The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

Fingerstyle guitar authority John Stropes joins us this week to talk all about his new two-volume book featuring transcriptions of every track on Leo Kottke's monumental '6 & 12 String Guitar' album! 

Get the book here: https://www.stropes.com/product/leo-kottke-6-and-12-string-guitar-a-companion-by-john-stropes-and-benjamin-kammin/

During our chat, we hear about Stropes love for fingerstyle, how the Old Town School of Folk Music (home of the Fretboard Summit) shaped his playing, collaborating with Kottke and Michael Hedges, and so much more. 
Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it.
Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org
We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).
Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com
Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com
Mike & Mike's Substack: https://mmguitarbar.substack.com

The Fretboard Journal's Sofia Wolfson interviews musician, producer, and recording and mixing engineer Philip Weinrobe. Over the years, Weinrobe has worked with a wide array of artists, including Big Thief, Hand Habits, Adrianne Lenker, Theo Katzman, Marc Ribot, Lake Street Dive, and countless others.
It's a great chat about Weinrobe's roots as a recording engineer, his work at Figure 8 and Sugar Mountain studios, and so much more. 
https://www.philipweinrobe.com
Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org
Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it.
We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).
Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com

Guitarist/composer/improviser Shane Parish is about to release a truly astounding project, Autechre Guitar. The Athens, Georgia-based guitarist has transcribed and recorded an entire album of acoustic guitar arrangements featuring the music of electronic music duo Autechre.
This is no small feat. Autechre's atmospheric compositions were made with layered synths and drum machines. Shane has somehow distilled them to their essence and arranged them for solo guitar. Best of all, they sound great.

On the podcast, we hear all about this Mt. Everest of a project, the Taylor 214-GE he used for the task, Shane's background as an arranger and so much more.

The full Autechre Guitar album comes out on February 27, 2026 via Bandcamp: https://shaneparish.bandcamp.com/album/autechre-guitar-2

Watch Shane play Aphex Twin's "Avril 14": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC49znc2Swc
Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org
Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it.
We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).
Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com

On this week's podcast, UK-based author and guitar fanatic John Stubbings returns to tell us all about his new book, 'The Guitar Detective.' The follow-up to his monumental 'The Devil Is In It' publishing project, 'The Guitar Detective' is a "non-fiction novel" based around a riveting guitar mystery.
We discuss the format John chose for this book, his inspiration for the story, and so much more.
https://orpharionpress.com/
Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org
Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it.
We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).
Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com

To wrap up this year, Fretboard Journal editors Jason Verlinde and Sofia Wolfson talk about some of their favorite moments from 2025. We discuss the inner workings of the magazine, our favorite articles, the 2025 Fretboard Summit, some of our favorite records and shows of the year, and so much more. 

On behalf of all of us, we hope you have a very happy New Year.  
Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org
Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it.
We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).
Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com