Robben is always so amenable to interviewers. He just seems like such a down to earth guy with no star ego. Whether he's in an interview or giving a masterclass it's the same. A phenomenal talent too of course and one of the best guitarists in the blues/jazz genres ever in my view.
Omg! Robben is actually doing his own rig rundown!? Unlike other cool famous guitar players...who don't show up and just send their techs in....you go Robben ! Love your playing and humanity
Robben Ford's main tone piece-His own hands! One of my all time favorite players no matter what guitar or rig he is playing through......Robben and Larry Carlton together is pure joy to listen to!
Absolutely love Robben’s sound. And the simplicity is mind blowing …. Such a GUITAR HERO FOR ME. So humble … Thanks for all the inspiration and great tunes 😀👍🏻
"... but I do have this Tele" LOL. Only one of the most famous Telecasters in the world, along with Robben's Dumble amp. You have to smile. This dude knows a lot more than he is giving up.
I didn’t even notice the “uh huh’s“. I did notice 3 pro’s talking about stuff they were very knowledgeable about in a very civilized and refined manner. Great interview. Better than any rig rundown done by so-called professional interviewers.
Guys, the interviewer is Joe Glaser, one of the greatest luthiers in the world who does work for the greats like Robben, Vince Gill, Keith Urban, JD Simo, Brad Paisley out of Nashville! I'm sure he was doing this as a favor for Premier Guitar. What he lacks in interview skills he makes up for in a master like understanding of the instrument.
I could listen to Robben Ford talk about music all day, his authentic voice and obvious love for the music comes through every time. I could listen to his musice all day too!! Thanks Robben
Lay off the "interviewer guys. It's Joe Glazer. He's not normally an interviewer. He's the guitar tech to the stars in Nashville, and a world class guy. He's there because he had inside info about working with Robben. And Keith Urban and Joe Bonamassa and many many others.
Joe Glaser is awesome!! I was on a 5 month work assignment near Nashville, so I took a guitar to him that needed some fret work, new saddle and setup. I was able to meet Joe in person while dropping off the guitar. When I went to pick up the guitar, he was kind enough to give me 45 or so minutes of his time to talk about guitars and current events due to COVID and my job in the vaccines industry. After talking, he broke his own rules and allowed me to not only enter his workshop but personally gave me a guided tour and showed me some recent projects and aftermarket parts he has developed and is selling. BTW, the work his team did on my guitar is excellent and it plays like never before! Accurate timely, and reasonably priced service. I was expecting to pay (and gladly would have payed more) for the work and results. Folks, I’m nobody in the music scene. I’m just an average guy and guitar player. The red carpet treatment I received and my brief time with Joe left an impression on me that I won’t soon forget.
I remember dumble when he lived in bakersfield...he was making these even back then,,,several local guitarists have dumbles from back in the day...He did a mod on my brown tolex princton..never knowing that he would become this amp guru!..
Hey Tone Bro´es This is one of the best interviews with one of the wolrds finest guitarist ever. He has made the link between blues and fusion with a tremendous amount of knowledge and with the best sounding guitar ever. I was so lucky to have the oppurtunity to adress this man, when he was touring i Scandinavia for some years ago - in Horsens as a matter of fact. He and Michael Landau talked to me a little while after the blues concert- and I was just numb.. I hope I will be able to meet those two guys one more time, when my guitar is still running on their smoke.
When you've got (essentially) a vintage Gibson....a vintage Tele..and a Dumble amp: inspired, built & voiced for YOU -you don't need a whole lot more..! Your rig...? ..it's COMPLETE, Sir!
I want to listen to more of Robben's earlier years when he was first starting out, and his solo output is what I want to check out more and get it on vinyl. Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis among others for his studio and sideman work alone is noteworthy. I first heard him on the album Talk To Your Daughter back in 1989 and have remained an admirer ever since ~ His instrumental Revelation was just that! I was floored by his tone and feeling and the dexterity he displays on the instrument with his knowledge of scales and modes being applied in a soulful way, with deadly effect. He is a perfect combination of blues power, jazz swing with a dose of rock thrown in. Always inspires me with his intuitive playing.
Players like Robben Ford simply don't need a lot of rig or effects. What a great player -- it amazes me that guitarists like him don't fill up giant stadiums.
Lot of people commenting here who don't know who Joe Glaser is. Assured: He knows the artist, he knows the gear. He is the mega tech to the mega stars. Whether or not you like his on-camera persona, it's understandable that PG would ask him to do it.
Yes, and those same pickups sound different when in a Les Paul Deluxe or Firebird. They wouldn't sound that good if I played that same guitar, though! Robben really knows how to extract tone from a guitar. I had an old Gibson made early 60's Epi Casino in that same "Royal Tan" finish although I can't say I really like it. Royal Tan always looks, to me, like it has faded down from something else. I suppose that, for many people, that would be cool in itself.
this is the most in depth interview ever,, its like a conversation between friends about why the gear works rather than what the gear is.. so much interesting info in there..
