Explore every episode of the podcast Life With Strings Attached

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I sit down with filmmaker and storyteller Tim C. Johnson for a conversation about what guitars, animation and great stories have in common.

From the creative worlds behind films like Ants, Over the Hedge and How to Train Your Dragon, to the radical beauty of instruments by builders like Ulrich Teufel and Eric Weigeshoff, Tim explores why the most meaningful art requires insightful observation before you can meaningfully challenge expectations.

Together, Tim and I talk about creative curiosity, the power of music to shape emotions, and why the guitar remains one of the most personal and endlessly evolving instruments in the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Tim C. Johnson and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I'm joined by Marcel Fehse, a German guitar maker whose instruments challenge almost every assumption about how a guitar should be built. Drawing on a background in metalworking, he's developed a striking all-aluminum approach that's not just about changing materials. It's about rethinking the instrument from the inside out.

We talk about craftsmanship, prototypes, finding the right balance of strength, weight and tone, and what it takes to keep moving forward when you're building something people haven't seen before and didn't ask for. Along the way, we also get into the value of curiosity, constructive criticism, and the importance of showing up in the right places.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Marcel. I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I'm joined by Ola Strandberg, the guitar designer, innovator, and creative force behind Strandberg Guitars.

We talked about the small design decisions that make a huge difference, from neck materials and tremolo systems to serviceability, ergonomics, and the long road from the first idea to a finished instrument. Along the way, we also get into creativity, AI, production constraints, and why thoughtful limitations can lead to better design.

Ola also shares what's next as he returns to a more open, experimental way of working.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Ola Strandberg and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

You can see the Two Towers in person right now on the BGS enTour 2026. Find dates and locations here: https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/about-entour

In the summer of 1911, a 19-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien hiked through the Swiss Alps with a group of friends. What he found in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with its 72 waterfalls, sheer cliffs and snow-capped peaks, would stay with him for the rest of his life. Decades later, he wrote to his son: "The hobbit's journey from Rivendell to the other side of the Misty Mountains is based on my adventures in 1911."

More than a century later, Italian luthier Giulio Negrini and Jamie Gale returned to that same valley to talk about what happens when a guitar becomes more than an instrument.

Giulio's Two Towers installation is two guitars built as one art piece, created for the 25th anniversary of the Lord of the Rings films and the 20th anniversary of Negrini Guitars. It captures a single moment from the book: the only flicker of light in the darkest chapter of the story. Isengard falls. Gandalf is rescued. Hope survives.

This is a conversation about Tolkien, craft, pop culture, what it means to build something that takes everything out of you, and why a guitar that can be played should never be chained to a wall.

To learn more about Giulio Negrini of GNG, click here https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/giulio-negrini-guitars-gng?rq=gng

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

My guest today is Jerome Little, founder of Torzal Guitars and the mind behind the Natural Twist.

Jerome’s story begins in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where making things, solving problems, and figuring things out for yourself were simply part of growing up. He started playing bass as a teenager, studied music and acoustics at Hampshire College, and eventually brought those interests together when he began asking a deceptively simple question: why should a musician have to adapt their body to an instrument?

That question became his college thesis, the Natural Twist, and the beginning of a career that would put Jerome in the company of some remarkable instrument makers. He worked with Ken Parker during the production years of the Parker Fly, later joined Bill Collings in Austin, and carried lessons from both into a design philosophy that remains distinctly his own.

Our conversation moves through those formative experiences, the mentors who shaped him, the realities of ergonomics and repetitive injury, and his continuing search for better ways to build instruments, using materials intelligently, challenging convention, and never treating tradition as the end of the conversation.

Jerome is curious, thoughtful, and, perhaps most importantly, a maker who actually does something with his ideas.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Jerome. I hope that you do as much as I did.

To learn more about Jerome Little and Torzal Guitars, check out https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/torzal-guitars

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today's guest is luthier and architect Simon Padalka, a guitar maker with few peers.

In this conversation, we talk about the dramatic events that unfolded at the end of the 2025 Boutique Guitar Showcase enTour season, when the Padalka guitar that sold on tour was caught in a truck fire in Phoenix, Arizona. Thought lost, then to everyone's surprise, the guitar popped up again for sale a few weeks later, thickening an already unusual plot.

We talk about how to handle the tough situations that we inevitably encounter in business and life, the importance of keeping it cool when things get tough and how to make a Phoenix rise from the ashes of destruction.

If you care about boutique guitars, guitar designs, rare instruments or the human side of making and repairing things that are meant to last, this one is packed with insights, stories and a few moments you won't hear anywhere else.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Simon Padalka, and I hope that you do as much as I did.

To learn more about Simon Padalka and Padalka Guitars, check out https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/padalka-guitars

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this episode, I speak with Lisbon-based artist, musician, and instrument designer André Gonçalves of ADDAC System.

For sixteen years, André has explored modular synthesis, experimental music, and the physical interfaces that make electronic sound feel immediate and human. His ADDAC120 Four String Series brings those worlds together, integrating guitar strings, pickups, motors, bows, and resonators into a modular synthesizer environment.

Our conversation moves through the future of musical instruments, the importance of touch, the emotional connections we form with our tools, and why technological exploration so often leads us back to strings.

This is a conversation about experimentation, physicality, and creating the instruments you want to use.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with André. I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Griffiths, someone I’ve known for nearly twenty-five years and whose remarkable career I’ve had the opportunity to see unfold firsthand.

Chris opened his first guitar shop at nineteen, trained as a guitar maker and went on to found Garrison Guitars, where he developed an entirely new approach to building an acoustic guitar. His path has since taken him through Parker, Dingwall and a range of influential music-industry companies, before leading to his current work at D’Addario as Chief Sales Officer and Director of Innovation.

Chris brings together the practical understanding of a maker, the instincts of an entrepreneur and the perspective of an executive responsible for one of the most complex businesses in our industry.

We talk about design, manufacturing, leadership and the patience required to turn an idea into something genuinely useful. We also explore how meaningful innovation often begins with a simple question: why does it have to be done this way?

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Chris. I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life with Strings Attached. I'm your host, Jamie Gale. Today's guest is Nik Huber, one of the most well-respected guitar makers in the world.

30 years is a remarkable milestone for any guitar maker. It's long enough to build thousands of instruments, earn the trust of musicians around the world and prove that quality could stand the test of time.

Nik Huber and I first met at our very first NAMM show when we both were just the beginning of our careers. Over the last 25 years, I've had the opportunity to watch him grow from a promising young builder into one of the most well-respected names in modern guitar making.

Looking back, Nik was one of those people who changed the way I thought about boutique guitars. The level of craftsmanship I saw in his work helped me form the path that eventually became the Boutique Guitar Showcase and so much of what I do today.

In this conversation, recorded as Nik celebrates 30 years of Nik Huber guitars, we look back at the people, experiences and philosophy that helped shape one of the world's most admired guitar companies.

It's a conversation about craftsmanship, curiosity and why some things are worth taking the time to do right. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Nik and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I'm your host, Jamie Gale. My guest today is famed archtop guitar maker Cristian Mirabella.

This episode is the result of an impromptu conversation at the end of Cristian's biography episode. After our first recording, Cristian and I kept on talking, and it became clear that there was another thread worth following, the history of the archtop guitar, and how that story moves from Cremona to Michigan, New York, Canada and beyond.

So I asked if we could hit the record button one more time. What you're about to hear is the result of two guitar nerds who just can't stop talking about their shared obsession.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Cristian Mirabella, and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Every guitar James Trussart builds carries far more than steel, wood, and craftsmanship. It carries the influences of a life lived across France, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, a fascination with history, and an unwavering belief that every instrument should contribute something new to the ongoing conversation of the guitar.

We talk about freedom, creativity, memory, music, travel, craftsmanship, and the responsibility of preserving stories before they’re lost.

Along the way, James reflects on meeting legends like B.B. King, Billy Gibbons, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Depp, the Louisiana culture that shaped his work, and why he still believes the next idea is always worth chasing.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with James Trussart. I hope you will as well.

https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/trussart-guitars

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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
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🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I'm your host, Jamie Gale. This episode was filmed live on location at Tom Anderson Guitar Works in Southern California. My guest today is Markus Spohn, co-owner of Tom Anderson Guitar Works. Born in a mining region of West Germany, the story begins far from the guitar workshops in Southern California.

Markus first came to Anderson as a player and a customer. Then he became the person helping build the system behind the company and over time he became known to the people, trusted by the shop and deeply connected to the culture of the work.

