News

Update on the Underground March 13, 2023 18:17

Good news everyone! We are nearly ready to re-open our downstairs concert room. Over the course of the pandemic, the space turned into our staff clubhouse and rehearsal room. We’ve also held lessons down there and found various non-musical uses for the space. But it’s time to get back in the saddle. A day rarely goes by when someone doesn’t ask us about it. We are going to start with a few shows and the open mic will follow. Keep an eye on our calendar page, our social networks or call us up at the store for details.


Come On In! May 20, 2021 16:33

As of May 1st, our sales floor is open again (masks required, for now), and we are working towards fully normal operations. It's been a strange year, of course, and we are thankful for all our customers, our community and our business associates who stood by us through these challenging times. We kept busy through the pandemic with a lot of repair work coming in and some online selling. We are happy to see most of our neighboring businesses are still here with us as we get near the light at the end of the tunnel. Our hours are still 12-6, Mon -Sat. Music lessons are getting back up and running (currently using our large downstairs space) and we are hopeful that live music will return in the fall. We hope all our friends out there are doing well, and if you haven't seen us in a while, please drop on by and say hi.

Sincerely,

The Fret House


Fret House During the Pandemic May 8, 2020 16:36

Fret House During the Pandemic

Updated June 15 

Currently, our sales floor is closed and and no concerts will be held. We will be at the store from 12:00 to 6:00 pm Monday-Saturday. If you want to reach us, call during those hours or send us an email (frethouse@earthlink.net).  We are doing curbside pickup, checking in repairs and we can show guitars, by appointment, in our downstairs concert hall. Some of our music teachers are doing online lessons and we will soon resume in person lessons, using the downstairs concert hall, to allow social distancing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ll weather this.
Thanks, and be well,
Rich Seymour


Fret House Now Carrying Orange Amplifiers May 23, 2018 14:35

We are happy to announce that the Fret House is now selling Orange Amplifiers. This iconic British company has been helping some of the greatest artists get the tone they want for fifty years. From small combos to gig-worthy heads and cabs, we have a nice selection in stock and ready for you to come try out. We also have a lot of oranges (the citrus fruit), free while they last.

In stock as of this writing: Rocker 15 Head, Rocker 15 1x10, Rocker 32 2x10, OR15 Head, Dark Terror Head, Brent Hinds Terror Head, Micro Dark Head, Crush Mini, 12, 20 and 35, Crush Bass 25 and 50, 1x12, 2x10 and 2x12 cabs.


Guitar Photography 101 October 7, 2017 13:51

When we put together the latest version of our website, we decided that getting good product photos was an important feature which we should put some work into. A quick review of other sites revealed a wide range of photographic efforts, from quick smart phone pics to full on professional studio shots. Some small independent stores do really impressive work and some big companies don't always nail it. Our hope is to match the best of them, though we've still got some room for improvement. Our intention is to show the cleanest, most accurate representation of the actual instrument you will get if you buy from The Fret House. We always take a standard set of shots (top,back, headstock, etc.) then throw in a few creative or specific shots. We always take a shot of the serial number and in the case of used instruments, we try catch any significant dings or wear. Here's a few things we have learned:

Lighting
Taking good pictures of guitars is hard! They have many curved and reflective

frethouse photo studio
surfaces. Getting them properly lighted without showing a reflection of your lights can be challenging, particularly with arch-top guitars. Using soft-boxes is crucial for us; usually from the side. There doesn't seem to be any way around moving the lights frequently. We use as many lights for back lighting as we put on the instrument. Our shots are all taken in front of a sheet of white vinyl. Though we reserve the right to cut and paste onto an artificial background, we haven't done so yet. It would be fun to try working with natural light from a big window, alas, our basement doesn't have one.

Camera and Settings
Though we have seen some great shots taken with an iphone, we feel a digital SLR camera on a tripod is the best way to get consistent, and consistently good, shots. We have a Canon Rebel EOS T5. There is much you can learn, whether by reading, pestering photographers or trial and error, but the beauty of the digital age is that pictures don't cost anything, and you can bracket the heck out of everything (bracketing is the practice of deciding what setting you want then taking that shot and one on either side of it, so if you're a bit off, one of the other ones might be right). We constantly bracket the shutter speed, less often the ISO and aperture. We've settled into ISO 400 and F11 aperture as default setting, though experimenting with shallower depth of field can be interesting.