I met Joe Glaser in his workshop in Nashville. A lovely guy. Very friendly and unassuming. My friend bought one of his Telecasters that day. It was made by Floyd Cassista, Joe's in house guitar builder. An amazing guitar. We were introduced to Joe and Floyd by Guthrie Trapp. My friend still has that Tele which is almost identical to Guthrie's one. A great day out in Nashville. And I also met Robben Ford after a gig in Dublin. Another lovely humble guy who was happy to hang out and answer questions from fans. If you are a guitar player or Mandolin player and find yourself in Nashville, I would highly recommend paying Joe's workshop a visit. And you wouldn't know who you might run into picking up a repair job!
I really enjoyed this interview. Very cool and low key. I think Joe Glazer did a fantastic job, although it reminded me of every pediatric visit I'd ever had as a kid; with Joe as the doctor (not difficult to imagine him in a white coat and stethoscope), Rick as the concerned parent, and Robben as the patient. Watch it again with that dynamic in mind for a good laugh.
Actually, I wish a lot of interviewers WOULD use notes....ask your question and then shut up!....let the interviewee talk. That said, I thought Joe Glazer did a great job....as did Robben and his tech/co-producer.
The club in Ben Lomond that Robben. mentioned was the Town & Country Lodge. I saw him numerous times in the Bay Area, but only saw him there one time. I think it was in '74, because he dedicated a song (My Favorite Things) to Duke Ellington, who had just died. His group was Russell Feranti on keyboard, Jim Chantelope on drums, and Stan Poplin, who had been the bass player with the Charle Ford Band. But that night Stan played upright rather than electric bass. A great night, as usual.
Great rig rundown! Great storys about guitars, dumble and robben himself - I don't know why so many are complaining about the interviewer - this guy truly knows what's going on and is also cool and passionate as all of them!
I learned about Robben kind of late in my life, and wonder why I wasn’t familiar with him. I guess just ignorance on my part. He has a beautiful sound and feel, very fluid. Also, so refreshing to hear an artist that keeps the use of effects simple. I guess maybe that’s “old school.” I enjoy hearing really experienced musicians like Robben interviewed. They don’t seem to have a lot of “ego”, and just honestly and directly explain themselves.
Not sure how this happened but I have been watching Robben vids for two days now. Loved this one. I like to hear him play but I think I enjoy the interviews more.
Madcap Laughs I myself have recently went down the Robben Ford RU-vid rabbit hole! I agree-I love his playing but there is something overly satisfying about hearing the interviews. The recent Rick Beato interview video got me searching for anything Robben related.
@@jamesmaxwell5415 Robben's stories always change over time. I've been to numerous clinics where he professes to not know some aspect of music theory and others where he shows a complete mastery of it. Same with gear. He'll claim not to know what was used on a track and at some other point he'll say that it was this guitar. And at some other point he'll say that it was a different guitar. Or claim to not know what an I/O is. The man is much deeper than he lets on. Partly because he's humble, and partly because he want's to divert focus from gear toward music. His own magic ears and hands can tell the difference with gear and he finds the special stuff (he once spent a couple days going though every Les Paul GC had in the Bay Area with a couple buddies, one who worked there at the time and another who was a gear geek and knew all the in's and out's of different models, in a private room). And so he's playing the cream of the crop. Just think how many people try to get him to play their stuff. But in the end they're tools for him to make music. And he want's people to focus on the music. Like the old story where someone told Chet Atkins that his guitar sounded great and he pointed to it sitting idle in a stand and said "Yeah, it sounds great doesn't it". The guys at Black Market told me the story of the Tele. Robben and his then tech Jeff Rivera walked in one day and while browsing around asked if there was anything cool. The store had taken in a vintage Tele and kept it in a room they had behind the counter (the main room was huge and the ceiling and walls were packed with guitar hanging, but they kept special stuff "in back"). They brought it out, Robben played it and had the bonding experience he described here. And it's been his main road axe every since. Both for the expression it has and probably some degree of durability compared to the '54 Goldtop he recorded so much with (which eventually did get the headstock snapped but in a studio, not on the road).
Great interview. The interviewer was great, mature and asked the right questions. They all go along great. Interesting info about the tele and the "mystic mile"!
Wow. Wish all the Rig Rundowns were like this. So much better to have a simple conversation about gear and usage when the artist is present and the interviewer asks good questions. Also: how on Earth did you get Joe Glazer to do this?
I once went to a private new years party in New York and Robben was performing a couple hours that night. I was hanging out by the front and talking to him a lot... He's a fairly regular guy and doesn't have a swollen head big ego. Has a very down to earth kind of personality. Very approachable. As a guitar player I love his tone except sometimes if you listen to the way it sounds it can almost sound brassy.
