Kim Mitchell & 'Blue' on Guitar Picks

[@MichaelJKramer]

This is AWESOME! Kim's one of my most favorite guitarists of all time! Max Webster used to open up for RUSH in the early days. Sad part was that usually once they played the upper upstate states, they never played any lower. But that's okay. That always gave me reason to vacay in Canada and always see an AMAZING concert at times! Thanks Kim Mitchell! You are the best! - MJK

[@denonhd8]

Feral Feline Rescue & Foster Care MJK Actually, they were the opening band for the whole Moving Pictures tour. Well, they were supposed to be, as they had broken up after the show in Biloxi, Ms. - the night before the New Orleans show. My friends & myself were bummed about that, until Rush came on after the cartoons played in The Max Machine’s absence. BTW, thanks for helping the kittehs! 😺

[@williamweiss6128]

Only saw Max the one time opening for UFO and RUSH. Jeez, I'm old.

[@trenthogan4212]

Master guitarist and such an underrated talent.

[@whatwouldhousedo5136]

Fantastic player and incredible writer. Max Webster is one of my all-time favourite bands. So, so, good.

[@MindRiot395th]

What a great guitarist and an amazing musician!

[@canadianroot]

Saw him for the first time at my high school back in 1974, I think it was, soon after Max Webster's formation. I was blown away then, and he only got better with age. Such melodic technique, with a nice rock and roll edge, combined with a great voice. Much respect to Peter Fredette, too. A versatile and amazing talent.

[@poundtacos4006]

Best video I see on KZbin in, I don’t know how long!

[@316minister]

I love you Kim and all that you've given us over all the years. You taught us to play just whats needed and not overplay, among many other things. And thanks for explaining "Blue". Cheers from L.A.!

[@luizdejesus6240]

Great story on the guitar. I have seen it many times in concert attached to you of course. My "blockheads" album back in 76 got worn out and inspired me to pick up the guitar. Thank you sir (and blue)...

[@Frankinsteinguitar]

Seppo has worked on Blue several times. One of my necks; headstock logo by Brandon Steven from London Print Studio.

[@dwebster50]

Cool... Good video of Kim Mitchell ,... Crazy and I remember those fingers and how he processed the ability to piano them down on his left hand.... Mainly on that orange Gretch ... So much talent and a very cool guy .. Glad to see him play a bit mellow and tasteful . Cheers Alberta Dave Webster

[@WakaWakawaka-qt8di]

Nice to see such a nice man,no ego really refreshing

[@doyleaudio]

Every musician should SUBSCRIBE. Mr Mitchell has a wonderful ability to describe the technical feature of this guitar, it's journey to fruition and how getting the right sound can subsequently fill you with passion. Beyond his brilliant musicianship, Mr Mitchell also shows what an outstanding musical Journalist he is. He will connect with with you as one fellow musician to another. Beautifully shot video. Catch your breath, relax and plug in.

[@jeffpetersen1742]

Hey Kim, that's awesome, I think I have your 70s Strat with the black pick guard and boost switch

[@Rexgtrz]

Hi Kim, I played a strat you had custom made by Lado, it was blue as well and had old PAFs and a fat neck like I've never seen before or since. Very similar to this except it didn't have the coil tap switch. Looking forward to more of these informative 'Guitar Picks'!

[@snappick3623]

Great post, thanks!

[@crazywisdom2]

Love this guy. Would love to see him do an instrumental ambient album or something acoustic. Cool dude. Cool vibe.

[@curtisfranklin6830]

Saw you at Panorama ski hill a few yrs back. Awesome show. Thanks Kim. Regarding the guitar you should perhaps buy a tele. Just simple and does it all. greatest guitar ever.

[@curtisfranklin6830]

Probably spoke too soon, but the tele is imo the best for any gendre of music.

[@juicyj56]

YOU'RE MY BOY BLUE

[@harryt988]

He makes guitar playing seem effortless

[@ivanfortuny2244]

Nice rocking sound and Nice color too☮️🎸

[@aliensporebomb]

Glad to see Kim is STILL wrestling with guitars after all these years. I've got my own "Blue" difficult relationship guitar myself. You just have to deal with it if it barks properly!

[@BoomBoom-ci8is]

This is actually a great show!

[@jordandayman1356]

a sarnia legend!

[@markwilson3026]

A Max Webster legend.

[@CanadianCharlie64]

Great video Kimbo

[@tmoxness]

Great video. Isn't the guitar's body originally a Squier strat?

[@williamweiss6128]

It's interesting, even your hard core fans love it......I'm one, here in Idaho.

[@johnwade3476]

it sounds great thats what it is! when a guitar sounds great you play great !

[@mark-dietz]

I get it. I have a telecaster that I brought to a luthier to have fret sprout taken care of. He said, yeah Ill also lower that action for you. I told him to just file the frets and leave it as it is. It fights me a little, it makes me dig in and really play it, not to mention the grunt that it has. I have a strat that is absolutely dreamy to play but I dont get the same results. maybe its just too comfy?

[@j_freed]

That clean playing part is such a nice thing!

[@j_freed]

Well there are two parts yes but the middle part is what I meant.

[@sararuiz5775]

I like it !!

[@rappy90]

6:42 United Breaks Guitars reference?

[@anthonymacdonald862]

Cool 😎 story about blue 🎶🎶🎶❤️

[@andrelp9596]

Nice instrument! The neck is either an Old Charvel or could also be a Jackson. Keep on rocking!!!

[@morry850]

I don't think it's a Charvel or Jackson because when he turns it around it has a volute which they never use...

[@godalmightyification]

it's really nice to have a soul mate without the headaches.

[@Transinater]

KIMBO YOU ROCK

[@retainium]

Thanks for this. Kim needs to take much more credit for blue's sound. It wouldn't be the same in anyone else's hands.

[@TruthSurge]

Kramer neck?

[@MindRiot395th]

...looks like a Jackson

[@TaylorByers4444]

It’s actually a lado hawk.

[@alanvaughan2937]

just has that beautiful mid sound (sounds like wood) no matter what effect he puts on it ..Kim's so dam good

[@Graiskye]

Shes a true road warrior Blue. I can relate to what he is saying so hard.

[@brentstewart59]

I always thought that was a Kramer because of the banana headstock and the Floyd Rose. Very informative

[@jstilesband47]

max wsg goddo and helix. dec 28th 1980. london gardens.

[@DonaldHolben]

amazing dude!!

[@Deaner78]

Thanks Kim, do you still have blue??

[@avitasvul]

blue for the blues, thanks Kim and the bread.

[@Motleymick]

"Blue" sounds good. Keep her!

[@EnhancedImagination1]

That neck and body is a Lado Hawk. The internals may have come from a Gibson, but I remember he had an endorsement with Lado for the Hawk series in the mid 80's. Those guitars were interesting. The bodies were plywood but they played well and sounded great. Everyone that bought one said it was their favourite guitar.

[@Graiskye]

What you say was quite likely true at one time. The endorsement I recall, but if you look, you will see there are a lot of necks and bodies that are the exact same specs, I mean headstock shape(actually a Charvel/Jackson original??), and body shape, which is standard strat. Theres no way to tell if its still Lado gear. As for the Lados, I played a few, and like many of that ERA's metal guitars, you know the super strats... the Charvels ..Jackson, Ibanez's etc...they largely depended on the set up, if you knew how to set the guitars up, or knew a good guitar tech, a profesional I mean who knew how to set up the earlyy Floyd, with the neck angle and such then they played awesome. I had a early Chravel, a'la Eddie with the one pickup one pot, blocked Floyd, set up by a pro tech, who explained how to maintain and care for the then new Floyd Rose, that hour, which I payed 60.00 for, taught me so much, highly recommended... if a tech will let you sit in, to do so. It was so awesome, sadly it got crushed in a accident but it was a sweet ax, very similar to blue, save two pickups...lol. Nowadays, I would seriously doubt Kim is playing a plywood body and having all these sound men rave about it...they just don't resonate like a big heavy chunk of Ash or Alder. Thats the bottom end hes talking about, In my opinion of course. He probably layed down some decent cash for a Warmoth or similar and thus it sounds bloody heavenly. Peace.

