Guitar Smarts

This week we continue our conversation on cheap kit (it was a long one!) Kiran makes a shocking Ibanez Tube screamer confession (SRV fans cover your ears) and Matt discusses his love for a simple guitar rig controlled from the volume pot on the guitar, Joe Bonamassa style.

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Greetings! This week Kiran and Matt have challenged themselves to define their desert island rig of choice, with a few extras thrown in. This wasn't an easy task, but goodness me was it fun! This is part 1 of a two part topic, so look out next week for part 2.

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Greetings once again! Remember that Desert Island challenge from last week? This is part 2, and this week we select our pedals, amps, albums and wildcards!

This was great fun, and recommend you do this yourself! Remember, nothing you own already is allowed!

Remember to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and come and give us a like on the socials too, links are below:

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Greetings Guitarist Friends!

This week we shoot the breeze over all things guitar, particularly the things on our mind right not such as Kiran's ever swelling guitar collection and struggles with GAS, Matt's neglect of his Fender Strat and it's urgent maintenance needs and also his inherent inability to spend money on equipment!

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Whether you are a seasoned pro guitarist or a bedroom rock star, Guitar Smarts resident guitar health guru Kiran Amliwala believes that there are 8 things you should be able to do to maintain the playability and health of your guitars.
 
 In Part 1, we look at the changing the strings and fretboard/neck care.

If you need any of the products mentioned in this series of podcasts to help with your guitar maintenance ...

Whether you are a seasoned pro guitarist or a bedroom rock star, Guitar Smarts resident guitar health guru Kiran Amliwala believes that there are 8 things every guitarist should be able to do to maintain the playability and health of their guitars. Some are simple, some more complex, but all are essential.
 
This week we round up the final tasks we should all be able to complete, covering the electronics, lubrication and cl...

Greetings lovely listeners! Thanks for coming along. This week Matt & Kiran are speaking to old bandmate and friend, Andy Rudd.

Andy was the front man and band leader for South East UK band Roadrunner blues for more than 20 years. During his time fronting the band  he learned all the best ways to run a covers act whilst also becoming a formidable front man famed for his audience participation. As the Roadrunner websit...

Greetings Guitar Smarts listeners!

This week Kiran and Matt are competing in the £300 Gigging Guitar challenge.  Here is the rub:

You've just had a tax rebate to the tune of £4,500! Unfortunately, the car needed an MOT, the lounge needed new carpets and there was a water leak under the orangery. After all is fixed and a family holiday is booked, you're left with just £300 to spend on a new axe good enoug...

Greetings Guitar Smarts listeners!

This week, Kiran and Matt are talking about guitar practice, setting goals for getting better at playing guitar, reminiscing about past teachers and who our favourite online guitar personalities are.  Do you need a guitar teacher, is it good to have a defined practice schedule and how do you set goals for improvement?

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Greetings Guitar Smarts listeners!

So here is the deal: You’ve got a covers gig at a local wedding and you need to put a band together. Your phonebook is an endless collection of the world’s finest session musicians & famous rock stars. All of them owe you a favour, and will say yes to the gig. Who do you call?

Join Matt & Kiran as they put their band of legends together!

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This week we discuss Matt's efforts to setup and upgrade his Strat at home, and how much difference it made to the playability. We also have a chat about guitar strings and using them as a tone shaping tool. 

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Kiran & Matt are delighted to welcome Damiain Lodrick as a guest on the Guitar Smarts podcast. Damiain has lived the dream as a working musician and has literally travelled the world as a music student, studio engineer, multi-instrumentalist and musical director of his own outfit, The Damiain Lodrick band.

Damiain joins us today to talk about his life in music, his experience and learned wisdom, and to share with us h...

Everyone loves guitar pedals, and we are no exception to that. Maybe you've never really built a proper pedal board before or you find it difficult to get a good sound from your pedals - maybe you need to build a board that carries all your pedals, keeps them powered and connected and maintains consistency in your sound. 

This week is part 1 of our discussion on building your first pedal board. Remember to come back n...

Welcome back! This week Guitar Smarts brings you the continuation of our Pedal Boards Basics discussion and this time we actually do tell you what the mystery pedal is that Kiran has fallen head over heels in love with! 

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Welcome back! This week we are discussing our guitar idols and influences, who they are and why they mean so much to them as guitarists. Also, we have a fairly sizeable rant and discussion about the new Gibson Murphy Lab guitars. 

What do you think about them?
 
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This week, Kiran and Matt are joined by Mat Lake, one of the hardest working and most in-demand guitar teachers in the South East of the UK. Mat talks us through his early life as a student, how he got into teaching guitar and how he manages his bursting diary of guitar related activities such as teaching in schools, privately, gigging, educational events and performances, recording & rehearsing and even the paperwork! How he f...

Guitar Smarts are once again proud and happy to be joined by the immensely talented and hard-working Damiain Lodrick. If you are a musician who enjoys playing live but isn't ready to make the step to joining a band, or even in a band but not gigging enough, you probably have been to a Jam night at a local pub. This week, Damo takes us through his experiences running Jam nights as a host, and gives us his tips on what to prepar...

This week, Matt & Kiran scrape through the deepest depths of their gigging experience as non-pro musicians to bring you the definitive Boy Scouts guide to gigging! Learn everything you need to know to be prepared for your weekend gig, from the tools you should carry with you to the gig, the the planning and preparation you do before hand. 

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The Guitar Smarts team are incredibly happy to share with you our conversation with British Blues Rock Giant-to-be, Matt Long.  Matt is the front man and leader of international touring blues rock powerhouse Catfish, who are making waves on the music scene in the UK and Europe.

Matt joins us after winning the 2021 UK Blues Award for Instrumentalist of the Year, a prize that has been virtually presented to him by Joe Bonam...