Eventually, Tom Anderson asked Markus to help take Anderson Guitar Works into its next chapter by becoming his partner and successor. This is a biography about risk, timing, humility, and the courage to step into the unknown. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Markus Spohn, and I hope that you do as much as I did.

To learn more about Markus Spohn and Tom Anderson Guitarworks, check out https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/anderson-guitarworks

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

My guest today is famed archtop guitar maker Cristian Mirabella. Cristian's story begins in New York, on Long Island, in a family shaped by music, resilience and a deep sense of purpose. 

At just 10 years old, Cristian started working at Ronnie's guitar shop, where he swept floors, polished instruments, learned repairs and found himself surrounded by working musicians, vintage archtops, Gibson, D'Angelico, D'Aquisto and the living culture of the New York guitar world.

In this conversation, we talk about family, loss, craft, restoration, responsibility and how Mirabella guitars grew from a young man trying to find his place into a respected voice within the New York archtop tradition. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Cristian Mirabella, and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today's special biography episode with legendary guitar maker, Steve Klein, was filmed live on location in Northern California.

Steve's story begins in San Francisco in 1949. It's a story shaped by Austrian immigrants who were ski instructors, scientists, artists, and the generation that came of age during one of the most creative periods in California's history.

Over the next six decades, Steve would build a career that reflected the same curiosity that shaped his childhood as he continues to explore new ideas about design, function, and the guitar itself.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Steve Klein, and I hope that you will as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today's special biography episode with legendary guitar maker, Ervin Somogyi, was filmed live at a location in Northern California. Ervin's tour begins in Budapest during the Second World War. The son of parents whose lives had been shaped by conflict and displacement, his early years carried him across Europe, through Cuba and Mexico, and eventually to the United States. 

Along the way, he developed a fascination with making things, models, drawings, woodwork, anything that could be built with your hands. At the time, there was no plan to become a guitar maker. In fact, that path revealed itself much later through a series of unexpected terms that include college, the Peace Corps, graduate studies, and a growing love for the guitar. What followed was a lifetime of craftsmanship, experimentation, teaching, and discovery. 

His instruments helped shape the modern steel string guitar, while his influence as a mentor has transferred that curious and experimental spirit to many of today's most respected builders. This conversation traces that journey from a young refugee searching for direction to one of the most influential voices in contemporary luthiery. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Ervin Somogyi, and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

This episode is filmed live on location at Anderson Guitarworks in Southern California, where I sat down with the company's co-owners Tom Anderson and Markus Spohn.

Now, in their fifth decade, Tom Anderson Guitarworks has earned one of the best reputations in the guitar world. Tom speaks with the clarity of someone who has spent decades refining an idea, not simply chasing perfection, but showing up daily to work and asking what we could do better. Markus brings the perspective of a player, longtime customer, and now the planned successor of a brand with a wonderful legacy.

Together, this conversation opens up a larger question of stewardship. How do you honor 40 years of work, protect the culture of a shop, support the people who build the guitars, and still leave room for innovation?

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Tom Anderson and Markus Spohn. I hope that you do as much as I did.

To learn more about Tom Anderson, Markus Spohn and Anderson Guitarworks, check out https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/anderson-guitarworks

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

This episode was filmed live on location in Tuscany, where we sat down with David Sutkin, founder of Bass UpFront. A global community of more than 36.000 bass players, builders, collectors, people who care deeply about the instrument.

David is known for his remarkable collection, the Bass UpFront studio and the conversation he's held built around bass culture. He brings a player's ear, a collector's eye, and a deep respect for the people who dedicate their lives to making the instruments. 

We've discussed many things. The guitar's potential as functional art, the pull between utility and beauty, the value of imperfection in music, the relationships that form between players and builders, and even market demand and valuations.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with David Sutkin, and I hope that you do as much as I did.​

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

This episode was filmed live on location in Tuscany, where I sat down with revolutionary guitar maker Sheldon Dingwall to document his biography. 

He'll be the first to tell you that he didn't invent the multiscale concept, but he recognized what it could solve for the bass, replied with purpose, and in 1993 brought the first production multiscale bass to the market. From there, Dingwall guitars have continued to innovate through hardware, pickups, strings, electronics, and notable collaborations.  

