Music lovers that are fans of rock and metals know that the killer guitar riffs are the basics of what makes the rock and metal genres of music so lovely. Any song blended with this rhythm can be a total sold out to its fan. If you want to make your killer riffs, dig in on this article and discover how you can effectively and practically learn rhythm guitar. 

How to Take Care of Your Guitar In Any Weather

Before going straight to the subject of discussion, you need to understand how to properly take care and maintain your guitar so that in any weather, you can also have it in good condition to practice with. Generally, most acoustic guitars are built to withstand temperature changes. Make sure you get an acoustic guitar with winter protection to make it still sound perfect and store it in a cool place that will not alter its humidity.

Focus on playing your notes perfectly

To start with, playing rhythm guitar is a different style than how you used to. So to master this new style quickly, you have to focus on how you play your notes than concentrating on the specific note that you will be using. One interesting fact is that you can add a note to any simple power cord to get you a fantastic sound. You don’t have to be in haste about this process. It is going to be a gradual step for you as a newbie.

You need to already know the basics of guitar playing before opting to practice the rhythm guitar; if not, you will have a bit of struggle in the process. If you are experiencing this, you would need to go back to the fundamentals and learn the rudiments of guitar playing to develop your skills. If you can master this, then you will be able to flow along in the course of your rhythm guitar practice. Here are a few tricks you can use to guide yourself in this exciting adventure. 

Blend your style with your guitar riffs

First and foremost, think of a way to merge the style of guitar you play to blend with the guitar riff. Most guitarists tend to overdo this, but the point is that you can create a fantastic guitar riff with one or two notes. Just keep it in mind that rhythm guitar is mainly about rhythm. You need to examine and cross out any excess notes. By doing this, you will find yourself centered in the main rhythm you want to play. Take a notebook and jot down four measures value of 8th notes. Then randomly remove six notes and replace them with the remaining. Now try using just one cord to play the rhythm you have just developed. After one or two trials, you would have built up yourself into creating different kinds of rhythm ideas for guitar riffs. You can move on to the advanced level (adding more difficult meters and rhythmic inspirations) when you have mastered this trick.

Make your rhythm clear and tight

Secondly, try as much as you can to make your rhythm guitar production clear and tight. If you need to be great in this niche, you have to practice this way. Every good guitarist knows that they have to play consistently to be good at rhythm guitar. But not all guitarists understand how it sounds when someone is playing tight rhythm and with a metronome. To make your rhythm guitar sound excellently well, you have to learn to play on time and do it consistently.

Discover new methods of blending chords

Learn new ways of how to blend your chords. This will help you develop different fresh ideas of how to group chords to produce good sound with your guitar riffs. This trick is much easier for those that are familiar with the concept of keys when utilizing chords. If you are a novice, the best way to grasp this is to blend several minor and major chords with power chords. Keep practicing with this idea to groom your power chord into full minor chords or major chords.

In conclusion, we all know that it will take much time to become a master in the act of rhythm guitar riff playing. But you need to take your lessons step by step to learn everything and make sure you make gradual progress from one level to another. Learn how to write your rhythm guitar riffs and see how great you will become in a short while. 

WATCH: 100 Riffs (A Brief History Of Rock’n’Roll)

Feeling inspired yet? Watch this excellent video by Chicago Music Exchange, showcasing the history of Rock’n’Roll in 100 classic guitar riffs…

Essential Tips To Playing Killer Rhythm Guitar Riffs from MyRareGuitars.com

Musicians should plan to change strings on average every 3 months. They also can change it after around 100 hours of practice. Usually, strings may last twice as long, and you can use them as long as they do not break but, of course, it’s a good thing to change them regularly.

Here are some points to consider about your strings:

• If you’re using a guitar two hours a day, then it is needed to change the strings at least once per month. Frequent use of the guitar make its strings weaker than ever, so they need to be replaced. If the musician plays less often – like an hour every day, for instance – then the strings should be changed every six or eight weeks, or every three months or so.
• Sometimes, when you are unable to get your preferred sound in your guitar, then it could be a good idea to change the string, as different gauges (and how new they are) affect the tone.
• If you find your strings rusty and discolored, it means that they can end up breaking, sooner rather than later. You will feel more uncomfortable playing your guitar, and you may even hurt your fingers. In this case, you need to change your strings as soon as possible. Playing rusty strings is never a good idea!
• If you keep your guitar in a humid environment, then it is advisable to change your strings more often, as there is more chance for them to get rusty and discoloured. Even if you don’t play the guitar more often, you’ll have to change your strings if your home environment is humid.

Recommended Strings:

There are several great brands such as D’Addario and Ernie Balls to name but two of the most popular. It’s always advisable to invest on good quality strings rather than cheaper, more generic ones. 

At Eastwood Guitars, we use only GHS Strings, which are great value and top quality. 

Big thanks to Joseph Nicholls from Best10gears.com who contributed to this post.

How Often Should You Change Your Guitar Strings? from MyRareGuitars.com

With the wide range of musical instruments, a guitar is one of the most common instruments that you will find among many musicians.  There are different types of guitars that you can choose, depending on your preference and taste. With the latest technology in the modern world, there have been so many variations when it comes to guitars. However, some people still prefer using vintage guitars as compared to the contemporary guitars, why? Let us find more details about vintage guitars that you should know.

What Exactly Is A Vintage Guitar?

This is probably the question that is running through your mind. Let us first understand what is vintage. In simple terms, vintage refers to something of the past, and it is of high quality. There is no specific definition of what qualifies a product to be called vintage. However, vintage guitars are guitars that have been around for around 30 years or older. Basically, we refer to things that were made before 1980 as vintage.

Why Buy A Vintage Guitar?

Why would someone consider buying a vintage guitar, yet there are so many modern guitars with improved designs and features? What is so unique about vintage guitars? Well, there are so many reasons why people prefer buying or collecting vintage guitars. 

First of all, vintage guitars are beautiful. For instance, if you have a close look at the Martin 0-38 Parlor guitar (1985), you will be impressed with the looks of this guitar. This guitar features a spruce top, rosewood sides and back, ebony fingerboards and bridge and a herringbone inlay. All these make this guitar one of the most beautiful vintage guitars.

Another reason why people prefer to buy vintage guitars is because many people believe that aged wood provides better sound quality. On top of that, anything of the past has a history and so do vintage guitars. 

Either way, now that you have made up your mind you want to buy a vintage guitar, you might be wondering where to begin. You don’t have to worry because I have got you covered. This article covers everything that you need to know about vintage guitar. I will also give you some tips that will help you select the best vintage guitar.

Important Information You Should Know About Vintage Guitars

Vintage Guitars

When shopping for a vintage guitar, there are several things that you need to know so that you can pick the right guitar. The following are the things that you should check.

• Who is selling the guitar?

You definitely want to know who is selling the guitar. Ask a lot of questions prior and evaluate the seller to ensure that you get an authentic guitar. In most cases, buyers prefer buying vintage guitars from a local store because they are sure of professional reputation and in-house repairs.

• Condition of the guitar

Of course, you don’t want to end up with a guitar that will disappoint you may be due to poor quality craftsmanship. Therefore, you should not be afraid to ask any questions that you have in mind before buying. If you are buying from a professional seller, then they should give you details or any issue. While not all the problems can prevent you from buying, some minor problems you find might not affect the tonal quality or the guitar playability.

• Originality

In most cases, you do not expect to find the guitar in the same condition that it was when it was made. And for many players, their priority is finding a vintage guitar that plays well and provides a high-quality sound output. In fact, you will find that many vintage guitars that are not all-original will work well and meet your needs.

• Mode of payment

When you are buying a vintage guitar, you should also consider the mode of payment that the seller accepts. Most sellers will accept PayPal, among other payment methods.

How to Choose a Vintage Electric Guitar

Vintage Burns guitar

Now that you know some essential things you need to have in mind before buying a vintage guitar let us go straight to a simple buying guide that will help you pick the right vintage guitar. The following tips will help you choose the best electric guitar for newbies.

Tone

The tone is the most important things that you should check. Even if the guitar looks great, it should provide you with a crisp and clear tone.  And if you experience problems setting up the guitar, you can seek help from a guitar professional.

The vintage

What is the vintage of the instrument? Check for details such as finishes, serial numbers, workmanship, hardware, electronics and wood among others to get the clue.

Material

Vintage guitars are scarce, so you need to consider rare woods and other materials. If you find vintage guitars made of Brazilian rosewood, ivory, tortoiseshell and ebony inlays, then this is an indication of a quality instrument.

Guitar condition

You should also check the quality of the guitar before you buy. For instance, you should pay attention to whether there are scratches, worn frets, warped neck, or glue separating the joints. The presence of these might affect the overall value of the instrument.

Age and alteration

How old is the guitar? In most cases, older guitars have a greater value as compared to a new one. Additionally, you should check if the guitar has been altered. Look for a guitar with very minimal alterations and few scratches on the original parts.

Don’t worry about weak neck

With time, the solid body of the guitar begins to lose stability so it can’t stay in tune. So the neck can become unstable because of old age, and this should not worry you.

Final Words 

They say that old is gold and most players understand this in regards to vintage guitars. If you want to enjoy a beautiful design, great sound, and easy playability, among others, an old guitar can be a great purchase. I have provided you everything that you need to know if you are considering to buy a vintage guitar as well as buying tips to help you land on the right model.

Vintage Electric Guitar Buying Guide: What You Need to Know from MyRareGuitars.com

Four guitars, 3 basses and one acoustic were stolen from his home in Blackpool, UK, last week.

“The bass guitars are all unique in their own right and are very dear to me. As well as being personal possessions which I have had customised, I have used them over the years in various bands with fond memories.”

Here’s what he said:

In the early hours of Tuesday 8th Jan, some thieves broke into my den/office/rehearsal room and took off with, amongst other personal belongings,  4 guitars. They were as follows – 

1. A substantially modified 1967 Rickenbacker 4001 bass which is now in pale blonde sunburst with chrome hardware, rosewood purfling and custom shading by Fylde Guitars, is now fretless and with stereo active electronics. 
2. An original Status 4 string bass guitar, headless, double cutaway, carbon graphite through neck with body of exotic tropical woods. This has been updated with new parametric controls and fretboard LEDs
3. A Fender 5 string Jazz bass, 50th Anniversary model with gold hardware in traditional dark sunburst. This also has been upgraded with active controls
4. A Fender 6 string Telecoustic electro-acoustic, similar to the Redondo with cutaway and sound hole and bridge piezo pickup in a dark purple-red.

IF YOU ARE APPROACHED OR YOU HEAR OF ANYONE BEING OFFERED ONE OF THESE GUITARS FOR SALE PLEASE INFORM THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY. 

The Incident number is LC-20190108-0115
THEY ARE PRICELESS TO ME

THANK  YOU, LANCE FOGG (01253 302858)

Important Tips On How To Protect Your Guitars From Theft:

You can’t predict those things, and unfortunately instrument theft is a real danger that none of us is ever 100% protected from. However, there are some steps every guitarist should take to help preventing or at least mitigating the situation, should it ever happen to them:

1. Insure your instrument: this sounds like an obvious thing to do, but many guitarists still don’t. If you can afford it, by all means do it.
2. Take hi-res photographs of your guitars: it’s always a good idea to document exactly how you guitar looks. After a while, your guitar might have particular scratches and marks that make it unique, or maybe stickers and other customisations  you may have added to it. Take pics of the whole body, back and front, close ups etc.
3. Take note of the serial number: every guitar has an unique serial number. This is usually how many dealers or the police will be able to identify your instrument. As soon as you get a new instrument, make sure to note the serial number. 
4. When playing a gig, don’t leave your instrument unattended: always make sure your instrument is kept safe or that someone you trust is keeping an eye on it.

HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OF THESE GUITARS? from MyRareGuitars.com

“Home Recording” used to be a term that petrified musicians. Not least because it required huge amounts of equipment to even consider. Before computers, it was virtually impossible, but as technology has changed, dabbling in recording is a realistic option for most guitarists, songwriters and even full bands. Can the results ever stand up to a studio recording?

Most home recording setups are a simplified version of a recording studio setup. Instead of going into a studio and having microphones running into preamps, a mixing desk and then to the computer, a home setup will usually be a microphone running to an audio interface and then to your computer. The audio is picked up in a DAW and then edited or ‘mixed’. Some home recordings are even done on USB microphones. 10 years ago, this would have been virtually unthinkable, but companies like Blue mics have actually done a very good job of making the switch to USB. It takes a huge amount of the hassle out of things, and means recording can take place anywhere.

Examples of Home Recording

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago.

Perhaps a seminal moment in the world of DIY musicianship. This album was recorded in a cabin, where Justin Vernon worked on the project in solitude, tracking to an old version of ProTools LE software. Though it has a slightly lo-fi feel, no listener in the world would instantly recognise that this was not recorded in a studio, and the environment in which it was recorded shines through in an album with a definite ‘tone’ running throughout. One of the first examples of home recording breaching the mainstream.

Tame Impala – Currents

A more modern example of home recording is Tame Impala’s ‘Currents”. Lead singer Kevin Parkers home studio is described as more of a storage facility for his equipment, but was turned into the perfect recording space for this well-polished album.

Beck – Odelay

Never one to shy away from innovating, Beck was home recording in the mid 90s. He used the home (and equipment) of electronic producers the dust brothers to record and mix much of his seminal, sample-based album “Odelay”. Incredibly, the primitive computing technology available to him meant that many of the ideas for the album are said to have come to him whilst waiting hours for his projects to save on the computer.

Tips for Home Recording

The short answer to the question of “can your guitar (or vocals) sound as good in home recordings?” is surprisingly a resounding yes. That said, recording studios exist for a reason and are still preferable if you have the time and money. To record at home, some decent equipment and attention to detail are needed.

Recording at home…with the right gear, you can get great results.

Home recordings should consider acoustics. Treating your room with acoustic panels, or even buying a vocal isolation shield or shoving it full of duvets will do a decent job! Use the best microphone/s available to you, and investing in a decent home studio setup can pay off in the future. Even something as minimal as a good condenser microphone and audio interface can do wonders. Finally, brush up on your DAW or music software. There’s no use in getting good home recordings if you have no idea how to mix them, multi-track and present them into a finished song.

We live in a liberating age for guitarists and musicians, and the idea that a song recorded in your mom’s basement can reach the charts should give every DIY musician the inspiration to learn how to record and produce.

Can Your Guitar Ever Sound as Good in Home Recordings? from MyRareGuitars.com

Guitar’s strings are usually durable enough to withstand months after they need to be changed, but don’t think that a popped string is the only reason why you should do that. Re-stringing your guitar should be done more often, as you won’t be able to clean the neck, and so on.

Anyhow, “why” you should restring your guitar is another topic, let’s stick with “how”. We’ll discuss several easy steps which will help you learn this crucial guitar maintenance method – you’ll be using it for as long as you play, so you might as well pay attention.

Step 1 – Find a suitable spot where you will re-string your guitar

Plainly put, you could restring your guitar virtually anywhere, but that’s not recommended for beginners. Why is that? Well, every time you take a string off, you’ll also have to put it somewhere where it can (and more often than not “will”) be misplaced, not to mention the hardware. 

Apart from that, re-stringing also means “re-tuning”, so, unless you have a tuner handy, you might as well want to find someplace really quiet. 

Step 2 – Prepare the tools needed to re-string your guitar

Let’s put it this way – there’s a fast method which simply involves changing of your guitar’s strings, and there’s a thorough method which involves cleaning, tuning, and wire cutting. Depending on which method you want to go with, you’ll need different gear. If possible, go with the “thorough” method whenever you can, as the health of your guitar should be more important than getting lazy. 

Anyhow, the list of tools you need is as following:

• Strings – if you’re a complete beginner, you might want to get an extra pair, as you might pop a string before getting the job right.
• A piece of clean cloth – you’ll use this to clean the fingerboard and other key points.
• Wire cutters – unless you want your strings to dangle from your guitar’s head, you’ll want to cut the excess parts.
• (Optional) Guitar Cleaning Tool – most beginners don’t have this tool, which is why it’s optional. 
• (Optional) Tuner – There are different ways to tune your guitar, so consider a tuner only if you can’t think of any.

Step 3 – Lay your guitar down on a comfortable surface

Even though it’s pretty self-explanatory, it wouldn’t hurt to mention that hard surfaces are hazardous for your guitar’s neck. Obviously, you’ll want your guitar to be supported by anything soft and cozy – pillows might do the trick (note: most beginners go with the easiest solution – laying the guitar down on the knees. There’s a world of reasons why you shouldn’t do that, but the most important one involves it falling off and getting ruined).

You don’t need to think about anything in particular during this step, as all you have to do is secure the neck without limiting access to other places. For example, if you used a pillow and it’s too bulky, you might need to press it down in order to get to guitar’s head. If you want to avoid this, use smaller objects as support. 

Step 4 – De-tuning and machine heads

The machine heads are also called tuning keys or tuning gears. These hardware pieces are used to tighten or loosen the tension of the strings, which is simply called “tuning”. Now, before you could re-string your guitar, you have to de-tune it. By de-tuning we mean “spin the heads so that the string get loose”. 

You’ll have to repeat the process for each string separately. Keep in mind, you should de-tune your guitar slowly, as quick movements might damage older machine heads.

Step 5 – Removing the pins/unlocking the mechanism from the bridge

Depending on the type of the guitar, you should either remove the pins (acoustic guitar) or unlock the mechanism (electric guitar) from the bridge.

Acoustic guitars have safety pins for each string which serve as “anchors”, keeping the strings “at bay”. On the other hand, electric guitars have a locking mechanism (typically guitars with Floyd rose), or none at all. If the latter is the case, un-screwing the machine heads would be sufficient, so this part could be skipped. 

Step 6 – Placing the strings

The only proper way to place the strings is to start at the bottom of the bridge. Pull the strings out from the package as you place each one, and start with the E1. Consult the list below for detailed explanation:

• Place the string in the pin hole and cover it 
• Lay the string on the metal bridge bar so that it sits neatly in the groove
• Apply slight tension with the hand that holds the pin (hold the string if it’s electric guitar)
• Pull the string slowly across the length of the fingerboard in the direction of your guitar’s head
• Put the end of the string through the machine heads, press it down the fingerboard as you do
• Tighten the machine heads without releasing the pressure on the string
• Keep tightening liberally until you feel the tension between your finger and the string, but do so slowly else it will snap (note: don’t overdo it – you just need your strings to be slightly tense, you’ll deal with tuning later on). 
• Repeat the process with other strings (E1, A, D, G, B, E)

Step 7 – Tune in

Now that you’ve placed the strings in place, it’s time to tune the guitar. Choose the tuning as you see fit (standard tuning is E, A, D, G, B, E, just like the name of the strings). Most musicians can tune their guitars by ear, but if you’re having difficulties, you can use a guitar tuner. 

