Life With Strings Attached

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Marcel Fehse | The All-Aluminum Guitar Nobody Asked For

2026-09-1801:13:39

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I'm joined by Marcel Fehse, a German guitar maker whose instruments challenge almost every assumption about how a guitar should be built. Drawing on a background in metalworking, he's developed a striking all-aluminum approach that's not just about changing materials. It's about rethinking the instrument from the inside out. We talk about craftsmanship, prototypes, finding the right balance of strength, weight and tone, and what it takes to keep moving fo...

Ola Strandberg | Titanium Necks, AI and the Guitar That Never Stops Evolving

2026-09-1101:31:09

Today on Life With Strings Attached, I'm joined by Ola Strandberg, the guitar designer, innovator, and creative force behind Strandberg Guitars. We talked about the small design decisions that make a huge difference, from neck materials and tremolo systems to serviceability, ergonomics, and the long road from the first idea to a finished instrument. Along the way, we also get into creativity, AI, production constraints, and why thoughtful limitations can lead to better design. Ola also shar...

The Two Towers Guitar in the Valley That Inspired Tolkien | Giulio Negrini

2026-09-0457:44

You can see the Two Towers in person right now on the BGS enTour 2026. Find dates and locations here: https://www.boutiqueguitarshowcase.com/about-entour In the summer of 1911, a 19-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien hiked through the Swiss Alps with a group of friends. What he found in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with its 72 waterfalls, sheer cliffs and snow-capped peaks, would stay with him for the rest of his life. Decades later, he wrote to his son: "The hobbit's journey from Rivendell to the other s...

Why Should a Musician Adapt to an Instrument? | Jerome Little (Torzal Guitars)

2026-08-2801:44:56

My guest today is Jerome Little, founder of Torzal Guitars and the mind behind the Natural Twist. Jerome’s story begins in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where making things, solving problems, and figuring things out for yourself were simply part of growing up. He started playing bass as a teenager, studied music and acoustics at Hampshire College, and eventually brought those interests together when he began asking a deceptively simple question: why should a musician have to adapt their body ...

When Life Tests the Maker | Simon Padalka

2026-08-2155:24

Today's guest is luthier and architect Simon Padalka, a guitar maker with few peers. In this conversation, we talk about the dramatic events that unfolded at the end of the 2025 Boutique Guitar Showcase enTour season, when the Padalka guitar that sold on tour was caught in a truck fire in Phoenix, Arizona. Thought lost, then to everyone's surprise, the guitar popped up again for sale a few weeks later, thickening an already unusual plot. We talk about how to handle the tough situations that...

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