Recently I heard Ed Gerhard play his Breedlove signature 6-string jumbo grand concert and a prototype Weissenborn-style resophonic guitar. The latter is made entirely of myrtle wood native only to Oregon and Israel and, unlike the original koa Hawaiian models, has functional frets on the bass end that can be played with the little finger of the bar hand. In open-D tuning this instrument is amazingly resonant, even more so than his grand concert 6-string.

Ed hopes that Breedlove will make a limited run of these instruments. I hope so too as the sound is totally acoustic without the metallic quality of the Dobro®. Gerhard is breaking fresh ground here and on both instruments he is not afraid to sustain notes rather than constantly plucking just to fill every available rhythmic space.

All in all, I have the impression that we are hearing Ed Gerhard in his prime; his focus is on nuances of tone, sustain, and dynamics as tools of interpretation in his imaginative arrangements and original music.

Stephen Rekas
Guitar Sessions Editor

Who or what events inspired you to play the guitar? Was music a part of your household when growing up?
I heard Segovia on TV when I was ten years old and hearing the guitar all by itself for the first time was a revelation.

How old were you when you began to play? Do you feel that your starting age is a critical factor in playing your current style?
I had to bug my dad for a few years and finally got my first guitar when I was fourteen. I don't think age is the most important factor when you're beginning to play, but the younger, the better in general. To me, things like fascination and sustained curiosity are a bit stronger when you're young.

Please describe your formal music training.
I took three lessons from a little music store before I quit and began teaching myself and learning from friends.

What styles interested you or who did you listen to when you first began to play? How do those preferences influence your current music? Who do you enjoy listening to now?
Segovia was the first big one for me, but soon after I began playing I was exposed to guys like Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Willie McTell, Dave Van Ronk and of course John Fahey. I always loved hearing guys like David Bromberg and Ry Cooder. The way they played on other people's records was really inspiring to me, as well as what they did on their own. I enjoy listening to all kinds of music these days, not just guitar. As far as guitar players, lately I've been listening to some Metheny, Bill Frisell, Blind Willie McTell and Jerry Byrd, the great Hawaiian steel player. Man, that's beautiful stuff!

Did you seek out any particular teachers, artists, or method books?
No, I just listened voraciously and tried to make sounds that thrilled me as much as what I heard my heroes doing.

Do you play any other instruments besides the guitar? If so, is there any particular advantage or disadvantage to being a multi-instrumentalist?
I played banjo for a little while, and got pretty good on mountain dulcimer, but the guitar kind of edged everything else out. I came to lap-style slide playing rather late but have really become infatuated by Weissenborn and electric lap steel guitars. I've got a nice little stash of them.

What keeps you interested in the music business?
I have little interest in the business side of music these days, but writing, performing and recording are always on my mind. That's my life's work; it's what I love to do. The business side just gets worse and worse.

Have you ever had to weather a creative dry spell in your playing or composition? If so, how did you overcome it?
Sure, I think everybody goes through that. After I finish a record I feel like I flatline for a little while, but on the other hand, my mind is processing all the stuff that happened during the making of the record and I learn new lessons from that. I always end up getting inspired again at some point so I'm not gravely concerned about it.

Which of your albums would you recommend to someone buying one of your recordings for the first time?
That's a hard question to answer. All my records are different. If you like solo guitar then maybe the live album is a good one for you. It depends on what it was that brought someone to my music in the first place. It's always nice when someone takes a chance on you and it works out. Sometimes it's better to challenge a person with something they might not ordinarily consider if they're strictly into solo guitar, like House of Guitars which is loaded with multiple guitars, etc. I made that one on nothing but cheap, pawnshop style guitars and I think it's a good record. You want people to like your stuff because you think it's good.

How did you assemble the body of technique you possess now?
I never spent much time developing technique outside of just trying to play stuff better- the songs or pieces or whatever. Whatever technique I've developed has developed through hours of repetition. You just gotta put in the time, plain and simple.

Have you produced any instructional materials - books, videos? Planning to write or produce any?
I've got two books of transcriptions and have no plans to do a video.

What sort of practice routine would you recommend for the beginning, intermediate or advanced player?
Play all the time. Nobody ever had to tell me to practice or play when I was learning; I just did it. No matter how or what you're learning I feel it is really important to spend some quality time just noodling. We can get so focused on our fingers sometimes that we forget that it's the sound that got us hooked in the first place.

