Academy Of Tone 277: Vintage vs. Modern Les Pauls & Touring Germany's Best Clubs

Special guest: Oliver Hartmann

In this episode of Academy of Tone, Thomas Blug welcomes musician Oliver Hartmann. The show kicks off with Oliver introducing his new album, "20 Times Colder," released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his band, Hartmann. The main focus of the episode is an in-depth comparison of vintage and modern Les Paul guitars. Using numerous models—from a 1972 Les Paul Deluxe and a '68 Goldtop to custom guitars by Jörg Tandler and Nik Huber, as well as modern Nex Guitars—they analyze the tonal differences in great detail. They dive deep into the importance of hardware components like bridges, tailpieces, and pickups, demonstrating the influence of different materials on the tone, partly with a live pickup measurement device. Other topics include Oliver Hartmann's tour dates, anecdotes from the German music scene, and a tribute to the most important live clubs in Germany. The episode concludes with a conversation about the value of physical media and the special energy of live music.

00:00 - Intro & Song "20 Times Colder" 03:48 - Introducing Oliver Hartmann & his new album 05:41 - Looking back at previous "Academy of Tone" episodes 07:15 - Oliver Hartmann's journey to the Les Paul & his pedalboard 09:34 - Anecdotes about Peter Wolf & the beginnings of Nex Guitars 12:15 - The quest for the perfect vintage tone: Pickups & Hardware 17:53 - Analyzing a 1972 Les Paul Deluxe & Mini-Humbuckers 23:12 - A/B Comparison: The influence of the bridge on the tone (Video) 27:03 - Deep dive into hardware components (Tailpiece, Saddles, Studs) 34:55 - The Jörg Tandler Les Paul: Tone, construction & story 43:14 - Pickup Analysis: Häusel P.A.F.s in the Tandler guitar 46:52 - Q&A: Oliver Hartmann's gear on the 2008 Avantasia DVD 50:14 - Tour Announcement: "Hartmann" & "Rock Anarchy" live 56:49 - The story of the Gibson Flying V "FF 82" 1:03:05 - Tone Comparison: Gibson R9 Reissue vs. '68 Goldtop with P90s 1:09:11 - Vintage problems: Les Paul tuning stability & solutions 1:18:08 - Modern solutions: The design of Nex Guitars 1:27:12 - Oliver Hartmann's Custom Nex & the musician's role in the building process 1:37:53 - The Nik Huber Krautster II: A Rock 'n' Roll machine 1:47:14 - Chat Q&A: String action, strings & hardware materials 1:56:45 - The German club scene: A tour of legendary venues 2:10:39 - Wrap-up & Conclusion: Physical media and the importance of live music