Chord Riff, Eastman Thinline, Ariel Posen
Guitar Practice
Let's learn a chord riff
Below, we have an underlying chord progression of B minor> A minor > G.
While we could of course just play those chords for each beat, let's jazz it up by using a different chord voicing/variation on each beat for the Bm and Am chords.
Gear Showcase
Eastman Thinline
Eastman’s electric guitars often fly under the radar of a lot of guitar players, but since starting as a violin maker in the early 1990’s; and then moving into acoustics, they've been making high-quality electric guitars for many years now.
While there's no shortage of ES-style guitars out there, the Eastman Thinline's stand out due to being solid wood (maple top, and mahogany back & sides), and that they are nearly fully hollow (with just a small block under the bridge to help with feedback, but not the full center block typically seen in this type of guitar).
The result is a guitar with a more acoustic/woody sound, that resonates incredibly well.
Another great thing about this model is that it's offered in 3 different body sizes: 14", 15", and 16".
The 25" scale of this guitar is a great length that falls between a Gibson and a Fender, and the low output Bare Knuckle humbucker pickups can deliver anything from warmth to grit.
Eastmans feature a bit of a wider nut width & fretboard than what you might be used to on an electric guitar, with a 1.72” nut width (previous versions of this same guitar featured a 1.75” nut width). That nut width works well with the 12" radius and medium-depth neck though, and is a joy to play.
While some might balk at Eastman's being made in China, these are hand-made guitars with a truly outstanding build quality. While these are by no means cheaply priced guitars, they are quite a bit less expensive than options such as a Gibson ES or a Collings i-35.
Eastman also offers laminate-body versions of the same guitar (T484, T485, & T486), that sell at a lower price point.
The Eastman Thinlines are simply some of the best hollow body guitars out there.
Key Features:
- Bare Knuckle BC Old Guard Custom Humbuckers
- 25" Scale Length
- Ebony Fretboard
- 22 Medium jumbo frets
- Neck Material: Mahogany
- Fingerboard Radius: 12"
- Neck Profile:Traditional Even "C"
- Offered in a 14", 15", or 16" bout size
- 1.72" bone nut
Check out the Eastman Thinline: T184MX | T185MX | T186MX
Guitarist Spotlight
Ariel Posen
Combining soulful guitar playing and captivating vocals, Canadian-born Ariel Posen has been quickly gaining a following while touring worldwide.
I first discovered Ariel a number of years ago from Anderton's Music videos on YouTube. Like many people, I tuned into their gear demo videos while researching various pieces of gear I probably didn't really need. In addition to Lee Anderton & Danish Pete, there was this random guy that kept popping up in a bunch of their videos.
He'd be demoing a guitar or another piece of gear, and not only did he make every guitar sound outstanding, he had this impeccable touch and phrasing, and the ability to come up with incredibly creative riffs. It was easy to forget about whatever piece of gear I was checking out, and just stick around for his playing.
That person was of course Ariel Posen.
In the several years since, Posen has ventured out on his own path, developing his singing and songwriting, releasing several albums, and touring around the world.
With a rootsy sound that blends rock, Americana, soul, R&B, and Beatles-inspired pop, Posen stands out with heartfelt lyrics and killer guitar phrasing.
He’s been called “a modern-day guitar hero’ by Rolling Stone, was a fan-voted top 10 rock guitarist of the year by Music Radar, and has won multiple awards from the Western Canadian Music Awards (including the Breakout Artist of the Year twice!)
In addition to being a great guitarist and songwriter, Posen is a gifted teacher, with a number great guitar courses available through Truefire, as well as on Patreon.
Ariel recently caught up with the Anderton's crew for an update, and talked about guitars, gear, recording and more:
Key Gear:
- Mule Resophonic 25"-scale baritone ‘Posencaster” with gold-foil-looking mini humbucker pickups
- Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature amp
- KingTone’s The Duellist
- KingTone MiniFuzz
Check out Ariel: Website | YouTube |Instagram | Facebook | Guitar Courses | Patreon
Trending
- 🎸 Fender has released an extremely limited run of John Frusciante's signature Custom Shop Masterbuilt Stratocaster®, based on his iconic '62 Sunburst Strat.
- Gibson released a Jimmy Page 1964 SJ-200 Cherry Tea acoustic guitar.
- D'Angelico released a new Premier EXL-1 archtop, available in Honey Blonde or Brown Burst.
- Speaking of Anderton's (above), to celebrate their 60th anniversary, they teamed up with Fender to release a limited run of made-in-Mexico nitro closet classic road worn FSR Stratocasters and Telecasters in Fiesta Red.
- Julian Lage joined Don Was on the Broken Record Podcast to discuss practice techniques, what it was like growing up as a child prodigy, his newest record, and more.
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Warren Haynes: Million Voices Whisper
