Fingerstyle Groove, Rick Beato, Knaggs Guitars

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If you have two units you want to put together, whether it be two sentences or two parts of a song, there can be a tremendous amount of power in doing so without using a transition. Try finding the simplest, most elegant way to put a point across, with the least amount of information. - Rick Rubin

Guitar Practice

Today, we have a quick minor-chord-based fingerstyle groove. Play it in a loop, alternating between the two chords.

Minor Fingerstyle Groove

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Guitarist/Educator Spotlight

Rick Beato

Image c/o Rick Beato

There aren't many parts of the music industry that Georgia-based Rick Beato hasn't had his hands in. With experience ranging from being a university professor, to a session musician, music studio engineer and owner, record producer, music textbook writer, and of course, a guitar teacher, Rick Beato is a wealth of knowledge.

Rick earned a Bachelor’s degree in music from Ithaca College and later completed a Master’s degree in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music. He went on to teach jazz studies at Ithaca College, and has lectured at several schools, including Berklee College of Music.

Over the past decade, Beato has built a massive following of close to 5 million people on YouTube, where he posts engaging videos covering guitar lessons, music theory, guitar gear, and outstanding guitarist interviews.

In addition to his great YouTube videos, Rick Beato offers a number of great premium products, such as his book 'The Beato Book – A Creative Approach to Improvisation for Guitar and Other Instruments', and a course on ear training.

Rick even collaborated with Gibson for his own signature guitar- the Rick Beato Les Paul Special Double Cut. The guitar features 2 P90 pickups, has a slightly thinner body than the regular Les Paul Double Cut, and is finished in a satin nitrocellulose lacquer.

Rick Beato is a true artist of his craft, and the music world is a better place due to his willingness to share his knowledge.

Check out Rick Beato: Website | YouTube | Instagram

Gear Showcase

Knaggs Guitars

Launched in 2009 by world-renowned designer and luthier Joe Knaggs and marketer Peter Wolf, Knaggs Guitars has been building incredible instruments that have caught the attention of pro players around the world.

Before venturing out on his own, Joe Knaggs had been designing and building beautiful top-of-the-line guitars for PRS Guitars, as their Director of R&D and Private Stock.

Knaggs pushes the limits of creativity in what can be done with custom guitar designs. Knaggs views their guitars as functioning art.

Knaggs guitars are broken up into a few different Series: The Creation Series offers a wide range of fully custom designs. The Chesapeake series includes models such as the tele-inspired Choptank, the Severn, and the Tuckahoe. The Influence series includes the Kenai, Keya, Chena, and others (their guitar models are named after Native Indian river names in North America). Lastly, the Signature series offers a few different signature models.

Knaggs is building some of the highest quality guitars you’ll find anywhere, and are available at select dealers around the world.

Check out Knaggs Guitars: Website | Instagram | Facebook

PRS Standard 24 Satin Guitars

PRS Guitars announced three new 2025 USA models: the Standard 24 Satin, Swamp Ash Special, and Swamp Ash Special Maple. The all-mahgony Standard 24 Satin includes PRS's new 2025 "DMO" pickups. The Swamp Ash Special is a bolt-on model featuring an HSH pickup setup, with 12 unique sound combinations that can be accessed with 5-way blade switch, and dual mini-toggle coil-tap switches. The Swamp Ash Special Maple features all of the same specs of the Swamp Ash Special, but adds a maple fretboard for a bit of a brighter sound.
Eastman announced a new solidbody electric guitar series called the Fullertone. The SC-52 model features 2 pickups, and a maple fretboard, while the DC'62 has an HSS pickup configuration, with a humbucker + 2 single coil pickups.
Two guitar companies with 4-letter names ending with 0 decided to merge. Fano Guitars and Novo Guitars are merging under a new British-based parent company, Psonic Design Lab (though Fanovo seems like a better name to me).
Gibson released a few exclusive finishes for their Les Paul Studio Series - Cobalt Blue, Bourbon Burst, Translucent Ebony Burst, and Honey Burst.

Watch This

Matteo Mancuso & Joscho Stephan Trio playing Django Reinhardt's song 'Tiger'

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