Podcast 348: Duncan Price

For the last two years of this podcast, we've shared the stories
of several musicians who have made the most of their COVID
lockdown: Daniel Romano's wildly prolific recording streak; Mason
Stoops' pivot to the visual arts; and Tristan Scroggins doing his
best to tame the often-maligned tenor banjo. Today, we
meet Duncan Price, a tireless guitar experimenter.
Price lives on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he does
setup and repair work for a mom-and-pop guitar store called Good
Times Music. But during his off-hours, he's crafting some truly
unique electric guitar experiments that blend single-string
pickups, fretless necks, under-pickguard piezo pickups and more.
Despite not having anything to sell or even a brand name, his
Instagram posts have captured the attention of
musicians-in-the-know on Instagram, who geek out on his posts,
his music, and his latest tinkerings. One of those followers
happens to be guitarist/producer Blake Mills,
who ended up reaching out to Price and is now playing one of
his early prototypes (and making some truly gorgeous music on
it). 


 


On today's podcast, we hear about Price's background, the
influence El Rayo-X's Bernie Larson had on him starting out, the
quest he's on to make a great fretless-necked, infinite sustain
guitar and more. Price also has been inspired by our Truth About
Vintage Amps Podcast and talks about some of his recent
amplifier builds, as well. This interview may be the
first time you've heard about Price and his guitar creations, but
it definitely won't be the last. I hope you enjoy getting to know
him. 


 


Follow Duncan Price on Instagram and see what exactly we're
talking about here. 



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This episode is sponsored by Izotope (use the discount code
FRET10 to save 10% on their amazing software) and Retrofret
Vintage Guitars.


Don't forget, beyond the magazine, the FJ now has an entire
network of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home
recording (and tube amps!): Luthier on Luthier; The
Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording &
Mixing; Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor.