Podcast 514: Guitar Retail in 2025 (Fretboard Summit Panel)
Do guitars still sell in 2025? Is there a glut of unsold instruments? How have tariffs affected the high-end musical instrument space? At this year’s Fretboard Summit, we asked a handful of guitar retailers for their unfiltered thoughts on selling instruments in 2025. Included were Rebecca Jasso (Old Town School of Folk Music retail store), Joe Caruso (The Music Emporium), Matt Kappenman (Mass Street Music) and Nathan Schiller (Folkway Music). Their thoughts on guitar retail may just surprise you, and their insights into how to take care of a customer (and stay profitable during these tumultuous times) were revelatory. Recorded live at the 2025 Fretboard Summit. We’ll be sharing more talks and panels from the Summit soon. Our next Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026 at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. We are brought to you by: Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order) Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). https://www.fretboardjournal.com
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Podcast 513: Jayne Henderson on the Asheville Guitar Project
One last Fretboard Summit 2025 announcement: Jayne Henderson (EJ Henderson Guitars and Ukuleles) stops by the Fretboard Journal to tell us about the Asheville Guitar Project group build that she'll be unveiling at our annual guitar gathering. This group guitar build - combining the talents of Asheville-based luthiers Jayne, Kyle Landers, and Judson Riviere - features domestic blowdown woods from Hurricane Helene. We talk about the region and its recovery from the storm, the unique tone woods used for this guitar, what it's like to build a guitar with other makers, and so much more! Come see Jayne at the Fretboard Summit taking place this week: https://fretboardsummit.org/ The Fretboard Summit is our three-day festival celebrating great guitars and great guitar people. We have nearly 80 luthiers, amp builders, and pedal makers exhibiting, hourly workshops and master classes, and some mind-bogglingly great evening performances. The fun takes place August 21-23, 2025 at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. We are brought to you by: Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order) Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). https://www.fretboardjournal.com
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Podcast 512: 3Bender's Wade Black
3Bender’s Wade Back joins us this week to share the fascinating history of 3Bender and reveal an incredible new product he’s unveiling at this year’s Fretboard Summit, the Steelmaster. The Steelmaster is a string bender that can be mounted to any Jazzmaster-style guitar. It requires no drilling and works with stock or Mastery bridges. Wade’s story is one of a kind. We hear about his love for steel guitar, meeting elderly guitar tech Bob Stafford, and about the Steelmaster’s origin story (which involves Black Bobbin’s Shelby Pollard and last year’s Summit). https://www.3bender.com Come see Wade and the Steelmaster at the Fretboard Summit taking place this week: https://fretboardsummit.org/ Showcase-only tickets are just $40. The Fretboard Summit is our three-day festival celebrating great guitars and great guitar people. We have nearly 80 luthiers, amp builders, and pedal makers exhibiting, hourly workshops and master classes, and some mind-bogglingly great evening performances. The fun takes place August 21-23, 2025 at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. We are brought to you by: Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order) Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). https://www.fretboardjournal.com
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Podcast 511: Northfield Instruments’ Adrian Bagale
“Here’s what happens when you invite a mandolin company, with crazy curiosity, to a guitar show four years in a row.” -Adrian Bagale Northfield's Adrian Bagale joins us this week for what has to be one of the most insightful industry chats we’ve had in years. We talk about what the company is unveiling at our 2025 Fretboard Summit in two weeks – a new instrument for guitarists – but we also talk about so much more. For nearly 20 years, Northfield has built superb instruments both in the US and China. We discuss Northfield’s unique business model, how they are navigating recent tariffs, and the growing popularity of acoustic music in China itself. Whether or not you play mandolin, Bagale’s enthusiasm for music – and gear – is truly infectious. https://www.northfieldinstruments.com Come see Northfield and the new instruments at the Fretboard Summit: https://fretboardsummit.org/ The Fretboard Summit is our three-day festival celebrating great guitars and great guitar people. We have nearly 80 luthiers, amp builders, and pedal makers exhibiting, hourly workshops and master classes, and some mind-bogglingly great evening performances. The fun takes place August 21-23, 2025 at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. We are brought to you by: Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order) Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). https://www.fretboardjournal.com
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Podcast 510: Dave Hill
Dave Hill is a comedian, actor, author, musician and podcaster. He's also a guitar fanatic. In fact, at the 2025 Fretboard Summit, he'll be performing an entire stand-up set on guitar (!) and doing some crowd work on your pedal boards. On this week's podcast, we talk to Dave about his love for guitar, why teenage gear obsessions are so hard to kick, his plans for his Summit set and how he balances so many different facets to his career. It's a great chat with a brilliant and funny artist. https://www.davehillonline.com See Dave at the Fretboard Summit on Friday night: https://fretboardsummit.org/ The Fretboard Summit is our three-day festival celebrating great guitars and great guitar people. We have nearly 80 luthiers, amp builders, and pedal makers exhibiting, hourly workshops and master classes, and some mind-bogglingly great evening performances. The fun takes place August 21-23, 2025 at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. We are brought to you by: Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order) Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). https://www.fretboardjournal.com
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