In case you don’t have it, try figuring out the E1 string tuning by ear, and proceed with other strings, keeping in mind that the fifth fret of your E1 string should sound exactly like the open A string (and so on, with the exception of the G string, which should be fretted at the 4^th fret instead of 5^th). 

Conclusion

Re-stringing your guitar is a standard maintenance procedure. It might appear hard at the beginning, but you’ll get better and faster with time. Most beginners tend to get confused with a step or two, especially the tuning part, but don’t get dissuaded even if you don’t nail it in your first try. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll just pop a string or two before you get it right.

Author bio

I’m Anh Vu who has worked sound technology industry for 10 years now. Today, I am an affiliate blogger who likes to educate my audience more about sound technology. Visit to headphonesunder100center.com to find all information about music that you need.

How to re-string a guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

1) Go Guerilla in Band Promotion

You’ve found your awesome guitar, grabbed a drummer, a bassist, and a killer vocalist, now you need some hard core exposure! Some of the best exposure has been won through creative, outside-the-box methods. While it’s great, and smart, to jump on social media (Instagram is a must right now) don’t limit yourself! Brainstorm some interesting ways to use the ideas mentioned here, and get your band out there – in the real world.

British band The Libertines, for instance, were notorious for staging last-minute “guerilla gigs” in flats. Other bands have even played gigs in trains, buses…

2) Get a Van and Simply Play

Oh yes, the indescript band van. This is a must to creatively let people know you exist. Pull up to a venue playing your type of music, then give the people waiting a free show. Bring out the comfortable stools for guitars and the portable drum kit. It will jazz up the concert-goers, and get your name out there. If possible, paint your image/band logo on the side of the band. Rock out with a few songs, and make the best possible impact in a short amount of time.

Rock band van

Having any sort of transportation may help you get more gigs – simply because you’re able to more easily play at more locations! If your band can fit in a car, then this could be a cheaper option, of course.

Offer to play for free, or cheap, at events, as well. A public rally or fundraising event is a great place to show off your band, and to let people know you exist. If indoors is more your style, consider talking to the owner of an empty storefront. Discuss renting the space for a short period of time, then using the storefront for advertising. Hold jam sessions, play concerts, and make it about the music.

Hosting open mic nights can also help to attract a new audience for your music.

3) Get Physical with Advertising

If you’re going to do flyers, get as creative as possible. They must be memorable. Consider the type of advertisements you’d put on your refrigerator, then aim for that type of flyer. Print off a few albums, t-shirts, and other types of swag, then take them to a second hand shop or give them away.

“Sounds like a cool gig… we’re coming!”

You’ll get free advertising in all different areas of town. Grab a spot on the local news, talk about your band, and stir up old-fashioned local interest. Talk to local radio stations about playing your songs on the radio in exchange for an hour of your time in a radio slot. Some university stations are very hip to this opportunity.

There are many radio shows dedicated to new talent… and bands such as Mint have benefited from it. 

The most important part of promoting a band is presence. If you practice in the garage, you’ll never get noticed. You must get out into the community, and you must do it creatively. Most cities have a plethora of local bands, which is why making your band memorable is far more important than collecting likes on a social media platform.

By Cassandra Richard

How To Promote Your Band: 3 Simple Ideas To Get You Noticed from MyRareGuitars.com

Learning to play guitar won’t be a daunting task for you if you get proper teaching and know the ways of playing it right. It’s quite easy to grow some bad habits unknowingly and if you don’t deal with them at the early stage, it can damage your learning and will be difficult to break. Nevertheless, you should not be afraid of this as every bad habit can be changed and initially, you just need to identify them.

Basically, these damaging mistakes are commonly found with the beginners or self-taught players. Here, we have outlined 11 common damaging mistakes done by the guitar players and how they can avoid them.

1. Ignoring to tune your guitar before practicing

tuning the guitar is important!

Many newbies not only don’t know how to tune a guitar properly but also don’t notice when the guitar needs tuning. And practicing on the out-of-tune guitar won’t help them to progress. If you play a well-tuned guitar, you can keep the pitch of the notes in your mind. Likewise, if you constantly practice on an out-of-tune guitar, you can’t learn to identify the precise pitches.

Solution – Prior to playing guitar, ensure it is tuned. You can utilize an online tuner and check the tuning twice so you can play it right.

2. Not having an expert guitar setup

Your guitar setup sometimes gets impacted by the weather conditions like humidity and heat. Sometimes new guitarists try to set up their guitars by own which doesn’t make their guitar any easier to play. They can even find difficulties while practicing, and therefore improvements also become slow.

Solution – You need a professional setup for your guitar which makes the guitar easier to play and also, you won’t need extra effort for getting good sounding notes as like digital piano.

3. Not replacing strings ever or often enough

Playing on old strings not just spoils your guitar playing enjoyment but also can lead to premature wear of the fretboard and frets of your guitar. [As we wrote on a previous blog, you need to know when to change your guitar strings]

Solution – You must change your own guitar strings as it’s important on a regular basis. Even if you don’t play your guitar regularly, your strings should be replaced at least once in every 6-8 months. You should wipe the strings after practicing so you can maximize their lifespan.

4. Neglecting Barre Chords

You can experience some hurdles while advancing your guitar expertise by learning barre chords. Newbies might be intimidated by these chords as they need lots of effort in their fretting hand. And these chords are really hard to play at first. But if you avoid playing them, you won’t ever learn them.

Solution – Learn barre chords to enhance your guitar playing capacity. It will make your fretting hand stronger if you play them for a few months.

Watch this quick lesson:

5. Guitar practicing without a metronome

Practicing guitar without a metronome is not a good idea as this is the most vital practice tool that’ll give you a clear concept of your advancement while practicing: it can force you to slow down while practicing, and help you to grow a natural sense of rhythm within yourself.

Solution – Start practicing your guitar with a metronome; it will keep your music sense composed.

6. Holding your guitar improperly

Some newbies struggle a lot with playing particular chords and the main issue is that they hold their instrument improperly. Playing the chords is not difficult but they make it harder by holding the guitar incorrectly.

Solution – You can read the blogs written on proper ways of holding a guitar in different standing and sitting positions. Also, you can check out different YouTube videos.

Watch this video:

7. Irregular practice

Memory plays the main role while it comes to playing music. Consistent practice makes your memory sharper so you can make the most difficult techniques, chord shapes etc. smoother and more effortless day by day. Irregular practice will not be advantageous for your learning.

Solution – It’s better to practice guitar playing daily for at least 15 minutes. This consistency should be maintained regularly.

8. Consulting lots of sources

Some newbies take a leap from watching YouTube videos to reading blogs on the web or switching to the different online courses or reading guitar magazines. This doesn’t make things easy for them; hence they get stuck on something and cannot learn the right techniques.

Solution – You must not run towards different information sources for learning the ways of playing guitar. Rather, find a teacher to get a comprehensive lesson.

9. Going too fast

This is another mistake made by beginner guitarists. If you go straight for playing a specific song “at 100%” after learning the position of right notes, it can sometimes impair your progress – you can play the right notes, sure… but are you playing them right?  If you don’t practice perfectly, you won’t get to improve your technique.

Solution – Rather than playing a song at 100% of the speed, try to go first at 50%. You will get better results if you take it slowly…

10. Not cleaning the guitar appropriately

It’s important to know how to clean your guitar

Using furniture polish or standard household cleaners can damage your guitar. These products are unsuitable for your guitar. You don’t need to clean it every day but a good cleaning once a month can keep it durable.

Solution – Use the cleaning products which are specially made for guitars.

11. Not learning music theory

Many newbies make this mistake as they avoid learning proper music theory because they are worried about learning the more technical ways. Some often find it boring and difficult when attempting to learn these concepts – but if you persevere, it can be very rewarding.

Solutions – Undoubtedly, understanding music theory can take much time but it can sometimes quicken your music learning.

Wrapping up

So, these are a few damaging mistakes made by the newbie guitarists. The same happens with the piano artists, drummers or other artists of different instruments. If you are encountering the same issues mentioned here, try to resolve them ASAP to improvise your guitar learning – you will thank yourself later!

11 Bad Habits Beginner Guitarists Need To Avoid in 2018 from MyRareGuitars.com

Imagine planning for a major concert or an upcoming gig and then during your practice session your guitar tuning suddenly malfunctions. This could be either as a result of wearing out your tuners, or them getting getting broken. This can be a setback to your quest as an artist, right?

Whether your guitar uses locking tuners or traditional designs, a guitar tuner makes your play feel spot on and your guitar sound great. Besides, they help identify and adjust to the pitch of your preference by opening or closing the strings. 

Therefore, whenever there is an inevitable need to replace your tuners, you might be confused whether to replace some knobs of tuners or a whole set of tuners. 

Whichever is your choice, before you rush to replace your tuner, it is important to understand possible reasons that might lead to your guitar tuner wearing out or getting broken. This will assist you to know exactly how to effectively go about the replacement and get your guitar back in tune. 

Changing the tuners of your guitar is actually easy…

What Might Lead To Replacing Your Guitar?

Firstly, as you keep using your guitar, the tuners are prone to the wear and tear over time. This could be associated to the frequent pressure they are subjected to while playing the guitar.

Consequently, they end up improperly fitting each other or at the worst, not fitting together at all. Attempts to tune your guitar to the right pitch could result to sudden skipping of the gear teeth. 

At the worst, insisting on trying them out, strings might end up getting out of hand calling for a complete replacement. 

Secondly, your guitar can accidentally drop on a hard surface damaging your tuners. Also, there are chances of the buttons cracking due to poor or no oiling of the gears. This is the point you feel the need to apply more pressure on the buttons to get your tune. 

In such case, the tuning quality might get compromised to the extent of the damage, hence possible need to replace them.

Ways of Replacing the Tuner Of A Guitar

Impressively, you don’t have to be worried if your tuner can’t function properly and has to be replaced. 

Have you ever been on the receiving end while playing your guitar at home, and experienced regular guitar tuner breakdowns? 

Well, I recommend you pay attention to the kind of problem necessitating the need to replace your tuners. Check whether it is the entire set of tuners you have to replace or just the tuning buttons. It is also important you take into account the kind of guitar you have.

Step-by step guide:

• If it is your tuning buttons that are broken, consider taking into perspective these tips to get your tuners fixed and get your fun back. The procedure doesn’t have to be complicated;
• Firstly, loosen off the guitar strings to establish the extent of the damage. Be careful at this point as strings can unwind fast and end up injuring you.
• You will have to remove all the strings the same way if you realize that a number of tuners have to be replaced. Notably, if you also don’t want to keep wasting time and experience regular replacement of the tuners, replacing all of them will a great idea too. 
• If you have an electric guitar, I recommend you check as to what extent your tuner is damaged, otherwise, if it is a single or a number of tuning buttons that need replacement, you don’t have to replace the whole set. This will equally save you extra replacement costs, saving your energy. 
• Ensure you buy new exact fitting tuners from your local store. It is imperative you identify the right tuning buttons that will fit in well before screwing them into place.
• At this point sparing some time to check out expert ideas or research on reviews on appropriate tuner replacement options will be invaluable.
• If you happen to have a regular guitar, get an appropriate small-sized screw able to unscrew the screws from the neck of your guitar at the tuning buttons. 
• If you don’t have also much of the ideas on how to unscrew your specific type of guitar, do some research or seek professional guidance before you proceed. 
• After unscrewing is done and the screws slip off, replace them with your correct new tuners.
• If you happen to have forgotten how to replace all parts back into place, reflect on how you started.  Fixing the new tuners should be done carefully to avoid fitting in a wrong tuner or spoiling the finish. 

Other Important Aspects to Consider

What if you can’t find the exact replacement tuner for your guitar and you need to get back into action quickly? 

Therefore, I suggest you be keen to the measurements of your tuner including the right height, size of the hole where the original tuner was fitting, the mounting pattern of your screw and arm length. 

Are you finding it necessary to do some modification on your type of guitar to accommodate the replacement tuners? Such modification might include the need to enlarge the pegheads holes for big-sized shafts. Your peghead holes need to match the spacing of the tuners when mounted on the plate of your guitar.

While enlarging the peg holes, be careful not to chip off the finishing of your instrument or the peghead veneer. Remember; ensure you have the correct specifications if you have to drill new holes. It is also preferable to check the tuner whether once screwed into the hole; the brushing is able to fit perfectly on the peghead. 

Your guitar tuner should be positioned at a distance in such way is it easy to access the string hole. This is to facilitate stable tuner fixing to avoid them becoming loose or coming off. 

Conclusion 

When buying your new tuners, check for those tuners that are too smooth as they might give you challenges while screwing them in. I hope you tuner replacement is an informed procedure that you can adapt to easily for a smooth play of your guitar.

By Joseph Nicholls

How to Replace Your Guitar’s Tuners from MyRareGuitars.com

Looking for a new guitar amp? Here’s our guide.

Ready to buy your new – and perhaps even first – guitar amp? The first thing YOU need to know is: how do you plan to use your amp? Playing live, just jamming at home, for recording? If you’re not playing live, there’s no need to, for instance, use a massive 100w amp with a 412 cab… unless you want to really annoy your neighbours! And while beginners might be happy enough with a cheap practice amp, those looking for a great sounding recording amp would be more satisfied with a small valve amp. For more info about loudness, check our How Much Guitar Amp Power Do I Need? blog.

With this in mind, guest blogger Alex Frank will give you a few pointers you should think about when choosing a new amp!

Introduction – a foreword about guitar amps

Guitar amps are designed to serve a single purpose – the amplify and enhance the sound your guitar makes, hence the name. They come in all shapes and sizes, and there’s a fine line between a “good” and a “bad” one, so it’s only normal that you feel a bit insecure about finding the right one.

We’re here to make your search easier – just follow the steps we provided and consult with the “things to consider” section whenever you’re in doubt, and you’ll be sure to find the best amp in no time.

Important things to consider when looking for your amp:

First of all, there are millions of guitar amps that come from thousands and thousands of manufacturers, so it’s quite easy to get lost once your search has begun. Before you begin, consider the following advice:

• Don’t fall for the first amp you see

As we’ve mentioned, there are countless amps just waiting for you. The first amp that suits your liking might appear ideal at first, but you should try out several models anyhow. Imagine it this way – if you wouldn’t buy a car at first try, don’t buy an amp on first sight. 

• Some amps are good at all times, other can only reach the quality of the guitar you’re playing on

Professional music shops usually have top-shelf gear, which is used when the staff demonstrates the quality of the shop’s merchandise. On the other hand, they could let you try it out yourself, which doesn’t matter too much. 

What matters is the fact that even mediocre amps might sound good with proper side-gear. The punchline – you might get frustrated when the amp that sounded flawlessly at the shop doesn’t appear so with your guitar. If you want to prevent this, use guitars that are similar in quality to the one you have when trying out the amp.

• Don’t rush it – it’s always better to save some cash and buy a more expensive amp

People hasten to swift purchase of their amps if they’re about to get into a band, or right before an important gig. These situations are the only exceptions from the rule – “don’t rush your amp purchase”. Not only are budget amps unreliable, they’re prone to malfunctions, and, in most cases, the repairs cost more than the amp itself.

Step by Step guide on how to choose your guitar amp

Step 1 – Consider your budget

As always, you can’t buy the things you can’t afford – the same goes with guitar amps. Apart from that, most amps require you to be pretty economic – most musicians save up for months before they get to the point of buying an amp. Remember – more expensive amps sound better, they’re more reliable, and they’re superiorly valuable. 

If we are to imagine that there are no budget limits, you should definitely consider boutique amps – those models that are well above $5000. You’d be surprised that guitar gear can reach such heights moneywise, but yeah, there are guitar amps that cost a fortune, even though they’re usually reserved for popular bands who make a living out of it.

Step 2 – Choose the amp that will best suit your playing style

There are no two amps that share an identical soundstage. Some amps are perfect for hard & heavy music, such as Randall, Laney, and Vox while others are more-balanced, in a sense – a perfect example would be Peavey. 

Anyhow, you’ll want to consider the EQ options here – the bass output, the mids, and the highs. Tweak these settings as you check the amp out, and you’ll know how to evaluate its performance. 

Step 3 – Inquire about reliable brands

It’s only normal that there are a lot of brands, but it wasn’t always so – people used to go with Marshall amps back in the day, but now we have a plethora of brands, some obscure, some renowned. Anyhow, names like “Mesa/Boogie”, “Vox”, “Laney”, and “Fender” should mean something to you once you get to the point of deciding. 

More often than not, these brands tend to make the best guitar amps on the world, and the percentage of risk you’ll be facing with them would be minimal.

Step 4 –  Check the amp yourself

There’s a thing musicians invented – a sort of “guitar slang”, which describe the performance (or sound) an amp or a guitar makes as “crunchy, punchy, tangy” and such. If you’re a new guy on the stage, such words would have little meaning to you, thus you won’t get the benefits of online reviews of guitar amps. 

This is the reason why you should always check the amp out yourself. If this is not an option, online reviews could be helpful, but mind the ones with low ratings, as they could be unreliable, or even made with ill intent, for that matter.

We strongly advise that you employ the use of YouTube guitar amp reviews as an alternative, as this is the perfect substitute for actual “face-to-face” amp review. Most musicians state the exact gear they’re using apart from the amp itself, which could give you a clear picture of how this amp is supposed to, and how it is working de facto. 

Step 5 – Ask for professional help if this is your first amp purchase

Most music gear shops are crowded with people, but you might notice that there aren’t a lot of loners out there. People usually bring more experienced friends who would advise them, should they lack the knowledge or insight about the particular type of a guitar amp.

This is the reason why you shouldn’t go alone if you’ve never dealt with guitar amps. If none of your friends are familiar with guitar tech, you could always ask the staff to help you out – they’re obliged to do so, in most cases.

Additional Tips & Tricks

If you’ve done everything by the book and are still unsatisfied with your amp, we’ve got several tips and tricks that might help you out in choosing a better one:

• Consider bringing your own pedals to the shop before you try the amp out, as this will give you a better picture of how it will sound (if you can’t bring a whole guitar, pedals are more transportable.)
• If it’s possible, ask the staff to let you try out the amp with headphones (most good amps have the headphone input). You’ll immediately notice the difference, as the acoustics of the room you’re playing in will smooth the sound out. The headphones will give you the “raw” sound the amp makes.
• Don’t skip the budget amps, even if you have the cash to afford more expensive ones. Sometimes, even though it’s an exception, a low-cost amp will be able to complement your style when those expensive ones can’t.
• Consider amps that have multiple amp sounds pre-built within their construction only if you know exactly what you’re looking for. These amps seldom have their “own” unique sound, and they’ll often sound good in a shop (a good example is Peavey Viper – it has 12 stompboxes and amps, lacking its own sound).

Conclusion

Finding a good guitar amp is not so hard, as you can see, as there are so many of them. However, finding the one that will best suit your style (and budget) might appear to be tricky. We hope that the “step-by-step” guide we provided will be helpful to you, and we wish you good luck with your search.

– By Alex Frank

Alex Frank has worked in the sound technology industry for 10 years now. Today, he’s an affiliate blogger who likes to educate his audience more about sound technology. Visit to musicinstrumentscenter.com to find all information about music that you need.

Need more ideas?

Read our 10 Classic Guitar Amps & The Songs That Made Them Famous blog.

How to choose a guitar amp from MyRareGuitars.com

Are you planning to play your first ever gig? This is a prospect that can stop many budding musicians in their tracks. Follow these steps by guest blogger Diego Cardini if you want to have a great first gig. 

The big day is finally here! Whether you a playing an open mic in a coffee shop or a crowded auditorium full of thousands of fans, the first gig can always feel the scariest. Don’t worry. If you follow these tips, you will be ready to show off your skills and wow the audience so that the will be begging for an encore!

Step 1: Keep it Simple

A lot of new musicians really want to demonstrate that they have what it takes to be a great musicians. They want to play complex arrangements as quickly as possible so people will appreciate them. But think about some of the most famous songs. A lot of them have pretty simple chords and easy to remember choruses and verses.

For you first time in the spotlight, you are better off going with a simple song you mastered than a more difficult one that you have a better chance of making a mistake while performing.

Step 2: Less is More

There is a reason why people always say practice makes perfect. What nobody thinks about when they listen to a song is how many times the musicians practiced it to get everything sounding just right. Bands like the Rolling Stones have probably played some of their most famous songs about 100,000 times by now!

When you are going to perform, you likewise should stick to a handful of songs (about three) that you know extremely well. These are songs that you can blindfolded in the dark while hanging upside down. The whole purpose of your first gig is to get used to being in front of people, you can amaze them with you huge catalog of hits after you’ve had a little more practice.

Step 3: Practice in Front of People

On that note, there is a huge different between when you practice in front of people and when you are alone. You have to get used to people being around. For many musicians, they hardly notice anybody else is in the room when they play. For others, they feed off the energy of the crowd to enhance their performance. Whatever approach you take, you have to be able to play around other people.

Playing open mic nights usually offer a smal, friendly and intimate environment for a first gig…

How to Prepare Yourself for Your First Gig from MyRareGuitars.com

Having a hard time deciding which kind of guitar to learn on? You may be concerned about the price or quality of the guitar or you may simply just be unusure of whether to begin with a simple binary choice of whether starting with an electric is a better option.

That’s all right – most beginners to guitar are completely lost when it comes to choosing between acoustic or electric to learn on. In general, the kind of guitar to choose should be based on the kind of music you want to play (and the artists you want to emulate). Metal, rock, punk and jazz music, for instance, are best played with an electric guitar.

Most guitar players usually start out on an acoustic then move on to an electric guitar primarily because of budget limitations–a decent acoustic guitar tends to cost less than a decent electric guitar, and there’s no additional spending needed for electronics such as amps. However, it doesn’t really have to be that way–there’s absolutely no harm in learning how to play the guitar with an electric!

Both acoustic and electric guitars have their own aspects that can make them better for one beginner but not for another, so really it’s a case-to-case basis. To help you decide which guitar to choose for learning on, here are some points you need to consider.

Learning to play with an acoustic guitar

Learning the basics on an acoustic guitar provides a more solid foundation and tends to develop strength in the muscles used for playing. Acoustic guitars can be a bit more difficult to play because they have thicker necks and strings and a higher string action, but they’re easier to understand and simpler overall–no knobs, cables, amplifiers and dials necessary to get you started playing. 

Beginners can have their acoustic guitar professionally set up to lower the strings closer to the fretboard and/or replace the default strings with good-quality light gauge strings for greater comfort and playability. A proper guitar setup, a tuner, a carry case or bag and probably a few picks are all you need.

You know what they say about learning how to drive: if you learn to drive a manual-shift car, you can easily move on to an automatic. The same principle can be applied to learning to play the guitar. If you sweat it out on an acoustic where you need to apply greater finger pressure for the strings to reach the fretboard, then playing an electric would be like pushing down on air.

So, buy an acoustic guitar if you don’t want to spend much on a guitar (and accessories)–perhaps just the minimum amount necessary–to give the instrument a try to see if it’s a right fit for you, and if you want to play acoustic-style music.

Learning to play with an electric guitar

The strings on an electric guitar are generally thinner or of a lighter gauge and have a lower string action. The necks are thinner too, which means they are easier on the fingers and are more playable.

In an electric guitar, most of the tone produced is shaped by effects pedals and amps, so you’re not limited to just one type of sound unlike with an acoustic–you have a wide range of playing techniques to experiment with. However, this also means that it can be more complicated to set up.

Electric guitar models come with headphone support so you can play without anyone else (like your roommate or neighbors) hearing.

So, buy an electric guitar of you really want to play metal, rock, funk or any other genre that sounds best with an electric. If an electric guitar is a greater motivator for you to play, then by all means go get one!

If you’re still not sure about which guitar to learn on, you won’t go wrong with getting an acoustic first as a beginner– you’ll probably get yourself an electric guitar somewhere down the line anyway, especially if you develop a liking for electrified sounds.

– by Nicky Patterson

Once you’ve finally made up your mind, be sure to head over to Know Your Instrument which has loads of great reviews and tips for people buying their first guitar.

Electric or Acoustic? A Beginner’s Guitar Guide from MyRareGuitars.com

The Essential Guide for Guitar Recording from MyRareGuitars.com

Tips for Buying Your First Guitar

When buying your first guitar, I know many of you made some bad choices that you may want to relive, but you cannot go back in time. This process may be a daunting and most frustrating task because of the wide range of guitars that are available in the market. Selecting the best guitar on your first purchase may be successful only if you know the type and precise guitar that you want. Therefore, when you out there shopping for a new guitar just follow this review and it will guide you to a successful purchase.

Guitar Type

You cannot brag about getting a guitar when you do not even know the type of guitar that you want. Depending on your skills and playing level it will be easy selecting a guitar type that goes along with what you know. On the other hand, for all those newbies who know nothing about guitars you can choose to go for a simple and most common type of guitar before advancing to other types of guitars. The type of music you like will also influence on the type of guitar that you are getting for yourself.

The three most common types of guitar are:

• Classical Guitar: acoustic, with nylon strings. Often a common choice for first-timers, especially children.
• Steel-strung acoustics: could be of a few different sizes & shapes (dreadnought, jumbo, folk) but pretty much the same idea. Better for learning chords, and sound louder than classical guitars, but the strings might feel a bit harsher on more delicate hands, compared to nylon strings.
• Electric guitar: Unlike the other two, you’ll also need an amp and a lead to plug the guitar to it. Ideal if you want to rock out from the off!

Cost

The amount of money you will spend on your first guitar will surely depend on the type of guitar that you are settling for. This is a never ending debate where to spend more or less amount of cash on your first guitar. For me, I would advise that you go for something that is within your range and you would not feel the pinch of buying it because you already have an established budget. You may buy a cheap guitar, and it will still serve you, or you may end up with an expensive guitar and still be happy. The bottom line here just does not allow yourself to get into financial misery because of improper budgeting.

Research

This is the most important tip for all beginners who want to buy a guitar for the first time. A guitar is not like a packet of milk that you will just walk up to a store and pick it up. You are required to know specifications and other important details about guitars. Therefore, it is important that you do your research before you set out to buy a guitar for yourself. A research will ensure that you get the guitar you want or a more sophisticated version of it.

Accessories that you require

To all those who are willing to purchase their first guitars, you should know that a guitar is not the thing that you require. Some accessories will be of much help to you, and it is important that you also get them when you are buying your first guitar. These accessories are essential and of beneficial help to you as a guitarist and they include gig bag for carrying your guitar around, guitar stand, picks, capos and electric tuner if you are going for that electric guitar. Always enquire about accessories whenever you are going to buy a guitar.

clip-on guitar tuners are now the most popular kind, whether you play acoustic or electric guitar.

Where to buy

Where you buy your first guitar is really important especially when it comes to searching for extra additional services or seeking assistance about the guitar. With the increasing demand for online shopping, you may be tempted to purchase your guitar online. This may be a risky venture especially of you having problems with your guitar, and you need a replacement or something. I advise you to purchase your guitars from any reputable store to avoid unnecessary loss or regrets because of ending up with a stupid and non-performing guitar.

Find a guitar that suits your style

After establishing where you would buy you guitar, it is so that you should locate and find a guitar that suits your style. Here you may be required to test other types and brand of guitars and ensure that you get that unique guitar that features and accommodates the style of sound you want. You will be the one playing the guitar, so it is allowed for you to just think of yourself and your style to get that guitar.

Tip: Get inspired by your idols! Choosing a guitar that looks similar to the one of your favourite guitarist might be a good start! No use buying a classical guitar if you want to be Jimi Hendrix, or an electric if you love Ed Sheeran…

Guitar Setup

Once you buy a guitar, you may be required to set it up depending on the neck of the guitar or the strings type. It is advisable that we should always buy our first guitars from stores so that we can have the salesman or the store luthier set up our devices to meet our needs. This is very important because you will not go home with your guitar then jump to YouTube videos to assist you set it up. Once it is customized and set up according to your needs, your new baby will be now ready to rock and roll.

Learn to play

Being your fist guitar and now that you have already set up your mind on what you are going to get I would encourage that you should learn to play your new baby. Some newbies go out in the stores to buy guitars without having a formula on how they are going to learn to play. It is important that you should know who is going to teach you how to play. There are music schools that offer the best rates when it comes to teaching newbies how to play. Ensure that you enroll in one after buying your guitar.

Final Words

With this review above I intend to help a lot of new beginners how to select and purchase the best acoustic guitar that suits them. Therefore, I advise that you take every point into consideration and ensure that you follow it to the letter for you to be successful in purchasing that guitar that you like.

Another important note to bear in mind is that you should not be confused by the wide range of guitar types that are in the market, just narrow your thoughts to what you are looking for, and it will not be much problem getting your first guitar. For more information, read How To Start Learning Acoustic Guitar  

– by Nancy Shumate

How To Choose Your First Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Using alternate tunings is one of the best ways to find new inspiration and getting a new freshness to your playing. Here’s our list of Top 5 alternate tunings (and some of the best songs using them) every guitarist should try at least once in their lives… have you ever tried them all? 

DADGBE (a.k.a. “Drop D”): 

This is one of the easiest alternate tunings you can try – simply tune your bottom (thickest) E-string to D! This is a popular tuning in rock & metal. Early, famous songs featuring this tuning include The Beatles’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Moby Dick’.

DADGBD (Double Drop D):

OK, now for the next tuning, things get even more interesting! Besides tuning down the bottom E-string, you just need to do the same with the top E-string? The result? A guitar tuning that’s been used on many legendary recordings, including “Cortez The Killer” and “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young, “The End” by The Doors, “Going To California” by Led Zeppelin and “Bryter Later” by Nick Drake. Impressive list, or what??? 

DGDGBD (Open G, the “Keef Tuning”):

This is the tuning used by Keith Richards on some of his most memorable riffs: “Honky Tonk Women”, “Brown Sugar” and “Start Me Up”. Following from Double Drop D, you just need to tune yet another string down – A to G. 

According to the legend, many players who tried to cover The Rolling Stones in the late 60’s, early 70’s, didn’t quite get it right, because hardly anyone knew Keith Richards used this alternate tuning, so they tried to play the songs on standard tuning. 

Also, as the story goes, it was Ry Cooder who told Keef about the Open G. Interesting to note that, if you truly want to copy Richards, you need to remove the bottom D-string altogether, because he uses a Telecaster with only 5 strings for this tuning!

DADF#AD (Open D, “Blues” tuning):

This tuning was used by Elmore James and is considered one of the most popular for blues, especially slide guitar. But there’s much more to it, too: the whole of Bob Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracks” album was recorded using this tuning. Other famous users include Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Elizabeth Cotten and even Pearl Jam (rhythm parts of early hit singles “Oceans” and “Even Flow”).

DADGAD (“Celtic” tuning):

This tuning was made popular by influential British folk player Davey Graham, inspired by the tuning used by Oud players in Morocco. Since then, it was used by other legendary players such as Bert Jansch and Jimmy Page. 

Want more alternate tunings?

Check out the Warren Ellis Series alternate tunings guide, for those who play tenors but also featuring some suitable for 6-string players!

Five Alternate Guitar Tunings Every Guitarist Should Try from MyRareGuitars.com

Hound Dog Taylor, a slide guitar legend, with his Kawai SD-40, now reissued by Eastwood.

Before we start, it’s important to make clear that the slide guitar technique wasn’t invented for blues, and is not for exclusive use for blues guitarists. The origins of slide can be traced to one-stringed African instruments, and anyone can use a slide in any musical style – from Hawaiian music to experimental, noisy bands such as Sonic Youth. George Harrison was also an adept of the slide, using it on Beatles tracks and in solo recordings. 

But of course, it’s in the blues format (and blues-inspired rock’n’roll) where the slide found its perfect home, and one of the earliest accounts of the blues, by W. C. Handy, mentions an unknown blues player at a Mississippi train station, playing slide guitar… with a knife!

“As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularised by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars. The effect was unforgettable.”

So, it’s for those interested in playing blues slide that this blog is intended.

You don’t need a special guitar… but you will need a “slide set up”

Though lap-steel guitars and resonator guitars are used for playing slide, it doesn’t mean you need one. Any guitar will do, whether electric or acoustic. If you plan to play or practice slide regularly, it’s recommended that you get a new / spare guitar just for that, because it’ll need a few extra adjustments for this purpose, which may not feel great when going back to playing your normal style, without a slide!

We’re partial of the Eastwood Custom SD-40 , inspired by the one used by Hound Dog Taylor, of course!

But don’t worry, those adjustments are fairly simple:

• the action on your guitar needs to be setup higher than usual, otherwise it’ll rattle too much. 
• it’s recommended to use slightly heavier gauge strings for a “thicker” tone, though that’s a matter of taste, mostly.
• the guitar needs to be tuned to an “open” tuning, because you won’t be making any chord shape with your slide!

What are the best slide guitar tunings?

You’ll manage with any open tuning, but the most common are Open G and Open D, as used in many legendary blues recordings.

OPEN G: G B D G B E

OPEN D: D A D F# A D

Here’s a good example of how the open D tuning sounds like. The slide used was a heavy gauge Bronze one by Dunlop.

What’s the best kind of slide: glass or metal?

Again, this is a matter or taste. Generally speaking, glass / pyrex slides will give you a warmer tone, and metal slides (bronze, steel…) will give you a louder and brighter tone, besides the fact they won’t break! Of course, there’s a taste for everything and some players will say bronze is better than steel etc etc… the best thing is: go to a shop and try a few, or if in doubt – just go for any steel slide, because that’s the most common.

There are also ceramic slides, which are not as popular as glass or metal, but which many connoisseurs prefer, because they sit somewhere between the warmth of glass and the sharpness of metal.

This video of the new Eastwood The Continental by Jeff Senn features a glass slide – check the tone! 

On which finger should I  put the slide?

The most common choice is the ring finger, which makes it easier to use the slide wherever you play on the fretboard. Some players prefer to use the pinky, because this way you can more-or-less easily use the other fingers to play chords. 

For beginners – just go with the ring finger, we say! 

Two quick slide guitar lessons to get you started

Now that you are all set to go, here’s two of our favorite slide guitar lessons on Youtube, to get you started!

RJ RONQUILLO: 6 SLIDE GUITAR LICKS

The always excellent RJ shows how to play 6 side licks plus talks a bit about the guitar setup.

SLIDE GUITAR BLUES LESSON IN OPEN D

One of the best and most straight-forward guitar lessons we’ve ever seen on YouTube. WARNING: some profanity ahead… make sure no kids are around!

How To Play Slide Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

As with so many other things, the best way to show the importance of strap buttons is to look at what happens if they simply aren’t there, or if they don’t work correctly, or when they aren’t where they should be. The consequences include dropped guitars and resulting damage to headstocks, necks, bodies and wallets.  Conclusion: strap buttons are pretty darned important.

In future articles, I’ll spend more time on guitar design theory and how to best position a strap button from the start to maximize playability, comfort and balance. Right now, although the issue of positioning or re-positioning a strap button will come up, I’m going to focus on strap button issues in the context of collectible guitars. This is important because strap button-related issues are among the most common concerns when it comes to what should or should not be done to a collectible instrument.

First and foremost, you have to know what to look for as to whether an instrument has its original strap buttons in their original places. If you’re not sure, my usual recommendation (for just about anything) is that you deal with a reputable and knowledgeable seller and keep your trusted guitar tech in the loop. In addition, because we want to make you a Smarter Guitar Nut, you can educate yourself on this subject pretty quickly since there is abundant information on-line including pictures of almost any instrument and numerous other resources such as scans of original ads and vintage manufacturers’ catalogues.

The most common type of strap button, found on many brands including Gibson and Fender. These are easy to obtain including reliced versions like the one on the right.

You’ll notice there’s a pretty limited range of strap button types. Indeed, the most common type is used on the majority of electric guitars including Fenders and Gibsons. If these need to be replaced, they are readily available, including reasonably priced reliced versions. Just to keep life interesting, there are also, of course, a few very unusual types strap buttons and related hardware which, if missing, can be very hard to replace.

Once you’re sure what to look for, you can recognize whether a strap button has been replaced, added or re-positioned. An appropriate, well-installed replacement should- I suggest – not be a concern in terms of collectability and value. The big problems are:

• If a strap button has been added, it means there’s a hole in the guitar that wasn’t there originally. While the strap button is left in place, you can’t see that hole, but it means the button has to stay put regardless of where it is. Worse, if the installation wasn’t done neatly, there might be some additional cosmetic or even structural damage.
• If a strap button has been repositioned, this is a bit more serious because it means there’s now an extra hole in the guitar that might or might not be able to be touched up.

The strap loop on an old Kay Pro bass. If it’s missing, it will be tough to find a replacement.

Serious issues about added or repositioned strap buttons will be addressed in a future column. For now, you need to know two things:

1. As a buyer, this is something you need to ask about and as an owner/potential seller it’s something you need to stop and consider before making any changes yourself; and,
2. Strap button issues can affect the value of a collectible guitar, whether or not that alteration makes perfectly good sense in terms of improved balance and playability.

If changes or repairs have been or have to be made, you can decide if that’s a deal breaker.

Once you’ve got any issues resolved, if all that’s left is that a strap button is a bit loose, the fix is simple (that is: it’s simple if you’re dealing with a solid body guitar, hollow bodies will be dealt with in the next article):

A small piece of dowel, marked to show to show the depth of the screw hole.

Always wipe off any excess glue.

1) Remove the loose screw and the strap button;

2) Insert a piece of 1/8” dowel (or the traditional piece of match stick) into the hole and mark it to that depth;

3) Remove the dowel and cut it at the mark so it is the same length as the depth of the hole;

4) Coat the dowel with a thin, even layer of glue (white or, preferably yellow…not epoxy or super glue) and push it back into the hole;

5) Then, re-install the strap button.

6) If any excess glue squeezes out of the hole, remove the screw, wipe off the excess glue so none remains on the surface of the guitar and re-install.

An important note here about the term “tighten up”. This always means to turn something just until it stops. It does ­not mean turning it until it stops and then trying to turn it more with all your might. When tightening any component on a guitar with any tool, the rule is: Don’t force it! There are (almost) no guitar-repair situations where it is a good idea to try to force something to go more than it seems to want to go. If you ignore that warning, things can turn out very badly. How badly? Well, let’s just say there will be a future column dedicated to dealing with broken or stripped screws that remain stuck in places where you do not want them to be stuck.

If you manage to tighten up both strap buttons, congratulate yourself. You’ve just repaired one of the most common issues to be dealt with on almost any guitar. This fix should not affect the value of almost any instrument.

If, after going through the steps above two or three times, a screw still doesn’t tighten up, its hole has to be doweled and re-drilled.

Dowelling and re-drilling a hole is a much more complicated procedure and the typical Smarter Guitar Nut would be indeed smarter to pass it over to his trusted tech. The Smarter Guitar Nut who is a bit more experienced with basic repair work should practice dowelling and re-drilling only on very expendable guitars or on scrap wood. We’ll deal with this procedure in a subsequent instalment of the Smarter Guitar Nut.

THE SMARTER GUITAR NUT #3: Strap Buttons – Part 1 from MyRareGuitars.com

I’m going to discuss some dos and don’ts of using these pedals and give some input on my experiences using both simultaneously.

Firstly, when using these two, it’s important to understand in a practical sense what each pedal is doing to your signal. That doesn’t mean you need to be a physicist or audio engineer to understand what’s going on with your sound, but use your ears and experiment entirely with your pedal to see what it’s doing. The two biggest things to consider when using overdrive and distortion pedals are compression and gain.

It’s important to understand how compressed your signal is getting from your pedal because we have all been in a situation wherein we get on stage after spending months perfecting our tone, only to result in a vast difference between stage volume/tone and practice-room/bedroom volume/tone. Or, have you ever been at an open mic and heard someone performing, and even though their amp is seemingly loud and heavily distorted, you can’t make out a single note they are playing? Compression is almost always the culprit with an overly distorted tone.

Gain consideration is important because you need to make sure your pedals are all sending a balanced (equal-volumed) signal, OR at the signal balance that you want them at.

For example, I have a JHS Lowdrive (overdrive pedal), and a Wampler Plextortion (distortion pedal) that are my two main “gain/distortion” sounds I use on my pedal board. Without complicating my example, let’s just say for this conversation that my signal is: Guitar > JHS > Wampler > Amp (Figure A)

I have my JHS set so with my volume cranked on my guitar and playing full pick-strength, my clean volume and JHS-on volume are balanced with the stage volume I use my amp at. My Wampler-on is also balanced with my clean channel, but what is important about my signal chain is how much the Wampler compresses my channel compared to my JHS. Because of the compression, I can turn on my JHS and Wampler at the same time to increase the distortion, but with an insignificant change in gain (volume, decibels, however you would like to refer to it).

IF I had set up my JHS and Wampler in the following order: Guitar > Wampler > JHS > Amp (Figure B), it would be a lot more difficult for me to run both pedals at the same time without increasing my overall volume significantly. The reason is because now the JHS is increasing the gain of Wampler without the same compression the Wampler provides for the JHS.

This may seem a little wordy and complicated, but try it for yourself and make these mistakes at home! Even if you’re not interested in using both pedals at the same time, knowing this and setting your pedals up accordingly can help avoid embarrassing feedback squeals, or destroying a sound-guy’s ears/equipment by accidentally mis-pressing a pedal.

First, set up your pedals so when they are turned on, the volume is balanced with the clean channel. I would recommend that you do this with the amp set to a medium volume (if the amp is too quiet, it is essentially compressing the signal so you could have the pedal cranked and you wouldn’t even know the difference until you had to bring everything up to stage volume).

Try plugging in both pedals and turning everything on with one configuration, then the other. You’ll immediately notice that by putting the distortion pedal as the second pedal in the chain (or simply AFTER the overdrive pedal) that the tone created is much more manageable and without a significant volume boost. And trust me, if your volume is all over the place in an unmusical fashion, sound-guys don’t consider that to be “dynamic”. It’s just annoying.

Jordan Welbourne

www.jordanwelbourne.com

facebook.com/JordanWelbourne\

The Stomping Ground – Cascading Overdrive/Distortion from MyRareGuitars.com

Booking is an integral facet to your business. Your product is your music and there are only 2 real ways to consume music; listening to recorded material and going to a show to listen to a band. In a lot of ways, booking shows can be very easy.  Often times band members / managers make it harder on themselves than they should. Like anything in the business world, there are do’s and don’t’s that will either help propel you forward or keep you stagnant. 

First and foremost, you need recorded music.  A talent buyer at any venue will require that you send over a physical press kit or an EPK (electronic press kit). Your press kit must have audio files of your music (preferably .mp3 or .wav), band photos, a band biography, a list of venues you have played, a stage plot and input list, a rider (specific needs for the show: i.e. hospitality, lodging, etc.), and bands you have played with.  Additives that help your press kit stand out include a cover page, any accolades or awards, and / or live videos or music videos (more applicable for an EPK).  There are platforms online that can assist you in making a press kit. Reverb Nation and Sonic Bids are both helpful in creating EPK’s within their specific network. If you aren’t interested in connecting with either of those platforms, you can always customize your own via your website. If you don’t have a website, you should consider making one. Websites are a one-stop-shop for talent buyers and promoters to find the information the need from bands. Website building sites like squarespace, wix, or weebly are great for musicians that aren’t familiar with coding.

 
Next, you need to understand your market. If you are a folk group, you probably won’t have great shows playing night clubs (given that the night clubs agree to take you). I say probably because every situation is different. This goes back to really understanding your market.  If the night club specializes in folk music then my example is null and void. The best rule of thumb is booking shows in the places where your colleagues (those playing similar sounding tunes) have previously booked shows.  Understanding your market also derives from understanding who the talent buyer is in each club / venue.  Make a list of names / emails and provide a fun fact about each talent buyer (if possible).  It’s good practice to keep track of who you’re dealing with professionally, but also who they are as people (life skill ALERT). 

“Music and music business are two different things” – Erykah Badu

With thousands of venues that exist in any one region, it can be difficult to get a grasp for each club’s genre preference.  If you aren’t familiar with your local scene, investigate by going to shows and seeing what clubs are doing. Look for handbills / posters for other shows and investigate the sound of the bands on the line up. If you are looking to book outside of your local scene, you can lean on websites like Indie On The Move or Do DIY.  These sites have concise lists of existing venues and genres of music they have performing. Fair warning, I have run into issues where their websites were out of date and the venue has changed or no longer exists.  Make sure you double check your work by following up with a phone call or email.

A big part of the booking process deals with the onsite behavior of the band you are in/manage. It’s good practice to establish a courteous culture among your group while at your shows.  Often, bands confuse being an artist with being an asshole. If you sell out your show, but are still a pain to work with, the venue has reason not to ask you back. Many artists are plagued by this due to the classic example of musicians demanding only blue m&m’s. Most often these bands ask for blue m&m’s to see if the venue is paying attention to detail. If the m&m’s are different than requested in the rider, that translates to other, potential more damaging mishaps with the rider (i.e. bad sound, no hospitality, etc.).  Simply clean up after yourself, mind your p’s and q’s, and be thankful for the opportunity to play a show.  By and large, you can always conduct your business professionally and courteously.

Lastly, once the show is over and you are moving on to your next venue, be sure to stay in touch with the venues you played previously.  “Thank You” notes are a great way to follow up with the buyer.  It may seem frivolous, but as I mentioned before, we are all human and like being appreciated. At very least, send a follow up email to say thank you. Now go book some shows.

Once again, if you have any questions relating to booking a show, or have any suggestions for me to write specifically on any particular topic, feel free to email me at bcspencer2013@gmail.com

Your Band as a Business: Booking Shows from MyRareGuitars.com

In my first article, I told you about my background and what I hope to accomplish with this series of articles. Like the title says: I want to help make you a Smarter Guitar Nut. The first thing to know about being a Smarter Guitar Nut is: how to ask the right questions about the guitar you might be buying. I won’t get into the potential issues around a guitar’s cosmetic condition in this article. For now, here’s what you need to ask: Is the guitar in good cosmetic condition and is the finish original or is it a “re-fin”.

What we’ll focus on in this article is the guitar’s functionality; its mechanical and electronic components and, if those are not fully functional, what you then need to consider. Here we go…

Hey, I know the feeling. That first sight of a really cool guitar and that moment when you know (and sometimes even say out loud) “I must have it!” To that, I say: Slow down…let’s have a look…and let’s ask some questions. Asking the right questions can save you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars…and a lot of heartache. Here are some questions to ask, whether you are inspecting the guitar in person or on line:

1 – Questions about the structural condition of the instrument

• Does the guitar have any cracks, broken or missing pieces or other damage?
• Has anything structural been damaged or modified such as extra routing for pickups or a broken or reshaped body, head-stock or neck?

NOTES:

• As you might expect, this is a biggie. A bad crack can mean an instrument is potentially un-fixable. On the upside, sometimes even an awful looking crack can be fixed so it is completely structurally sound.

2 – Questions about the truss rod

• Does the truss rod work properly?
• Is the truss rod nut in good shape, or is it worn or stripped?

NOTES:

• This is another big one. The truss rod must be working properly for the guitar to play correctly and truss rod repairs can be extremely expensive. Basically, a guitar that needs work on its truss rod has either got to be an incredible bargain or something you really, really want almost regardless of the added cost to fix it. The only silver lining on truss rods is that sometimes what seems to be a very serious problem can be fixed by a good repairman.

The cost of truss rod repairs can turn a bargain into a problem …and a broken truss rod can turn a guitar into a “GSO” (see my first article in this series about GSOs). This photo shows the truss rod adjustment nut is in good shape.

3 – Questions about the trueness of the neck.

• Does the neck take its proper shape under string tension once the truss rod is adjusted?
• If not, is the neck still over-bowed even with the truss rod tightened? Or, is it still back-bowed even with the truss rod loosened off?
• Is the neck twisted? (i.e. does one side of the neck – either treble or bass – have significantly more or less bow than the other)

NOTES:

• The “trueness” of a neck refers to whether it can be adjusted into proper shape by adjusting the truss rod with the strings up to tension. As will be fully explained in a future article about truss rods, the “proper shape” of a neck is actually very slightly bowed rather than perfectly straight. A problem with the neck’s trueness can be fixed, sometimes with a heat press to give the neck a new starting point, sometimes – if the situation is more serious or the neck is twisted – by removing the frets, planing the fingerboard, topped off by a re-fret. That’s very expensive!

4 – Questions about the frets

• Are the frets original or replaced? If replaced, what size are they?
• How much fret wear is there? Are there gouges in the frets?
• Have the frets been dressed and re-crowned recently? Is there enough fret left to dress now?

NOTES:

• Everything about frets can be measured to determine what size they are and precisely how much fret life is left. Most cellphone cameras are now good enough to take pictures of fret wear and gouges. A good repairman can (almost) always tell whether frets have been replaced.

5 – Questions about the electronics

• Do all the electronics work and work as they should?
• Are the electronics (pickups, switches, controls, capacitors etc.) original or have any been replaced?
• Have any components been obviously repaired?

NOTES:

• This can be a huge issue, especially if you want the guitar specifically for its pickups. Any serious purchase should be made only after an inspection or photo of the guitar’s inner workings. Rewiring a guitar can be expensive and rewiring a hollow or semi-hollow instrument can be very expensive.

A good photo of the electronics can help determine whether components are original.

6 – Questions about the hardware

• Is all the hardware original or have some parts been replaced?
• If replaced, is the new part the same or different than the original?
• Have any modifications been done to the guitar to accept replacement hardware or for any other reason? Are those modifications reversible?

NOTES:

• This is the area where you can often catch a break because of all the excellent replacement parts available these days. Be careful, though, if the missing or broken part is unique to the instrument, a replacement can be either hard to find, expensive or both.

All kinds of hard-to-find vintage parts have now been reproduced and are reasonably priced.

Once you’ve determined whether an instrument is fixable and how much it will cost to fix, just remember to add that amount to your actual total cost to obtain the guitar and re-do the math. Now, is it still a good deal?

There are two ways to deal with the cost of bringing a guitar up to good playing condition. One way is to simply say: “I’ll pass”, the other is to see if you can get the price of the instrument reduced enough to cover that additional cost, or at least a portion of it. With all these smart questions to ask, now all you need is a trustworthy seller who answers all your questions knowledgeably and honestly, and your trusted guitar tech to back you up the next time a “must have it” guitar comes along. So, get ready ‘cause you know there’s always gonna be a next time!

THE SMARTER GUITAR NUT #2: Good Questions = Good Answers from MyRareGuitars.com

While gluing a nut is very easy, care must be taken as this small piece is one of the most essential pieces of your instrument. Here’s our step-by-step guide to re-gluing a nut. A simple and easy-to-learn, but often neglected skill.

How To Re-Glue Guitar Nut, Step 1: loosening the strings

The first thing to do is loosen the strings slightly and see if the nut is completely unglued. If it is not unglued you must take care to remove it. To remove a nut that is still attached, remove the strings and hold a block of wood against the nut from the fretboard side. Tap the wood very gently with a hammer. This applies even pressure against the nut and prevents it from chipping. If there is finish around the nut, score around the nut with a sharp blade, which will minimize chipping the surrounding finish.

How To Re-Glue Guitar Nut, Step 2: examine the slot

Once the nut is free, examine the slot- in most cases, the glue joint broke from hard movement of the case- the movement of the guitar in the case and the tension of the strings will shear the nut at the glue joint. Since very little glue is used (on purpose) the slot should only have a tiny bit of glue residue. If you have large hunks of glue in the slot, you should very gently chip these away with a small tool like a dental pick. You absolutely do not want to gouge away any wood in the slot- its levelness and straightness are important for the nut to seat back properly and the guitar to play well again.

How To Re-Glue Guitar Nut, Step 3: examine the nut

Now examine the nut- it should ideally only have just a minor amount of glue residue. Again, if there are large pieces of glue, you can remove them carefully, again making sure that you do not chip or crack the nut. I find it helpful to gently use a metal ruler to scrape away any glue, but not remove any material from the nut. These steps are important, as the two surfaces must be clean to ensure a good, strong glue joint.

How To Re-Glue Guitar Nut, Step 4: protect the guitar

Once you are sure both gluing surfaces are clean, the most important step is next, protecting the guitar before gluing the nut back on. Some use drafting tape, which is extremely low tack, and won’t damage finishes. I think that this is not needed when gluing at nut, so I just place a paper towel over the peg-head and fingerboard, under the slackened strings. This will make sure you don’t have any unfortunate drips. Also- VERY IMPORTANT- place paper in the truss-rod cavity, completely covering it. Glue and your truss-rod should never meet.

How To Re-Glue Guitar Nut, Step 5: grab your supplies

Now it’s time to grab your supplies: a paper plate, glue, a damp rag, and toothpicks. These are really the only tools you’ll need. For glue, a non-super glue that is water soluble is the best thing to use. Even white glue from your elementary school days is fine. The pressure of the strings keeps the nut down, the glue keep it from moving side-to-side. Also remember- nuts are made to be replaced, as they wear down over time. Using too strong a glue will make replacement difficult and potentially harmful to the instrument. I use a simple wood glue, easy to get, and handy to have around the house. Water soluble is also important, as you can use warm water to clean any of the glue from finish, and also use warm water to break the glue joint if necessary.

How To Re-Glue Guitar Nut, Step 6: set up space & dry-runs

Now the next step is to set up your space and do several dry-runs. Make sure the path from the glue to the nut slot is covered and that if there are drips it will not be a problem. Optimize your path of travel, as every second the glue will be hardening. Once you are happy with your arrangement, pour some glue out of the bottle on to the plate. I pour out more than I need, so that I can choose the small amount I need. Really, the only glue you will need will be a dab on the end of the toothpick for each end of the nut. I put a dab in the middle of the slot, in between the end of the slot and the truss-rod channel. Now place the nut in the slut and gently move it from side to side- this will spread the glue evenly. Now place the “E” strings in the slot and tighten them just a bit- be careful to not over tighten, as the low “E” will pull the nut off center, just even the tension with the high “E”. Now quickly check the fit- I look at the pickup pole pieces to see my alignment, as well as the edge spacing on the overall fretboard. Once you are happy with the position, put the string back in the slots and give them a few turns, making sure they don’t shift the nut.

How To Re-Glue Guitar Nut, Step 7: …and you’re done!

Now take the damp rag and look for any glue squeeze-out, it will be much easier to remove at this point. Let the re-glued nut dry for several hours, ideally overnight. Once the glue is dry, tune to pitch, and you are good to play again! If you found the nut moved and dried off center, repeat the steps and try again.

This is an easy repair that can really be done anywhere, most likely with things you have around the house. Having the right glue is most important, and doing a few preparatory dry-runs will make this easy and worry free.

Re-Gluing A Nut: An Easy and Essential Skill from MyRareGuitars.com

Strange but true, reissues can become collectables too (on the left an early ‘60s Danelectro Longhorn, on the right its late ‘90s reissue).

Sound familiar?

While I’ve been a long-time happy member of the Guitar Nut fraternity, I’ve also had a little advantage: I’m also a trained and accomplished guitar tech, and that means I can buy an instrument that needs work and do the work myself, whether I intend to keep it or re-sell it. Often, that’s not just a cost saving, it can also mean the difference between snapping up a bargain on a decent guitar (for fun or profit!) or getting stuck with an unplayable and unsellable pile of wood and metal.

About that “pile of wood and metal”, I’ll mention here that a repair client of mine who is a piano technician once referred to any piano that needs more work than it’s worth as a Piano-Shaped Object or PSO for short. I liked that and have since referred to any guitar as a Guitar-Shaped Object (or GSO) if it is so far gone that its restoration would take much more time, effort and money than it’s worth. GSO…remember that term. It will come up from time to time.

Anyway, that’s the angle I’d like to take in this series of articles for Eastwood: the happy marriage between technical knowledge and smart guitar collecting. For me, it’s a marriage that has worked for more than forty years.  For you, I want it to be an introduction to what you need to know to become a Smarter Guitar Nut too, with a special focus on oddball and unusual instruments. This is, after all, written for Eastwood!

The subjects I’ll cover include:

• Generally, what to look for (and look out for) in a guitar
• How to recognize whether the instrument is in original condition
• What parts can be replaced to improve playability without hurting its collectable value
• What types of repair work or improvements are usually required in most guitars and how to do those repairs without affecting a guitar’s collectable value
• Originals vs. reissues: which is better for you and how a re-issue can become a collectable itself

Probably the most common modification to vintage instruments: New tuners. When should this be done? How should it be done ? And, when should it not be done?

For each of these subjects, I’ll be getting into how you can do these things yourself and when to know that a pro should become involved. Ultimately, the goal is to make you a more knowledgeable guitar owner and collector.

First, here’s a little relevant personal history. I started repairing instruments when I was a teenager. I’d brought my prized Rickenbacker bass to a local shop to have it set up. I don’t think I even knew what “set up” meant…all I knew was it ought to get done. I must have read it somewhere.

When the bass was ready, the shop charged me only $6 rather than the expected $8 (remember, this was a long time ago!) because, as they explained, they couldn’t intonate the E string; the bridge saddle had been pulled back as far as it would go and the string was still slightly sharp when played up the neck. I was happy enough to save $2 (like I said, this was a long time ago) but, as well, my interest was tweaked. I asked what “intonation” meant and the explanation I got inspired me to pursue the issue.

The modern solution for Riks with intonation problems: The Hipshot Bridge. There are many modern parts that can improve vintage instruments without modiufication.

I went home and filed the E string saddle slot to enable a bit more backwards adjustment and the operation was a complete success. From that moment on, I was both able to set up my own instruments and do favours for my musical friends. Most important, I’d learned two important basic principles about guitar repair that I’d like to impart to you now:

• If you understand why and how something is supposed to work on a guitar, you will more likely be able to figure out what needs to be done when it isn’t working as it should; and,
• If you inspect the situation, plan and carry out the work carefully, you can be successful.

Should you install side position dots on a vintage neck that doesn’t have them? We’ll discuss.

All that, of course, has to be considered in the context of your skill level with basic repair techniques and tools. At the very least, applying the principles above will help you recognize when you need professional help. It will also make you a much more knowledgeable repair customer. That’s a real head start for you and, again, a potential cost savings.

So, to conclude my own story, I eventually got a job with Fender’s Canadian distributor doing warranty repairs, set-ups and even some custom work on new instruments. I went on to become one of the early partners in The Twelfth Fret, Toronto’s premier guitarists’ pro shop that’s still going strong almost 40 years later. I then formed the Amazing Musical Instrument Company, which manufactured innovative acoustic-electric instruments, primarily violins. For the past 30 years I’ve maintained a shop in my basement to do various repairs for a number of local guitarists and on the guitars that I buy, sell and keep.

In the foreground, this Longhorn has had a metal strap button installed on the horn rather than the heel to improve balance and stability. Ideally, a modification to a vintage instrument should be reversible, like this one.

At each phase of my work I acquired new skills, experience and knowledge that I think will be useful to you and anyone interested in guitars and guitar collecting.

In my next article, we’ll start that process by looking at what you should look for in any guitar to make sure you don’t end up with – as you now know it’s called – a GSO.

THE SMARTER GUITAR NUT #1: So, You Want to be a Smarter Guitar Nut from MyRareGuitars.com

First and foremost, congratulations for taking the time to better curate musical success. Seeking out articles of this nature will take you, as well as those involved in your music, to the next level.

Do yourself a favor and continue to research periodicals that will help advance your knowledge of this ever changing industry. I’ll attach some of my favorites at the end.

You did it. You formed a band, or a band has approached you to help them get to the next level. Now what? There are 3 things that will get you far in the industry. Those 3 things can be incredible assets on their own, but in unity, they will continue to open doors throughout your career.

Talent: Let’s be completely honest. In any business your product needs to reflect what people desire.  You will be hard pressed to sell your work to anyone that isn’t close friends or family (not to discount those folks, but they are your ‘ride or dies’. They are in it for the long haul). Put in the hours in the practice room or put emphasis on the creative process for the band you manage. The better the music, the more people that will gravitate to you. That means more money to put into your pocket or, IDEALLY, to put back into the band (I’ll get into fiscal responsibility later).

“The man at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.” – Vince Lombardi JR.

Knowledge: Not knowing how to plan ahead is one of the biggest mistakes made by band operators. You need to constantly check where the best music is being heard, where that music is being played, and what opportunities are best for exposure.  These are the fun questions.  You need to get to know the PRO’s that exist (Performing Rights Organizations) so that your music is protected and you can hopefully start collecting royalties. Learn how to best route your band when putting together a tour.  Learn how to balance your profit / loss with every penny that comes in and out. Watch your favorite bands and see how they put together marketing campaigns for releasing music. Basically, the learning never ends, but this shouldn’t come as a shock. If you want to do something to your best ability then you have to eat, drink, sleep, dream (day / night) whatever it is that you are involved in.

Drive: In my subjective opinion, this is quite possibly the most important asset of the 3.  Without drive, the other two assets can be hampered exponentially.  If you ONLY have drive, you will be better off than someone with talent, knowledge, or potentially even a combination of those two.  You have the ability to work incredibly hard, and nobody should convince you otherwise. If you have the magic combination of all 3 assets, then doors will continually open for you.

 There is a plethora of roads that we’ll go down in the coming articles that will introduce you to specifics within the industry.  Throughout your career, managing your “Big 3” will be incredibly important to the success of your band. Continue to seek out periodicals and learn more about the industry. Ask lots of questions and continue to work at your craft.

Here are some books that have helped my business grow.  Keep in mind that some of this information is out of date, but the themes are still incredibly important.

http://amzn.to/2d8abBV

http://bit.ly/2e29jff

http://bit.ly/2e6vxB6

If you have any questions for me, or want me to write about any specific topic within developing your band as a business, don’t hesitate to email me at bcspencer2013@gmail.com

Your Band as a Business: The Big Three from MyRareGuitars.com

There’s a lot of bad information on the internet, as I was reminded while trying to resuscitate a recent score: a Silver Sparkle 20th Anniversary Squier Jagmaster.

 
Don’t laugh, it’s paid for!

It’s not a guitar for everyone, but I bought my first about five years ago when I started playing guitar again as an adult. It was fun and cheap, and with a little bit of elbow grease it cleaned up nicely and, after a pro setup, played great. Then I set my sights on more “appropriate” guitars and got myself a Fender Highway One Stratocaster, you know, a proper “dad” guitar.

 Selling the Jagmaster was a mistake (as my daughter frequently reminded me), and when I had some “mad money” recently, I started searching for a replacement. A couple weeks later, I picked one up through Reverb.com. It was a little more expensive than I would have hoped and rougher than I expected. The strings were crusty, every tuner and bolt was loose, and the pickguard was warped. But the electronics worked, the neck was straight, and there was almost no fret wear, though they were dull and a little rough.

All that stuff is easy enough to fix as part of a regular cleanup and restring. This one needed a little more, and in addition to my new and regularly applied Dremel and Nu Finish fret polish routine, which I’ll show next, I decided to fix the damn pickguard. I reckon if a third of a guitar’s face looks off, it’s going to show. And at the very least, it’s going to gnaw at me. Forever. Or until I’m done losing sleep over it and fix it, so why not do it now?

A quick Google search brought up no shortage of bad ideas, all suggesting that you essentially bake the pickguard and, before it melts, burns, discolors or sets off the smoke alarms, pull it out of the oven — careful not to stretch it — and stack books on it till it cools and lays flat.

If you’re inclined to follow that advice, I’m going to guess you don’t have enough books around to pull off that stunt. That said, follow the steps below at your own peril, as I did, and don’t do this to a vintage instrument.

            Here’s how I fixed a warped pickguard:

1. Remove the pickguard from the guitar, and electronics from the pickguard.

Here you can see the bowing of the pickguard

2. Clear some space and wash the dishes in the kitchen sink. You’ll want the room to work, and you’ll score some points with the wife or roommate.

3. Find a cookie sheet or cutting board that’s bigger than your pickguard, but that fits in your sink.

4. Boil some water – enough to fill the sink and cover the cutting board and pickguard with another inch or so. I used a kettle and the biggest pot we have to boil some more.

5. Put the cookie sheet/cutting board in the sink, and place the pickguard in face down, so you don’t scratch it up like I did.

6. Pour the boiling water over it, then put the pot, with the hot water in it, on top.

7. Wait 2 minutes.

8. Remove the pot, then the cutting board with pickguard, and re-stack them to cool.

I let the whole thing cool for about 10 minutes after 2 minutes in the sink.

9. Enjoy a victory beer.

10. Buff it out with car wax, I use Nu Finish.

That’s flat!

11. Reinstall, etc.

There are more than a couple benefits to using hot water rather than an oven. It’s a lot more controllable, as you can see the pickguard throughout the entire process, and the timing is flexible without introducing the possibility of smoke, fire or nasty fumes.

How to Fix a Warped Pickguard from MyRareGuitars.com

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

If You Want to Be a Guitarist …

Once you have fallen in love with the guitar and what it can do, there is really no single
correct way to learn to play. Some of the most famous guitar players taught themselves, by
listening to their favourite guitarists. How do you do that? How can you just pick up a guitar
and learn how to play it?

Here are five tips for the beginner guitar player:

Tip No. 1. Learn About the Instrument First.

The guitar has a long history of development, with some scholars saying that the modern
guitar is an ancestor of the Lute or the Greek Kithara. Others say that the modern guitar
developed from the Egyptian Tanbur. Whatever the truth is about the guitar’s history, there
are many types of guitar. Acoustic guitars, classical guitars, steel string guitars, flamenco
guitars, electric guitars. There is a type of guitar for almost every type of music that can be
played.

It is important to learn about the instrument that you are going to play. Beginner players may
need to learn about the parts of the guitar from the head-stock to the sound-hole to the
bridge. It’s necessary to learn how to string and re-string a guitar and to learn which kind of
strings your new guitar will need.

Beginner players also need to learn how to keep their guitar in its best condition. This means
learning how to clean it and where to keep when it is not in use.

Tip No. 2. Learn the Chords.

It is said that there are 2,341 chords in total that can be played up and down the neck of the
guitar. For beginners, the most important chords to learn may be the open chords. These are
the chords from C to B that can be played without the need to barre the strings. By learning
to play some chord combinations in varying keys, the beginner player will get a sense of how
songs can be create. They will also learn some of wonderful songs that have already been
written. A sense of rhythm starts to develop naturally as the beginner player strums the
chords.

Tip No. 3. Learn Some Strumming and Finger-picking Techniques.

Most guitar players develop their own sense of rhythm and a strumming style. This is part of
the creativity that grows as a person learns to play any musical instrument. The beginner
guitar player needs to learn coordination, or how to fit the chords he/she has learned into the
rhythm of the music. This means fitting chord changes into a key signature such as 2/4
timing, 4/4 timing, 3/4 timing, 6/8 timing. There are many timing patterns that music is played
in. It’s a good idea to learn some simple finger picking patterns early on as well. This can
give the beginner another way of hearing timing, as well as extending their technique and
flexibility.

Tip No. 4. Learn Some Songs and Easy Pieces of Classical Music.

Learning songs is a good way to bring all the techniques together.It makes all of the more
technical learning worthwhile. As the beginner player learns how chords become songs, it is
also a good idea to learn the individual notes of each string up to the first three frets at least.
By doing this the guitar player learns which notes are in each chord. The first barre chords
that the guitar player will learn are usually the barred F Chord and the barred G chord. These
chords are played on the first and third frets respectively. This ties in with learning the notes
of the first three frets.

Tip No.5. Practise Every Day.

For people who love playing the guitar this will not be difficult. Practice is important, not so
much because practice makes perfect, but because practice leads the guitar player forward.
There are many songs and many pieces of music that can be played on the first three frets of
the guitar. Frequent practice opens the keyboard up to the player. Suddenly, you understand
that riff by one of your favourite guitarists. Suddenly you can play some licks that you never
thought you would be able to play. Unless you actually dislike playing the guitar, which is
highly unlikely, practice is not a chore. It is the time when you sit down and have fun with a
guitar. Well, maybe practising scales is not a lot of fun.

So those are my top five tips for beginner guitar players. Going through the five stages of
learning could take up to two years. In those two years a beginner player will be well on the
way to being a good player. My last tip is to listen to great guitar music as often as possible.

About the website

http://guitarreviewed.com is site that offers lots of information about acoustic guitars to those
who wish to buy a first or even a second instrument. The review of each guitar includes a
photograph of the guitar, followed by a description of the guitar’s features, its price and the
things about the guitar that were either Liked or Not Liked.

About the Author

Hi, my name’s Joe. I was born in the 1980’s and was inspired by rock musicians such as Eric
Clapton, Jeff Beck and Carlos Santana. I also like the sounds of Classical Guitarists such as
John Williams. I write the acoustic guitar reviews on Guitar Reviewed and I sit down to play
the guitar every day, because I love the guitar.

How to Learn to Play the Guitar: for Beginners from MyRareGuitars.com

1. Chord Changes – “Hey Joe”, by Jimi Hendrix

One of the first obstacles you’ll be faced with when learning to play is memorizing chords, and figuring out how the heck you’re supposed to contort your fingers to switch between them. The truth is, these “shapes” that your fingers need to be placed in are not built into your DNA. There’s nothing else you’ve ever had to do that requires your hand, wrist, or fingers to hold such patterns, and as such you’ve got to work them into shape. The only way to teach yourself (and your hand) these chords is through repetition and practise; it’s all about muscle memory here.

The song “Hey Joe” is a great introductory to chord changes for a few different reasons. The first is that it forces you to learn five essential major chords, C, G, D, A, and E. The second is… it’s only five chords! The entire rhythm guitar section of the song is just a loop of these five chords in a relatively simple strumming pattern, so if you can manage the switches, then you’ve got it down. The third reason deals with the chords in question. Some chords are easier to switch between than others, allowing you to leave a finger or two in the same spot. Some chords allow you to play all six strings, while others demand that you avoid a string or two. Some chords require the use of one finger to hold down multiple strings… and the list goes on. In “Hey Joe”, each chord is far enough apart from each other that you are required to make a substantial shape change, getting your hand used to arriving at and leaving each chord. It also exercises your strumming hand, as you’re required to play all six strings for a couple of the chords, and only some of the strings for the others. If you can play through this tune, then you’re well on your way to saying goodbye to your chord changing woes.

2. Fingerpicking – “Blackbird”, by The Beatles

If you’ve spent most of your practise time strumming chords, or plucking out melodies with your pick, learning to fingerpick might be a daunting task at first. This technique is, of course, all about your picking hand, and getting your fingers used to where your strings are. What I mean by that is, at first you will likely be looking down at your picking hand, making sure you use the “right” finger on the “right” string, etc. The more you practise, the more you will just get accustomed to the distance between each string, as well as various patterns that tend to appear in songs. This is part of the reason I like “Blackbird” for an introductory to this technique.

As far as the right hand is concerned, the song revolves around just two patterns. Try this: hold a G chord, and with your thumb and middle finger pluck the low E string and the open B string together at the same time. Then pluck the open G string on its own with your first finger. Repeat these over and over… and you’ve essentially got the picking hand pattern used for half of the song. Of course… your thumb will occasionally move to the A or D string, but you can worry about that later. A large portion of this song is about getting used to moving back and forth between your index finger and second finger, while maintaining a bass-line with your thumb…which is sort of the whole idea behind fingerpicking! It’s a great way to practise, while playing through a great song.

3. Counting / Rhythm – “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” by Stevie Ray Vaughan

The most important thing in playing a musical instrument is rhythm. Whether you’re playing on your own, or as part of a group, you need to be able to keep time. Some patterns are easy of course, just strumming along in 4/4 time, but if you really want to challenge yourself and start to unlock your “inner metronome”, you’ll need to try out some more complex patterns. Try to test yourself – whenever you play, keep your foot tapping along to the beat of whatever it is you’re playing. The opening riff in “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” is a good challenge for this – it combines a relatively simple melodic riff with a syncopated sort of rhythm. It contains various notes and rests that land both on and off the beat, making for an unexpected feel. With a stronger sense of rhythm and larger vocabulary of patterns, you will find it much easier both locking into a groove as well as coming up with your own ideas.

4. Power Chords – “Blitzkrieg Bop” by the Ramones

A power chord is just two notes of a chord played at the same time; the root, and the fifth. Doing so means that you don’t need to worry whether or not the chord in question is supposed to be major or minor, as both would have the same root and fifth anyways. You can incorporate the octave as well, as it doesn’t make things much more difficult, and adds a nice upper layer to the sound of the chord.
More often than not, you will find yourself playing power chords with their root note on either the low E string or the A string. Thanks to the way the guitar neck works, this means that the shape of these chords will never change.
For example, plant your first finger on the low E string of the fifth fret. Now plant your third finger on the A string of the seventh fret. You are now holding an “A5”  power chord! Want to add the octave? Just throw your pinky down on the D string of the seventh fret, below your third finger.
But what good would knowing how to play power chords be without knowing how to play some raw, straight to the point punk tunes to go with them? While they may not have invented them, the Ramones’ sound encapsulates everything that the “power” chord exists for; straight to the point, loud, and fast!
The song “Blitzkrieg Bop” will get you used to holding the power chord shape, as well as moving up and down the neck to play each chord. You’ll also have to jump between the E and A as your root note, which is important to become accustomed to.
In addition to this fretting hand technique, the strumming you’ll be doing with your other hand is just as important. You’re only playing two or three strings here, so of course you don’t want to hear the others. At first it will be easier to just limit yourself, and play only the strings you are holding in the chord. In this way, however, you’ll soon realize that you can’t quite capture the same power and energy that Johnny Ramone did. So how do you fix that?
Muting. Being able to mute strings properly with your left hand is what will bring your power chord strumming to the next level. It’s sort of hard to put it into text, but whilst you hold down that A5 power chord, try to also lightly lie your first finger down across all the strings below (like you’re playing a barre chord). Doing this means that it doesn’t matter how many strings you hit – the only ones that will ring are the ones you want to hear. THIS is how you get the “power” out of your power chords – pure aggression with the strumming hand, and precision / articulation with the fretting hand.

5. Soloing – “Californication” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Playing a guitar solo is a culmination of things. It’s not just “playing a bunch of notes really fast”, but should be thought of moreso as the guitarists’ turn to takeover for the vocalist, and front the song. With that in mind, the way in which you approach your solo should be derived directly from the vibe of the song you are playing to. This means that you need to take everything into consideration – the chords used, the melody, the rhythm, the feel… the perfect solo is one that touches on all of these things, while throwing in bits of technique for flavour.
One way you can start to understand how to play a strong solo is to listen to guitar solos that you find to be memorable, and figure out what it is that they’ve done. Listen to the section as a whole, and try to emulate it. A good starter would be the solo in “Californication”. It isn’t blazing fast, but it is subtle and captures the essence of the song very well. You’ll pick up on a few techniques here and there throughout the solo, and start to be able to hear the difference between, for example, a bend and a slide, or a hammer-on and a picked note. It is also done in a clean tone, which means you are forced to nail the performance when you play it. Extremely over-driven amps have a tendency of “covering up” mistakes made when playing, so practising with a clean tone is a good way to truly hear what you’re putting into the guitar.

Technique 101: Five Songs You Should Learn from MyRareGuitars.com

Before you begin, you’re going to need to invest in some tools. For our purposes here, you’ll need the following:

– Nut Files (properly sized)
– Sand Paper
– Super Glue
– Second Nut (a piece of one will do)
– Masking Tape

The most important thing to do before you start any sort of nut work is to ensure that the guitar neck is straight as an arrow, with the strings tuned to pitch. If you cut deeper slots into a nut while the neck is bowed, and straighten the neck after, then your strings might end up sitting too close to the frets and cause fret buzz. On the flip-side, if your neck is back-bowed and you raise the slots, the strings may sit too high once the neck is correctly adjusted. Always start with a blank canvas by setting the neck completely straight!

Once your neck is set, you can assess the nut. With your right index finger, push down the low “E” string in the third fret. If the string is resting on the first fret at this point, either the slots are already cut perfectly or they’re too deep. If it isn’t resting on the fret, tap the string with your left index finger. If there is distance, and the string moves up and down, then there is room to file the nut slot down.

Here is where it is important to use nut files that are sized appropriately for the gauge of string you wish to use. If you’re using a set of #10-46, then for this low “E” string slot you will want a file that will cut a slot to accommodate a string that is .046″ in diameter. That said, you do not want the slot to be the same size as the string – you want the string to be able to move freely and not be gripped like it’s in a vise. A great way to do this would be to use a file that is a couple thou larger than the string size you are going to use. Alternatively, using a .046″ sized file for the low “E” and applying a slight “side-to-side” technique as you file will help achieve the right width.

To begin the process, remove the E string from its slot. File gently, forward and backwards once or twice. Put the string back in, and check its height again using the “third fret – first fret” method described above. This will give you an idea of how much distance remains for you to file. Ideally, you will want there to be almost no movement in the string when you push it down to the first fret. Continue the filing process until this distance is achieved, then repeat for each string.   *NOTE* – Try not to loosen the string when removing it from the slot. If you must, be sure to tune it to pitch when testing its height.

Now lets step back a bit and assume after your first assessment that the nut slots were actually sitting too low. In this case, you’ll want to fill them, and then re-cut them to the right height. To do this, loosen the strings and take them all out of their nut slots. A “string spreader” might be handy to keep them out of the way, but not necessary.

Using the sand paper and the extra nut, shave it down to create some “dust” out of its material. A good idea would be to place a sheet of paper underneath where you are sanding so you can easily see the nut material.

Next, run a piece of masking tape along the finger board right beside the nut, and another on the headstock beside the nut. This will be to protect from glue spillage during the next step. Many guitar nuts are not firmly secured to the neck here, so an alternative would be to just take the nut off altogether for this step.

Take a pinch of some dust that you prepared, and carefully place it into each of the nut slots. Then, add a small dab of super glue to each. A glue that comes in a container with a long, narrow spout at the end like that of a syringe would be best. This concoction will harden, and function virtually the same as the nut itself. The glue shouldn’t take too long to set, and when it does, you’ll just need to repeat the filing process that I talked about earlier.

That’s it! Once you’re done, all that’s left is to set your guitar up how you like it, and play.

Is Your Nut Driving You Nuts? from MyRareGuitars.com

You rip into the first bend, and *SNAP* – your heart sinks as your once-tight B string is now a wet noodle flopping around between your fingers. You stumble through the rest of the song, frantically improvising parts that don’t require the use of that string, and when it’s all over you think to yourself “Well, I guess it’s time to put a new string on now.”

The phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” simply does not apply to guitar strings. The notion that you should only change a string if it breaks is completely backwards; even if you’re not planning on playing for thousands of screaming fans any time soon. The reality of guitar strings is that regardless of how fresh or old they are, there is always a chance that they can break. Whether you’re a seasoned pro with a guitar tech changing your strings every night, or a basement player with strings that haven’t been changed in months, a break can happen. With regular re-strings and proper instrument maintenance, however, it is far less likely that a break will occur, and you’ll be more likely to make it through a song with all six strings intact.

Why?

Strings can break for many reasons, and one of the biggest culprits for breakage is corrosion. Dead skin, sweat, and dirt build up on the strings over time, causing their metals to break down. The longer you leave the string on, the less stable it is going to become and make it more likely to break. Even if you aren’t regularly playing the instrument, the moisture content in the air will have a similar effect on the strings – it just might take a little longer than if you were playing it.

That said, you can’t always blame the string when one breaks. If you’re consistently having issues with strings breaking, it might be a good idea to take a look at the bridge saddles, nut slots, or machine heads. Something could be sharp, or perhaps catching the string in a way it shouldn’t be.

Alright, enough about breaking strings! Preventing a string break is not the only reason for a change. In fact, it’s more of a byproduct of the real reasons.

Just as corrosion can lead to an eventual break, it also causes the string to not function to its full potential. A string covered in grime won’t resonate properly, and will sound dull and lifeless. On top of that, an older string has been under a lot of tension for a longer period of time. This means that it has been stretched more, which can result in more difficulty staying in tune. Changing your strings before they get to the point where they are coated in grime, corroded, or stretched to oblivion will keep them sounding fresh, lustrous, in tune, as well as help prevent them from breaking mid-song.

So then, the question becomes how do you know when a string is passed its expiry and it is time to change it?

For the more experienced player, it turns into a preference thing. Some players like the snappy sound of a brand new string, while others prefer the sound of strings that have been “broken in” a bit; maybe a couple days’ or even a week’s worth of play on them. Obviously not everyone has the luxury of being able to change strings every few days, so as a general rule of thumb I’d recommend aiming for a time period between two weeks and one month. Before you’re able to decide what it is you really like, there are a few things you can consider.

1. Look and feel

If your strings are looking dull, or even black – and feel rough or sticky, it’s probably time to swap them out.

2. Sound and tuning

If your strings don’t sound as clear or present as you remember, and you’re having difficulty keeping your guitar in tune, you may want to change your strings.

3. Playing live or recording soon?

If you’ve got a date set, and can’t remember when you changed your strings last, then it’s a safe bet to change them up. Make sure you swap them out at least a few hours before you plan on hitting the stage though – brand new strings have a tendency of falling out of tune as they aren’t yet used to being brought to tension.

4. Budget

Of course, everything costs money. The best thing you can do is learn to properly re-string by yourself, and use a quality brand string. Make sure you use the same gauge strings as you had on your guitar previously, as changing sizes may throw your guitar’s neck out of whack… meaning you’ll need to spend more time or money to get it set-it up right!

That’s it, in a nutshell! As long as you keep these things in mind, you should be able to maintain a great sounding and feeling instrument that will really make you want to pick it up and play!

When Should I Change my Guitar Strings? from MyRareGuitars.com

1. Loose Volume / Tone Knob

When the nut that holds a potentiometer (pot) in place is tight enough to hold it still, turning the knob simply rotates the pot’s shaft, giving you that volume or tone change. Here’s something I’ve heard a number of times: “well, my knob was just loose at first but now my guitar doesn’t even work!” So, what happens when it feels loose? The problem is that when you turn a knob that is not securely fastened to the body, chances are you’re turning the whole pot inside the guitar. Doing this will also rotate all the wires connected to the pot, potentially ripping them off or causing them to short somewhere.
So if you don’t want to rip wires off, (which you shouldn’t), the answer would of course be to tighten the bolt that holds the pot in place. Herein lies the next problem: once the bolt is tight enough to grip the pot (but not quite tight enough to hold it in place), just turning the bolt can also turn the whole potentiometer. The trick is to make sure you hold the pot’s shaft still while turning the bolt. I like to use a flat-head screw-driver in the slot to keep it still while tightening.

2. Loose Output Jack

There’s a couple different ways your output jack can be loose. One: your cable just seems to fall out, and two: the whole jack wiggles around. In the first case, more often than not you can fix this by adjusting the jack’s contact on the inside.
Take the jack assembly off, and plug your cable in. You can see where the cable’s connector makes contact – that long curved metal thingy. This is the piece that holds the cable in, so by removing your cable and gently pushing this piece inward, you should be able to create a better “lock” for your cable.
If your problem is that the whole output jack is loose, you have a similar problem to what I mentioned about the loose volume / tone knobs. You don’t want to just turn the bolt, you need to be able to hold the whole jack still while turning or risk ripping off more wires. The best way to do this would be to take the jack out, and literally hold it with your hand while tightening the bolt.

3. Loose Strap Buttons

It’s not uncommon for a strap button to spin in its place. While this might not seem like a big deal, if you aren’t using strap locks this makes it easier for your strap to slip off. Also, enough movement can gradually wear the hole that the button’s screw is set into, and eventually just not be secure anymore.
Typically, the cause for a loose strap button is that the screw just isn’t biting into enough wood. The simplest solution to this is to, well, add some wood. Toothpicks are great for this – simply remove the strap button, break up a couple toothpicks and put them in the screw-hole. You’ll notice a much more snug fit immediately.

4. Sympathetic Buzzing Sounds

Ahh the dreaded buzz. Most often, an annoying buzz is caused by a poor set-up or messed up frets. Occasionally, a different sort of buzz can appear from an entirely different source. These are tricky to pinpoint, but keeping with the theme of fixing loose components, sometimes you can erase these pesky sounds by tightening everything!
When you pluck a string, more than just that string vibrates. Everything on the guitar vibrates, so if there’s a particular component that’s loose, there’s a chance it will rattle. Confirm that every screw and bolt on the guitar is snug, from the machine heads to the saddles, and you may just save yourself a repair bill just by turning some screws!

5. Grime-encrusted Fretboard

Okay, so here’s the odd one out. No need to tighten anything here! Cleaning your fretboard may seem obvious, but doing it effectively isn’t always carried out. One of the big problems with keeping dirt on your fretboard (among others) is that things can build up underneath your frets, and eventually end up raising them. The last thing you want to do is bring your guitar for a fret level because too much dirt built up underneath the frets.
To really clean out your fretboard, I recommend spraying the board with a few spritzes of a bio-degradable cleaning solution (such as Simple Green), and then scrubbing with a toothbrush. Get in nice and close to the frets with the brush to try and remove any build-up that may already be present. As soon as you’re done scrubbing, wipe off the solution, and apply your lemon oil. You don’t need to do this every time you change strings, it really depends how much you play and.. how dirty your hands are. Which leads me to another point: wash your hands before you play! Your future self (and your guitar) will thank you.

Guitar Care 101 from MyRareGuitars.com

1. It’s bad for your guitar to remove all the strings at the same time when re-stringing your guitar.

When you take your guitar to a tech or a luthier for any sort of fret work, they’re most likely going to be taking all the strings off to grant themselves proper access to the frets. As long as the string tension is reduced gradually, then there’s nothing wrong with taking all the strings off at the same time. What you want to avoid is cutting the strings while they are still tuned to pitch – the drastic drop in tension could potentially cause harm. Also, if your guitar has a floating bridge, you will actually save yourself time by re-stringing it one string at a time. Maintaining as much tension as you can during the re-string process will make it easier to balance the spring tension afterwards, if you even need to.

2. “My guitar has a bad hum, and when I touch the strings / bridge / metal knobs it goes away. It must not be grounded properly!”

I hear this one all the time. Naturally, one would assume that your body is acting as a ground, soaking up that hum when touching these components. The thing that seems to be forgotten is that your body naturally creates electricity. If you had an improper or reversed ground, touching anything metal on the guitar would actually just cause your body’s electrical noise to be amplified, thus increasing that nauseating buzz sound. If the hum gets quieter when touching metal guitar components, it’s actually a sign that your guitar is grounded properly.
Pretty much every guitar has some sort of 60 cycle hum that is more evident at higher volumes. If you find a guitar that seems to have a worse buzz than another one, it is likely due to a problem with shielding rather than grounding. It is actually amplifying electrical noises from outside the guitar’s circuit. There are things you can do to help with shielding problems such as using higher quality cabling, better pots and wiring, or even rimming the electronics compartment with tin foil – but at the end of the day, you will most likely never quite get rid of that noise entirely. It just comes with the territory!

3. Playing an un-grounded guitar is extremely dangerous!

Well, maybe for your ears it is. The amount of amperage an electric guitar produces simply isn’t enough to be lethal, or even cause any harm. What you need to be wary of is your amplifier, and the source you are plugging it into. People have literally died in the past from amplifiers that were not properly grounded. So if you notice a shock when you touch your strings, or when your lips touch the microphone while playing, it might be a good idea to get your amp and wall outlet checked out!

4. “Your tune-o-matic bridge is on backwards.”

This is a common issue you’ll find players debating. When you look at a tune-o-matic bridge, the intonation adjustment screws are on one side only. The argument is always over which side these should be facing for the bridge to be on “properly”. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter. There is no universal right or wrong direction for the bridge to be on; it should be placed in the direction that makes the most sense for the particular guitar it is on. For example, if your bridge happens to be located really close to your bridge pickup, and you like your bridge pickup to sit rather close to the strings, it might be in your best interest to have the intonation adjustment screws facing the tail of the guitar. That way it’s not impossible to intonate.
Many tune-o-matic bridges feature 3 saddles facing one direction, while the other three face the opposite way. Others feature saddles all angled the same direction. Here’s a quick doodle I did to help picture a saddle from the side:

Consider this: depending on the break-angle of the string, it may be best to have the intonation screws facing the pickups as shown here. In rare occasions the break is so great that the string makes contact with the screw, which is of course not something you want.
Also in the diagram, you can see that the string rests on the saddle at its leftmost side. This means you have more room to shorten the string than you do to lengthen it. If your E string’s saddle is facing this way, for example, and it consistently intonates too sharp (even with the saddle pushed all the way to the right), consider flipping the bridge or saddles. With the saddles  facing the opposite direction, this will give you almost an entire saddle’s length extra to lengthen the string!

5. A Nitro-finished electric guitar sounds better than a poly-finished one.

To me, this is just a similar argument to “a les paul sounds better than a strat”. It’s entirely subjective. Is there even a difference? I don’t know, I’ve never A-B’d two identical guitars that had the same weight, wood, shape, and electronics, but one had a nitro finish and the other had poly. Some would argue that poly “chokes” the resonance of the guitar more than nitro does, therefore making for an inferior sounding instrument. I can see such an argument holding more water for an acoustic guitar – these are entirely dependent upon their wood and the way it vibrates. That said, I’m not really convinced that a slightly thicker compound would ruin the tone of an electric guitar. Sure, the finish might look, feel, and age differently, but I’m not going to squander the opportunity to try out a potentially great sounding guitar just because of its finish. If I play a guitar and like how it sounds, then it sounds good. That’s my criteria, anyway…

6. You need to have natural talent to become a “guitar god”.

I find that this would be almost insulting to every “guitar god” out there. It’s as if to say they inherited their talent rather than worked for it, when in fact these musicians worked very hard to be able to do what they do. It’s true that if you’re brought up on music, then maybe you’ll have a bit of a knack for it when you decide to start playing an instrument – but it still requires a lot of dedication and practise. If anything, it could be argued that you need good people/business skills coupled with skill and ability to become a “guitar god”. There are and have been TONS of incredible guitar players out there that we’ve probably never heard of because in the music business, there’s more to it than just being “really really good”.

7. You need to practise for several hours each day to become a good player.

To this I say: quality over quantity. You could practise for 8 hours a day and go nowhere if you aren’t being productive about it. Without proper instruction, research, and practise, you can easily end up developing bad habits that hinder your overall playing, or just spend too much time on something that isn’t helping you. Thirty minutes to an hour of focused, co-ordinated practise is more than enough to keep you on track and on your way to becoming a good guitarist. Private lessons are also a great way to help you establish a good practise routine.

8.  You need a 100 watt stack amp if you want to play in a loud rock band.

Unless you plan on playing in a sold out arena or stadium some time soon, then you really don’t need that much power. Keep this in mind: twice as much wattage is not synonymous with twice as much volume. It actually takes ten times the output power to effectively double the human ear’s perception of volume. In other words, if you were thinking of getting an amp that could be twice as loud as a 50 watt, you would need a 500 watt – not a 100.
If the typical venue you’ll be playing in is a bar, or a small theater, you probably won’t be able to set your 100 watt amp’s level too high before your bandmates (and the sound technician) are screaming at you to turn down. The problem is, in order to get the best tone out of your amp, normally you need to run it pretty hot. Using a 30 – 50 watt amp is more than enough to allow you to play at a good level and achieve the tone you want for a decent sized venue. Not to mention you can easily get mic’d up and run through the sound board for a better control over the mix!

9. The fatter the string, the better the tone.

Once again, we have a subjective statement. To me, this phrase should be “the fatter the string, the different the tone”. Artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Zak Wylde have been known for creating unbelievable tones using their super thick gauge strings. That’s a fact; these are two incredible, individual guitar tones that are “owned” by these two artists. That said, there are other guitarists who have created super heavy sounds using thin strings. James Hetfield? .009. Eddie Van Halen? Also .009. Jimmy Page? He prefers .008! My advice: use what feels and sounds good to you.

10. If it’s not “brand name”, it’s crap.

I think this is society’s fault. We feel this way about everything… Going for a run? Get a pair of Nike’s! Want to go for a coffee? Only if it’s Starbucks! Name two good guitar brands… I bet you just thought of two words that rhyme with “blender” and “bibson”.
That’s not to say that these brands aren’t good – many of the guitars they make are! They’re the big guys who have stood the test of time, and they’ve done so for a reason. Partially because they started off with a great product, and partially because of advertising and word of mouth. What you need to remember though is that just because it has the name on the headstock, that doesn’t make it good. These brands make various quality levels of instruments, and while their higher-end stuff might be fantastic, their lower end guitars really aren’t any different from others at the same price-point. You could take two of the exact same model guitar priced at, say, $700 and one could be incredible, and the other a dud – especially when coming from such large, mass production facilities.
The best coffee I’ve ever had is from a small, family-run restaurant near my hometown. Not a Starbucks. In my opinion, the best guitar you’ll ever play could be one built by a local luthier specifically for you. That doesn’t sound like crap to me!

