7 Questions with Alicyn Yaffee Succinct and preferring to let her music and playing speak for her, Alicyn Yaffee enjoys a career that has been elevated since relocating from the West coast to the East. As a guitarist, bassist, and vocalist, do you find that one satisfies a different need or scratches a different

7 Questions with Grant Gordy Staying relaxed, drawing inspiration from family and the wider world around him, and recognizing the benefit of purposeful play - Grant Gordy shines a light on his process and path. Tell us about the role NYC plays in your career; could you work like you do anywhere, in a

7 Questions with D'Arcy Blake, D'Arcy Guitars A story that connects Vancouver BC, Bosnia, and New York together - via a couple of Blake brothers, through artistry and Jazz? Do go on... Custom commissions aside, what is perhaps your ideal archtop luthiery recipe for body, neck, and board?  All of my favorite sounding guitars

7 Questions with Tyler Wells, LHT Guitars Working alongside the great Tom Ribbecke and making truly original, playable works of art of his own design, LHT Guitars’ (Long Hair) Tyler Wells will be showing one of the new Blue Guitars at this year’s Archtop Guitar Festival in Colorado. We just caught up with him

7 Questions with Ken Parker This photo of master builder Ken Parker gloriously sums up his charming personality and general outlook. While many who have been in the business as long as Ken have understandingly suffered some degree of soul crushery over the years, Ken seems to have immunity against a lousy time! Let's

7 Questions with Pat Bergeson Equally revered for his jazz (and blues) harmonica chops as he is for his guitar work, Nashvillian Pat Bergeson has a unique perspective on the feature sets of amplifiers, and a story about a fateful gig in Germany that might make you fall out of your chair.  What challenges

7 Questions with Chef Dean Fearing Sure, he may be one of the most well known Chefs in the whole nation - but did you know that Chef Dean Fearing is also a huge Tele nut and has a long standing, 35-year band together with another Chef-musician friend? Rounding out their lineup is never

7 Questions with Dave Stryker How many actively gigging musicians have the bandwidth, drive, and ability to record an album a year - since 1990?? Not many, which alone puts Bud fan, Dave Stryker in rarified company. Read more about what makes him tick and what's coming down the pipeline from him. How did

7 Questions with Jake Shimabukuro A truly unmatched phenom on the ukulele and a globally recognized recording and performing artist, Hawaii’s own Jake Shimabukuro loves to plug in (and occasionally kick on some distortion), is currently working with George Harrison’s family, and always manages to make a mess out of the kitchen. Let’s delve

7 Questions with Jason Vieaux From Piazolla to Metheny - with detours through Jay-Z and Mastodon - Grammy award-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux records, plays, and appreciates it all. Join us to learn more about this fascinating and incredibly talented musician! Tell us about the recent work you completed with Pat Metheny, and what it was

7 Questions with Ty Danco, of the Archtop Foundation Ty Danco is an exceptionally interesting man to research! With a background that involves Olympic level athletics, finance, entrepreneurship, cryptocurrency, and a ubiquitous online profile image of him revealing a NOFX T-shirt under a button down in Superman-esque fashion, he now gives all his time

7 Questions with Frank Vignola He hosts several annual players' camps, a weekly guitar night at NYC's Birdland Jazz Club, has written and published more than 20 books with Mel Bay, and has about 97 other irons in the fire. Meet the multitasking magnate, Frank Vignola! Tell us about the Big Jersey Guitar Camps

Bruce Forman talks GrumpsTV, humor & entertainment, and the Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival You started your video series, GrumpsTV, during the pandemic. What were your goals for the production? Well, I was just trying to keep from going sane; that’s basically it. I’ve always liked being an entertainer as well as a player, so

A Conversation With Hawaii-Based Builder Steve Grimes From the Northwest to the extreme Southwest - Maui-based builder, Steve Grimes is celebrating his 50th year in luthiery. He shares with us his thoughts on the industry at large, the upcoming Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival, and some new innovations in his own designs. Where did you

A Conversation With Jazz Master Howard Alden We sat down with Howard to discuss what's new in his world, some of his favorite luthiers, and his upcoming appearance at the Rocky Mountain Archtop FestivalSept 9-11th, 2022 in Arvada, Co. How's gigging post lockdown? Things are slowly waking up in the music business after a

A Conversation With Funk Legend Leo Nocentelli of The Meters We sat down with Leo Nocentelli, legendary guitarist and founder of The Meters, to get his thoughts on his influence on younger generations, funk music today, and what he loves about his Henriksen amp. How do you feel about the influence of your music,

Guitar Stories: Corey Christiansen I first played a Benedetto guitar in 1997. My teacher, Jack Petersen, had one. It was just incredible. Good neck, balanced, no dead spots on the neck, and beautiful finish. Of course, I wanted one, but a grad student putting themselves through school could never afford a guitar like that.

