I listen to a handful of guitar-related podcasts, so I thought I’d mention them here on the site and give my thoughts.  My actual, honest thoughts.  What I do and do not like about them.  In no particular order:

  1. Guitar Nerds.  A bunch of guys with British accents who make fun of each other and talk about gear.  I love these guys – their energy and enthusiasm is always fun to listen to, and they’re very into guitars and gear (like me.)  My tastes are different, but that doesn’t damper my appreciation.  I don’t have anything negative to say about these guys – this is one of my faves, and the annual Gear of the Year series is always fun and interesting.  WELL, OK, I do have one gripe – sometimes they get product facts wrong.  Rarely, but sometimes.
  2. Chasing Tone.  This used to be one of my favorite podcasts, with the old cast of Travis, Brian, and Max.  Travis and Max no longer work at Wampler, so now it’s Brian and Blake Wyland, mostly.  I think even Blake would admit the show was better with Max and Travis.  I like Blake.  I don’t know him personally and we haven’t met, but I think he’s a standup guy and he knows a lot about guitars and gear.  But the banter between these guys can be painful at times.  They’re both interesting guys who I like and who have a lot to say, but banter is not about putting two nice guys in the same show.  BUT I still listen because I love Wampler pedals and I like both of these guys.  When they talk about gear I’m always interested in what they say.
  3. Tone Mob.  Blake Wyland hosts this show and it has some of the same issues that Chasing Tone has – meaning sometimes the humor isn’t funny at all, which makes for uncomfortable listening.  But when the small talk and banter is over, Blake is extremely good at interviewing people.  His interview with Robert Keeley was fantastic.  And that’s why I listen.
  4. The Luthierist.  Paul Rhoney has had several co-hosts during the history of this podcast, but he’s the main anchor of the show, and I think he’s great.  He’s very natural, he’s funny, he’s honest, and the show is always interesting.  It’s for people who build guitars, but anyone who is interested in how guitars are made would love the show.  Who doesn’t like Paul Rhoney?  C’mon now.
  5. No Guitar Is Safe.  I’ve called this the best guitar podcast, and if you look at the various guests that host Jude Gold has interviewed, you’d be hard pressed to find a better lineup.  Not every guitarists Jude interviews is interesting, but most of them are, and some of them are super interesting.  Again, Jude is one of those cool guys that almost everyone likes.  Sense a pattern yet?
  6. DIY Musician Podcast. This is the main CDBaby podcast for artists.  I’ve learned a lot from this show over the years.  It’s a lot of career and marketing advice, and the hosts talk about current topics of interest and different strategies for getting your music noticed.  If you want to make and distribute your own music, you should listen to this podcast and you should learn about CDBaby and use them for distributing your music.
  7. GuitarWank.  Picture an annoying Australian guy, an old jazz-fusion-rock guy, and an old jazz guy, complaining, swearing, laughing, drinking, and telling inappropriate jokes.  I love it – I think it’s great, especially when they have a guest.  It’s like sitting in the room with professional touring and gigging guitarists who’ve been there and done that, listening to their various conversations about this and that.  Troy, the host, mostly does a good job of keeping them on track and keeping the show interesting, despite the fact that he begins every show with a big long drone of uninteresting talk by himself that most listeners skip.
  8. The Fret Files.  This is similar to The Luthierist, but if the Luthierist is rated PG, The Fret Files is rated G.  It’s a lot more serious, but I think that host Eric Daw is very interesting and knows his stuff.  This is for folks who like to work on guitars, for sure.

Don’t see your fave podcast on this short list?  Email me at richard@budgetguitarist.com and let me know about it.  I’m always looking for cool guitar-based podcasts to listen to.