Tag Archives: Petteri Sariola

Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar part 2 of 2 (with Don Ross) Ep066



Canadian guitarist Don Ross is a legend in the acoustic fingerstyle world.  With decades of experience, he employs modern techniques, altered tunings, and a strong melodic sense to write memorable songs.  Aaron Sefchick and Joe McMurray have a fun and informative conversation with Don about a wide range of topics including his musical journey, his guitars, acoustic guitar pickups, traveling with guitars, songwriting, recording, his most memorable shows (good and bad), and much more.
Part 2 of 2 begins with a discussion about Don’s approaches to songwriting.  He expands on how he uses altered tunings to solve compositional problems and expand the range of the guitar.  He talks about following song structures, thematic development, and different grooves.
Don talks about his experiences as a recording engineer, working with ProTools, and his favorite microphones and pre-amps for recording acoustic guitars.  He tells the guys about recording his wife’s (Brooke Miller’s) album at his home studio and having that album mixed by world-renowned music producer and engineer, Frank Filipetti.
Joe and Aaron ask Don about his most memorable shows.  Then Don offers some advice about making money as a musician, songwriting, and originality.  He specifically gives praise to Petteri Sariola, a young fingerstyle guitarist from Finland.  Finally Don talks about his guitar camp that he is hosting at his home in Nova Scotia from October 11-14 (http://donrossguitarweekend.com/).
Find out more about Don Ross at https://donrossonline.com/ or check out his music on any music platform.

Fingerstyle Guitar, Acoustic Pickups Part 1 of 2 (with Matt Thomas) Ep056



Matt Thomas has won several international fingerstyle guitar competitions (twice in “contemporary thumbpicking” and once in “open style”), is an avid harp-guitar player, and has played with some of the biggest names in the acoustic guitar world (Tommy Emmanuel, Stephen Bennet, and many more).  Aaron Sefchick and Joe McMurray talk to Matt about his personal journey, fingerstyle techniques, acoustic pickup systems, recording, and gigging.
In part 1 of 2, Matt tells the guys about meeting Tommy Emmanuel, Andy McKee, and Stephen Bennett at a harp guitar convention when he was a teenager.  He then goes on to explain and demonstrate percussive methods on the acoustic guitar: the use of thumb slaps on the 2 and 4, a palm kick on the 1 and 3, and a palm kick on the 2 and 4.
Matt gets deep into the details of amplifying acoustic guitars.  He tells Joe and Aaron about Tommy Emmanuel’s setup with a Maton guitar and AER amp.  He talks about sound hole pickups, magnetic pickups for running effects, and transducer pickups.
The conversation shifts to Matt’s experience recording with Kim Person (who has also recorded Tommy Emmanuel and Stephen Bennett), and her approach to recording acoustic instruments.
The guys talk about practicing their instruments and the need to practice properly to avoid injury.  Finally (for part 1 of 2), Matt talks about some modern guitar players who use effects and multiple pickup systems to create some very unique music.  Those players include Alexandr Misko, Adrian Belew, and Petteri Sariola.