He Might Be My New Favorite Guitarist

Check out my brand new Mini Guitar Course, The Pentatonic Breakout Course HERE:

Khruangbin's NPR TIny Desk Performance:

Their Rig Rundown from @premierguitar

Their Influences & Process from @Reverb
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MY VIDEO COURSES:

Chords and Rhythm Course

Fretboard Fundamentals

The Complete Nashville Number System video course

The Tone Course

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GEAR USED IN TODAY'S VIDEO:

Two Notes Torpedo Captor X

Mogami Gold Guitar Cable

MY HOME STUDIO SETUP:

Universal Audio Apollo X4

Universal Audio 4-710D Mic Pre and Compressor

Yamaha HS7 Studio Monitors

Sennheiser MKH416 Shotgun Mic

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MY PRESETS & PROFILES:

Line 6 HX Stomp Presets

Line 6 Helix & Helix LT Presets

Kemper Profiles

Impulse Responses (Helix, Kemper, Iridium & AxeFx)

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DEACON KNIGHT (my band):

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THE BACKSTAGE JOURNAL PODCAST:

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Business Enquiries

SHIPPING ADDRESS:
5805 State Bridge Road
Suite G90
Johns Creek Ga
30097

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My Video Rig (affiliate links)

CAMERA:
-Sony A7III (affiliate link)

LENSES:
-Sony 24-105mm f4 (affiliate link)

-Sigma 35mm f1.4 (affiliate link)

-Sigma 50mm f1.4 (affiliate link)

LIGHTS:
-Neewer LED Panel Bi Color (affiliate link)

SOUND:
-Sennheiser MKH 416 Shotgun Mic (affiliate link)

-Universal Audio Apollo X4 (affiliate link)

-Zoom H6 Handy Recorder (affiliate link)

[saysheate]

I’m so glad to see someone from the guitar world is giving Mark Speer the credit he deserves. Dude shreds.

[curtisbrause]

What’s so crazy to me about them is it’s essentially a tight drummer playing simple lines (in very, very good time), a tight bassist doing a mellow but groovy line, and a guitarist with a ton of reverb playing melodic lines combined with triads and leaving space in his playing. It’s so simple on paper but so fresh.

Goes to show when you think everything in music has been done someone comes along and can have a simple yet great musical concept you’d never thought of before them. Awesome band.

[alexb]

Their sound is both intoxicating and relaxing at the same time. Marks tone in particular is unique in all the right ways.

[NelsonGago]

They are even better live. I saw them recently in London and it’s an experience. People sing along their solos

[bikergeekgd]

The most amazing thing about Khruangbin is that they are essentially an instrumental group that have achieved a huge following. In the vocal-driven pop/rock genre, their success is phenomenal. Great musicians.

[TheLukeylala]

Mark is a massive inspiration to me, love his style. Khruangbin re-ignited my passion in music, cant praise them enough.

[itsROMPERS...]

I love Mark because he doesn't need to rely on flashy technique to sound cool and unique, he's more focused on sound and melody.
But he's got the chops when he needs them.
I started idolizing Hendrix when he was still alive, going through page, zappa, beck and others, and now Mark is my favorite.
Thanks for giving them attention!

[joecooper]

Their minimalism, both in terms of gear and music, is inspiring. They really embody the old "it's the notes you don't play that matter" mantra. DJ and Leezy just lock in tighter than anybody in the business and Mark floats on top, it's fantastic. Mark's guitar is a basic MIM 70s reissue with upgraded pickups and Graphtec nut/saddles. Leezy's got an SX(!) with DiMarzio pickups. DJ plays a minimal four-piece kit. No crutches, no cheats. My absolute favorite thing about Speer's playing is that he really doesn't rely on blues or classic rock tropes. As you note, he's outlining the chords and exploring the whole scale, not merely wheedling away aimlessly on pentatonic scales, which a lot of rock guitarists never graduate from. He gets inside the song and walks around. Super rare to be simultaneously innovative and also just really nice to listen to.

[mrsips]

So happy to see you talking about Khruangbin. They're a truly unique and phenomenal band.

[absea]

Love Khruangbin. Mark Speer's Rig Rundown is excellent, and aside from using flat wounds, he doesn't change his strings for long periods of time - like the whole tour. They are going for a very warm sound, so he's not worried about loss of high end from old strings.

[faboolean]

Rhett you need to check out this guitarist called “modu moctar” his playing is like a Middle Eastern sounding jimi Hendrix. Would make a great video because not enough people know about how insane this guys playing is

[rodnyg]

Maria También (Live on KEXP) is a pretty wicked tune. Speer is very fluid, DJ is just solid, and Laura, well, she got that hypnotic hip groove thing going on.

[culturetrash]

So psyched to hear you give Khruangbin some love. I'm from Houston and have been following them since the early days, so it brings me so much joy to see how big they have gotten. Back in the GreenRoom days, I shared this Khruangbin with some of the other members. It didn't go over as well...haha...so I'm glad you are the one giving them the love now!

[viz]

I've been playing guitar since 1987. I am a trained classical guitarist and consider myself a reasonably advanced player in pretty much any musical genre. Take my word for it: Mark Speer is a genius. One of the very best electric guitarists I've ever heard. Like Hank Marvin, Speer is principally a melodic player who focuses on tone; he gives the guitar a proper voice and makes the guitar sing. Extraordinary and brilliant. Just beautiful.

[RaptorVUSA]

Bravo for noticing and acknowledging this band!! they are fantastic.. my personal "discovery ' about 7 weeks Into lockdown in 2020..I literally became obsessed ..for 2 years!!..Only in the last 2mo have I stopped playing any and everything they have put out constantly lol...my neighbors are all KB fans and have no idea wtf they have been hearing all this time..

Waited impatiently for two years for a chance to see them live, then when they came, I saw them 2x in 3 days here in LA at the Greek ...

They fucking killed it.

All the fan videos of this tour posted here have been just awesome.. seemed like every other week some one was posting their entire set from the lastest shows.. watching how their set list has evolved thru the tour and how EVERY freekin show is sold out makes me sooo happy for them. This is the first new music in 10-15 years I have lost my shit over, and I'm proud to say it.

Long Live KhruangBin 💗💗👍
Pronounced .: Krung- Bin

[donmeow]

Having been bored with guitar and guitar-based music for over a decade, Khruangbin were a revelation to me back in 2018. Made me actually want to pick up my guitars again and explore forgotten music especially stuff from South America/Africa/South East Asia/Middle-East.

Mark Spiers is criminally underrated.

[felixr.]

Mark Speer is an amazing guitarist. He sort of plays the rythm and lead guitar at the same time while also leaving enough space. As a guitarist it's very easy to do too much playing just one of them. That hammer-on and trill-heavy style also adds to his uniqueness.

[omniton]

Agreed - Mark Speer is really just an amazing guitar player. He has such great control. I really love how he incorporates trills, hammer ons, chords and leads. Just an amazing player.

[WS]

Mark and Laura Lee have said their inspiration is Thai funk. They've integrated Cambodian, Vietnamese and other genres into their music. The name Khruangbin is Thai for "Engine Fly" or the equivalent English word "Airplane".

[JustinRoseSTL]

I got to see Khraungbin on Jam Cruise in 2019 and it was magical! They played the coveted sunset set on the pool deck stage. Khraungbin, at sunset, in the middle of the ocean. I will forever cherish that show. Thanks for doing this video!