How Rich Renken Accidentally Helped Shape Modern Guitar Tone

What do Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, Line 6's Spider amps, and some of the wildest custom guitars on earth have in common? Rich Renken. In this episode, Rich walks Blake through decades in the gear trenches—starting as a bassist in church bands, engineering records with 90s rock royalty, helping invent products that changed the amp game, and now running the show at James Tyler Guitars.

He tells the origin story of the legendary “lead/rhythm” switch, what it was like helping develop Line 6's Spider Valve, M13, and Variax guitars, and how he accidentally dissed Jim Tyler’s headstock to his face. Oh, and did we mention he played a part in shaping the tone on Thriller?

From Norm’s Rare Guitars to dodging corporate spam calls mid-interview, Rich’s journey is a masterclass in gear, hustle, and absurd luck.

Put your headphones on. This one's basically a time machine for tone nerds.

Check out the awesomeness on the James Tyler website HERE: https://www.tylerguitars.com/

Support The Show And Connect!

The Text Chat is back! Hit me up at (503) 751-8577

You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Release your music via DistroKid and save 30% by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/distrokid

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices