Chelsea Constable

From child prodigy to YouTube sensation, Chelsea Constable knows her way around the fretboard better than most seasoned guitarists.

Chelsea Constable was born to master the guitar. She first felt the itch to pick up the instrument, when she was but 10-years old and wanted to learn the traditional “Greensleeves” for a church Christmas play. She was quickly considered a prodigy.

From then on she developed a passionate interest in instrumental guitar music and soon discovered advanced players like Steve Morse, Paul Gilbert, and Andy Timmons, soaking up their dexterous and accomplished techniques to form her own unique expression.

Early on her abilities were recognized by the guitar community and she started demoing products for various companies and being featured and advertised in several of the major guitar publications.

While being filmed for a prodigy show by VH1/Camera Planet in 2003, the 13-year-old Chelsea had the honor of closing the show at Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night featuring among others Steve Morse (Deep Purple) and none other than the legendary inventor and guitarist, Mr. Les Paul.

As the opportunity presented itself, Chelsea got the chance for a historic meeting with the late legend. She describes it as a “life-changing conversation”.

Chelsea Constable is known nowadays among YouTubers for her thorough instructional series called “The Solo Lesson Series”. Here she takes on the very best and most loved guitar solos in the world, performing them with breathtaking attention to detail and stirring feel, before breaking them down into easier bits, so that the aspiring guitarist starting out can get the notes of his heroes under his fingers.

Besides working on her own solo material and on her own studio for in-house session work, recording, and video instruction, Chelsea Constable also has an impressive resume with some of the world’s most renowned guitar players, having played with the likes of Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, Gregg Bissonette, Dave LaRue, Steve Morse, Tommy Emmanuel, Doyle Dykes and Travis Carlton (Larry Carlton’s son), just to mention a few.

As an always searching player, she doesn’t confine to one style instead she loves all genres. “You can’t really put my music in a genre, because I love all styles and incorporate them into my playing.”

She keeps evolving as a musician by focusing on the problem areas of her playing and taking lessons from other players that don’t play guitar such as horn and piano players. “It’s great to see how they interpret riffs and solos.”

As a guitar player she is also contemplative about the subject of “great tone”.

“Tone can be interpreted many ways with many outcomes on any given day, maybe even the mood you are in and how aggressively or soft you play. Whether you are playing one note or many. Sometimes a single vibrato can say many things, when you have the warmth of a really awesome sounding rig,” she muses.

To achieve her tone, she runs her main guitar, a Suhr Classic Pro H/S/S pickup configuration, into a Hedgehog 50 and 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion Heritage Series G12-65’s. Her rig consists of only TC Electronic stompboxes. She uses the PolyTune 2 (mini), Hypergravity Compressor and Dark Matter Distortion straight through the amp head.

Through the effects loop, she has a Helix Phaser, Hall of Fame Reverb and Alter Ego Echo attached to a Holeyboard Standard M3 pedalboard by Chemistry Design Werks with Walrus Audio Aetos 120V Clean Power Supply.

“It makes me feel more confident and at ease when I am playing live to know that I can achieve the tone I want,” she tells.

Chelsea’s upcoming debut CD will feature several guitar greats such as Paul Gilbert, Steve Morse and Doyle Dykes.