Neil Peart | 1952-2020

“And we enjoyed the music, Bob, thank ya.”

“Ah, we enjoyed it. We just wanted to share some with you.”

Grateful. More than we can put in words, Neil.

Guitar Moderne | Magnets & Wire

Michael Ross of Guitar Moderne published a piece on Magnets & Wire album. He does a nice write-up plus excellent compilation of videos featuring some of my builds in the hands of these exceptional artists.

Guitar Modern is:

Guitar Moderne offers extensive coverage of the world-wide explosion of avant, experimental, and unusual players, as they discuss their approach to this classic combination of metal and wood. Here too, you will find articles and reviews covering combining computer with guitar and the world of plugins that this opens up, as well as news about the more extreme pedals available. Guitar Moderne is not genre specific; it covers forward-thinking players of any musical style: jazz, experimental, classical, blues, rock, metal, etc. Guitarists and fans from every continent can converge here to learn about the many directions this versatile instrument is taking and the gear being used for the journey.

guitar moderne

The Warning | Mercury Lounge (NYC)

“Pound for pound…the baddest power trio on the planet.” (Monster)

rick toone the warning band
PHOTOS: Pau and Rick banter amid luckless pedestrians. (photos: Luis Villarreal)
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PHOTO: Luis and Daniela Villarreal (with Scribbles guitar). Father and daughter. Moments before The Warning steps onstage. Mercury Lounge, NYC, December 3, 2019.
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PHOTO: Pau’s post-gig drumsticks.

Goshawk | Butterscotch Blonde

Destined to become somebody’s best friend.

Warmth, sparkle, and copious spank. Singing sustain. Especially resonant Swamp Ash couples with flame roasted maple for this lovely light weight butterscotch blonde Goshawk™ 6-string solid body.

Patented precision machined Intonation Cantilever™ solo bridges. Advantage™ neck profile. Proprietary DiMarzio™ pickups with 10-way switching. Truly useful volume and tone controls. Carbon fiber pick guard.

Just the right amount of vintage.

Ready to rock any size venue. Dare you.

Dear Rick,

Just received it (3h ago) can’t stop playing your guitar 2 am in Los Angeles but 10 am in Paris… no sleep this night.

What an awesome instrument. Just everything about it, the sound, the possibilities, the beauty, and so easy to play… light, fantastic neck, just everything.

Congratulations! You did an artwork, I only regret that I did not have it before, years ago.

Thank you very very much and for the Strymon Iridium and Shure SRH1540s also.

I really believe this is an incredibly good instrument and I enjoy it so much!!! Almost explored every tuning that I am using, DADGAD, dropped D dropped G and standard. The African music sounds also extremely well (DADF#BE).

Wishing you the very best, Adam (Paris, France)

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advantage neck profile
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intonation cantilever rick toone guitar bridges

Magnets And Wire | Album & Documentary

“Hey!” I asked, “Would you guys be interested in recording an album? I have an idea in mind.”

A flood of yesses flowed in before I had a chance to explain…

I had developed independent friendships with each of them as individuals, but most had never met one another in person, just basic awareness as fellow artists via my website. All of them have been loyal long-time supporters of my craft. I knew this mix of personalities would be synergistic and supportive.

Even working professional musicians find it difficult to gain enough time and space to be able to record an album. The pressures of touring, teaching, writing, and performing are intense. And so many of my clients are passionate amateurs — in the purest sense — they make a living unrelated to music, yet dedicate their free time to playing. Many are highly skilled but have no outlet to record.

I want to change that.

To keep our focus tight and set logistically achievable goals, we established several criteria. Each participant will be featured on at least one song. Choose someone(s) to collaborate with or perform solo if you wish. Most importantly, recordings will be first or second take…looking to capture spontaneous magic.

Steve Sjuggerud contributed his time and resources with incredible generosity. He hosted us at his location Sugar Pointe, surprised everyone with custom t-shirts and a coastal waters sunset cruise, plus brought in supremely talented photographer Adam King (check out those photos!) and drummer Dan Ostrowski to add depth to our mix. Thank you, Steve. Thank you also to Steve’s wife Kassy, and his business partners Chris & Kelly Manus.

Killick Hinds generously contributed his audio recording and production skills, first in tandem with me on location, then in his studio mixing and mastering. His deft touch transformed the raw audio into a coherent whole — a difficult task because each song was an entirely different arrangement of room, mics, musicians.

I gratefully thank Chris Buono, Todd Haug, Ken Kinter, Gabriel Levi, and Ede Wright for flying or driving to Florida to contribute their beautiful art.

PS: This album is dedicated to SB. You have inspired many more lives than you could ever know.

magnets and wire toone ensemble
ALBUM: Listen at https://killick.bandcamp.com/album/magnets-wire (photos: Adam King)
VIDEO: Documentary recording the album Magnets And Wire at Sugar Shack in Florida, November 5-6, 2019. Guitars and basses designed and built by luthier Rick Toone. Filmed entirely on iPhone. (41 minutes)
PHOTO: Toone Ensemble. Clockwise from upper left: Steve Sjuggerud, Ede Wright, Killick Hinds, Todd Haug, Dan Ostrowski, Ken Kinter, Gabriel Levi, Rick Toone, Chris Buono. (Photo: Adam King)