Our debut episode of Guitar Center’s Plugged-In with Gabe Dalporto begins with a moment nearly all guitarists share when they hang out with other guitar players—the unveiling of their prized gear.

In this instance, Dalporto shows Fender CEO Andy Mooney his first guitar—the 1964 Stratocaster his father gave him when he was 12 years old. After trading a few licks on the ’64 Strat, the two business leaders and musicians discuss the enduring legacy of Leo Fender and his “form follows function” philosophy, the critical importance of listening to the needs of players, embracing technology and more.

NOTE: This episode was filmed prior to the news that Andy Mooney was retiring as CEO of Fender after 10 years leading the company. We hope you enjoy the episode and we congratulate him on Fender’s achievements under his leadership.

Chapters
00:00 – Welcome to Inside the Noise
00:47 – Why Guitar Center Is Pulling Back the Curtain on the Music Industry
01:21 – A 1964 Fender Stratocaster: Gabe Dalporto’s First Guitar Story
02:49 – Meet Andy Mooney, CEO of Fender
03:01 – Leo Fender’s Legacy and the Birth of the Electric Guitar
04:16 – Form Follows Function: How Leo Fender Designed for Musicians
05:51 – Fender and Apple: Building Iconic Brands Through Innovation
06:35 – Every Product Is a Deposit or Withdrawal in Brand Equity
07:19 – Expanding Fender Beyond Guitars: Pedals, Acoustasonic, and More
07:52 – Reimagining the Acoustic Guitar the Leo Fender Way
09:14 – The Fender Acoustasonic: Blending Acoustic and Electric Worlds
10:30 – Inside Fender Factories: Craftsmanship Behind Every Instrument
11:03 – Fender Custom Shop Stories and One-of-a-Kind Guitars
13:27 – Why Tinkering and Experimentation Still Define Fender
13:44 – Fender’s Vision: Respecting the Past While Designing the Future
14:50 – How Modern Artists Are Shaping Fender Guitar Innovation
15:04 – Digital Amps, Silent Stages, and the Future of Live Guitar Rigs
16:18 – Fender Tone Master Pro and Designing for Simplicity
17:23 – Andy Mooney’s Favorite Guitars and Playing Styles
19:23 – Why Fender Employees Still Gig and Play Live Music
21:01 – What Fender and Guitar Center Share in Company Culture
22:13 – Optimism for the Guitar Industry and the Future of Music
23:39 – Final Takeaways: Innovation, Legacy, and the Enduring Power of Music
24:35 – Subscribe for More Inside the Noise Episodes

In this episode of Guitar Center’s Inside the Noise with Gabe Dalporto, our CEO sits down with legendary drummer Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a candid, funny, and deeply insightful conversation about creativity, collaboration, and longevity. From Chad’s first real Guitar Center Hollywood purchase after joining RHCP to the band’s famously organic songwriting process, the two explore how trust, chemistry, and a willingness to experiment have fueled more than 35 years of iconic music.

Chapters
00:00 – Inside the Noise with Gabe Dalporto (Guitar Center)
00:11 – Meet Chad Smith: Red Hot Chili Peppers Drummer
00:20 – Swearing, the “F-bomb jar,” and breaking the ice
00:45 – Chad Smith’s career highlights + Chad Smith Music Foundation
01:28 – Chad’s first Guitar Center Hollywood trip (1988)
02:21 – “It’s like Christmas”: Why new gear never stops feeling exciting
03:03 – How Chad got into drumming (Detroit, pots & pans origin story)
04:02 – The Baskin-Robbins drum kit and early DIY beginnings
04:49 – Learning drums in school: reading notation and band programs
05:15 – Choosing music over sports (and chasing rock ’n’ roll dreams)
06:25 – Building a signature style: Bonham, Moon, Baker, and more
07:14 – First “real” kit: Slingerland gold sparkle (and earning it)
08:01 – Motown, funk, and swing: what shaped Chad’s groove
09:40 – Joining RHCP: the funk-punk-rap palette that fit his style
10:16 – Why Chad moved to L.A. (and the late-’80s club scene)
12:27 – The RHCP audition: how it happened and why it clicked
14:04 – First jam with Flea, John, and Anthony (chemistry wins)
16:51 – Michael Beinhorn’s verdict: “That’s your guy”
19:21 – The call back… and the head-shaving ultimatum
20:37 – RHCP songwriting: how the band writes collaboratively
21:25 – “Under the Bridge” + “Californication”: Anthony’s early seeds
22:10 – Turning jams into songs: finding parts that lock together
24:12 – Creative trust: trying “bad ideas” until they spark something
25:13 – Working with Rick Rubin: taste, restraint, and arrangement
26:41 – Recording live as a band: no click, chase the performance arc
27:27 – Band chemistry and longevity: why it matters in the studio
28:24 – When John left: how guitar changes affected the band’s sound
28:50 – Dave Navarro era: different approach, different chemistry
29:53 – Josh Klinghoffer era: new textures, new feel
30:31 – Why RHCP chemistry is rare (and why they protect it)
31:03 – Session work stories: the artists Chad’s played with
31:55 – The Johnny Cash session: meeting an icon at Ocean Way
35:13 – “Hi, I’m Johnny Cash”: the moment Chad won’t forget
36:44 – Recording with Cash: humility, musicianship, and a legendary night
38:27 – Elton John session: pressure, speed, and “no fills”
43:25 – Chad Smith Music Foundation: why he started it
44:00 – Scholarships + music education: Minnesota & Michigan programs
45:24 – The missing piece: teachers, access, and keeping programs alive
47:06 – Guitar Center donates $25,000 to the Chad Smith Foundation
48:45 – Why arts programs matter: “shoulder pads vs. snare drums”
49:54 – Outro: key takeaways on creativity, collaboration, and giving back
50:53 – RHCP’s jam-driven process + the Elton story