Cleaning
It's amazing how much a little fleck of dust that you don't even see will will jump out of a photo when you have a good camera. Ditto fingerprints. Brand new guitars fresh out of the box are not immune to this. This is one of the biggest challenges in guitar photography, particularly with chrome pickup covers and headstock closeups. We don't necessarily want to spread guitar polish all over a brand new instrument, and we've probably at least touched the tuning machines. It's time consuming to clean everything but it has to be done. Humans leave gunk all over everything they touch! We've taken to wearing cotton gloves.

Post Processing
We don't want to “photoshop” anything out of our shots, but we have found that adjusting brightness and contrast in post is much easier than getting the settings exactly right on the camera and produces the same result. It is possible to remove those pesky dust flecks, but that's very time consuming and we haven't done so; behold our dust flecks!

Still Reading? Win a Free Fret House T-shirt
If you can find a reflection of the photographer in one of the photos on our website, we'll send you a free Fret House T-shirt. E-mail us the URL. While supplies last. We may have planted one.

Fret House 2017 NAMM Show Report January 25, 2017 13:26

We just got back from our 45th NAMM Show (the huge music merchant's trade show in Anaheim). As usual, Tom walked the floor all four days, and our staff came down to meet our suppliers and check out new merchandise. Here are some of the highlights:

 

The Fret House will be now carrying Takamine guitars, which are distributed in the US by our friends at ESP. They'll help us serve our customers in the important $200-$500 price range. We may also stock some of their higher-end models in the future.

 


Rich and Tom with Jean GoodallWe had a great meeting with Jean Goodall, of Goodall Guitars. We scheduled three guitars for the year; a Rosewood Standard, a Concert Jumbo and a Parlor. This level of craftsmanship takes time, so one should arrive every few months, starting with the Rosewood Standard.

 

Tom and Brian with Greg DeLorto of Heritage GuitarsMore good news: we are stocking up on Heritage Guitars! The company has new owners, and we were impressed by their commitment to the brand. We ordered an H-535, and a series of their awesome new H-155s. Here is Tom and Brian meeting with Greg DeLorto of Heritage and two of the guitars we have coming.

 

Art and Luthierie GuitarsLastly, Godin Guitars of Canada has redesigned their Art and Luthierie line. It is certain to be the same great quality and value, with a fantastic new look. We will be getting at least eight of them right away, as well as some selections from their other great brands, Seagull and Godin.

There are also exciting new developments from Taylor, like the Academy Series and the GS-Mini Bass. More info on these as they they start to arrive.

Martin Guitars has new models in the 16 series, an exclusive Fishman Enhaced pickup system and new titanium strings.

The new Fender Pro Series will be in store soon, and much more.

Tom with huge skull

 

 

 

We wanted to get one of these, but where would we put it?

 

 

 

 


Ed Gerhard Live In Concert - Jan 14 January 10, 2017 22:43

GRAMMY Award-winning Guitarist Ed Gerhard

From Tokyo to Rome and venues across the US, Ed Gerhard’s music has touched audiences all over the world. Performing on 6-string, 12-string, slide guitar or Acoustic Hawaiian Lap Slide, Gerhard captivates his audiences with virtuosity, generosity and sly humor. Known for his gorgeous tone and compositional depth, Gerhard can move a listener with a single note. Scott Alalrik of the Boston Globe said it best when he wrote ‘Gerhard does not write instrumentals. He writes songs only a guitar can sing.
Tickets $20

Showtime: 8:00 pm
Doors: 7:30 pm

The Fret House
309 N Citrus Ave
Covina Ca 91723
(626)339-7020

Jeff Linsky - Abe Lagrimas Jr - Jennifer Leitham. Dec 10. 8:00pm. November 16, 2016 00:00

On Saturday, December 10, 2016, the Fret House presents three virtuoso musicians in an exciting evening of ukulele fireworks. Celebrated multi-instrumentalists Abe Lagrimas Jr., Jeff Linsky and Jennifer Leitham combine their formidable improvisational skills in an entertaining program of creative arrangements for ukulele.

Hawaiian Hoku Award winner Abe Lagrimas Jr. is an international jazz ukulele star, as well as an accomplished jazz drummer and vibraphonist. Abe is author of the first ever ukulele instructional book and curriculum titled “Ukulele Ensemble, Beginning Ukulele - Level 1” published by Consonus Music Institute. His latest book "Jazz Ukulele: Comping, Soloing, Chord Melodies" is released by Berklee Press and published by Hal Leonard.