Mike Bloomfield's Telecaster was a '63. Check the Dan Erlewine video when he checks over that famous but mistreated guitar. Rosewood, board, white guard, etc., much like this guitar. Love Robben on that tele.
I was shopping for a Les Paul Lite (don't laugh!) at a guitar shop in the 80s and this rich guy who was known for collecting high end gear showed up driving a brand new 928. He'd brought a Dumble Overdrive 50 head and cab to the stop just to show it off. It sounded absolutely unreal, and it had tremendous clarity at every volume level. He didn't want to sell it, and the shop owner offered to mortgage his house to buy it. He collector just wanted to tease the owner of the shop. I played an LP Standard through it. WOW! Amazing tone. It really struck me as being the ultimate modded Bassman, or The Anti-Marshall. I remember a metal guy who worked at the shop saying, "Hey man, it says Overdrive! That's false advertising, man!" Well, it has all the overdrive in the world to some, and none at all to the deaf brutes who populate the metalsphere. An hour after the guy packed his Dumble back into his 928 the owner was still dumbstruck, or, I should say, Dumblestruck. What an amp!
You critics!!! The interviewer is Paul Glasser, one of the best luthiers in America. If you listen you'll hear Robben ask him what he did to the guitar! Paul is the one who did the work on the Epiphone. He's not an interviewer and I don't know why they ask him to do the interview but he makes more money than any of you critics!! Who cares about the umm's, get the nuggets of info out of the interview. This isn't entertainment. Its education!!
Too many of these Rundowns have a young starry-eyed kid in awe of just being backstage. Sure, this is more like a coffee table discussion, where knowledgeable folks share good information. I will take it, thank you.
My dear friend Steve Brantley (RIP) got Mr Glaser to re-fret my 1975 Gold Top Les Paul Pro (P90s) during the recording of an album some time back. He made room and I'm forever grateful. (Supposedly it got done right after the "tic-tac" bass from Patsy Cline's song "Crazy" so it should be possible to check out.) Anyway I'm pretty sure I remember Mr Ford playing one just like mine once (although a different year.)
Less the better (for the player). I remember using guitar synth playing the keyboard/guitars parts singing back up in a three piece tap dancing all the way. After you scale down what liberation to be had -- which = enjoyment. Cool interview!
The difference in this interview and a lot of the PG gig rundowns is that the Joe Glaser knows more about a guitar's workings that most players or techs do. Even though Joe's obviously not a pro on camera guy, he knows his stuff. Coupling that with Robben, who is one of the most soulful guitar players on the planet and a very informed and interested Rick Wheeler makes for a good interview.
As much as i love rig rundowns PG, I find a lot of your interviewers devoid of a personality or any enthusiasm whatsoever. I can only speak for myself, but a sense of enjoyment and some character would go a long way, especially for the artists/techs being interviewed. I do like Shawn Hammond though!
I have tried to watch a couple of rig rundowns since Rebecca left but I've not been able to get through them. Rebecca really kept the interview subject engaged and enthused throughout the presentation, and most of these newer interviewers just don't have her skill!
These are guitar equipment shows not the Arsenio Hall show. I don't understand why they attract so many whiners. Instead of talking - do it. Go make a better production and lead by example.
The first rule of owning a Dumble is to never talk about Dumble. But if you own 2... An amazing insight from the only player on earth who should have AD made amps for him. RF is true, true class. No 'superstar' bs and endorsements. He's the real deal.
Rick Wheeler, Hi there. I was at the last Dojo , August 2018 and enjoyed hearing you play and all the things you taught us. I had my Jeff Beck Seafoam Green Strat but had discussed having you look at my 335. I would still like that to happen. I’m sure you are way too busy but I thought I would reach out. I missed saying goodbye at camp because I think you left the night before the last day of camp. Anyway, if you have a chance, hit me back ...even if it’s to say you are too busy. You were such a great inclusion to the camp. BTW, I have been studying with Jeff McErlain ever since I met him there. He will vouge for me. This is Dr Brad. ✌🏻❤️🤘🏼
proud to say I shot for Rock-It Cargo. And went to Haiti on their relief flight immediately after the Earthquake. That and I went to Santa Cruz in the very early '80's and never saw Robben once. Dang.
You have to listen to his first blues LP ‘The Charles Ford’ band, with Stan Poplin on bass. I recorded a jazz album with Stan, Paul Contos, Eddie Marshall and John Donaldson. In 1984. That first record is just mind blowingly great. Robben played an L-5 back then as I remember. Howard Dumble built some great amps. The name of the club in Ben Lomand was above Santa Cruz called the Highlands Inn. Used to go see Robben play with Jimmy Witherspoon, Paul Nagel, Jimmy Baum and Stan. Also saw Weather Report there. Great time for music! Still is.]