In this episode of Guitar Center’s Inside the Noise with Gabe Dalporto, our CEO travels to the PRS Guitars headquarters in Stevensville, Maryland to tour the manufacturing facility and have a casual and informative chat with founder Paul Reed Smith. The two leaders detail business struggles and successes and dig into Smith’s enthusiasm for “just wanting a chance” when artists try his guitars. Smith kicks things off by having Dalparto tap a block of tonewood to experience its bell-like resonance.
 
PAUL REED SMITH ON WHY HE STARTED PRS GUITARS
“I had prototypes, and I wanted the guitars made. I went to piles of companies to get them to do it, and it became very clear that unless we did it ourselves it wasn’t going to happen. What you’re looking at engineering-wise didn’t happen in one day. It wasn’t some grand plan to make Cogswell’s Cogs like in The Jetsons, where you put the stuff in one end and it comes out the other. This has been a really long journey, and the fascinating about it is that so many people have joined together to try to make nothing into something.”
 
PAUL REED SMITH ON HIS TOUGHEST DAY AT PRS
“There was a time when there were 400 guitars in the hall and we had no home for them. I told Warren Esanu—our Chairman of the Board—that we had a big problem. He said, ‘I don’t even know how I know this, but I think you can muddle through and somehow put it together.’ I took him at his word, kept swinging and we got out of it. How did it happen? It was done with an incredibly determined teamwork of people who kept their heads down to find a way.”

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#prsguitar #paulreedsmith #guitarcenterpodcast #gabedalporto #guitarcentersinsidethenoise

Chapters
00:00 – Inside the Noise at the PRS Guitars Factory
00:26 – Inside PRS Private Stock: Choosing Wood with Paul Reed Smith
01:05 – How PRS Private Stock Guitars Are Born
01:40 – Burl Tops, Figured Maple, and Rare Tonewoods Explained
02:15 – How Private Stock Became a Core Part of PRS
02:36 – Tap Tones, Harmonics, and Why Wood Rings
02:55 – Meet Paul Reed Smith, Founder of PRS Guitars
03:18 – Why Paul Reed Smith Started PRS Guitars
03:39 – Early Prototypes, Rejection, and the Decision to Go Independent
04:27 – Raising Capital and Taking PRS on the Road
05:20 – Building PRS One Baby Step at a Time
06:08 – Carlos Santana’s Endorsement and the Turning Point for PRS
07:50 – Earning Trust: What It Took to Win Santana Over
08:24 – Why Great Artists Decide for Themselves
09:16 – The Reality of Building a Guitar Company
09:53 – Stone Soup: How PRS Was Built by a Community
11:12 – Longtime Employees and a Culture of Innovation
12:16 – The Hardest Moments in PRS History
13:12 – Leadership, Teamwork, and Finding a Way Forward
14:17 – Solving Problems When There Is No Obvious Solution
15:12 – Why Listening Inside the Factory Matters
16:34 – Execution, Strategy, and Building Great Teams
17:00 – Continuous Improvement and Engineering at PRS
18:13 – The Future of PRS Guitars and Industry Innovation
18:36 – What Paul Reed Smith Wants for PRS Customers
19:07 – Chasing Better Tone and Playability: PRS's Approach
20:06 – New PRS Tones, Prototypes, and Sonic Innovation
20:48 – Hendrix Amps, Transparency, and Letting Artists Be Themselves<

Further expanding our commitment to elevate the experiences, education and growth opportunities for musicians at every level, Guitar Center is launching a new music industry podcast series, Inside the Noise. Mark your calendars for January 6, when the season’s first three episodes will drop. 