[@brianboni4876]

I used to go into the Lado shop when it was in Scarborough, likely the late 70's. The guitars were all hand made custom stuff with neck through construction. A few of my buddies bought them where they would sit with Joe and pick out strips of wood. I can remember a large bin of pick ups all thrown together and he would reach in and pull out the ones he needed, he was more of a luthier than an electronics person. The bolt on guitars came later and I'd be shocked if any were plywood. Joe was not always an easy person to get along with and I can remember some freakouts so when I hear that he and Kim had a falling out and that's why he sanded off the name I wasn't surprised. I have two friends who still have their custom made 1980ish Lado guitars, they've held the test of time and still look great.

[@donsoucy7009]

Thar is NOT a charvel or Jackson neck for sure, for many obvious reasons like 12th fret inlay, the way the fretboard ends, the shape of the pointy headstock etc.... I would agree that this is a lado bolt on neck, I have 2 Lados, a Supra neck through and a Lado II bolt on

[@dirkness42]

ahhhhh...what a voice

[@ppmalmsteen]

but that's interesting that different ideas get through different instruments

[@surrealestate06]

I'm surprised you're not hunchbacked after lugging that Travis Bean around in the bars for years!

[@pskemster]

Absolute killer

[@adampetten5349]

Master.

[@jcows12]

I have many guitars (custom tele, mex strat, les paul, thinline 72 reissue, and es 335) and i have my favorites but I like them all for certain things if I had one I didn't like very much I would get rid of it quickly I don't understand why a pro would keep a guitar he hated or thought was mediocre?

[@dewdude2112]

I think Kim understands what liking a guitar means....he mentioned better playing guitars. But he understands Blue's sound supersedes his feel preference. He trusts people around him that tell him the sound that comes out of it is special...even though he finds other guitars that PLAY better. He's a true professional. It's kind of like when you can;t quite hear yourself in the stage mix...but you don't turn up to start the stage volume war the inevitably comes. You just trust yourself and everyone around you that things are proper.

[@jcows12]

I respect you but I do feel different. I could buy a first act guitar that played like crap and sound dead to me and have people say "sounds amazing" and it would limit what I could do. Now if I pull out my favorite guitar (mim telecaster with 63' pickups) it just feels great and sounds awesome and that enjoyment is portrayed through my playing. I think the price isnt important its the connection you have with the instrument. The better the connection the better you can be. Of course that connection can be based on anything such as people's feedback, the tone, the action, the look even. I say let them eat cake. Lol

[@dewdude2112]

Like I said...Kim already knows all of that. He said he has his other favorite guitars. Sorry you can't get your head around more than YOUR way to "connect". I have some guitars that PLAY better, but I'll keep a few around for certain other traits. Old Tele is not my favorite-playing guitar (my USA JAckson and LP are!)...but the sound of it is glorious. I'm okay with that. It's a real "connection"...try to understand.

[@jcows12]

To each his own. If its right for you then its right for you. No need to be rude of course.

[@TaylorByers4444]

I agree. If you dislike a guitar why play it? Find a guitar you enjoy playing and sounds good.

[@wingerfan1]

Kim, love the story of "Blue". I build guitars and I have a blue guitar you might like too! Wish there was some way I could get you to check it out and give your feedback.

[@davekiddie4467]

Lol, Kim doesn't even like blue. Don't hold your breath.

[@constructivecritique4049]

I remember when it had the black hockey stick headstock. Typical for a Canadian, eh?

[@danielday713]

You’ve aged well, Mr. Mitchell. I like your hair style much better in 2019 than the style you rocked in 1978. All kidding aside, I’ve always liked your playing.

[@PrankZabba]

Blue got the Mojo

[@pp-sw1lx]

Actually its a old squier body

[@robd754]

a guitars gotta have mojo.. the name is irrelevant. i think thats what is missed in all this online purchasing.. you dont get to fall in love with the instrument, its more like a pre arranged marriage than a deep love affair

[@j_freed]

Insert Tobias Fünke Blue Man joke here...

[@zigzagbigbag]

Someone bites their nails.

[@TommyWashow]

is there a guitar player with a better "excellent player terrible outfits" ratio

[@joblo3940]

this dude couldnt write a bad song even if he tried

[@ppmalmsteen]

so that guitar stinks :D well I like my cheap kramer too