Beyond all the innovations that the world sees, Sheldon is also one of the nicest guys you can meet. Thoughtful, empathetic, and kind, I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Sheldon Dingwall, and I hope that you do as much as I did.

To learn more about Sheldon Dingwall and Dingwall Guitars, check out https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/dingwall-guitars

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today's episode was filmed on location in Northern California at the headquarters of EMG. Our guest is Rob Turner, founder of EMG pickups, a company that helped change the sound, function, and possibility to the electric guitar, becoming synonymous with some of the most famous musicians in the world.

Rob grew up in Long Beach, California, in a family where engineering, music, electronics, and making things were part of everyday life. He describes his mother as an artist in nearly every sense of the word. His father, a pilot and engineer, worked in aerospace for McDonnell Douglas, then built his own company, building radios for monitoring airport traffic. This introduced Rob to the world of coils, signals, and sound from an unusually young age.

What I found of EMG was not a corporate machine, but Rob in his lab, still testing, still building, still asking better questions. We talk about the birth of the act of pickup, this iconic black box, Metallica, Les Paul, Tonewood, Clarity, and why a pickup is properly understood as a transducer that facilitates the player and their instruments.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Rob Turner, and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today's special biography episode was filmed on location at Tom Anderson Guitarworks in Southern California, with a man whose life's work is so interwoven into the modern history of guitar that it becomes difficult to see the forest for the trees. That man, of course, is Tom Anderson. 

Tom's story starts in Southern California. Surf music, the British Invasion, a transformative Dick Dale concert at eight years old, then a Jimi Hendrix experience at 15, all of which fueled the passion for guitar that still burns today.

What follows is a story about ethics, loyalty, hard work, great people, and the long pursuit of making the guitars he wished he had had when he was 20. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Tom Anderson and hope that you will as much as I did. 

To learn more about Tom Anderson, click here https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/anderson-guitarworks?rq=anderson

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

My guest today is Eli Lester, owner and CEO of Two-Rock Amplifiers and Divided by Thirteen. Eli is someone deeply obsessed with sound, craftsmanship, history, and the idea that the smallest details still matter. 

From vintage gear and vacuum tubes to photography, hot rods, and building amplifiers component by component, his world is driven by curiosity and an unwillingness to settle for “good enough.”

What stood out to me most is that Eli still approaches this work like a fan. Even after years of building some of the most respected amplifiers in the world, he’s still chasing tone, still learning, and still trying to build something that inspires people to play.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, and I think you will too.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this episode, I'm sitting down with legendary guitar maker James Trussart in his workshop located in Echo Park, California. From growing up on a French horse farm near the border of Luxembourg to discovering American music through nearby airbases, to hitchhiking with aspirations of becoming a vagabond.

James' story moves from farm life and American military influence to building his first instruments, later finding Cajun music in Louisiana, then eventually moving his workshop from Paris to Los Angeles. Along the way, his guitars have found their way into the hands of a diverse range of artists from Dylan to Metallica.

What unfolds here is a conversation about curiosity, about following instinct without a roadmap, and about a life shaped as much by chance encounters as by intention.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with James Trussart, and I hope that you will as much as I did.

To learn more about James Trussart, click here https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/trussart-guitars?rq=trussart

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this episode, I’m joined by Linnea Sundberg who's joining us from Brooklyn, where she’s working at the intersection of music, technology, and the evolving artist economy. 

From her early days in Sweden to Oxford, to investment banking at Goldman Sachs, and into the heart of Spotify’s rise, Linnea has been part of some of the most defining shifts in modern music.

Today, she’s with UnitedMasters, helping shape a more independent and equitable future for artists. One where ownership, access, and agency are central to the conversation.

We explore what it means to build a career across disciplines, how data and emotion collide in music, and why the future of this industry may depend on how well we balance both.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. There’s a clarity and curiosity in Linnea’s thinking that makes you look at the entire music ecosystem just a little differently.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today, Michihiro Matsuda returns to the podcast. It feels less like a continuation and more like stepping back into an ongoing conversation that never really ended.

When you walk into Michi’s workshop, you don’t just see guitars, you see ideas in motion. Instruments at different stages, each one exploring something distinct, each one asking a different question. As he put it, even having a few finished guitars in one place feels unusual. 