Any particular teaching/learning techniques, such as maintaining a log of practice time?
To me making practice/play time seem like an accounting job is ridiculously anti-musical. Just play, and play a lot.

Please describe your own practice routine.
I try to play stuff all the way through without too many stops and starts.

What do you feel are the key elements of your technique/style that set you apart from other fingerstyle players?
Well, I couldn't tell ya! I feel like my approach is geared toward choosing only the notes I feel are necessary and milking them for all they're worth as opposed to playing a million of them. I love the crazy fast stuff too but my own style seems to be a bit slower, more focused on the musical and pure sonic impact as opposed to the flash.

What is a high-strung guitar?
You take a normal guitar and replace the bottom four strings with lighter strings and tune them an octave higher. It's a beautiful sound.

What string gauges do you use?
I use a standard light gauge set of D'Addario Strings with a .54 low E and a .014 high E.

In your workshops what areas do you emphasize with your students?
I get them to listen to themselves as they play. We talk about what we hear and try new ways of playing things to produce different tones and dynamics in an effort to get the music to more fully reveal itself.

Any suggestions on forming a concert repertoire or preparing for a concert?
Always play stuff you love and play it like you love it. It helps to play stuff as often as you can before you perform it. A big help is to play stuff all the way through a whole lot, you get a much better feel for the sense of "narrative" of a piece of music.

Do you tune your 12-string down a whole step and capo at the second fret?
I tune the 12 in a variety of ways, but haven't used a capo on one yet.

What percentage of your recent tunes is written in altered tunings vs. standard tuning?
Lately I haven't been using a lot of strange tunings, but I still love them and have some new stuff in the works in a couple of odd tunings. Dropped D is my favorite tuning and I use that one frequently.

Do you read and write tablature or standard notation?
Reading and writing tab and notation is excruciating for me, but I do it from time to time, only if I absolutely have no other way to record an idea.

Inquiring minds will want to know your preferred guitars, strings, and recording mics? Do you have any product endorsements?
I've been playing Breedlove guitars for a long time, and have been touring with my Breedlove Ed Gerhard Signature Model guitar since 1997. Love the Breedloves! I have a bunch of guitars and will play anything that's called for in whatever situation, but the Breedlove has been my main guitar. I still play my Somogyi dreadnought, a spectacular guitar, one of the best guitars I have ever heard, period. And I love my Weissenborns and lap steels. I just got a Bear Creek Hawaiian last year and have been bringing that to shows when I can carry more than two guitars. It's really terrific. I always use D'Addario strings, haven't found anything I like nearly as much. D'Addario and Planet Waves are making extremely useful, high-quality stuff and I love what they're doing. For recording I have a small collection of some really nice Neumann microphones, a Neve/Averill 1272 mic pre, and some other assorted mics and pre's.

What's special about the Ed Gerhard signature Breedlove guitar? Is there anything on your wish list as far as equipment or instruments?
A: I'm not as much of a gear nut as I used to be but I'd love to triple my mic locker. I got turned on to these small diaphragm Neumann tube mics by Gary Paczosa, who engineered Jorma Kaukonen's last record. I played on a few tunes and Gary had these little Neumanns that sounded really great. I have a nice, small stash of Neumanns that get used on everything, so I'm not hurting for options. A few more would sure be nice, though.

The Breedlove Ed Gerhard Signature Model Guitar is a project that took about a year and a half and five or six prototypes, we didn't just inlay my initials on one and call it done. I always have loved big guitars, dreads and jumbos so we started with Breedlove's beautiful jumbo shape and tweaked it. The bass is really deep and clear, the trebles are sweet and the sustain is long and clean all the way down. It has the best neck I've ever played on, too. The one I'm playing now is German spruce/Brazilian rosewood. It's been my main road guitar since 1999, it's been everywhere with me. I love this guitar. I have three of the signature model guitars; my Brazilian and two Sitka/Indian and they're all great.

Apart from music, what are your interests?
I try to go fishing when time permits, but haven't had the time for the last few years. My first studio was being built when I was writing and arranging the music for House of Guitars and the hammering and sawing were driving me crazy, so I went fishing nearly every day, sometimes twice a day. I got lots of good ideas that made it on the record. Plus I was putting food on the table. Fresh trout grilled over alder; forget about it!

When preparing for a concert, do you put yourself on a focused practice routine?
I just play a lot. Sometimes a tune will pop into my head when I'm onstage, something I haven't played in awhile and I'll go for it. That can be fun and it forces you to stay present.