The High Gain

48

Hosts Ed Peterson and John Kieltyka tell barely credible stories about guitars, randomly describing the people, places and events surrounding the birth of each instrument.

Recent Episodes
  • Episode 350 - The Final Episode
    Jan 22, 2025 – 42:45
  • Episode 349 - Epiphone 1963 Firebird I
    Jan 15, 2025 – 25:11
  • Episode 348 - Hamer Steve Stevens SS2
    Jan 8, 2025 – 25:39
  • Episode 347 - Yamaha Samurai SG12A
    Jan 1, 2025 – 24:58
  • Episode 346 - Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster
    Dec 25, 2024 – 22:47
  • Episode 345 - Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster
    Dec 18, 2024 – 23:26
  • Episode 344 - Dwight Guitars
    Dec 11, 2024 – 23:46
  • Episode 343 - Jackson Monarkh Baritone
    Dec 4, 2024 – 28:01
  • Episode 342 - Doubleday Guitars
    Nov 27, 2024 – 26:36
  • Episode 341 - Epiphone Coronet USA
    Nov 20, 2024 – 26:18
  • Episode 340 - Gibson Victory
    Nov 13, 2024 – 24:57
  • Episode 339 - ESP E-II Horizon-II
    Nov 6, 2024 – 26:33
  • Episode 338 - Squier Mami Sasazaki Jazzmaster
    Oct 30, 2024 – 47:09
  • Episode 337 - Fender Jack White Triplecaster Telecaster
    Oct 23, 2024 – 30:01
  • Episode 336 - Greco Shrike
    Oct 16, 2024 – 59:37
  • Episode 335 - Ampeg Dan Armstrong Lucite Bass
    Oct 9, 2024 – 23:28
  • Episode 334 - Yamaha Revstar
    Oct 2, 2024 – 26:16
  • Episode 333 - Fender Contemporary Stratocaster
    Sep 25, 2024 – 22:25
  • Episode 332 - Guild S-50 Jet-Star
    Sep 18, 2024 – 24:49
  • Episode 331 - Riggio Tango
    Sep 11, 2024 – 24:49
  • Episode 330 - Rivolta Combinata
    Sep 4, 2024 – 23:06
  • Episode 329 - Motander SM65 Ardweirdo
    Aug 28, 2024 – 26:10
  • Episode 328 - Gibson J-50
    Aug 21, 2024 – 22:23
  • Episode 327 - Danocaster Offset
    Aug 14, 2024 – 26:03
  • Episode 326 - Fender Tom DeLonge Starcaster
    Aug 7, 2024 – 23:41
  • Episode 325 - Silvertone 1438 Bass
    Jul 31, 2024 – 27:21
  • Episode 324 - Justin Abernethy of Abernethy Guitars
    Jul 24, 2024 – 25:06
  • Episode 323 - Millimetric MGS3
    Jul 17, 2024 – 22:05
  • Episode 322 - Gibson Les Paul Lite
    Jul 10, 2024 – 23:56
  • Episode 321 - Squier Katana
    Jul 3, 2024 – 22:38
  • Episode 320 - Fender Mustang
    Jun 26, 2024 – 25:35
  • Episode 319 - Author Nick Corasaniti
    Jun 19, 2024 – 32:05
  • Episode 318 - Supro Kingston
    Jun 12, 2024 – 27:32
  • Episode 317 - Airline Upbeat Stereo
    Jun 5, 2024 – 27:11
  • Episode 316 - Ernie Ball Music Man Armada
    May 27, 2024 – 27:50
  • Episode 315 - Fender Jaguar Thinline
    May 15, 2024 – 23:30
  • Episode 314 - Harmony Rebel
    May 8, 2024 – 25:13
  • Episode 313 - Epiphone 1959 ES-355 Inspired by Gibson Custom
    May 1, 2024 – 24:38
  • Episode 312 - Knaggs Kenai-J
    Apr 24, 2024 – 25:19
  • Episode 311 - Gibson Map Guitar
    Apr 17, 2024 – 25:22
  • Episode 310 - Kay Barney Kessel Pro K1700V
    Apr 10, 2024 – 25:39
  • Episode 309 - Rickenbacker 330
    Apr 3, 2024 – 25:24
  • Epiosde 308 - Guild S-100 Polara Kim Thayil
    Mar 27, 2024 – 22:47
  • Episode 307 - Ovation Magnum
    Mar 20, 2024 – 22:01
  • Episode 306 - Castedosa Conchers
    Mar 13, 2024 – 25:24
  • Episode 305 - Godin Radium
    Mar 6, 2024 – 24:05
  • Episode 304 - Graig Markel of Recovery Effects / Danelectro Double Neck 3923
    Feb 28, 2024 – 27:49
  • Episode 303 - Ibanez Musician MC200
    Feb 21, 2024 – 25:38
  • Episode 302 - PRS Paul's Guitar
    Feb 14, 2024 – 27:17
  • Episode 301 - B.C. Rich Mockingbird
    Feb 7, 2024 – 25:30
Recent Reviews
  • John in W Sea
    Niche but super-charming - and lots of death, for a guitar podcast…
    Sadly this local (to me) gem reached the end of its lifecycle only a few months after I discovered it. Guitars (mostly, and mostly electric), effects pedals, amusing history , with a lot of respect for the heroes of the industry and of playing who’ve shuffled off. Do a search for your favorite axe and learn something!