This is a conversation about identity of instruments, of makers, and of the guitar itself. About what it means to move beyond expectation. About why imperfection matters. And ultimately, about the simple but profound idea that a guitar isn’t just a tool for making sound, it’s something we live with, something that exists in our space, shaping our experience even when it’s not being played.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Michihiro Matsuda, and I hope you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached, I’m your host, Jamie Gale. In this episode, we’re stepping into a space that is, depending on who you ask, either full of possibility… or full of uncertainty. 

My guest today is Sourabh Pateriya, founder and CEO of Soundverse AI, a platform working at the intersection of music, technology, and what it means to create in a world where the tools are changing faster than ever before.

Sourabh’s path is an interesting one. From engineering to design, from Spotify (where he co-invented Basic Pitch) to working on conversational AI with Samsung’s Bixby, and now building a company focused on ethical, artist-first AI music creation… his work sits right at the edge of where creativity and technology meet.

But what makes this conversation worth having isn’t just the technology.
It’s the perspective behind it. Because before all of this, Sourabh was a musician, someone who understands what it means to make something from nothing. And now he’s asking a much bigger question: What happens when the tools of creation become accessible to everyone? And more importantly… what happens to the role of the artist?

This is a conversation about access, about authorship, about ethics… and about whether we’re building a future that expands creativity, or reshapes it entirely.

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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today’s conversation takes place in the workshop of Steve Klein. Someone who, for more than half a century, hasn’t just built guitars, but has continuously rethought what the instrument could be.

This isn’t a conversation about legacy. It’s about what’s still unfolding.
Steve is one of those rare builders who never settled into a fixed idea. While many define their work and then repeat it, he’s continued to question, redesign, and push forward. Still chasing new forms, new functions, and new ways the guitar can meet the player.

What struck me most being here is that the thinking hasn’t slowed. If anything, it’s sharpened. There are still ideas on the bench. Still questions being asked. Still things to say. And that’s where we begin, not with where it started, but with where it is right now.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, and I think you will too.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
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Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached, I’m your host Jamie Gale.
There are certain figures in guitar making whose influence runs so deep, it begins to shape not just instruments, but the way we think about them. Ervin Somogyi is one of those voices.

His influence can be felt across generations of makers. Names like Jason Kostal, Michihiro Matsuda, and Raymond Kraut. Each carrying forward a piece of that thinking in their own way.

In this conversation, we move far beyond the guitar as an object, and into the philosophy of sound, perception, and the quiet discipline of listening. We explore what it means to truly understand tone, why hand skills have been undervalued in modern culture, and how small, intentional changes can unlock profound differences in an instrument’s voice.

Ervin reflects on a lifetime of questioning, refining, and perhaps most importantly, remaining curious. This is not a conversation about certainty. It’s about exploration, humility, and the long arc of learning how to hear.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I think you will too.

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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
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🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to the 100th episode of Life With Strings Attached. There are certain conversations that stay with you. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, they’re the ones you get to return to. For this milestone episode, it felt right to come back to where it all began by welcoming back our very first guest, William “Grit” Laskin.

Grit is one of the most respected voices in modern guitar making. But more than that, he’s a thinker whose work continues to shape how we understand the guitar, not only as an instrument, but as a vessel for meaning.

Recorded in Grit’s Toronto workshop, surrounded by the raw materials that eventually become instruments capable of moving people, this conversation feels both grounded and expansive. It reflects on where we’ve come, what has changed, and what still remains unresolved.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life with Strings Attached. Today's episode is recorded live in Anaheim, California at The NAMM Show as part of the 125th anniversary of NAMM within the 10th annual Boutique Guitar Showcase. 

As part of these special anniversary events, we moderated a three part series of panel discussions on the unwritten future of guitar. 

This second part features Francisco Cresp of Neural DSP, Larry Fishman of Fishman, Chris Griffiths of D'Addario and Eli Lester of Two Rock as we discuss 'Experience Filters in the guitar world, live from the BGS Booth at The NAMM Show 2025. 

Our panelists are some of the most influential people in the guitar business today. I hope you enjoy this special three part series on Life with Strings Attached.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this episode, Robin Stummvoll returns to the podcast to talk about the release of Verso Instruments’ latest design and the broader ideas that continue to shape his work.

Robin is a designer and luthier whose work consistently challenges how we think about guitars, materials, and musical interfaces. This time, our focus turns to the lap steel. An instrument with no fixed archetype and enormous expressive potential. From innovation in tuning and construction to the physics of sound, perception, and play, we explore how curiosity drives both design and music.

