Ask Zac

The lowdown on Fender's concert at the historic Ryman Auditorium to celebrate the Telecaster's 75th Anniversary.  

What a night at the Mother Church of Country Music. On May 4th, I had the honor of hosting and performing at the Tele Town concert celebrating 75 years of the legendary Fender Telecaster at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

This recap captures some of the unforgettable moments from an incredible evening filled with world-class players, iconic tones, deep musical history, and a whole lot of Telecaster magic. From blazing solos to emotional tributes, the night brought together generations of artists who have helped shape the sound of modern guitar music.

Featuring performances and appearances from an all-star lineup including Brad Paisley, Brent Mason, Brothers Osborne, James Burton, Ricky Skaggs, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Zach Top, Guthrie Trapp, Trey Hensley, Jack White, Billy Gibbons, and many more.

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the instrument that changed music forever. The Telecaster’s story is still being written, and this night was proof that its spirit is alive and well.

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Most players hit a wall the same way, cycling through the same licks, searching for something new, and ending up lost in endless videos.

Here’s a better way.

In this video, we break out of that loop by using a simple, lifelong skill:
take a song you love, learn the melody, and learn how to harmonize it.

No tabs. No shortcuts. No spoon-feeding.

This is how you build real musical independence, and actually start growing every time you pick up the guitar.

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The Man Who Invented the Boutique Amp: The Tragic Genius of Bob Crooks
Before Dumble was a household name, and before Mesa/Boogie revolutionized the high-gain stack, there was Standel.

In today’s video, we’re diving into the legendary twenty-year original run of Bob Crooks, the man who provided the sonic blueprint for the 1950s, yet spent his final years feeling like the industry had robbed him blind.

High Fidelity in a Low-Fi World
From his early days at Lockheed to his "almost" collaboration with Paul Bigsby, Bob Crooks didn't just build amplifiers; he engineered precision instruments. We explore how Standel became the "must-have" rig for the Mount Rushmore of 1950s legends, providing the pristine, hi-fi clarity demanded by icons like Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Joe Maphis, Speedy West, and Buddy Emmons.

The Innovations Leo Fender "Borrowed"
According to guitar historian Deke Dickerson, Crooks was a man fueled by deep-seated bitterness in his later years. The reason? Many of the features we now consider "Golden Era" standards were pioneered in the Standel workshop long before they appeared in Fullerton. We're talking about:

Separate Treble and Bass controls (at a time when most amps had a single "Tone" knob).

Forward-facing controls for ease of use on stage.

Tolex covering and Piggyback head/cab designs.

The integration of premium JBL speakers as a standard.

The Great Pivot: Tubes to Transistors
We also examine Crooks’ controversial shift in the early 1960s. As an early adopter of hybrid and eventually full solid-state circuitry, Crooks inadvertently chased "perfect" clean headroom just as the rest of the world was falling in love with the warmth of tube distortion. It was a classic case of a genius being too right for the wrong era.

The Rebirth: 1997 to Today
Finally, we cover the modern resurrection of the brand.

1997: The initial rebirth with Danny McKinney and Bob Crooks himself back at the helm, focusing on the legendary 25L15.

2023: The new chapter under Owen Duffy, who has begun producing reissues of Standel’s later catalog, bringing much-needed attention to the overlooked masterpieces of the brand’s twilight years.
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Most players settle for whatever string set is on the shelf, but I’ve been piecing together custom sets since the early ’90s. In this video, I build my perfect custom string sets using my preferred D'Addario NYXL strings through their Custom String Shop.

For my 1957 Fender Esquire, I dialed in a set gauged 10, 12, 16, 24, 34, 44 balanced for feel, tension, and snap. It’s based on their NYXL 9.5–44 set, but with slightly more robust high E and B strings.

Then I went further, building a baritone NYXL set that doesn’t normally exist, with gauges 14, 18, 24, 44, 56, 70, including an unwound 3rd string for better bending and overall playability.

The best part? D'Addario’s Custom String Shop lets you spec everything exactly how you want, and the sets show up beautifully packaged with your name on them.

If you’ve ever thought, “these strings are close… but not quite right,” this is how you fix it.

www.truetone.com

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Before the Telecaster… before the Les Paul & the Strat… there was Bigsby.

In this video, we take a deep dive into a 1949 Bigsby electric guitar, one of the earliest solid-body electrics ever made, and a true cornerstone in the evolution of the modern guitar. Built by Paul Bigsby, these instruments weren’t mass-produced, they were individually handcrafted works of art.

Bigsby guitars are incredibly rare, as he built around 27 guitars from the mid-1940s through the late 1950s. Each one was custom-made, often for top-tier players, making them some of the most elusive and historically significant electric guitars in existence.

Most famously associated with Merle Travis, Bigsby’s designs introduced features that would later define the electric guitar as we know it, including a solid body, a six-on-a-side headstock, and a sleek, functional aesthetic that clearly influenced Leo Fender and the birth of the Fender Telecaster.

This particular instrument has its own incredible story. Created on August 7, 1949, this guitar was built by Paul specifically to be photographed for one of his early catalogs. Because of that, collectors have long referred to it as “the catalog guitar.”

Even more special, the owner generously allowed me to take the instrument to my studio for a couple of hours so I could film this episode. Getting hands-on time with a guitar like this is a rare opportunity, and I’m excited to share it with you.

www.truetone.com

To Support the Channel:
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Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac
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