Dipped In Tone Dipped in Tone

This time on Dipped In Tone, Rhett and Zach chat with Los Angeles-based trio troubadour Molly Miller, known for her work with her own Moller Miller Trio and pop star Jason Mraz. Miller’s virtuosic playing, chameleon-like genre flexibility, and uncommonly deep knowledge of the guitar and music theory—courtesy of her nine years spent at USC attaining her doctorate—have made her a sought-after of jack of all trades in the guitar community.
As you might guess from the name of her band, Miller’s home turf is trio playing, and her latest record, The Ballad of Hotspur, is a tumbleweed Western rendition of the power and imagination of the sparse band configuration. Miller explains how she configures her guitar tones with her arrangements, why recording live off the floor works best for her threesome, and how to write instrumentals that don’t drag.

Unlike many musicians who like to live on a dangerously flexible schedule, Miller loves structure, usually rising early to fit a regimented schedule. But do things like routine and an academic’s knowledge of theory take some of the magic out of music? Miller has good insight for how to strike a balance between intuition and musical book-smarts. Later in the episode, stay tuned to learn how the algorithm might be changing how we learn guitar, and the eternal importance of jamming with strangers.

Go check out Molly's website: https://www.mollymillermusic.com/

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Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com/
Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com
Premier Guitar https://www.premierguitar.com/

First off, let’s be thankful for this episode of Dipped In Tone. Rhett survived a close brush with a tornado while on the road in Arkansas, and returns to the pod to analyze all things signature guitars with Zach, who continues his dogged campaign to own a ridiculous number of Tube Screamers. (They didn’t plan their near-matching shirts.)
The conversation-starter is the new Jason Isbell “Red Eye,” a $21,999 collector’s version of the 1959 Gibson Les Paul that famously belonged to Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd. When King passed away in 2018, the story goes that Isbell wanted the guitar, but couldn’t afford it. Zach and Rhett explain how he accrued the capital to snag the axe, and the details behind the new artist edition.
But who gets signature guitars, anyway? Some iconic players, like John Frusciante—so easily identified with his Strats—still don’t have their own model. Is he being snubbed, or choosing to keep his name off a mass-produced guitar? Maybe some guitarists feel signatures are too corporate—which could also explain why Jack White has, so far, not lent his name to a model. (Though pedals are a different story.) And what about massively popular YouTube guitar stars and influencers—have they earned the right to be in the running for a signature 6-string?
Later, Zach and Rhett dig into the economics of siggys—how much do their namesakes actually earn from the sale of their personal brand?—and debate Slash’s bombshell move from Marshall to Magnatone.
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Dipped in Tone is:
Rhett Shull  https://www.rhettshull.com/
Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals  https://mythospedals.com
Premier Guitar https://www.premierguitar.com/

Rhett and Zach are back with special guest Bridget Kearney, who plays upright bass in the experimental Brooklyn-based indie-folk-soul band Lake Street Dive. The band, formed 20 years ago in Boston, was looking for ways to keep their songwriting fresh when their mutual love of Dungeons and Dragons presented a unique challenge: Could they write a song using a D20 die, with different elements of the tune assigned to the sides? You have to hear Kearney explain it to believe it. The exercise was a helpful kickstart: “My creative self is lazy, and so I need to sort of get them out of bed,” laughs Kearney.
Kearney shares her thoughts on the intersections of theory and melody in a bassist’s skillset, with an affectionate plug for Paul McCartney’s simple, effective melodic constructions. But playing upright bass is no walk in the park. Kearney details her top tour horror stories brought on by the sizeable instrument, including a time in Shanghai that ended with a shattered windshield, and a brutal stairway fall that ended with stitches in her head. Does the new era of fold-up uprights solve the danger? Somewhat, as Kearney explains.
It wasn’t til later that Kearney gave the electric bass its fair shake, and she preaches the importance of having a “playground” of sorts on which to learn and hone your skills on a new instrument, while keeping things fun. Tune in to learn how, for Kearney, that meant listening to and learning Irish fiddle tunes on the bass.
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Dipped in Tone is:
Rhett Shull  https://www.rhettshull.com/
Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals  https://mythospedals.com
Premier Guitar https://www.premierguitar.com/

