Julian Lage: There Are No “Bad“ Guitar Sounds

Rhett and Zach are joined on this episode of Dipped In Tone by soft-spoken jazz guitar master Julian Lage. After Zach shares some last-minute production headaches with Mythos’ new Herculean Deluxe, Lage sits in for fascinating, spirited dive into how he thinks about tone, composition, and his new record, Speak To Me. The gang unpacks just about every aspect of Lage’s playing and sound. They touch on Lage’s relationships with his amps and dynamics (“I have to get overstimulated by an amplifier,” says Lage) and get the details on his Collings signature model—plus, of course, what ‘good’ or ‘bad’ guitar sounds mean. “No sound is empirically good or bad,” says Lage. “It’s just how it fits into the narrative.” Did you know that Lage gets to know his guitars by doing direct into his DAW, and that effects pedals kinda terrify him? He doesn’t like transcribing, either—he’s got a unique take on studying Robben Ford solos. Listen in to find out why, and hear about the best guitar lesson his father ever taught him. Head to for 10% off your order! Subscribe, like, and leave us a comment Sign up on our mailing list: Support us on Patreon for access to our discord server and other perks! Follow us on Instagram: Dipped in Tone is: Rhett Shull Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals Premier Guitar