The Secret to the Johnny Cash Guitar Sound // Luther Perkins Rhythm Guitar Lesson 

Have you ever tried the Luther Perkins style of rhythm guitar?

A really important factor in achieving the authentic Luther Perkins tone is to use flat-wound strings with a wound G. Good lesson!

I started out playing guitar from listening to cash and I learned a lot of his sound self taught, his sound help make the picker I am to day.

Just discovered your channel...like the "here's how you do it" approach. I'm 63 with no musical education except self taught and lucky enough years ago to work around Nashville and made friends with many RCA recording musicians...took this 20 something self taught "thumper," under their wing and taught me the Nashville Number system, how to listen and pick up the subtle sounds of major, minor and 7th's so you could chart quick without needing to know what key and best of all, sat me down in jam sessions and not only showed me how they were playing...made me take the lead (on rhythm ....all other rhythm players dropped out) of a song so I had to try to play professional quality....didnt always work...but they showed me how to do it right instead of making me butt of a joke or something....I got good enough to be part of a local band and was even offered a job as the entertainment for the Belle Carol riverboat on dinner cruises. I bowed out in that....too chicken and knew I wasn't good enough to be solo. Guy I worked for owned the boat too and heard me playing a practice tape I had made at a friend's little studio. I give background to show where I'm coming from...I'm a "monkey see-monkey try to do, monkey screw up many times" player. I have learned a lot on your videos. I haven't been able to play much in many years due to carpal tunnel and arthritis in my hands so I'm nearly a student again...plus I've gone almost deaf so having to learn visually because even with hearing aids, can't hear well enough to pick up chord changes. Etc very well. I recommend these videos.

An excellent video, I always wanted to learn this technique. Thank you for sharing this information . It will definitely help me in my "Johnny Cash " learning process .

Terrific video, super clear. Thanks!

This was a fantastic tutor!thanks e span!i can watch this over and over!what a joy!

Great stuff... will be practicing this soon

Excellent lesson ... thank you very much!

Great video, thanks

Thanks dude! Very good lesson 🙂

I’m in from Wayzata, Minnesota. Thanks Tim!

Greetings from the UK. To get that early sound i plug my tele into a watkins copycat tape echo through a vox ac 30 amp, my rig hasnt changed in decades!! For that early rhythm playing from Johnny try slipping a playing card or a dollar bill behind the strings. Johnny used that trick before WS Holland joined on drums to give a snare effect

Thanks brother

I would start with A Fender Tele or Esquire. as far as The Tone is concerned. most likely using the bridge pickup.

Thank you

Hey, I just discovered your channel, and I really like your approach. I was particularly taken with your short "This is your brain on mandolin." I know it was intended to be funny--and it was!--but I'm struck that there's a lot of technique there that I could learn a good deal from. Any chance you could post the content in regular video form so I could slow it down and pick it in bite-sized pieces at my leisure?

His sound... sounds like rhythm of a human heart, especially, Folsem prison Blues.

Yes... I figured out the Luther Sound back in the early Nineties... I had an old Esquire and a tweed Pro... I could get the sound CLOSE, but it just didn't make it until I started running 12-56 flatwounds on the guitar. Then I ended up buying a D.O.D. digital delay and figured out to set it for a single slapback... Old tape echo machines were a dime a dozen back then, but the old ones were notoriously finicky... So we all just used Boss or D.O.D. pedals. But NEVER use any reverb or anything that'll "color" the signal... Reverb as we know it (not RCA plate style) wasn't invented until Rockabilly was almost "over" in the late Fifties. Natural room reverb will round everything out. And yes, the palm-muting is a must. Oh... And a fun fact - All of the Sun Johnny Cash stuff was played out of "F" because it matched his voice better than "E"... I read that in a book about him years ago. CHEERS

*How about the Rumble Link Wray?*

I find plucking the 6th, 4th, 5th, 4th.....constantly and regularly extremely difficult. how can so few notes be so hard to play, I could never keep that up.

Yeah, now we're talking. Overdrive! 😉 👍!

Very nice lesson, easy to follow, without a lot of useless music theory

as a German I wonder would we ever know Cash without Perkins????

don't forget the bass runs!

It's like the William Tell Overture or The Lone Ranger ramble rump titty rump titty Rumpke Rumpke Rumpke

Boom Chicka ;)

220?

Its either true or a rumour that Johnny Cash's manager used to hide Luther's guitar after gigs so as he couldn't practice improve his playing and thus progress from the familiar monotonous sound he was known for.😂😂

Wearing a Mile Twelve band shirt. they are bluegrass.

Should add that when Luther past they found Bob Wootton and he was even better with the style for 30 odd years.

Why are you using distortion? It sounds like you are playing through a wet paper bag

Luther made Johnny boy ,and John treated like crapp ,f Johnny boy.