Life With Strings Attached

Today, Michihiro Matsuda returns to the podcast. It feels less like a continuation and more like stepping back into an ongoing conversation that never really ended. When you walk into Michi’s workshop, you don’t just see guitars, you see ideas in motion. Instruments at different stages, each one exploring something distinct, each one asking a different question. As he put it, even having a few fin...

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached, I’m your host, Jamie Gale. In this episode, we’re stepping into a space that is, depending on who you ask, either full of possibility… or full of uncertainty.  My guest today is Sourabh Pateriya, founder and CEO of Soundverse AI, a platform working at the intersection of music, technology, and what it means to create in a world where the tools are changing fa...

Today’s conversation takes place in the workshop of Steve Klein. Someone who, for more than half a century, hasn’t just built guitars, but has continuously rethought what the instrument could be. This isn’t a conversation about legacy. It’s about what’s still unfolding. Steve is one of those rare builders who never settled into a fixed idea. While many define their work and then repeat it, he’s co...

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached, I’m your host Jamie Gale. There are certain figures in guitar making whose influence runs so deep, it begins to shape not just instruments, but the way we think about them. Ervin Somogyi is one of those voices. His influence can be felt across generations of makers. Names like Jason Kostal, Michihiro Matsuda, and Raymond Kraut. Each carrying forward a piece o...

Welcome to the 100th episode of Life With Strings Attached. There are certain conversations that stay with you. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, they’re the ones you get to return to. For this milestone episode, it felt right to come back to where it all began by welcoming back our very first guest, William “Grit” Laskin. Grit is one of the most respected voices in modern guitar making. But more th...

Welcome to Life with Strings Attached. Today's episode is recorded live in Anaheim, California at The NAMM Show as part of the 125th anniversary of NAMM within the 10th annual Boutique Guitar Showcase.  As part of these special anniversary events, we moderated a three part series of panel discussions on the unwritten future of guitar.  This second part features Francisco Cresp of Neural DSP,...

In this episode, Robin Stummvoll returns to the podcast to talk about the release of Verso Instruments’ latest design and the broader ideas that continue to shape his work. Robin is a designer and luthier whose work consistently challenges how we think about guitars, materials, and musical interfaces. This time, our focus turns to the lap steel. An instrument with no fixed archetype and enormous e...

Welcome to Life with Strings Attached. Today's episode is recorded live in Anaheim, California at The NAMM Show as part of the 125th anniversary of NAMM within the 10th annual Boutique Guitar Showcase.  As part of these special anniversary events, we moderated a three part series of panel discussions on the unwritten future of guitar.  This second part features Bob Taylor, Ola Strandberg and...

Welcome to Life with Strings Attached. Today's episode is recorded live in Anaheim, California at The NAMM Show as part of the 125th anniversary of NAMM within the 10th annual Boutique Guitar Showcase.  As part of these special anniversary events, we moderated a three part series of panel discussions on the unwritten future of guitar.  Our panelists are some of the most influential people in...

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I’m your host, Jamie Gale. In this episode, I’m joined by Jason Verlinde, publisher and co-founder of The Fretboard Journal; one of the most respected voices in guitar culture today. Jason’s work has always focused on documenting the deeper stories behind guitars, the builders, the players, the history, and the community that surrounds the instrument. For ove...

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached, I’m your host, Jamie Gale. In this episode I’m sitting in the home of Lou Vergne for a very special collector-focused conversation, one that isn’t really about collecting at all. It’s about relationships; with instruments, with the people who make them, and with the experiences that give those objects meaning. We talk about discovery over acquisition, use ove...

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined by Adam Miller. A musician whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, technology, and deeply personal musical expression. Adam is one of those rare artists who understands music not just as performance, but as process. From recording and production, to collaboration, touring, and the evolving relationship between musicians and the instrument...