This week’s episode is a state of the union on brick-and-mortar guitar retail stores. With news of the family-owned chain Sam Ash shutting down its operations and filing for bankruptcy, and Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto’s recent comments indicating a giant shift for the company, it’s a touchy time for IRL guitar sales.
Rhett and Zach agree that all physical retailers aren’t going to disappear any time soon, but guitar sellers are going to have to get competitive if they want to outlive the likes of Sam Ash. Maybe some need to build up their social media marketing and create innovative branding, while others could go all in on a top-tier customer experience. Rhett borrows from his love of outdoor co-op retailer REI and wonders: Could Guitar Center have a house brand of guitars?
Plus, tune in to hear about the best and worst Guitar Center locations in the U.S. After listening, hop in the comments to share your thoughts on how your favorite guitar store can avoid the Sam Ash death knell.
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Dipped in Tone is:
Rhett Shull  https://www.rhettshull.com/
Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals  https://mythospedals.com
Premier Guitar https://www.premierguitar.com/

Rhett and Zach end almost every episode of Dipped In Tone with a rig dip—where they discuss and rate a guitar, amp, and pedal setup submitted by a listener—but this time, they’re assembling and critiquing dream rigs of their own, on a budget.
They each get to brainstorm a $1000 rig followed by a $10,000 rig, using toys and prices found on Reverb. When you’ve only got 10 Benjamins to spend, what pieces of kit should you prioritize? Rhett throws most of his budget behind his guitar and amp head, with just a few bucks left for a bargain-bin cab and a couple cheap pedals, but Zach spreads his grand out fairly evenly, opting for affordable offerings from Epiphone and Vox for his base tone.
Things get spicy in the upper range. Rhett takes Zach to task over prioritizing a $1300 vintage TS-style pedal, but they both opt for high-dollar amps from the same manufacturer for their ten-grand stage setup.Who created the better rig at each price point? Which components did they fumble? And what would you do with each budget? Let us know in the comments.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zdRN06SPxVQ
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Support us on Patreon for access to our discord server and other perks! https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone
MERCH: https://teespring.com/stores/dipped-in-tone
Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/dippedintone
 
Dipped in Tone is:
Rhett Shull  https://www.rhettshull.com/
Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals  https://mythospedals.com
Premier Guitar https://www.premierguitar.com/

On this episode of Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zack are joined by Wales-born guitarist Chris Buck. Buck is gearing up for a string of US tour dates with his fast-rising rock band Cardinal Black, including a date at Nashville’s Basement East after the original venue sold-out within a few hours.
Buck starts off digging into the details of his custom Yamaha Revstar and why he chose the versatile guitar over better-known offerings from legacy brands. Buck’s rise has been nearly meteoric: He started off posting videos on Facebook and Instagram before his wife suggested he give YouTube a try. His channel now counts 226,000 subscribers, thanks to his popular Friday Fretworks videos. But as Buck explains, his content is a tool to help fund his original music—a very successful tool.
Still, it’s not all sunshine. Buck details how he and his band navigate the brutal economics of touring, including some horror stories of how they ended up losing money on merch sales. Later, we learn how Buck built his signature playing style—mostly by ear and by accident. “I don’t think anyone has ever ended up sounding like themselves through sitting down and going ‘Right, im gonna try to sound unique,’” he says. “It just happens over time.”
He’s gone from YouTube to the Royal Albert Hall, but Buck reveals a quiet concern that he’s peaked too early. What do Rhett and Zach make of that fear? Tune in.
Get 10% off with promo code DIPPED at http://chasebliss.com
Go see Chris on tour: http://thecardinalblack.com
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Dipped in Tone is:
Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com/
Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com
Premier Guitar https://www.premierguitar.com/