The Robben Ford all know and love is a player with a taste for the finer things in life, for Dumble tube amps, vintage Fender electric guitars… He’s also a player who has never had any trouble finding what he wants to say on the instrument.
So it was reassuring in a way that, when he stopped by Guitar World for a quickfire Q&A that he admitted that he didn’t work on his picking enough, the guitar was actually the hardest of all instruments to learn (and explains why), and that he started out on an acoustic guitar with a punishing setup.
What was your first guitar?
There was an acoustic at our house that my father played every now and then when we were kids, but it was kind of a mess and difficult to play. One Christmas, when I was 13, my father took me to the local music store, which was a record shop, but they had three or four guitars on the wall.
He said, “Pick whichever one you want.” They were all terrible guitars, but I picked one, an Orpheus acoustic. It had this big old baseball-bat neck, and the strings were so high and off the fretboard. It was just not a good guitar, but when you’re that old, you don’t really care. I was excited as hell. My dad bought it for $60.
What was the first song you learned?
My brother Patrick gave me the Beatles’ Day Tripper single for Christmas, so that was the first thing I learned how to play on my Orpheus. I learned the song’s main riff by ear. Thankfully, the guitar was in tune.
What was your first gig?
My first gig with a band was with a little quartet during junior high, when I was around 14 years old. It was the junior-high dance, and we were still all learning how to play, but it was a blast. Our set was just covers – anything we could pull off, like (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction by the Stones and Gloria by Them. Basically anything that had three chords!
Ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?
Oh, yes. I played with Jimmy Witherspoon, the blues singer, for two years. I joined him when I was 20 and had my 21st birthday with him. We played this gig at the Musician’s Union in LA. They had a room that was like a meeting hall, and it was an afternoon gig.
My group always opened for Jimmy, so we played two songs before he came up. But when I started taking my first solo, I began stepping back until I stepped into the drums and began falling, which caused the drums to collapse. It was just so embarrassing. Thankfully, nobody got hurt. But, oh my God, that was embarrassing!
What’s your favorite piece of gear?
The Dumble amp has been half of my voice for most of my career. And with that amp, I’m always able to play with confidence. It has always given me what I needed, particularly with the 2x12 cabinet. It has been the most important piece of gear ever for me.
The building is burning down; what one guitar from your collection would you rescue?
My 1960 Telecaster. It’s the best guitar I’ve ever owned.
When was the last time you practiced, and what did you play?
Today, just before soundcheck. When I practice, I basically have some particular things I work on at certain times; most recently I’ve been working on my picking technique. It’s something I never really worked on, which is why over the last couple of years I’ve started working on that more than anything else.
What aspect of the guitar would you like to be better at?
The right hand, as it’s something I never really worked on. I sort of decided on an approach and ran with it a long time ago
The right hand, as it’s something I never really worked on. I sort of decided on an approach and ran with it a long time ago. The guitar is really a hard instrument, the most difficult instrument to play. Trumpet players might argue with me, but the thing about the guitar is that you can play the same note in four different positions.
And because the guitar is tuned in fourths, except between the G and the B string, there’s already a really different thing happening right there. So your picking techniques all have to be worked out. Sonically, electric guitars are a bitch. There are all kinds of difficulties with being too loud – and shitty amplifiers. There are just so many problems with the electric guitar.
What advice would you give your younger self about the guitar?
Work on my fingerings and picking technique. I feel good about my background and the choices I made because of my love for blues. It’s just a fantastic grounding for learning the guitar and chords. I wanted to learn chords and understand harmony, so that’s really been a good foundation. But the picking and fingering? I just didn’t focus enough on it.
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