Ask Zac

Zac Childs
  • 5.0 (19)
  • Music Commentary
  • Updated Daily

Zac Childs is a music insider and historian. He is the host of the acclaimed Truetone Lounge interview series and contributed to Vintage Guitar Magazine for 15 years via his Ask Zac column, and numerous featured articles, product reviews, and cover stories. On his ASK ZAC channel, Zac takes a look at players and gear and also answers guitar-related questions in ways that were never possible via print. 

  1. 3h ago

    The Album That Changed Eric Clapton Forever - J.J. Cale's Naturally

    In this episode of Ask Zac, I take a deep dive into Naturally (1971), the landmark debut album that quietly shaped the playing of Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Tom Petty, John Mayer, and countless others. We'll explore the story behind the album, how "After Midnight" and "Call Me the Breeze" helped launch J.J. Cale's career, and why his understated touch, groove, and phrasing became the foundation of what many call the "Tulsa Sound." I also demonstrate some of Cale's signature guitar licks and explain how his simple, tasteful approach influenced generations of players. Whether you're a longtime J.J. Cale fan or hearing Naturally for the first time, this album deserves a place on every guitarist's essential listening list. www.truetone.com To Support the Channel: Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac https://ask-zac-shop.fourthwall.com Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac #JJCale #Naturally #EricClapton #MarkKnopfler #JohnMayer #TomPetty #Guitar #GuitarLessons #AskZac #VintageGuitar #TulsaSound #BluesGuitar #ClassicRock Support the show

  2. 3h ago

    The Wicked Stepchildren of the Telecaster - The 70s Tele Custom & Telecaster Deluxe

    Ever wondered why the 1970s Fender Telecaster Custom and Telecaster Deluxe are some of the most misunderstood guitars Fender ever built? In this episode of Ask Zac, we take a deep dive into these "wicked stepchildren" of the Telecaster family and uncover what makes them so unique. We'll explore the fascinating story of Seth Lover's Wide Range Humbucker, why Fender hired the inventor of Gibson's legendary humbucker, and how these guitars were designed to compete directly with Gibson in the 1970s. Along the way, we'll compare the Telecaster Custom and Deluxe to a traditional Telecaster, discuss the CBS-era design changes, demonstrate their unique tones, and look at the famous players who made them part of their sound, including Keith Richards. In this video: • The history of Seth Lover's Wide Range Humbucker • Why Fender created the Telecaster Custom and Deluxe • CBS-era features: Micro-Tilt, bullet truss rod, and three-bolt necks • Gibson-style wiring and why it makes these guitars so versatile • Tone demonstrations and pickup blending • Keith Richards • What makes these once-overlooked guitars collectible today www.truetone.com To Support the Channel: Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac https://ask-zac-shop.fourthwall.com Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Thanks to my Patreon supporters and everyone who helps support the channel! #Telecaster #Fender #VintageGuitars #AskZack #GuitarHistory #WideRangeHumbucker #SethLover #KeithRichards #TelecasterCustom #TelecasterDeluxe #ElectricGuitar Support the show

  3. 3h ago

    What It's Like Playing The Grand Ole Opry

    Have you ever wondered what it's really like to play the Grand Ole Opry? In this episode, I share stories from my most recent appearance with Brad Paisley, including an unexpected guitar solo, the history and traditions of the Opry, and the gear I used on stage. We'll talk about: • What it's like backstage at the Opry • How the Opry has changed from the Ryman Auditorium to today • Why the Opry once banned drums and horns • The incredible Opry staff band • The Fender Tone Master amps provided on stage • The guitars and pedals I used, including my Glaser Telecaster, B-to-B baritone, and custom Fender Electric XII • Breaking down my impromptu solo on "Out Behind the Barn" and the country guitar influences behind it • Stories from touring Europe with Brad Paisley and meeting Ask Zac viewers along the way Playing the Grand Ole Opry is still one of the greatest honors a country musician can experience, and I hope this episode gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what makes it such a special place. Watch the full Grand Ole Opry performance here:  https://www.youtube.com/live/Yyfjf8NPXhs Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe, and leave a comment letting me know about your own Opry memories, or what you'd like to see on Ask Zac next. #AskZac #GrandOleOpry #BradPaisley #Telecaster #CountryGuitar #Nashville #Guitar #Fender #BaritoneGuitar #GuitarHistory www.truetone.com To Support the Channel: Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac https://ask-zac-shop.fourthwall.com Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac Support the show