Guitar Stories - Tim Lerch When I was 19, I bought a 1952 ES 175 from a neighbor lady. It was the classic, "under the bed" guitar. I paid $350 for it and was over the moon with it! It was clean as new, and just like my idol, Jim Hall's, guitar. I played

Guitar Stories - Bob Palmieri "How (and why) I trashed my rare vintage Rosewood Telecaster" In 1969 my parents bought me my first “good” guitar. Previously, I had acoustic & electric axes bought from department stores, neither of which had names on their headstock. ‘Course, at that age and time period, as my drummer

Guitar Stories - Bruce Forman Barney Kessel meant a lot to me. Besides being inspired by his recordings, I had the opportunity to hear him live and even shared the bandstand with him when I was in my early twenties. Then I got to tour with him! We played many times over the years

Rory may be the only Henriksen player who nearly (and unwittingly) recycled his working Henriksen amp, but he's also the guy to go to in Nashville for about 20 different western and world instrument session tracks, and is also adept at events from multi-generational Polka jams to beloved pet funerals. Aside from all that, he

Linda Manzer, a Jedi Master of the guitar luthiery world, has continued to find inspiration and avenues through which to challenge herself over a celebrated career that spans nearly half a century. She's a movie score loving romantic, in it for the art, and for the player. Interested in a build? Her favorite specs are

So an Aussie with a guitar walks into a bar off the street in New York and says, "I'm here to play with Les Paul, let me in!"... And they do, and he does! Might sound like the start of some kind of jazz-crowd joke, and it may not have quite happened that way, but

The recent release of Raul’s self-produced CD, “Royal Street,” which features the Rhythm Brothers and special guest violinist Johnny Frigo, has brought Raul international acclaim from Jazz reviewers in the U.S., UK and Europe. The instrumental and compositional skills displayed on this, Raul’s first solo CD, have solidified his position as one of the world’s

Like so many musicians with cancelled show, festival, and tour plans this year, Jocelyn has had to reorient herself in a dynamically shifting landscape for performers. Read about her "recalibration" tactics, thoughts on ultra-simple vocal/instrumental rigs, and learn about what she's got in store for you this year and in 2021! With the current state

A local Fort Collins, CO-based luthier, Michael Bashkin jokes about how he and Peter Henriksen came to know each other, only while both were away at the same distant guitar shows: "just two Colorado people getting together outside of Colorado, and only outside of Colorado." Michael's an incredibly talented luthier, scientist, artist - and hey,

Currently one of the Pacific Northwest's busiest and most well respected guitarists, Tim Lerch is a member of the legendary Northwest Gypsy Jazz Group, Pearl Django, as well as the Tim Lerch Jamie Findlay Duo. In between gigs with PD and Jamie, Tim tries to play as many solo guitar performance as he can fit

Guitar Stories - Bill Piburn This guitar is an electric, nylon string Gibson Chet Atkins model, and I call it my computer guitar because it’s easy to play, and it has a good sound quality without plugging it in. It’s not a guitar I’d want to record with as far as doing a record;

My favorite guitar was made for me by a legendary guitar builder named Bill Hollenbeck, who’s unfortunately not with us anymore. Here’s the story of how we met, and my favorite instrument. It’s gotten much harder to travel with a guitar nowadays; if you’re lucky and there’s room in the overhead, maybe you can carry

John is a Nashville-based, 100% Chet Atkins-bestowed Certified Guitar Player (or was it Country Guitar Picker?), a passionate teacher, and a lifelong student of music and his craft - as well as a recipient of an advanced degree in Physics from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. After plying that degree working for Texas Instruments

Setting up shop in Forestville, California, Maegen Wells is an unabashed fan of the art of luthiery and luthiers, the archtop guitar, the opportunity to include a variety of nuanced details in her guitar builds, and naturally... Buckethead. She spent 5 years with previous blog subject, Tom Ribbecke in his shop, and will be showing

Serving as Chicago’s DePaul University’s primary jazz guitar instructor for the last 28 years, Bob Palmieri has also maintained a busy performing and recording career that has included electric guitar work for the Rochester & Florida Philharmonic Orchestras, the Columbia, Windham Hill and Blue Note record labels, Ray Charles, Nancy Wilson, Brian McKnight, Lyle Mays,

Tom Ribbecke has been building world class guitars and basses for a long time, but by no means has he ceased to innovate, reinvent the wheel where he thinks necessary, or rested on his laurels in any way. Case in point - his incredible concept for greater soundboard projection by emulating the suspension surround of

Amplifying Quality Instruments by Peter Henriksen and Gerry Humphrey You only need an amp for performing, so other people can hear you playing, right? Well, it’s certainly important in that regard, but amps are also popular with lone guitarists as they improve their skills and continue their quest for the ultimate tone. Playing a wonderful

With a foundation and training in the classical art and traditions of luthiery  - but a mind solidly fixed on the future and the ever evolving needs of modern players, Cristian Mirabella continues to push the envelope of electric archtop guitar design from a place of great experience and familiarity with the instrument's roots. 1.