Our conversation also moves beyond instruments, touching on childhood creativity, learning through play, emotional connection, and why making sound matters. Especially in uncertain times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Robin, and I hope you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life with Strings Attached. Today's episode is recorded live in Anaheim, California at The NAMM Show as part of the 125th anniversary of NAMM within the 10th annual Boutique Guitar Showcase. 

As part of these special anniversary events, we moderated a three part series of panel discussions on the unwritten future of guitar. 

This second part features Bob Taylor, Ola Strandberg and Sheldon Dingwall as we discuss 'User Interface' in Guitar Design, live from the BGS Booth at The NAMM Show 2025. 

Our panelists are some of the most influential people in the guitar business today. I hope you enjoy this special three part series on Life with Strings Attached.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life with Strings Attached. Today's episode is recorded live in Anaheim, California at The NAMM Show as part of the 125th anniversary of NAMM within the 10th annual Boutique Guitar Showcase. 

As part of these special anniversary events, we moderated a three part series of panel discussions on the unwritten future of guitar. 

Our panelists are some of the most influential people in the guitar business today. I hope you enjoy this special three part series on Life with Strings Attached.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I’m your host, Jamie Gale.
In this episode, I’m joined by Jason Verlinde, publisher and co-founder of The Fretboard Journal; one of the most respected voices in guitar culture today.

Jason’s work has always focused on documenting the deeper stories behind guitars, the builders, the players, the history, and the community that surrounds the instrument. For over twenty years, The Fretboard Journal has prioritised quality, curiosity, and independence over trends and hype.

In our conversation, we talk about Jason’s journey from music journalism to building a publication rooted in personal taste, the balance between commerce and culture, and how the Fretboard Summit has become a meaningful gathering point for the guitar community.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Jason, and I hope you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached, I’m your host, Jamie Gale. In this episode I’m sitting in the home of Lou Vergne for a very special collector-focused conversation, one that isn’t really about collecting at all.

It’s about relationships; with instruments, with the people who make them, and with the experiences that give those objects meaning. We talk about discovery over acquisition, use over display, and why definition can sometimes feel like confinement.

Lou shares what it means to live with guitars rather than simply own them, how curiosity guides his choices, and why the stories behind an instrument matter just as much as the sound it makes.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined by Adam Miller. A musician whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, technology, and deeply personal musical expression.

Adam is one of those rare artists who understands music not just as performance, but as process. From recording and production, to collaboration, touring, and the evolving relationship between musicians and the instruments they choose.

In this conversation, we explore how technology has reshaped the way music is made and released, why Adam still thinks in albums rather than singles, and how boutique guitar makers, multi-scale design, and extended-range instruments have influenced his sound.

This is a wide-ranging, thoughtful conversation with an artist who’s always asking why and not just how.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined by luthier Michael Sankey.
This conversation is rooted in a simple but demanding idea: showing up. 

Showing up to the work, to curiosity, and to questions that don’t have easy answers. Mike’s guitars are known for resisting category, but that resistance comes from something deeper. A willingness to examine why we do things the way we do, and whether those ideas still serve us.

We talk about originality, tradition, and what happens when instruments are treated not just as tools, but as living objects shaped by listening and intent. From ultralight guitars to broader reflections on art, culture, and change, this episode is less about making a case and more about staying open.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I’m your host, Jamie Gale. Today, I’m joined by someone whose curiosity about the guitar has taken him across countries, genres, and generations of musical history: Julien Bitoun. 

Julien is a guitarist, an author, a content creator, and a lecturer. You’ve read his work in major French publications, and you may know his books Les Paul: 70 Years, Guitars and Heroes, Gallagher’s Guitars, and Woodstock Live.

What I love most about Julien isn’t just his knowledge, it’s his spirit of exploration. He follows his curiosity wherever it leads, whether he’s tracing the cultural geography of American guitar making or creating something new simply because it brings him joy. His career wasn’t planned; it unfolded because he kept saying yes, kept learning, and kept playing.

Today, we talk about creativity, opportunity, and what happens when you allow adventure, rather than fear, to shape your path. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Julien. I hope you did as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I'm your host, Jamie Gale. In this episode, I sit down with Ola Strandberg to talk about a shift that's happening right now in the guitar world. The next generation musicians isn't looking back. They're looking for instruments that fit their bodies, their workflows, and the music that they're making today. 

