Gretsch Welcomes Paul Pigat

In November of 2008, the 5th Fret conducted its very first interview with guitarist Paul Pigat.

You can read the interview here: http://5th-fret.blogspot.com/2008/11/5th-fret-interviews-paul-pigat.html

But for those of you who are new to the site and haven't gone back through the archives, Paul Pigat is a guitarist from Vancouver, Canada that fronts multiple bands, tours like a madman and still manages to shove aside some time to make some of the best instructional DVDs out there.

His first instructional DVD is all about teaching you rockabilly. It's incredibly well thought out and Paul goes slow enough for you to grasp what he's teaching with minimum rewinds, but let's face it, sometimes you have to rewind often to get a lick down. I know in my case it took me weeks to start getting the hybrid picking secton down but that's because hybrid picking was incredibly hard for me to pick up after years of playing punk and metal (though folks in similar situations may have different experiences), but I did get through it and feel like my playing has improved dramatcially.

But say you don't want to learn rockabilyl specifically and would rather learn more of a jazz thing. Paul's got you covered. Or maybe you want to learn some crazy travis picking to help your playing out of a rut or just to try something new. Again, Paul has you covered.

The best part is he's not done either.

For those interested (and everyone should check this out to see the preview videos) in his DVDs, you can go here: http://www.learnrootsmusic.com/. Just click "guitar," "electric," and "Paul Pigat," to see all his videos and there are preview videos on each one. Like I said, check them out for a small smaple of his playing.

These videos have been huge with the Gretsch crowd in particular since the first one was released and it was because of the fine folks playing Gretsch that I heard his name and bought the first video (the other two I plan to buy, don't worry) and when I had questions I emailed him directly as he's a member of the Gretsch Discussion Pages (GDP). Ever email I sent, be it a random question about picking or asking for details on his lovely Gibson ES350, has been responded to and he has never been rude or impatient. He was even willing to review videos I put on YouTube of me playing his material to critique and suggest ways to make me better.

Then he became our first interviewed guest!

Well, as much as Gibsons create amazing sounds, as a Gretsch enthusiast I've always wanted him to jump the fence.

Turns out he did!

Paul Pigat is now doing clinics for Gretsch guitars and honestly, it's a perfect fit. Paul's an incredibly versatile guitarist and Gretsches are incredibly versatile guitars (even if they get lumped into the rockabilly category nine times out of ten at first sight) and I'm pleased to see him sporting a Gretsch.

Congratulations, Paul from your friends at the 5th Fret!

-Pappy