dallas, TX. There, he played with all the top artists of the 1950’s and 60’s. From Buck Owens, to George Jones, Pat was supplying smooth, hot guitar. Besides all of his playing experience, he was a co-writer on the Buck Owens/Desert Rose Band classic, “Hello Trouble.”

Pat was an incredible teacher. As soon as I showed some promise, he began taking me on gigs with him, and threw me into the deep end more than once. Whatever it was that I was not cutting it at, we would work on it at our next lesson. What kind of teacher does this? Most give you a lesson, and say see ya next week. Mr. Grogan poured into me. I can still remember the first gig I had that paid at Island Italian Restaurant on Padre Island. I wasn’t given money, but I did get a pizza, or a sandwich at the end of every night. It was such a thrill to play there. Soon after wards, I was actually getting paid decent money to play in some of the bands in South Texas. A special thanks goes out to Don Bodine, and all the good people at the South Texas Opry. They tolerated my overplaying, and over-dependence on a B-bender. Here is a picture of Pat and I at a gig we played together right after Thanksgiving 2008.

As you can plainly see, he is playing keyboards here. Pat plays guitar, banjo, fiddle, piano, and I’m sure a number of other instruments.

Pat was recently inducted into the Texas Music Hall Of Fame, and was also “cemented” into the South Texas Music Walk Of Fame In Corpus Christi

I am very thankful to have had Pat Grogan as my guitar teacher. It was very nice to get to re-connect with him on a recent trip to Texas. Thank you Pat!

The interview hinted at a couple posts ago goes to print next month. Here is the cover.

In this, our second interview, I did my best to not just talk about gear. I at least tried. Tell me what you think. Zac

Here are some out-takes from the Rowan shots that Rusty Russell did. I thought it quite interesting that he had stopped using a pedal board altogether. Brent would bring cases of pedals, and only plug in what was appropriate.

My dear wife got tickets to a tv taping at the Opry house for a Wynonna Christmas special. Being that it was at 7pm, we decided to meet there. What I didn’t allow for was the arrival of one of our presidential candidates into town. To help afformentioned candidate, they shut down I-40, and all the exits off of it. Needless to say I got to the taping late. Luckily, they had delayed the start due to the traffic conditions. Wynonna was great, but I was even more impressed with her longtime producer/guitarist Don Potter. I don’t think I have ever seen an acoustic guitarist play with a smoother touch. After the show, there was a major accident on 1-65 which shut down all lanes of traffic. What a night.

I am a Ry Cooder fan. I can’t help it. He is an old, cantakerous coot, but an amazing musician and storyteller. I bought his latest album/book I Flathead a week or so ago. The book highlights Ry’s sharply honed weirdness, and penchant for the normal, yet absurd. Aliens coming to earth and racing cars, and stories of rough and tumble country musician/hooligan Kash Buck. Then there is the cd, which has songs about “Steel Guitar Heaven,” and a song about Kash Buck’s dog, Spade Cooley. For those not in the know, Spade was the name of a very infamous western swing band leader, who spent time in prison for the brutal murder of his wife. As good as the album is, his “Chicken Skin Music” album is still my fave.

Watch out next month for my interview with Nashville sessioneer/producer Brent Rowan, and be on the lookout the following month for my cover story on Brad Paisley. I leave you with a teaser from the Brad interview.

VG: What is you name?
BP: Brad Paisley

VG: Is this your 1st interview?
BP: No I actually did one last week, I really like them.

VG: What is it about interviews that you like?
BP: I like it that someone is actually asking me questions, instead of me asking questions.

VG: What kind of questions would you ask?
BP: If I was going to do the interview? Hygiene.

That’s hard hitting journalism at its best!

I have been learning how to play the guitar with Arlen Roth for about 23 years now. I have bought his books and videos, and read his columns in old Guitar Player Magazines. About 2 months ago, I happened upon Gibson Guitar’s website, and clicked on Lifestyle, instead of Products. They have a wealth of music news, and of course the expected Gibson marketing.

Now for the really nice part. They have been posting short, 5-10 min lessons by Arlen, where he teaches you some incredibly insightful lessons. If you play electric guitar, please take the time to check out his lessons of the day on Gibson’s website. I have enjoyed every one of them. Arlen, you are still my hero, 23 years later.