On tour with the boutique guitar showcase and at NAMM, we've watched younger players and younger shop staff gravitate towards guitars that are lighter, more ergonomic, more adaptable. Ola has been designing with those needs in mind for years. So his perspective on what comes next is what I wanted to discuss.

Together, we explore how the guitar is evolving and what it means to build for musicians of today and the future. I've thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Ola Strandberg and I hope that you do as much as I do.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this special biography episode of Life With Strings Attached we explore the life and legacy of one of the most significant luthiers of our time, John Monteleone.

Born in Manhattan and raised in Islip, John grew up in a world shaped by sculpture, architecture, and music, thanks to a family deeply rooted in the arts.

From his early work repairing instruments at Mandolin Brothers to creating the Grand Artist mandolin and his celebrated archtop guitars, John developed a voice unmistakably his own. Musicians, collectors, and peers immediately recognized the “thumbprint” of a Monteleone.

His Four Seasons guitars entered the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his craftsmanship inspired artists like Béla Fleck, Eric Clapton, and Mark Knopfler, who even honoured John with the song Monteleone.

Today, we trace the story of a maker whose curiosity, discipline, and joy have shaped a remarkable life in guitars.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today I’m joined by Max Spohn, a luthier whose path into guitar making has been unusually intentional.

While many makers discover the craft by accident, Max set out early with a clear plan: a childhood surrounded by music and art, formal training in Markneukirchen, and a pivotal apprenticeship with Raymond Kraut, drawing from the Somogyi lineage.

His work reflects that depth: modern acoustic guitars shaped by design thinking, informed by early influences like Kandinsky and Klee, and rooted in the emotional connection players form with their instruments.

In our conversation, we trace Max’s journey from those early artistic foundations to finding his own visual language, learning to trust his instincts, and navigating the world of guitar shows where his work first gained real visibility.

Max says, “I think it’s okay to have a journey,” and today we explore exactly that. How intention, experimentation, and personal expression come together in the guitars he builds.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this episode of Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined once again by Italian luthier Giulio Negrini. Someone who sits right at the intersection of tradition, innovation, and the changing culture of music. 

Today, we’re stepping back from the bench and looking at the bigger picture: how music is evolving, what novelty means in a post–rock-era world, and why the legacy of the great musicians of the 50s through the 90s still shapes the way we think about instruments today.

We talk about the shift that’s happening right now, a shift toward new sounds, new experiences, and new expectations from players of every generation. And we explore what it means for musicians whose physical relationship with their instrument is changing, and how builders like Giulio respond to a culture that’s always moving forward.

It’s a conversation about where we’ve been, where we’re going, and why the desire for something new has never been stronger.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined once again by master luthier Michael Greenfield. Someone whose work and thinking continue to shape the modern acoustic guitar.

In this conversation, we look at how musical inspiration evolves across generations, from the impact of cultural moments like Elvis and the Beatles to the way those sparks still influence why so many of us first picked up a guitar. And we explore how those early inspirations intersect with the changing needs of today’s aging musicians. Players who once chased volume and power but are now seeking lighter, more responsive instruments that match where their bodies and hands are today.

And then Michael shares something essential about his own journey: after decades refining his approach, the guitars he’s making today are the best he’s ever made. A lifetime of repair work, research, and obsessive problem-solving has led him to instruments that are more stable, more playable, and more expressive than anything he produced years ago.

It’s a conversation about inspiration, evolution, and the ongoing pursuit of excellence.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

This is the second part of a two-part episode with our guest George Gruhn. If you've not listened to part one, we suggest you go and do that first. Then return here for part two. 

Find the first part right here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305961/episodes/18258900

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today, I'm speaking with someone whose name is synonymous with vintage guitars and collecting: George Gruhn. Since opening Gruhn Guitars in 1970 George has become the go-to authority for everyone, including the biggest names in guitar like Eric Clapton, Vince Gill and Paul McCartney, and frankly anyone who wants to understand the soul of a great instrument. 

George changed how we think about guitars not just as tools but as cultural artefacts with stories and lineage. In this conversation we dive into the psychology of collecting the evolution of guitar design and the shifting motivations behind why we treasure these objects.