  • Sir Tin of Sloth
    Great podcast!
    Superb guitar-related content. The beverage segment has expanded my beverage variety from water and coffee to NA beers, and prebiotic goodness!
  • ijw0101
    Good chats, bad tones
    I like these guys. I like the banter. I like the info. But my god, everything they demo sounds horrible. I’m willing to believe that it sounds better in the room, but please guys, pay a pro engineer to come in for an hour or two and show you how to mic up your amp or something. Do these nice guitars justice.
  • Mysterious Face
    Cork sniffing elitist snobbery
    I was excited to find this podcast and furthermore to find an episode on the Jazzmaster, a guitar I recently bought. I always held TR guitars in high esteem, and assumed they were cool. My mistake! I realize it is in their interest to promote the myth that vintage guitars are superior to all others, but come on guys. You lost a future customer. And although I recently purchased a Squire jazzmaster (the guitar called out as junk on this podcast), I have several vintage and high end standard fenders to compare with so I’m not some idiot, just cost conscious and smart about where I spend my money. So not only did your snobbery cost you future sales and repair/set-up work income, but you also lost a listener. Not cool at all.
  • DasMikey
    Epic
    John and Ed are the best. Perfect amount of information and misinformation for the guitar enthusiasts. Amazing beverage content. A must-listen. Cheers!!
  • zshoff
    Flying V Episode
    Y’all, great episode! If you haven’t listened to this podcast yet, start with the V episode, and then go back through all of them. Excellent content per usual.
  • jammybastard
    A Little Bit of “Uh-Huh” and a whole lot of ‘Oh Yeah!”
    John and Ed turn up the volume and rip the knob off weekly on this endlessly entertaining podcast. You get little bit of everything each week. Guitars! Pedals! History! Beverages! Plus John serenading the viewer with his cover of the week. Not in the pocket of Big Corn nor a fan of the person to gun ratio in Mississippi these two middle aged white dudes are a good hang. Solid choice dear liatener.
  • Maylock
    History Lessons and Beverages!
    Guitar history, beverages, political discussion and West Seattle weather is all on the docket!
  • Jack Studdard
    A great way to spend half an hour
    Been listening to these guys for a good number of months now and all I can say is that I’ve never seen a show as educational as it is hilarious. If you love talk of guitars, historical/trivial knowledge about said guitars, and a fondness towards beverages, you’re gonna find yourself right at home.
  • rqbassman
    Very knowledgeable, hilarious, easy listening!
    These guys definitely know their stuff and don’t take themselves too seriously. This kind of insight about vintage guitars and gear is almost impossible to find online. You have to be in the business to really know. My only constructive criticism (note the 5-star review) is that the guitar volume in the mix is MUCH louder than the vocal volume. It’s very jarring when i have to turn up the volume to hear what the guys are saying only to hear a loud cord/diddy at ‘11’ volume. Keep up the good work - just turn down the guitar in the mix!
  • The McEnroes
    Say Yes to the High Gain
    My newest, most favorite guitar/ gear related podcast. Ed and John are a great team- the episodes are relatively short which allows for easy listening. The eps are tasty snacks full of guitar talk (love the historical deep dives on the gear) and actual jamming...how novel. Also plenty of off topic banter and bEvErAgEs!!! Do yourself a favor and subscribe now.
  • The instrument
    What a missed opportunity..
    When I first heard about this and saw the list of guitars they were going to talk about, I was so amped about this show. After hearing it, I realized that these guys have valuble info, but would rather try and pull off a cheesy version of an even worse late night Comedy Central show that runs in between infomercials. I feel like they missed an opportunity to be educators on what is obviously an amazing array of instruments.