Hosted by Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto, the podcast features insightful and inspirational conversations with music-industry leaders, legendary artists and visionaries of all types.  

“Since joining Guitar Center, I found myself spending significant time with the artists, innovators and executives shaping the future of instruments, performance and music culture,” said Dalporto. “These conversations were highly insightful, and I thought it was a shame everyone couldn’t be in them. So, we created Inside the Noise to rip open the curtain and give everyone direct access to the people shaping the future of music.”  

Episode 1: Fender CEO Andy Mooney  
Dalporto and Mooney explore how founder Leo Fender’s innovative approach to tinkering and experimentation continues to inform the brand today and into the future.  

Episode 2: PRS Guitars Founder Paul Reed Smith  
Smith shares how a “kid with a prototype guitar” transformed PRS into one of the top guitar brands on the planet.  

Episode 3: Red Hot Chili Peppers Drummer Chad Smith  
The legendary drummer discusses his investment in the next generation of musicians via the Chad Smith Foundation with Dalporto, who also asks the drummer about band chemistry, musical roots and more.

Upcoming Episodes 
There’s so much more to explore in the coming weeks. Future episodes of Inside the Noise will feature Dalporto sitting down with Martin Guitar CEO Thomas Ripsam, legendary drummer and raconteur Kenny Aronoff, Reverb founder and former CEO Dave Kalt, renowned bassist Blu DeTiger and other guests sharing knowledge to motivate, educate and inspire players. 

Listen to Inside the Noise With Gabe Dalporto on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major platforms, and subscribe to get new episodes every Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT. 

Also, keep your eyes and ears open for a special edition at the end of season one, where Dalporto will reflect on the series’ guests, read viewer comments and engage, AMA-style, with the community.

Legendary drummer Kenny Aronoff joins Guitar Center’s Inside the Noise with Gabe Dalporto to talk purpose, perseverance and the moments that changed his life. From playing with John Mellencamp and The Rolling Stones to becoming one of the most in-demand drummers in the world, Aronoff shares the mindset behind his success.

“Our family has been traced to continuously making [musical instrument] strings all the way back to 1680,” D’Addario and Company Chairman and Director of Innovation Jim D’Addario tells Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto in the fifth episode of Inside the Noise. “The town our father’s family came from was Salle, Italy. There are four families still making strings today that came from that town—Mari, Berti, Ruffini and Dorazio, which is us.”

“My wife calls me a nerd when it comes to guitars and music,” Martin Guitar CEO Thomas Ripsam tells Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto in this episode of Inside the Noise. “And I’m pretty proud of that.”

It’s a story that resonates with a lot of players and their partners. But the tale was also a factor in Ripsam’s journey to Martin. Throughout his long career as a strategic business consultant, Ripsam always prized his relationship to music, and he reached out to the company when Chris Martin IV announced his retirement as CEO.

David Kalt is a serial entrepreneur who founded Reverb.com. Celebrated for designing “more fair” platforms—prior to Reverb, he disrupted the options trading business—Kalt is passionate about improving customer experiences and providing pathways to accomplishment and success.

In Episode 12, Gabe becomes a guest on his own podcast as Guitar Center Senior Manager, Content and Social Media Max Lauer-Bader interviews him about the initial 11 episodes of Inside the Noise. The two unpack what industry leaders and artists shared during the first season, including what makes companies truly great, as well as the success paths of artists such as Chad Smith, Blu DeTiger and Kenny Aronoff.

In this episode of Inside The Noise, Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto examines the incredible “hat trick” Marcus Ryle and his teams bestowed upon the music gear industry. In three revolutionary tenures at three different companies, Ryle was instrumental in the development of the Oberheim DSX, Oberheim OB-8, Oberheim DMX drum machine, Alesis ADAT, Line 6 POD and several other indispensable music-making products. 