This isn't just a chat about gear. It's about history identity and the power of art that sings with you. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with George Gruhn and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Today, we sit down with one of the most celebrated living luthiers, John Monteleone, a maker whose instruments have graced museums, concert halls, and the hands of some of the world’s finest players.

From his Long Island workshop, John crafts guitars and mandolins that are as visually captivating as they are sonically alive. Instruments where Art Deco elegance meets timeless tone. His work expands the tonal palette of the guitar, inviting musicians to explore new colours, new expressions, and new possibilities.

In this conversation, we talk about his design philosophy, his love of materials, and the spirit of play that defines his craft. John reminds us that great instruments are built not only for today, but for generations to come.

This is John Monteleone. A master builder, storyteller, and keeper of the guitar’s enduring soul.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

This week, I’m joined again by John Mlynczak, CEO of NAMM. With the NAMM Show 2025 right around the corner, we talk about what it really takes to lead the world’s largest music trade organisation in a time of rapid change.

John shares insights on how NAMM is more than just a show, it’s a mission-driven association that serves and strengthens the global music products industry all year round. From policy and tariffs to cultural insights in music making, member engagement, and even the implications of AI, John helps us understand what it means to truly serve the needs of an industry.

We also explore the deeper side of leadership: Investing in people, being honest about challenges, and staying curious in uncertain times.
It’s always a privilege to have John on the podcast, and I’m excited for you to hear his perspective on where NAMM (and our industry) are heading next.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to another special Life With Strings Attached 'Biography' episode. Today, we trace the incredible life of legendary luthier Andy Manson, a craftsman shaped as much by chaos and curiosity as by chisels and wood. 

From building forts as a child in Hertfordshire to busking through Europe with a self-made guitar, Andy’s journey to becoming one of the most respected voices in luthiery is anything but ordinary.

In this deep dive, Andy shares the pivotal moments that defined him, his rebellious school years, early instrument builds, the influence of his tool-making ancestors, and the spark that led to his famed collaborations, including with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. 

It’s a tale of craft, character, and creative resilience. A reminder that artistry is born not from luxury, but from living.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

In this episode we visit a century-old church in the heart of Kansas, now transformed into the creative sanctuary of luthier Randy Parsons.

Randy’s story is one of risk, reinvention, and the courage to live life outside the lines. We talk about creativity, faith, music, and the strange moments of luck that shape our paths. This is a story about following your calling, even when it doesn’t make sense to anyone else. Enjoy.

Find Randy's work here: 
https://www.facebook.com/p/Parsons-Guitars-100064000387176/
https://www.randyparsons.net/
https://www.instagram.com/parsonsguitars/

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Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached! In this episode we explore the evolving world of guitar making, where craftsmanship meets innovation. From the floor of guitar shows to the heart of the workshop, we reflect on how artistry, science, and sound continue to shape our musical culture.

We pay tribute to the late Ken Parker, a visionary who redefined what a guitar could be. We also discuss the ongoing quest for authenticity, from the design bench to the stage. Along the way, we dive into Project Dreadnought, the future of tonewood research, and the emotional connection that keeps makers and musicians inspired.

This is a conversation about legacy, curiosity, and the art of building guitars that move both heart and mind.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.

** Whoops! It seems we've forgotten to cut out the end of the podcast, which is usually reserved for the members of our Patreon 'Business of Guitar'. Oh well, we're happy to give everyone a glimpse into what they're missing... 😉 
Find out more here: https://www.patreon.com/thebusinessofguitar

On this episode of Life With Strings Attached we welcome Dave Dunwoodie, founder of Graph Tech Guitar Labs Ltd. and one of the great innovators in guitar technology. 

From solving the problem of strings sticking in the nut to creating breakthroughs like TUSQ, Ratio Tuners, and String Saver saddles, Dave’s work has shaped how guitars sound and play worldwide. 

His story is one of persistence, curiosity, and purpose-driven design, showing how even the smallest guitar components can transform music. Join us as we explore the journey of a musician turned entrepreneur whose ideas continue to inspire the industry. 

Find Dave's work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-dunwoodie-a234308/

https://graphtech.com/

https://www.instagram.com/graphtechguitarlabs/

https://www.youtube.com/user/GraphTechGuitarLabs

https://www.facebook.com/GraphTech/

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.