  • Cowboy Chord Chuck
    Professors Of Guitarology
    By far the best podcast for all things guitar and beverage. Fun banter, nice sound bites, and guys you would want to hang out with. How about a little Gretch love, fellas?
  • Warship Satan
    High quality history-bangers
    A podcast about instruments that’s also mostly about history, humor, and music — definitely not the Guitar Center in pod form that you might expect it to be.
  • drive it into a ravine
    Middle Aged Guitar Dorks...
    ...like me will love hearing cool history about the Wandre Cobra, the Guild Polara, Leo Fender’s sinus infection, and the always lovely, good folks at Thunder Road Guitars in beautiful West Seattle. I like that they don’t tend to only reference the shredders and blues guys of the world like almost every other damned piece of guitar media. I also have the distinct honor of owning a cool pedal these guys used on the show!
  • jesseherlitz
    One of my most favorite shows
    These freaks make a great podcast. Listen to weird pedals, learns some guitar history, and the occasional nice interview with interesting guitar human. Subscribe!
  • 8 ) !
    Pretty much the best guitar podcast out there
    The perfect amount of cold hard facts and B.S. to satisfy all my needs. Funny and Informative, keep it up.
  • Mister Joe ...
    Like a fine kombucha
    Its like commuting to work each day with two buddies who like to drink beverages, talk about guitars and maybe do some research. Great fun. Would try again.
  • Red ranger 9001
    A breath of fresh air in the podcast landscape.
    This podcast has amazing energy. So many other podcasts meander aimlessly through 5 or so topics. With each one taking 45 minutes forcing you, the listener, to let your mind drift wondering if this is worth it. “Why am I listening to this?” You think. “What has my life come to?” “Was there another reason my ex broke up with me? She said it was about her and not about me, but maybe if I hadn’t gained those extra 15 pounds we’d still be together. Am I better off without her? I’m 26 and still living with my parents while she’s dating a 58 year old community college teacher.” Not this podcast. This podcast is snappy. There’s no time for self reflection here. Straight to the topic. The good stuff. Other podcasts serve you three baskets of hard day-old bread, followed by 2 different salads, then the la k luster meal. This podcast gives it to you fresh. Medium rare steak (as God intended) green beans, and a loaded baked potato, are the first and only plate here. No need for fluff. No need for frills. Straight to the point. 5 I’ll just sleep my depression away nights out of 5.
  • Is i.
    The best?
    Easily the best drink podcast with a guitar problem ever created by people of Swedish extraction in West Seattle. I’m waiting for the bubble tea and tiesco episode.
  • jaglers
    Awesome show, great job!
    John and Ed the hosts of this lovely podcast have delectably fun and hilarious banter. The episodes with guests are all equally fun and interesting as well. Drink corner is always fun as well as the nonstop insults thrown towards Gibson. With podcast like John and Ed in them you can’t lose!
  • Matthew Lee
    Best beverage podcast ever
    I listen religiously to John and Ed wax on and whack off, sometimes even about guitars! Let’s face it, a fact-filled drill-down would be boring. These guys keep it fun and fresh while talking around the guitars, and sometimes stop to acknowledge the subject with equal amounts of contempt and admiration. Objective, oblique, and irreverent, but most of all fun, this podcast is a real treat!
  • Pepper_sea
    THE Guitar Guys
    It's like Car Talk, but Guitar Talk and a thousand times better. John and Ed are entertaining, full of interesting and sometimes suprising trivia. Even if your own guitar skills are somewhere around first day of 5th grade band levels, you will get a fair amount out of this podcast.
  • Adam Griffin
    High Praise
    I've been loving listening to these guys go through the history of each guitar they present along with all kinds of random factoids surrounding it. I really dug the episode on the Jazzmaster with their special guest from Thunder Road Guitars. Can't wait to hear them do an episode on the Les Paul! Hint, hint :)
  • Typists to
    The High Gain is a Triple Threat
    This podcast is an adventure to listen to. Not only do the hosts talk about the guitars, but they also go off on some funny stories about the time the guitar came out. It’s great to listen to in the car, while doing everyday activities, and much more. I look forward to listening to every episode! Whether you like guitars or not, this podcast is amazing.
  • Victoferson
    Guitars, pop culture and lots of opinions.
    John and Ed know some stuff about guitars, but I’m not sure this is exactly a guitar podcast. It’s more like a rambling adventure with a lot of weird pop culture non-sequiturs. Fans of Earwolf style podcasts might love it. People wanting a deep dive of guitar minutia, maybe less so.
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