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined by luthier Michael Sankey. This conversation is rooted in a simple but demanding idea: showing up.  Showing up to the work, to curiosity, and to questions that don’t have easy answers. Mike’s guitars are known for resisting category, but that resistance comes from something deeper. A willingness to examine why we do things the way we do, and whether...

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I’m your host, Jamie Gale. Today, I’m joined by someone whose curiosity about the guitar has taken him across countries, genres, and generations of musical history: Julien Bitoun.  Julien is a guitarist, an author, a content creator, and a lecturer. You’ve read his work in major French publications, and you may know his books Les Paul: 70 Years, Guitars and H...

Welcome to Life With Strings Attached. I'm your host, Jamie Gale. In this episode, I sit down with Ola Strandberg to talk about a shift that's happening right now in the guitar world. The next generation musicians isn't looking back. They're looking for instruments that fit their bodies, their workflows, and the music that they're making today.  On tour with the boutique g...

In this special biography episode of Life With Strings Attached we explore the life and legacy of one of the most significant luthiers of our time, John Monteleone. Born in Manhattan and raised in Islip, John grew up in a world shaped by sculpture, architecture, and music, thanks to a family deeply rooted in the arts. From his early work repairing instruments at Mandolin Brothers to creating the G...

Today I’m joined by Max Spohn, a luthier whose path into guitar making has been unusually intentional. While many makers discover the craft by accident, Max set out early with a clear plan: a childhood surrounded by music and art, formal training in Markneukirchen, and a pivotal apprenticeship with Raymond Kraut, drawing from the Somogyi lineage. His work reflects that depth: modern acoustic guita...

In this episode of Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined once again by Italian luthier Giulio Negrini. Someone who sits right at the intersection of tradition, innovation, and the changing culture of music.  Today, we’re stepping back from the bench and looking at the bigger picture: how music is evolving, what novelty means in a post–rock-era world, and why the legacy of the great musicians of t...

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I’m joined once again by master luthier Michael Greenfield. Someone whose work and thinking continue to shape the modern acoustic guitar. In this conversation, we look at how musical inspiration evolves across generations, from the impact of cultural moments like Elvis and the Beatles to the way those sparks still influence why so many of us first picked up a g...

This is the second part of a two-part episode with our guest George Gruhn. If you've not listened to part one, we suggest you go and do that first. Then return here for part two.  Find the first part right here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305961/episodes/18258900 Watch the video version on YouTube: 🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, B...

Today, I'm speaking with someone whose name is synonymous with vintage guitars and collecting: George Gruhn. Since opening Gruhn Guitars in 1970 George has become the go-to authority for everyone, including the biggest names in guitar like Eric Clapton, Vince Gill and Paul McCartney, and frankly anyone who wants to understand the soul of a great instrument.  George changed how we think about...

Today, we sit down with one of the most celebrated living luthiers, John Monteleone, a maker whose instruments have graced museums, concert halls, and the hands of some of the world’s finest players. From his Long Island workshop, John crafts guitars and mandolins that are as visually captivating as they are sonically alive. Instruments where Art Deco elegance meets timeless tone. His work expands...

This week, I’m joined again by John Mlynczak, CEO of NAMM. With the NAMM Show 2025 right around the corner, we talk about what it really takes to lead the world’s largest music trade organisation in a time of rapid change. John shares insights on how NAMM is more than just a show, it’s a mission-driven association that serves and strengthens the global music products industry all year round. From...

Welcome to another special Life With Strings Attached 'Biography' episode. Today, we trace the incredible life of legendary luthier Andy Manson, a craftsman shaped as much by chaos and curiosity as by chisels and wood.  From building forts as a child in Hertfordshire to busking through Europe with a self-made guitar, Andy’s journey to becoming one of the most respected voices in luthiery...

In this episode we visit a century-old church in the heart of Kansas, now transformed into the creative sanctuary of luthier Randy Parsons. Randy’s story is one of risk, reinvention, and the courage to live life outside the lines. We talk about creativity, faith, music, and the strange moments of luck that shape our paths. This is a story about following your calling, even when it doesn’t make sen...