  4. 3h ago

    My Frankenstein 12-String & Bass 6 Danelectro Double-Neck

    When you get the gig playing auxiliary and utility guitar for a world-renowned Telecaster master like Brad Paisley, you run into a unique problem: How do you cover parts that include electric 12-string chime, and 6-string bass parts in a fast-paced live set without swapping guitars every single song? My solution? Build a monster, constructed out of late-90s Danelectro parts. In this video, I’m doing a deep-dive breakdown of my Frankenstein double-neck guitar. It features an electric 12-string on top and a baritone/6-string bass on the bottom. I’ll walk you through how I sourced the late-90s Danelectro components to get that authentic lipstick-pickup chime, the unique challenges of piecing it together, the electronics/switching setup, and exactly how I’m using it out on the road during Brad’s tour to fill out the live sonic landscape. GEAR & SPECS: Custom Double-Neck Specs: Built using late-90s Danelectro parts & lipstick pickups. Strings Used: D'Addario Signal Chain: Mirage Comp, Sawdust Overdrive, Boss TR-2, Strymon El Capistan, 1968 Fender Princeton Reverb. www.truetone.com To Support the Channel: Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac https://ask-zac-shop.fourthwall.com Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac #DoubleNeckGuitar #Danelectro #BradPaisley #TourGear #GuitarBuild #12String #BaritoneGuitar #SixStringBass #Guitarist #GuitarTone #LiveMusic #GuitarDemo #Luthier Support the show

  5. 3h ago

    The Phil Kubicki Story - From Fender To Factor Bass

    On today's episode of Ask Zac, we are diving deep into the life, career, and brilliant innovations of one of the most important former Fender employees and guitar builders in history: Phil Kubicki. While many modern bass players know him for his radical, headless Factor Bass from the 1985 era, Kubicki’s impact on the guitar world started decades earlier. We track his journey from building classical guitars at age 15 to walking into the Fender factory in January 1964, where he was hand-picked to help launch their new acoustic division. From there, Phil moved into Fender’s R&D department, where he had his hands on some of the company's most iconic historic releases, including the Telecaster Thinline, the Starcaster, the three-bolt neck micro-tilt system, and Fender’s high-end archtops like the LTD and Montego. Most famously, Phil is the man who hand-built the legendary All-Rosewood Telecaster used by George Harrison on the Apple Corps rooftop concert. We’ll also look at his post-Fender years in Santa Barbara, his fascinating early partnership with Seymour Duncan (the short-lived K&D Guitars), and look at some incredibly rare Kubicki instruments and parts up close—including a very unique short-scale travel guitar and my own personal 1982 Kubicki Telecaster body with a great country music pedigree. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Introduction to an Unsung Innovator: Phil Kubicki 1:59 - From Classical Guitars to the 1964 Fender Factory Tour 4:05 - The Fender R&D Era: Thinline, Starcaster, and Archtops 5:27 - Hand-Building George Harrison’s Iconic Rosewood Telecaster 6:02 - Leaving CBS Fender & The Seymour Duncan Connection (K&D Guitars) 7:32 - Gear Deep Dive: My Personal 1982 Custom Kubicki Tele Body 9:06 - High-Stakes Luthiery: Routing Albert Lee’s B-Bender 10:33 - The Rare Kubicki "Vintage Guitars" Tele Prototype 12:02 - Demo: The Early 80s Kubicki "Arrow" Short-Scale Travel Guitar 15:07 - John Fogerty’s Famous "Centerfield" Baseball Bat Guitar 16:26 - The 1985 Factor Bass, Later Years, and Phil’s Legacy GEAR FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO: 1982 Custom Phil Kubicki Telecaster Body (Swamp Ash, Single Bound) Early 1980s Phil Kubicki "Arrow" Mini Guitar (Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder Pickup) Rare Kubicki "Vintage Guitars" Contoured Telecaster Prototype www.truetone.com SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: Pick up an Ask Zac T-Shirt or Coffee Mug: https://ask-zac-shop.fourthwall.com Join the Patreon Community: Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac  Tip Jar: https://paypal.me/AskZac                      Venmo @AskZac #PhilKubicki #FenderHistory #AskZac #GuitarHistory #GeorgeHarrison #SeymourDuncan #CustomGuitars #VintageFender #Guitarist #Luthier #FactorBass #JohnFogerty Support the show

