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SHOCKING: Brent mason - What They Never Told You

“I was hitting sessions until my eyeballs were popping out. I’d go in early in the morning, start at 10 and get home midnight”: Session hero Brent Mason has played on over a thousand records. Here’s what he’s learned about getting the job done

Decorated with accolades from the Grammys to the Academy Of Country Music, the legendary Nashville sessioneer reveals his secret-weapon gear, why he surrendered to the metronome, and the key to nailing that first take

Guitar World

“I see other players with one of them on their ’boards and say, ‘You get that off of me?’ They go, ‘Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did’”: Brent Mason on his affordable secret tone weapon – and how it's become a go-to pedal for session guitarists

The $130 stompbox has been a vital tool across 40 years of session work – and other players have started to take note

Guitar World

“I said, ‘Damn, I wish I could have cut that song faster!’ So what we did was speed the tape up, which took the pitch up. If you listen to it, it’ll make sense!”: How a master guitarist made a cult classic instrumental album

The story of Brent Mason's much-loved Hot Wired

MusicRadar

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“They’ll go, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t tell you what to do.’ But then you hear the record later and you’re not on it! They took you off and there’s a saxophone solo on there instead”: Ace session guitarist Brent Mason reveals how he made it to the top

And he admits: "I've messed up a lot!"

MusicRadar

“When the guitar came back to me, I thought, 'Well, now I have a Strat, a Les Paul and a regular Tele all in one’”: How top session player Brent Mason found everything he needed in one guitar

It's been slung over his shoulder since the ’80s

MusicRadar

“This year has been one long vulgar display of Bowers”: The best guitar songs of 2024 – as chosen by Guitar World editors and pro players

With the help of pals including Eric Gales and Vernon Reid, we run down the songs that lit up the guitar-o-sphere this year, including a remarkable hardcore breakthrough, a virtuoso collab for the ages and the prodigy that everyone’s talking about

Guitar World

“There’s no shortcut to mastering his skill, but there is a shortcut to getting his legendary tone”: Wampler Pedals and master of the Telecaster Brent Mason team up for ReWired overdrive/distortion

Grammy winning tone in a box? This two-channel twofer has all Mason’s go-to tones and then some for one of the most versatile dirt pedals you'll see this year

MusicRadar

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“If you’re a country music fan, who doesn’t put these guys on their Mount Rushmore to record with?”: Vince Gill, John Osborne and Brent Mason tapped for a new single – and it's an all-star tribute to the Telecaster

Tele-Man brings together some of country music’s finest guitarists for a tribute to the genre's finest electric guitar

Guitar World

Vince Gill and Brent Mason are two of country music's most respected guitarists – and their supreme hybrid picking abilities are key to their success

This is a smoking hot introduction to one of Nashville's most important skills

Guitar World

John Mayer plays a Telecaster, taps through a solo, and tackles some of Dead & Company’s final shows with only three fretting fingers following serious finger injury

Mayer was forced to alter his playing style after injuring the "team captain" of his fretting hand last week – and whatever he's been doing in the practice room has clearly worked wonders…

Guitar World

“I find Les Pauls too heavy – they’re not comfortable to play! I just stick with the Yamaha models because of the sound and the relationship I have with them”: Matteo Mancuso talks tone, technique and Guthrie Govan’s key to improvising

The Sicilian guitar prodigy discusses the fingerstyle techniques, arpeggios and gear choices that have made him one of the most exciting names in modern guitar

Guitar World

The elite of Nashville guitar players assemble (and jam) for the opening of Fender's new HQ in the Music City

Brad Paisley, Billy Gibbons, Jack White, Brent Mason, Keith Urban, Guthrie Trapp and Chris Stapleton were all in attendance

MusicRadar

Build a whole new lickbag with our country-blues masterclass – featuring licks inspired by Dickey Betts, Albert Lee, and Brent Mason

Learn how you can mix major and minor pentatonics, and add extra notes to give your solos a wide open space to roam in, with this deep dive into country-blues guitar

Guitar World

“Session players don’t get the credit they deserve. Some of the signature licks they come up with are ones people won’t know they wrote”: Brent Mason on why session guitarists deserve more respect, and how he became Nashville’s hottest hired gun

Mason has played on over a thousand recordings, collaborated with A-listers such as George Strait and Shania Twain, and few are more capable with a Fender Tele. So why are there some days he wants to sound like anyone other than Brent Mason?

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

Session guitar legend Brent Mason reveals the overlooked effects pedal he always has on his pedalboard – and now we want one too

The country ace sings the praises of an often unsung hero

MusicRadar

50 guitar chord shapes guitarists need to know

Increase your fretboard vocabulary now!

Guitar World

Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett's new podcast aims to uncover the secrets behind some of rock's biggest guitar solos – and the first round of guests is ridiculous

Alex Lifeson, Richie Sambora, Nile Rodgers, Lindsay Ell, Rivers Cuomo, Brad Paisley, Mike McCready, Brent Mason and more will share their lead guitar wisdom on the first season of Shred with Shifty

Guitar World

5 ways to improve your hybrid picking technique

Make like Brad Paisley, Danny Gatton, Brent Mason et al and combine pick n' fingers to play both bass and melody, skip strings effortlessly, and add a little country sizzle to your playing

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