Chris Lombardi joins the podcast to talk about how his dad, Don Lombardi, and DW cofounder John Good transformed the company from an exclusively educational enterprise to a premier drum kit and drum hardware manufacturer.

NOTE: This episode was filmed while Chris Lombardi was serving as CEO of DW. We hope you enjoy the episode, and we want to congratulate Chris on a remarkable, decades-long career at the legendary drum maker.

Martin Guitars Executive Chairman Chris Martin is the sixth-generation family member to have lead the legendary company, which was founded in 1833.

In this episode of Inside the Noise, Martin shares the challenges faced by the iconic brand in the disco, new wave and heavy metal eras of the late ’70s and early ’80s, as well as the ability to pivot under pressure that he learned from his family history. 

Blu DeTiger sits down with Gabe to share the development process with Fender on her signature bass, how she crafted her approach to playing the instrument, her engagement strategies for social platforms and how Guitar Center helped reunite her with the first bass she ever owned.

Season 2 of Inside the Noise kicks off with Adrian Young of No Doubt. Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto talks with Adrian about growing up in a rock-and-roll household, auditioning for No Doubt after barely a year and a half behind the kit, the long and uneven road to Tragic Kingdom and the way his creative life has expanded into drum design, producing, engineering and film scoring. 

Rock guitarist and defense consultant Jeff “Skunk” Baxter shares his multi-faceted music and music technology accomplishments with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto. In this episode of Inside the Noise, discover how the member of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers—as well as a renowned session musician—has probably played on your favorite songs and also helped create the synth and modeling guitars you use (or want to use) to make your own music.

Through his Marty Music YouTube channel celebrated guitar teacher Marty Schwartz has shown billions of players how to decode songs, absorb riffs and licks, get hip to “practical” theory and supercharge their potential. In this third episode of the second season of Inside the Noise, Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto delves into the specifics of Schwartz’s popularity as a teacher, his educational methodology and the work and strategy that made Marty Music the go-to resource for nearly five million subscribers.

We’re moving through the much-anticipated sophomore season of Inside the Noise with Gabe Dalporto, and episode 2 features Taylor Guitars CEO Andy Powers, who is also one of the industry’s most innovative acoustic guitar builders. In this CEO-to-CEO chat, Powers discusses building his first guitar at around eight years old (it “exploded”), how the acoustic guitar slump in the 1970s actually helped Taylor compete with more established brands, and why his plan for Taylor’s future is to continue to “create the things that give voice to musicians’ songs.”

Ernie Ball CEO Brian Ball sits down with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to trace the family legacy behind one of guitar’s most influential companies—from Ernie Ball’s first rock ’n’ roll string sets to Music Man, the StingRay bass, artist partnerships and the future of guitar innovation. 

Then, guitarist Tosin Abasi joins the conversation to discuss his collaboration with Music Man, extended-range guitar design, multi-scale playability, ergonomics and what gives these instruments that seamless playing experience. 

Guitar Center Hollywood’s Dave Maddux sits down with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to trace more than 40 years of guitar-building, repair and restoration history—from the Fender factory floor to the earliest days of Fender’s Corona operation, the Mexico factory launch and his current work with vintage instruments at Guitar Center Hollywood. 

Yvette Young of Covet joins Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to discuss guitar technique, tapping, alternate tunings, songwriting, tone, and the evolution of math rock guitar. Young’s expansive and innovative creativity prompted Rolling Stone magazine to rank her as #155 in its 2023 article, “The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

Genre-bending bluegrass, country, blues and Americana artist—and shredding soloist—Trey Hensley shares his musical journey with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto in this episode of Inside the Noise. Raised in East Tennessee and immersed in country music from an early age, Hensley has blended virtuosic flatpicking, savvy improvisation and hook-propelled songwriting to capture honors such as a Grammy Award, two International Bluegrass Music Association “Guitar Player of the Year” prizes, a signature Taylor Gold Label acoustic-electric guitar and more.

Phil McKnight—the creator and host of the popular Know Your Gear podcast—expresses to Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto on how he found success on YouTube, why humor is important when reviewing guitars and other gear, and how to buy smarter.

Billionaire investor—and guitarist for Ghost Hounds—Thomas Tull talks to Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto about entrepreneurship, creative leadership, making blockbuster films and being a gamer and comic-book fanboy. (The Guitar Hero video game was one of the inspirations for making It Might Get Loud with Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White.) As founder of Legendary Entertainment, Tull started out making films he wanted to see, while simultaneously developing ways to use data analytics to improve the marketing of the company’s films.