Robben Ford: The "Hard" George Harrison Tour, Vintage Gear & New Jeff Beck Tribute

Video Description

Legendary guitarist Robben Ford sits down with Jonathan Graham for an in-depth Thinking About Guitar interview, filmed at the Guitar Dreams event on Loch Lomond, delivering a rare, unfiltered look at the life and mindset behind one of the most respected voices in blues and jazz guitar. From his earliest musical epiphany (beginning on saxophone) to becoming a fiercely self-taught player, Robben explains how ear, phrasing, and a need to communicate shape everything he plays—plus the key turning points that opened up his harmonic language, from the Mickey Baker chord book to the “outside” colours of the half-step/whole-step scale. Ford also talks vintage gear—or, as he puts it, “just the gear I play”—and why age is the one ingredient builders can’t replicate, revealing how classics like his Telecaster and ES-335s became lifelong tools of expression. He also previews his new recordings, including an instrumental project inspired by fellow guitar giant Jeff Beck and a tribute to amp icon Alexander Dumble. Along the way, Robben shares untold stories from working with giants like Miles Davis, George Harrison, and longtime friend Larry Carlton—making this a must-watch for guitar fans obsessed with tone, improvisation, and the real craft of great playing. Find out more about next year’s GUITAR DREAMS retreat at: 👉 https://www.guitardreams.co.uk/guitar-dreams-2026 Interview Chapters 0:00 - Coming up... 0:24 - Robben Ford Interview start 0:35 - Robben Ford early inspirations 0:58 - Piano lessons 1:33 - Age 10: the musical epiphany 2:39 - “I was hit like a thunderbolt” 2:57 - Robben Ford is always in The Zone 3:27 - Stopping the self-competition 3:56 - Self-taught Guitar: no teachers, no regimen 4:49 - “I just played and played and played…” 5:03 - Early heroes: Bloomfield / Clapton / Hendrix / B.B. King 5:48 - What makes a great blues guitar player? 6:00 - “It’s life and death.” 6:52 - The blues greats: “They didn’t have a large vocabulary… but a lot to say.” 7:25 - Adding “extra colours” while soloing — altered sounds and scales 8:50 - " I'm a blues guitar player who wanted to be a Jazz musician" 9:06 - Mickey Baker book + learning the “expensive chords” 11:20 - Co-bill with Larry Coryell + the big question 12:09 - “How do you play all that out shit?” 12:17 - Half-step/whole-step scale: the door to “outside” 13:13 - Vintage from the start: “vintage gear” in high school 14:52 - Tom Scott / Joni era: why a 335 had to happen 15:14 - Buying the ’66 335 (and the domino effect…) 16:13 - “The element of age can’t be reproduced.” 17:11 - Modern Fender amps: amazing… until they break 17:51 - The Jeff Beck / Alexander Dumble tribute record 18:23 - Album sessions: Larry Goldings / Darryl Jones / Gary Husband 19:34 - Two projects: instrumental tribute vs British blues band 20:28 - The promo reality: “Record companies don’t do anything…” 21:15 - Vibrato as a new expression tool 22:36 - The night Jeff Beck blew Robben Ford's mind: 24:15 - The 60-second record deal 25:34 - “Dragon Tales” band + Italy touring 25:48 - Larry Carlton: the calm… then the explosion 28:36 - “I don’t hit my home runs every night, Robben.” 29:06 - Miles Davis vs George Harrison: two extremes 30:51 - George Harrison "hard" tour 32:47 - Biggest Miles takeaway: the harmonic device + relationship 33:41 - Miles Davis "would mess with you” For Guitar Reviews, Artist Interviews & More SUBSCRIBE to Thinking About Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkingAboutGuitar?sub_confirmation=1. #RobbenFord #guitar #guitarist #guitarlegend #interview - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FOLLOW US On Social Media - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Facebook: / https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingAboutGuitar/ Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/thinkingaboutguitar/