Debunking Ten Common Guitar Myths from MyRareGuitars.com

OK, maybe not that real. The idea that one guitar pick (Satan’s tooth or not) can turn you into a guitar god might be downright ludicrous, but the thought that your playing and tone can be improved by using a different pick isn’t so far-fetched.
Picture this if you will: you’re playing your guitar, and you’re unhappy with your tone. It’s not full enough! We’ve all been there, and chances are one of the first things to pop into your head was “Gee, I need a new guitar. Or an amp… or both”.

Now, new stuff is fun and all, but personally I’m all for not spending thousands of dollars (or fighting Satan) if I can fix a tonal problem for virtually zero cost. One such way would be by experimenting with different picks.

The three big factors you need to pay attention to when looking for the right pick to use would be it’s thickness, shape, and material. Using a super thin pick, for example, means that when you play,  a lot of force is spent on the bending of the pick instead of the plucking of the string. Consequently, you get a much quieter and thinner tone. While the vibrational note of the string may be quieter, the percussive “picking” sound against the string is actually amplified as the thin pick slaps-back. For this reason, a thinner pick can be used if you’re looking for a softer, rhythmic strumming sound, almost as though a washboard is playing in the background.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more articulate, loud and full sound, you might want to look into trying out a thicker pick. Any style of playing where you need to be able to move quickly and freely between strings, tremolo pick, or hit loud and nasty chords would work better with a substantial pick in your hand. Just try some fast tremolo picking with a super floppy pick – it won’t really work. You need the pick to be able to glide through the strings, not get caught and flop around.

In addition to thickness, what the pick is made out of can impact your playing in a couple of ways. First, the attack and resonance of a string can be slightly altered by the pick’s material. For example, if you took a metal coin and plucked your strings, then did the same with a pick of the same thickness, you will notice a difference in sound. Picks have been made of all kinds of things.. plastic, metal, tortoise shell, even stone. That said, some are more common than others, and in stores, the three most likely you will see would be plastic, nylon, and “tortex”. You’ll really just have to experiment with different materials to find what you like. A thick plastic, rounded pick can work well for playing that requires a heavy attack and smooth articulation, while nylon might work well if you prefer a thinner pick. Personally, I’m a fan of “tortex”.

Back in the day, the material heralded as the absolute best for guitar picks was real tortoise-shell. I’ve never used one, but have heard time and again that the feel and sound from these is second-to-none. “Tortex” is a plastic material crafted by Dunlop to resemble real tortoise shell. While I can’t say from experience whether or not they successfully achieved this, I can say they successfully made my pick of choice! I think it’s something about their look and feel. Shiny plastic just looks and feels cheap to me, while these have some sort of grittiness to them that not only feels nice, but makes them easier to grip. As a matter of fact, I still have one of my first ones. Check it out! (on the right, of course.)

All in all, once again it’s just about experimentation. Using one guitar, try switching between a few different picks. You’ll be amazed at the difference in tone and feel.

Happy playing!

Tips on Tones: Issue #22 from MyRareGuitars.com

1. Kitchen Magnet Bar

While this is of course great for holding your knives and other kitchen tools, many of the tools you will be using on your guitar are made of metal and can be kept organized by putting one of these on your wall. Having metal tools strewn about your work bench is a recipe for making scratches and dents on your instrument, and it’s simply easier to find what you’re looking for when they’re hanging right in front of you. If you plan on doing work for others, keeping a tidy work space is a major selling point for your customers. If I went to drop my guitar off with someone and saw a work desk covered in tools, glue and sawdust, I’d be headed out the door! As a sidenote: make sure the bar is installed a safe distance away from where you’re doing the work. That is, not directly above the guitar… falling tools are even worse than ones on the workbench!

2. Tape

You can use different types of tape for many different things when it comes to guitar work. The best use would of course be for protecting the guitar when you are doing other work to it. We’ve all seen the green tape on the fretboard for when you’re doing fretwork – but that’s not the only use! Electrical tape is a must if you plan on doing any soldering. If you have any bare wires, or want to tie wires together to keep things neat on the inside, a small piece of this is the best way to go. You can use the same green tape you would for fretwork for other protective purposes, too, like if you have to do any sort of drilling into the body (bigsby installations, strap button installations, etc). On top of potential damage from hard tools, glue spillage is something that can cause you more grief in the future, and is best prevented by protecting the area you are gluing with some tape. For example, if you’re gluing in a nut or filling nut slots, lay a couple strips of tape on either side to collect spillage.
Another use would be a quick-fix for loose knobs. If a knob isn’t quite grasping the pot-tabs well enough, you can wrap a small piece of tape around the tab to “increase” it’s size, and allow for a more snug fit.

3. Black Sharpie

It may not be a professional re-touching job, but you wouldn’t believe how often a black magic marker can be used to cover up blemishes. If you’ve got a dark colored guitar with a small paint chip, some black binding with a ding in it, or a dark fingerboard with an imperfection, a simple dab with a black sharpie can virtually make the problem disappear in many cases.
In addition, if not for covering up damage, a marker comes in handy for when it comes time to level and dress frets. Drawing a line down each fret will give you a good reference point of which frets are actually “getting hit” when doing your fret level, and will also be a good indicator of the “crown” on your fret after you start using a crowning file. You can check out an article for more on that here.

4. Pencil / Nut Sauce

If you find that your guitar is falling out of tune easy, or strings keep “catching” when you tune them, it could be that you need to add a little lubrication to the nut slots. An age-old trick would be filling in the nut slots with a bit of graphite, most easily accomplished by drawing into them with a pencil. It seems silly, but it works! There are also products that exist that work in the same way. such as “Big Bends Nut Sauce”, which works just as well, if not better than the graphite.

5. Glue

OK, so typically you shouldn’t need glue for your average guitar set-up, and it’s sort of the last thing you want to use when it comes to “minor” repairs – but sometimes it’s necessary. Two types of glue would suffice for general work: a white wood glue, and a super glue. Sometimes frets can lift a bit from use (especially at their ends), and buildup getting underneath them. Before jumping to filing and fret leveling, you’ll want to make sure they are seated properly. An application of super glue with some downward pressure (clamps would be best if you have them) would help seat them, and keep them in place for when it comes time to take the file to it. Another common piece to come loose is the nut. Some would argue that if the nut on your guitar is loose, to just leave it – but I prefer to have it at least secure enough that it will stay on its own without string tension. Not so much glue that you need to saw it out in the future, just a dab; enough that a gentle tap while knock it out. While we’re on the topic of using glue for the nut, it will also come in handy should you find the need to fill in your nut slots. If a string sits too low and causes fret buzz, the simple solution is to use a concoction of super glue and baking soda to fill in the slot, and re-file so the string sits at a good height. An alternative to baking soda would be some tiny shavings of the nut material your nut is made of.

6. Razor Blade

This can be your fingerboard “deep cleansing” tool. You can lemon oil your guitar neck as much as you want – the fact is, sometimes dirt and grime gets stuck in the wood fibers and right close to the frets. In order to get it out, you’d need to get rid of some of the wood that’s holding it in. Here you would use the razor blade as a scraper – stand it up so it’s 90 degrees to the fingerboard, and scrape along the wood-grain (from fret to fret.) You can use sand paper to do the same thing, I just prefer to scrape, and easily get close to each fret with the blade. When finished, some steel wool will help polish up the board, and you can then apply your lemon oil.

7. Sandpaper

As mentioned before, this can be used for cleaning tough spots on the fingerboard like the razor blade. More often, however, sandpaper will be your best friend for everything that involves fretwork. Leveling? Sandpaper stuck to leveling-beam or straight edge. Polishing? Different grits of sand paper, starting from a low grit and working your way to a higher one.
Aside from this, sandpaper makes for a good shimming material if you need it. Save a few strips of your used sandpaper – that way, if you come across a bolt-on neck that needs to be raised at the heel, you can use however much sandpaper you need to act as a shim for the neck.

8. Toothpicks

Whenever you have a loose screw, toothpicks can help tighten their bite. Simply remove the screw, and put the toothpick (or part of it) in its hole. Tighten up the screw again, and the toothpick will act as a wood filler, making the screw bite securely into the guitar again.

9. Flat Shoelace

This is a great leverage tool. Sometimes volume and tone knobs are just on too tight to be lifted by hand, and many people would jump straight for a flat-head screwdriver to pry them off. This doesn’t always end so well – plastics can crack or break, and it’s easy to slip and potentially damage the guitar. A flat shoelace slipped underneath the knob will apply even force to its underside, and it’s a soft material so you can pretty much guarantee you won’t end up breaking the knob!

10. Water and Cloth

If you’ve got a guitar that is in desperate need of a wipe-down, before jumping to the WD-40 and chemical cleaners, first try a dry cloth, then a damp cloth. You don’t want to give your guitar a bath here, so be sure to dry any wet spots as you go. In many cases you’ll find this will be enough to get the cleaning job done, and you can add a little guitar polish to shine it back up. As an added note: even before you go at it with the cloth, you may want to blow or use some compressed air to get rid of any particles that may be on the guitar. Wiping the cloth around on it without doing this may drag leftover particles and leave behind nasty surface scratches.

Ten Cheap and Handy Tools for Guitar Work from MyRareGuitars.com

At some point in your guitar-playing life, you’ll likely experience a faulty tuning key and need to replace it. Maybe your current tuners aren’t accurate enough, or seem to weigh your headstock down? Or maybe you just like the look of Kluson “green keys” instead of your Gotoh’s. Whatever the reason, it’s important to have at least somewhat of an understanding of what these things are and how they work before you spend money to replace them.

The first thing you’ll need to look at, of course, are the technical specs of the tuners you currently have to make sure you don’t cause yourself too much grief installing the next ones. The best case scenario would be you finding a set that will slip seamlessly into the peg-holes of your guitar without any modification. The next best would be the required installation of “adapter bushings”, which are basically just different thicknesses of metal used to, well, adapt to variations in diameter.

The last thing you want to end up doing is widen the peg holes. Sure, it might work – but if you’re doing this to a valuable guitar, you don’t want to be doing anything that is changing it from its original condition.
Most machine heads will show in-depth measurements of all of their components so there are no surprises when it comes time to install. A good example would be here on Stewmac’s site that shows basically everything you’d need to know as far as sizing goes.

Aside from the physical-size measurements of the peg, one of the first specs you’ll always see is a ratio such as “14:1”. This has nothing to do with the installation of the part, but rather its functionality. Now, let’s not forget the ultimate reason these things exist… to keep your guitar in tune! If you were having trouble tuning, or your tuner seemed to constantly “skip” over notes or pitches, this ratio is something you want to pay close attention to. Essentially, the higher the number, the finer the tuning you are able to do. The first number is the number of full turns it takes you to turn the peg before the inner gear completes one full cycle. Therefore, if you had something that was 1:1, you can imagine how hard it would be to zero in on any given pitch. If you feel like you want something that’s a little more precise, try to find a higher ratio tuning key. I’d recommend something 16:1 or higher.

A further method of helping keep your guitar in tune would be to invest in a set of locking tuners. They basically do what the name suggests – lock your strings in place. They help prevent string slippage without the string having to be wrapped around the peg-shaft “X” number of times, which makes for an easier re-string. At the end of the day, a string is going to go out of tune because something moved somewhere. Locking things in place is a good way of preventing that!
If you’ve ever held a really old guitar in your hands and tried to tune it, you may have seen plastic tuning pegs literally fall apart in your hands. Over time, and from lots of use, the plastic can come loose from the metal. At first this can cause tuning problems as it doesn’t properly grasp the mechanism when you turn it, and later, the piece can crumble and break. You can find high-quality keys made with plastic that will last longer than others, but if you really want something that will stand the test of time, metal is your best bet.

The last thing you might want to ask yourself when considering a new set of pegs is “will this change affect my tone?” You’ll get a different answer for this depending on who you ask.
First of all, of course a better set of pegs will be less prone to rattle, fall out of tune or break which are all things that I think we can all agree makes your guitar sound better. The only other thing that can really be argued for having an affect on your tone here would be the weight of the pegs. Different players and luthiers could argue for days over which is better – a heavier headstock or lighter. Some would say the heaviness would take away from the vibration of the neck, while others would say it adds sustain. Some would argue that it really doesn’t matter. One thing that we can be sure of, however, is that a heavier/lighter set of pegs might change how you play. A guitar that is heavier or lighter at the headstock will have a different balance, and will feel different in your hands and around your shoulders. Probably not by much, but it doesn’t take much for a guitar to feel different, and consequently make you play different. My advice would be to go with a set that doesn’t change the balance of your guitar too much.
Remember, the majority of your tone comes from your fingertips, which comes from you, which comes from your current state of mind, which can be affected by how comfortable or uncomfortable an instrument is in your hands!

Tips on Tones: Issue #21 – Machine Heads from MyRareGuitars.com

Have you ever listened to or overheard a conversation between seasoned
musicians? The phrases, terminology and body language are very different from
non musicians. Depending on what type of musician you are talking to, the words,
lingo and animations vary. For example a conversation between two jazz
performers might sound like this:

That cat can really play in the pocket on Birds up-tempo swing tunes, and I
was digging the groove on the walking bass line.

Rock musicians might sound like this:

The drummer crushed it with those 32nd note fills on the hi hat, and I was down
with the syncopation of the double bass drums on his second solo.

Finally the well trained classical musician who wrote the book on terminology
might sound like this:

Did you notice the strings in perfect unison with the reeds while building a
perfect crescendo at the start of the 2nd ending in the 3rd movement.

There are thousands of musical terms that make communicating easier for musicians.
Today I will show you a few of the basic terms that are built into almost
all styles of music. I will break them down into 5 categories with 3 sub categories.

#1 Parts of a Song

a. Verse – In typical popular music the first set of lyrics would be considered
the 1st verse, and would almost always change going from verse to verse telling the
story.

b. Chorus – Unlike the verse the chorus usually retains the same lyrics and is
often the most memorable part of the song.

c. Bridge – In pop and rock songs, the bridge is a section where the lyrics or
music connect or bridge the verse to the chorus. This is usually done with a
different melody line and with different lyrics.

#2 Style of a Tune

a. Swing – A form of American music developed in the 1930’s which has a
strong rhythmic groove or drive. The emphasis in swing is on the offbeat of the
music.

b. Waltz – In a Jazz context Waltz would be any piece of music written in ¾
time or 3 beats per measure. In classical music it is also played in ¾ time but
traditionally used for ballroom dancing or folk dance.

c. Bossa – Short for Bossa Nova is a genre of Brazilian music made popular
in the 1950’s and 60’s. Bossa has a swaying feel rather than a swinging feel. Bossa
like most Latin based styles of music incorporates a lot of syncopation.

#3 Navigating a Tune

a. Coda – Primarily a term that designates a passage of music to the end of
the tune. The symbol looks like a circle with two lines going through it.

b. D.C al fine – D.C. or (Da Capo) means repeat to beginning of the song, then
to the word fine which means end.

c. Treble Clef – Or G Clef is a sign indicating the pitch of written notes. The
Treble Clef as its name implies, is reserved for instruments that can produce notes
with a higher pitch as opposed to the bass clef designated for lower pitched
instruments.

#4 Dynamics

a. Forte – Is a musical term which means to play loudly at that section of the
music.

b. Decrescendo – Is a sign that looks like this ( >) letting you know that the
music will have a gradual decrease in force or loudness.

c. Fermata – Is a prolonged tone, chord, or rest beyond its indicated time. A
good example would be in the tune Happy Birthday, when you come to the
person’s name it is held for a longer time than the music allows for. Or in the Star
Spangled Banner when you get to the word free.

#5 Tempo

a. Andante – Means in a moderately slow and even tempo. It can also mean
gently or flowing.

b. B.P.M. – Refers to beats per minute which is attached to a number. For
example a song that has 80 bpm is exactly twice as slow than a tune that has 160
bpm in it. Marching band and Disco music usually play songs that uses 120 beats
per minute probably because it is easy to march to and also to dance to.

c. Up – Short for upbeat, is a jazz term indicating that the music should be
played quickly.

Just like most professions there are ways to communicate that are outside of
(normal) conversation. A good example might be the Lingo between Lawyers,
Doctors, and Law Enforcement. Another good example would be wildlife. We
clearly don’t understand the language but they are communicating quite well with
each other.

Source:  https://skypealesson.com offer private
online Music, Art and Technology lessons. They use top of the line equipment and
have incredibly fast internet to guarantee that your lessons are in HD video and
audio. All of their teachers are accredited in their fields and have years of practical
experience in teaching and performing. All lessons are taught from their central
offices, they offer affordable prices, and are extremely competitive with other
tutors.

Musical Communication from MyRareGuitars.com

Whatever the reason, if you’re interested in learning to play and improve, consider the following ten tips to help smooth out the process!

1. Guitar Maintenance

This should, in my opinion, be the top priority when it comes to playing or learning to play. If you’re just starting to learn, having a guitar that gets fret buzz all over the neck, plays out of tune, and just isn’t functioning the way it should won’t exactly encourage you to play. You’ll constantly be thinking “what am I doing wrong?”, when you may in fact be playing just fine. Besides that, the sooner you understand the importance of taking care of your instrument the better.

For someone who has been playing longer, having a guitar setup to your liking will make a huge difference in your playing. The thickness of your strings, your action, intonation, pickup height… even the cleanliness of your guitar all affect how it feels when you play. If you’re looking to improve, it only makes sense for your guitar to feel comfortable. After all, you play because it’s enjoyable, right? Keep it that way!

2. Use a Metronome

Timing is everything. It’s natural to want to speed up when you get excited, or slow down too much to compensate. While sometimes this can make for a cool sounding effect, at the end of the day you want to be able to play along with a steady beat. Using a metronome prepares you for this – it isn’t human; the speed you set it to is what it’s going to stay at. You can experiment with a metronome in different ways. As a beginner, try using it to simply keep the beat for you while you strum. Later on, try using it to play around with trickier rhythms and phrasing. Whichever way you use it, try tapping your foot along with the metronome while you play. Doing so will help teach you to “lock in” to a beat despite how complicated a rhythm or strumming pattern may be.

3. Start Slow

You have to learn to walk before you can learn to run! Always approach a new song or riff slowly at first. In many cases you need to train yourself to make the proper movements necessary to play it before you can attack it at full speed. It’s all about muscle memory – if your hands and fingers know what to do and in what order they should do them, everything will happen more naturally. A good way to keep track of your progress is by using a metronome. Set it to a slow pace and try playing the riff you’re working on. Once you can play it smoothly, increase the pace a bit. Rinse and repeat.