Award-winning guitarist and composer Jeff Linsky has enjoyed a decades long concert and recording career around the world. For his endless repertoire and polyphonic improvisational approach, Guitar Player Magazine writes: "Linsky's talent is the stuff guitarists' dreams are made of." The former Hawaiian resident has recently added ukulele concerts to his performance schedule, touring China in a ukulele duo with Abe Lagrimas, Jr. and recording ukulele on Jennifer Leitham's chart topping release MoodSwings.

Jennifer Leitham's impressive resumé includes countless concerts and recordings with such music lumineries as Mel Tormé, Doc Severinson, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, Woody Herman, and k.d. lang, to name just a few. Her basslines have graced many movies and TV shows, and she was recently the subject of an award winning documentary, I Stand Corrected. Jennifer is a bassist, vocalist, composer, arranger, lyricist, and producer, with several critically acclaimed albums to her credit as leader of her own group. For this performance, Jennifer will be playing an Ohana bass ukulele.

Richard Smith in Concert - Dec 8 November 13, 2016 00:00

Born in Beckenham, Kent in England, Richard Smith took up the guitar at the age of 5 after hearing his father playing “Down South Blues”, a track from the Chet Atkins and Merle Travis record “The Atkins/Travis Travelin’ show”.When Richard asked “Dad, how do you do that?”, his father obliged , and Richard never looked back.

Studying the music early on of Atkins, Travis, and Jerry Reed, Richard graduated to classical guitar pieces, Gypsy jazz, poppin’ tele playing, bluegrass licks and on to bebop lick by listening to an array of recordings by the likes of Django Reinhardt, Joe Pass, Doc Watson, Newgrass Revival, Albert Lee, Jorge Morel and countless other virtuoso musicians.
Concentrating mainly on a solo career, Richard is well known for mixing it up and playing a wide range of musical styles using various techniques. Blues, Jopin Rags, Bach, Chopin, flatpicking fiddle tunes, Sousa Marches, fingerstyle jazz to straight Travis picking tunes make up his evolving repertoire.
After finishing a recording studio at their home in Goodlettsville TN in October 2011, Richard stays busy with a schedule that balances studio production for various artists, and concertizing on the road.

Learn more about the artist: www.richardsmithmusic.com

DOORS OPEN: 7:30, SHOW STARTS: 8PM
TICKETS: $20

Tickets may be purchased in store or over the phone: 626-339-7020


Welcome To Our New Website November 10, 2016 14:12

Fret House LogoThe Fret House is pleased to introduce our new online store. The new site presents our repair shops, lesson program and concert series, as well as a selection of our inventory for sale online.  We are late to the game of e-commerce (we've been really busy running a full service brick and mortar operation), but we hope that, whether you prefer to shop online or in-store, the site will be a helpful guide to our large and impressive inventory. More inventory and additional categories will be added in coming months. We'd like to thank Roxxio Studios for their help with the site's design and set-up. So make yourself at home, virtually, we would love to hear any feedback that you have.

 


Saturday Night Concert: Jerry & Debbie Burgan with Tholow Chan - Nov 12 October 19, 2016 17:29

Jerry Burgan, co-founder of We Five, returns to the Fret House on Saturday, November 12. Joined by We Five’s lead singer,Debbie Burgan, and long time bassist, Tholow Chan, their musical roots trace back to the classic folk era of the early 60s before they rode the leading edge of the folk-rock with their hit recordings of You Were On My Mind and Get Together.

The Songs & Stories of Burgan and Chan bring audiences on a first-person joy ride though some of the most magical and memorable moments of their common musical experience– when folk songs topped the charts, Dylan hadn’t plugged in, and Lewynn Davis wasn’t even a glint in the Cohen Brothers’ eye.

Between songs, Jerry shares fascinating tales from his new book, Wounds to Bind – A Memoir of the Folk Rock Revolution, interwoven with the spirit of departed legends like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers, as well as the next wave of artists they inspired—like Jerry’s mentor and Americana pioneer, John Stewart.

Along with a the wealth of classic folk material drawn from seven We Five albums and Jerry’s solo CD, Reflections, Songs & Stories, you can count on hearing some of your favorite tunes—and a few surprises just for fun. Burgan and Chan’s rapport has a seamless quality that’s been honed by time and they draw each audience into the feel-good experience. When the three of them sing together, their tight arrangements bring to life the exhilarating power, harmony and charm that made folk trios so popular.

It’s an intimate, up close experience that puts you up front for a terrific folk concert with artists that made it happen.
Don’t miss it.

Doors: 7:30pm
Show: 8:00pm
$20.00