  6. 3h ago

    Tracking Brad Paisley's Tackelbox Album & His 2026 European Tour

    Brad Paisley recently started rolling out tracks for his ongoing project, Tacklebox, and I had the absolute honor of sitting in the studio to track these songs. But the craziest part of this project is the "butterfly effect" story of how it actually came to life. It all started in early 2025 during a random dinner with my buddy Dan Strain (Danocaster Guitars). A college-aged waiter recognized us, and fast forward a few months to the Nashville Vintage Guitar Show, I ran into him again. He was trying to sell his Brad Paisley Silver Sparkle Road Worn Telecaster to buy a much-needed acoustic guitar. I took him over to meet Brad to get it signed, and they ended up in a deep conversation. Turns out, this guy was a Belmont graduate who had interned at SeaGayle (Brad's publishing company). He started rattling off unreleased song titles from Brad’s massive '90s songwriting vault, tunes written back when Brad was a professional songwriter aiming for cuts by Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and George Strait. That conversation lit a spark, leading Brad to dig those tracks out of the archives, play them for the label, and head straight into the studio. In this video, I’m taking you behind the scenes of those tracking sessions at the historic Castle Recording Studio in Franklin, TN (a former Al Capone party house!). I break down the 1990s country session mindset, show you the handwritten legal-pad charts, and do a mini-guitar lesson on the actual fills, B-Bender licks, volume swells, and chorus-drenched parts I played on tracks like "Without You," "This Town" (where I played 6-string bass), and "Overnight Low." I also talk about tracking a wild harmony bender part with Brad on "High Ho Silverado" featuring David Lee Murphy. Plus, I give you a real-time studio floor tour showing off my rig, Randall Currie's steel setup, Kenny Lewis's bass rig, and Brad's legendary, re-covered red Vox AC30 from the 1960s. By the time you watch this, I’ll be out on the road with Brad across Europe for the month of June!  TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - The "Butterfly Effect" Backstory: A Dinner with Danocaster 3:56 - The Nashville Vintage Guitar Show Encounter that Sparked Tacklebox 6:06 - Opening the 1990s Songwriting Vault (Writing for George Strait & Brooks & Dunn) 7:51 - The Call to Play & Tracking at Al Capone’s Old Castle Studio 9:58 - The '90s Country Session Mindset & Handwritten Charts 11:16 - Mini-Lesson: SWELLS & FILLS on "Without You" 14:55 - The Session Pedalboard: Original TC Chorus & Mirage Compressor 15:17 - 6-String Bass on "This Town" & Twin Harmony Benders on "High Hole Silverado" 16:42 - The Hallmark Christmas Movie Detour 17:55 - Heading to Europe: The June Tour Rig (Glazer Tele, Baritone, & Electric 12-String) 19:34 - BONUS: Exclusive Studio Room Tour (Brad's Red Vox AC30, Steel & Bass Rigs) GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO / SESSION: Fender Custom 3-Pickup Telecaster (Seymour Duncan Pickups, Music City Wiring Blend Control, B-Bender) Vintage 1968 Fender Princeton Amp (Studio demo) / Headstrong Amp (Tracking session) Original TC Electronic Stereo Chorus Flanger (Modded for DC Power) Mirage Compressor, Line 6 Echo Park, & Strymon El Capistan Stream Brad Paisley's Tacklebox tracks here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/46ym8csh8mKzAia5pZikdu?si=53a544359fde4ee1 www.truetone.com To Support the Channel: Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac https://ask-zac-shop.fourthwall.com Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac #BradPaisley #Tacklebox #AskZac #GuitarLesson #BBender #NashvilleSession #CountryGuitar #TheCastleStudio #VoxAC30 #Danocaster #Telecaster #Guitarist Support the show

  7. 3h ago

    Why I Don't Like Overdrive Pedals & The 4 That Make The Cut

    If you grew up on the pristine, dynamic guitar tones of the 1950s and early 60s, standard overdrive pedals can often sound artificial, overly compressed, and flat-out unnatural. For years, I avoided them entirely because I preferred the sound of a guitar plugging straight into a great, clean tube amplifier. But sometimes, a little grit is totally necessary. Over the years, I’ve had to find overdrive pedals that actually work for a "clean tone purist." In this video, I’m breaking down the 4 overdrive pedals I’ve ever genuinely enjoyed, and exactly why they work where other dirt pedals fail. If you hate the typical "mid-hump" and compression of standard overdrives, this list is for you. Ibanez Mostortion (MT10): The secret weapon. Thanks to its unique CMOS circuit, it clips more like a real tube amp, and the 3-band EQ lets you dial out any artificial boxiness, and has a ton of tone shaping abilities Xotic RC Booster: A wonderful low gain drive/boost, with just a touch of mids Menatone Red Snapper (2004 3-Knob): An incredibly open, uncompressed, and amp-like low-to-mid gain drive with an upper presence that keeps your pick attack perfectly intact. Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive: A Tube Screamer for people who hate Tube Screamers. The magic clean-blend knob lets you layer your pristine clean tone directly over the grit. GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO: Guitar: Fender Vintera rosewood Tele neck with ash body, Dimarzio Muscle T pickups Amp: Vintage Fender 1968 Princeton Reverb with Fat Jimmy C1025 speaker Cables/Power: D'Addario cables, Truetone CS6 power www.truetone.com To Support the Channel: Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/AskZac https://ask-zac-shop.fourthwall.com Tip jar:  https://paypal.me/AskZac Venmo @AskZac #GuitarPedals #OverdrivePedal #ToneChaser #IbanezMostortion #XoticRCBooster #Menatone #SparkleDrive #GuitarTone Support the show

  8. May 20

    Standel & The Tragic Genius of Bob Crooks - The Man Who Invented the Boutique Amp

    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. Support the show

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
19 Ratings

About

Zac Childs is a music insider and historian. He is the host of the acclaimed Truetone Lounge interview series and contributed to Vintage Guitar Magazine for 15 years via his Ask Zac column, and numerous featured articles, product reviews, and cover stories. On his ASK ZAC channel, Zac takes a look at players and gear and also answers guitar-related questions in ways that were never possible via print. 

Information

  • Creator
    Zac Childs
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    274
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ask Zac
  • Show Website
    Ask Zac