A world-famous and highly renowned luthier who made an impassioned, conscious decision to follow his true calling while pursuing a completely different one, Roger Sadowsky and his work have clearly had a massive impact in the solid body electric guitar and bass worlds. We chatted with him a bit about his equally impressive archtop models

Dedicated to the democracy of jazz, more interested in the ensemble as a whole than himself or other group members, Corey Christiansen is a champion of the music and player for the people. A college level educator as well as renowned musician, Corey has some deep perspective on material, approach... and problematic youngsters at society

What can you say about Jimmy Bruno that hasn't already been said by adoring peers in the Jazz guitar world (or disgruntled students challenged to reassess their beliefs)? Jimmy is a wonderful friend to Henriksen, an outspoken teacher, and an excellent human being. Let's find out a little more about him: 1. We've heard your

Beth Marlis is a highly accomplished guitarist, Executive Director of The Musicians Foundation, and Vice President at Musicians Institute, among several other inspiring and impressive credentials! Seeing both work in the musical education field and playing music as just different phrasing of the same set of 2-5-1 changes, Beth has found that simply saying “yes”

Let's learn a little more about excellent guitarist and podcast-meister, Bruce Forman. Bruce has been very busy with his globetrotting Red Guitar show and hosts a popular jazz guitar-oriented podcast series called Guitarwank. 1. To start off with, tell us about the Red Guitar... The Red Guitar is a one-man show I have been performing

Another first for our 7 Questions With series, this time we chat with Howard Paul; accomplished and extraordinarily busy musician, as well as President/CEO of Benedetto Guitars! How does he make it all work? "I don't sleep," he says. We believe it. 1. How do you balance your playing career and musical life with your business one? I'll

Amazingly talented guitarist Bobby Broom is releasing a record this month you can't miss, and has a really fascinating backstory full of great career anecdotes. Here's how he answered our 7 Questions: 1. What Henriksen Amp do you play and what settings do you use? I began using the Jazz Amp Heads in 2008. I

Welcome to the inaugural Luthier Edition of 7 Questions! Today we spoke with Stephen Marchione of Marchione Guitars, who builds very fine instruments for several of our Henriksen Amplifiers players, and found out what he looks for in an amp - and a whole lot more. 1. How did you start building instruments? [laughter] Wow,

We spoke again with long time Henriksen enthusiast and supporter Sean McGowan to catch up on his current projects and learn a little more about him. 1. At your level of play, you have many amplifier choices. Why do you choose Henriksen? First and foremost is the sound, which I feel is the best out

We recently caught up with brilliant guitarist Fareed Haque to get a little more insight into his character and background. 1. What Henriksen Amp do you play and what settings do you use? The Baby Bud! This little cutie travels with me in my suitcase, or as a carry on. Having your own tone, and

1. What Henriksen Amp do you play and what settings do you use? I use the "Bud" amp on stage primarly in my "slack key" guitar concerts. I'm usually DI'd into the PA but I run a line from the DI to my Bud so that I have an independent monitor that I can rely

1. What Henriksen Amp do you play and what settings do you use? I have a Henriksen BUD and a JazzAmp 110ER. For my solo performances and work around Los Angeles, I have almost exclusively been using my new BUD amp. Ill use the 110ER when I have to play larger rooms, gig with my

7 Questions w/Sean McGowan 1. What Henriksen Amp do you play and what settings do you use? I’m pretty much using the Bud for almost every gig now. It’s amazing. I have an early test model, and it sounds great for every type of gig: solo guitar, acoustic, archtop jazz, and more. I’ve flown with

We are thrilled to host the Fareed Haque Jazz Organ Trio featuring Tony Monaco playing live on The Factory Stage here at Henriksen Amplifiers. Friday August 5. 6pm-8pm. Tickets are $25. Cash or Card at the door.  

Friday, July 8th. 6pm. $10 at the door. Henriksen Amplifiers Shop Concert Sereis Presents: ADAM MILLER w/very special guests: Sean and Andrea McGowan performing a guitar and vocal set together on the Henriksen Factory Stage. Bring your own refreshments. Water, ice and refrigerator space available.