4. Record Yourself

When you’re focused on playing, sometimes it’s hard to hear what you actually sound like. One example is “rushing the beat” – it’s easy to play ahead of the beat and not even realize it until you hear a recording. Other times, you might not like your guitar tone if you heard it without playing it. When I listen to some of my older recordings, the guitar tone I had makes me gag! Think of it this way: to not go back and listen to what you’ve played would be like a painter not looking at a painting they’ve just finished. For them, it’s impossible. They can immediately see what they’ve created and decide if they like it, and what they can improve upon. We can get the same benefit, we just need to hit record!

5. Read

Countless books and articles have been written for guitar players by guitar players. If you’re looking for something specific, it’s most likely just a google search away. Simply knowing a variety of different chord shapes, for example is a great foundation for playing later on. If you love the way a certain artist plays and sounds, learn about them! Reading a biography of your favourite artist will help you understand where they’re coming from, and could give you a closer look into how they approach playing. You’ll also pick up on their influences and what they like to hear in a player, leading you to check out other players. Knowledge is power, after all!

6. Sing Melodies

If you can hear a tune in your head, then you can recreate it on the guitar. Try to sing or hum what you want to hear before you play it, and then keep singing it as you play it. Ultimately, you want the guitar to be your voice. Using this method can help you learn intervals, and where they appear on the guitar neck without having to delve too deep into musical theory to know them.

7. Learn the Fret board

To go along with tip #6, learning your fret board is the most important “theory” you can know as a guitar player. Knowing scales and their extensions, knowing where shapes and patterns occur / re-occur, and knowing how to get from one note to the other efficiently are all fantastic tools to have when structuring riffs and songs. Knowing what you want to play is a great start, but having a strong knowledge of how to make it happen is just as important.

8. Train your Ears

Being able to hear a chord or riff and play it back is a great skill to have when it comes to learning songs and jamming with other musicians. The more songs you learn, and the more you play, you will by default pick up on similar patterns and ideas that re-appear all over the place. Instead of just reading and playing back a strumming pattern, try to really listen to a chord and associate it with a different song. For example, take the “C” and “G” chords and start strumming along with the verse to “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by CCR. Stop the song, and play the two chords one after the other on your own. Now throw on “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix. The first two chords here are also C and G, just set to a different tempo and pattern. Soon enough you’ll start to know what a “C” chord sounds like, then later on you’ll be able to tell if it’s a C in the open position or if it’s a barre chord.

Image courtesy of www.easyeartraining.com

9. Experiment

It’s very easy to become comfortable with a guitar, playing style, or genre of music. Of course being comfortable is a good thing, but there’s a downside: you might lose some of the desire to progress as you begin to feel like you’ve already “conquered” it. If you want to truly learn something new, you have to try and put yourself in the same shoes you were in when you first picked up the guitar. Try learning a song that you would never see yourself listening to. Try listening to some music you’ve never heard before. Your musical mind subconsciously absorbs anything you put into it, and it will come out in your playing and song writing whether you want it to or not!

Aside from that, you can try playing another similar instrument. Twelve string guitars, bass guitars, baritone guitars, tenor guitars, and mandolins are all examples of stringed instruments that bear a lot of resemblance to the 6-string you’re used to. That said, there’s enough that’s different about them that you will be forced to play differently, consequently teaching you something new.

10. Emulate

Before you ever picked up the guitar, something or someone inspired you to play music. There are hundreds of thousands of artists out there now, each of whom could be inspiring someone else to play the guitar. The reason is because there’s something about the way they play or the music they make that makes people just want to do what they’re doing. By “emulating” these players; learning their riffs, note choices, play style etc. you can pick up on things that separate different guitarists from each other. Everyone has a certain “something” about the way they play, and through identifying what that thing is in other players, you’ll figure out what it is about your playing that makes you unique.

Happy playing!

Ten Tips to Improve your Playing from MyRareGuitars.com

For guitar players, there’s a ton of little annoyances that we all sort of “put up with”, or don’t bother trying to fix because we aren’t aware of an easy solution. Maybe they aren’t all stopping you in your tracks, but there are ways around them to help make your life much easier. Here’s my list of eight things to consider:

1. Cut Picks from Old Credit Cards / Plastic Containers

We’re all victim to losing ridiculous quantities of guitar picks. By now I’m sure we’ve all accepted this as a norm, and while this first tip won’t exactly stop this from happening – it could save you if you find yourself without a pick in a pinch. Old credit cards or margarine containers that you’re going to cut up and throw out anyways can be cut into pick shapes and used, and if you lose them then it’s not the end of the world. Another thing to consider is keeping your favourite picks in your wallet. Get into a habit of putting them away in it whenever you finish playing – your wallet is something you’ve hopefully already trained yourself not to lose, so in this way you won’t lose your picks by default.

2. Use Noise to Tune

If you don’t have a tuner but do have a loud amp, you can actually use the 60 cycle frequenecy it hums to tune. Try this: plug your patch cable in but not your guitar. You should hear a loud “humming” noise, and within it you can actually pick out a particular tone. When plugged directly into a tuner, it looks like this frequency kind of bounces back and forth between a B and Bb note. Tune your B string to this note, and then the rest of the strings to the B string. You won’t be perfectly in standard, but you’ll be close enough to play by yourself and have things sound good.

3. Use a Pencil to help Stay in Tune

One of the leading causes of your guitar slipping out of tune is the condition of the nut slots. Strings can catch and be pulled, and not return to proper pitch especially after string bending. The nut slot shouldn’t be clutching the string with an iron grasp, but rather cup it and allow it to move freely. If your guitar goes out of tune a lot during play, try taking a pencil and “drawing” into the nut slots with some force. The idea is to get some graphite in there to act as a string lubricant, and hopefully help your strings stay in tune much better.

4. Toohpicks for Loose Screws

Screws and components that are loose can cause rattling sounds when you play, or can just be plain dangerous. You don’t want to have a strap button fall out on you while you play! An easy fix for this is to take out the loose screw, and use a toothpick (or pieces of toothpick, dependent on the screwhole size) to fill it. Put the screw back in, and voila! The screw is biting firmly into wood again.

5. Use a Shop Towel / Cloth when Stretching Strings

Here’s one for tuning again. The most frequent time your guitar is going to fall out of tune is after a fresh restring; especially if the strings weren’t stretched properly. The best way to ensure they’re nice and stretched is to apply a little heat to them while you’re pulling on them. Put a cloth or shop towel in your hand, and glide your hand up and down the length of each string while pulling it to stretch. This will add friction, which consequently heats up the string while you stretch it. It’s a more efficient way to get your strings used to their new tension faster.

6. Velcro for Pedals

If you’ve ever gone to band practice (or worse, hit the stage) and noticed one of your pedals is out of juice, it can spell trouble if you didn’t think to bring a screwdriver to open up the battery casing. To avoid this scenario altogether, remove all the screws when you get the pedal and line the sides of the casing with Velcro instead. This way you can easily open and shut the box much faster, whether or not you have immediate access to the tools it would normally require.

7. Shoelace for Knobs

Whether it be to fix or clean your electronics, or just to replace your guitar’s volume and tone knobs, there may be a point that you need to take off the existing knobs. Sometimes this is easy, and other times it’s near impossible. Top hat knobs are notorious for this, especially when placed so close to the guitar body. An easy way around this is to use a flat shoelace. Simply slide the shoelace under the knob, wrap it around, and pull up!

8. String for Hollowbody Volume and Tone pot Repairs

Here’s another to go along with electronics repairs. Some guitars are not built to be easily accessible. For example, many hollow or semi hollow guitar electronics can only be accessed through their pickup cavity or F-holes. This makes it tricky to get to the parts you need to work on, and even trickier to get them back to where they belong. The fix? Loosen off the knob, then tie a piece of string or fishing line to the top of the pot. Then you can let the pot fall and pull it out wherever you need to so you can work on it, and simply pull the string to bring the pot back through when you’re done.

So there’s my eight cheap and easy tricks for all you guitar players out there! Have you got any “life hacks for guitar players” you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Eight Life-Hacks for the Every Day Guitar Player from MyRareGuitars.com

1. Know your Tech / Luthier

Believe it or not, most (or at least a large portion) of the damage and wear done to a guitar occurs on the very bench it is being repaired or set up on. It is extremely important that the person who works on your instrument has a good track record, keeps a clean work-space, and knows what they’re doing. Surface scratches can appear from someone slipping with a screwdriver, leaving string clippings and fret filings behind on the workbench, or by restringing a guitar carelessly. Electronics can be ruined with improper use of a soldering iron, frets can be left in bad condition after a leveling or dressing.. and the list goes on. The list of things that can be done wrong is just as long as the list of things that can be done right.

When you are looking for someone to work on your instrument, pay attention to testimonials from other clients. Then you should physically meet the tech, and ask to see where they would be working on your instrument. If everything checks out, then you’ve found the right person. Finding and maintaining a relationship with a good tech is the first step in keeping your guitar looking, sounding, and feeling great.

2. Don’t Let it Fall!

Let’s face it… not all guitar straps and strap buttons are created equal. I’m sure we’ve all experienced catching a guitar that has come loose from one end of the strap at some point of our playing career. Now imagine what happens if that strap came loose while your hands are in the air clapping, or just after you throw the guitar around your waist for a spin…

…Yeah. Either your guitar or someone in the audience is going to get a pretty serious dent. If you’re going to play live, it’s important that you can rest assured that your guitar is secure to your body. Investing in a good quality leather guitar strap is never a bad idea. If it’s hard to loop the strap ends around the strap buttons, then you know it’s going to be just as hard for it to come off. Even still, these leather straps find a way of slipping off certain buttons. Strap locks are a great work around for this. Simply buy a set, and replace your current strap buttons with these and you’re pretty much guaranteed that your guitar isn’t going to go anywhere.

Some guitars don’t have a strap button on the upper portion of the body or neck, and are intended to be worn by tying one end around the headstock, underneath the strings. If you prefer using a regular button-to-button strap, you’ll need to install a second strap button. In this instance, it’s vital that you install the piece where the screw is going to have enough solid wood to bite into. It’s a good idea to contact the manufacturer to find out the best spot to do this, or to go back to that handy dandy tech you met by following tip number 1!

3. Don’t Let it Fall #2!

Of course, your guitar won’t always be strapped around your body. When it’s time to put it down between songs, or to stand it up at home, you’re going to want to have a proper stand for it. I personally learned my lesson years ago, when I stood my Les Paul up against my amp during practise. Not five minutes passed before hearing a loud “smack!” and looking in sheer horror to see that the head-stock had been knocked right off of the neck. Getting a stand that firmly holds your guitar in place is a ~$30 way to potentially save you a few hundred dollars down the road, and spare you the grief of thinking “my guitar will never be the same”.

Aside from the decreased risk of damage, having a stand holds your guitar in a much better way than laying it flat down. Gravity works wonders on your guitar, especially when you consider that that long, thin piece of wood known as the neck is under 120 lbs of string tension to begin with. Try this: lay your guitar flat on your lap and check its tuning. Now hold it in playing position and do the same. You might just notice a difference, and that’s all thanks to gravity. Due to this, the best way to display or place your guitar is in playing position or straight up and down.

4. Protect it

This one might seem obvious, but for some it just doesn’t register. I’ve seen people cross through a parking lot during a torrential downpour with their exposed guitar in hand – the kicker is they’re bringing it to be worked on. In their defense, they probably just don’t know any better – perhaps it feels like wearing a leather jacket out in the rain. “I probably shouldn’t do this.. but what’s the worst it could do?” Well, the answer is a lot. The guitar manufacturer spent a lot of time getting a ton of moisture content out of the wood before putting it together, the last thing you want to do is put it back in!

The rain is the least of your troubles, though. If you’re doing any travelling with your guitar, you’ll want to have it packed into a good guitar case. A hard-shell that fits your guitar is your best option (you don’t want your instrument sliding around on the inside), but there are some nice gig-bags out there with good padding that keeps the guitar safe, and makes it easier to carry.

5. Keep it Acclimated

As I mentioned previously, various steps are taken by guitar builders to get the wood of your guitar to a certain moisture content level before putting it together. So if you have a guitar that was built on the other side of the planet, the temperature and humidity is likely a tad different. Your guitar is greatly impacted by differences in climate, so measures should be taken to make sure your guitar doesn’t experience as much of the change going on outside as everything else is.

Drier climates can lead to sharp fret ends and wood cracks, while too much moisture can lead to tarnishing of frets, wood swelling, high action and loose components. You can get mini guitar humidifiers that can be stored inside your guitar case, or some that fit inside the sound hole of an acoustic guitar, or just get a regular humidifier to use in the room that you store your guitar in. You can contact your guitar’s manufacturer to find out what they recommend you keep the relative humidity at, but as a general starting point I’d aim for 45-55%. If your guitar has had some serious exposure to moisture, then you may need to go the opposite route and use a de-humidifier.

So there you have it; a few examples of things you can do to keep your guitar in tip-top shape. Remember: don’t break it! If you’re questioning the way you’re putting your guitar down, how you’re holding it, storing it, or having it worked on, chances are you’re risking it!

Top 5 Practices for Keeping your Guitar Safe from Harm from MyRareGuitars.com

It’s a no brainer; much of the initial aspiration to play any instrument comes from the desire to have what your musical heroes have, or to at least produce the kind of material they produce. In many cases, you’ll end up having to find a few like-minded musicians to help make that aspiration a reality. It’s a huge commitment if you’re in it to win it, and you will have to make sacrifices, but in my opinion the good far outweighs the bad. Here’s my list of the top ten reasons to play in a band:

10. The Attraction

Everyone’s thinking it, so I figured I’d get it out of the way before anything else. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll! There’s a reason it’s in that order. Chances are when you start playing gigs, your early performances will be at bars around town. As a hotspot for socializing and meeting people, playing at a bar is an immediate ice-breaker for you. By just doing something you love, you establish that you 1) Like music, 2) Are talented, and 3) Look cool rocking out. That’s all before you’ve made a name for yourself! Once you do that…well…

Heck, there’s even been research done on this philosophy! A study done by Université de Bretagne-Sud in France claims that women are 31% more likely to go out on a date with a man holding a guitar case versus holding nothing at all. Incentive, or what?!

9. The Creative Outlet

When you start to write music, you will find that there are certain limitations when you’re working alone. For some, this is ideal and they learn to embrace it. Whether or not you absolutely love the feeling of writing and playing music by yourself, you should still try out the band atmosphere. Receiving input from other musicians, jamming, and simply coming up with ideas as a collective is (in my opinion) far more rewarding than doing these things alone. People have different influences, and sometimes the best way to write original music is to have a group of players who throw all their differences into a mixing pot. You never know where a song might end up when you have a few different people working on it, and a fresh set of ears is a great way to solve writer’s cramp.

8. The Fun

Simply put, it’s way more fun to play and make music when you’re doing it with other people. Have a new idea for a riff? Show the band, and jam it out. All of a sudden you can hear everything together, not just you and your metronome. The experiences of playing shows, recording music, getting new fans and friends, and travelling distances to play are really like none other. Especially when you get to do all these things with a few folks who start to feel less like “band members” and more like they’re a part of…

7. The Family

Aside from the music, the longer you remain a band with the same people, the closer your bond gets. These people you got together with just to make music quickly become your best friends. Band practise starts to feel more like hanging out, and you find ways to entertain yourselves when on the road or before a show. You understand each other, and writing music becomes easier as you become more acquainted with how everyone works. If one member suffers, everyone suffers – quite literally. A member who is too sick, injured, or even upset to perform, practice or record hinders the rest of the band. For this reason and many others, everyone kind of “has each others backs.”

6. The Teamwork

Everyone puts in equally, everyone takes out equally. That’s the ideal band setup (though not always the case). You want everyone to be happy, and to feel like an important member of the team. Nobody likes to feel that their contribution is less important. Being in a band builds teamwork for this reason, similarly to the way being on a sports team does – you’re all working towards the same common goal.

5. The Income

Eventually, you can start making some money by playing in a band. You can do this in a variety of different ways like from selling your music, being paid to play, and by selling merchandise.  If you’re not in an established band are just looking to make some supplementary income, it’s a good idea to consider starting a cover band. Venues love having a good sounding cover band play famous hits to get people in the door and keep them there, so you’ll generally make more money doing this than trying to start a new original project.

4. The Free Beer / Food

Every band has been there! The venues that aren’t able to pay you money to play, but will give you free beer and / or a meal to play at their location. There comes a time where this isn’t such a great deal, but when you’re just starting out then what’s wrong with that? You just want to play and have your friends come see you – invite them out, play your music for fun, and have a free brew while you’re at it. It almost makes you feel like you’re VIP!

3. The Management Skills

Unless you’ve already hit it big and are able to have someone do all the legwork for you, being in a productive a band is a LOT of work. You need to book your own shows and practices, which are daunting tasks by themselves. The more people in your band, the harder it is to get everyone in the same room together once or twice a week, and the harder it is to make sure everyone’s schedule is free for performance dates. Without meaning to, you gain quite a bit of management skills by being in and running a band. By keeping track of your band’s successes and accomplishments, you can add some good material to your resume for future endeavors.

2. The Connection

Like I mentioned in “The Family” point, there’s a special connection shared between band members when you play. It doesn’t end there, though! You learn to connect with your fans and your audience. Your job is to ensure that they want to listen to your music, and want to come see you play, so you need to find what it is that makes people like your band and really connect with whatever that is. On top of that, once you’ve started playing shows with other bands, you start to connect with them too. You become part of a community, and a scene that feels like home.

1. The Experience

All things rolled into one, there’s really no other thing that will feel quite the same as playing in a band. Whether it becomes a life long career for you, or something you can look back at later on in life, you might just associate “that time you were in a band” with some of the best moments of your life. It’s one of those things that, as a musician, you can look back on and say “at least we tried, and had fun doing it.”

Top 10 Reasons to Play in a Band from MyRareGuitars.com

Issue 19: Guidance from the Greats

If you could sit down in a room with some of the best musicians and guitar players in the world, what do you think you’d want to talk to them about? For the majority of us musicians, we would want to pick their brains as much as possible to find out what makes them tick and how they got to where they are. We all want to improve our playing, or aspire to write our next “opus”, and what better way to do those things than to use advice from our greatest inspirations?

Even though it’s a tad unlikely that we’ll ever get such a chance, it is still possible to pick up on a few inspirational thoughts and ideas that our idols have without ever meeting them face to face. Apart from simply listening to what and how they play, the way they think contributes massively to their success. Many have written books, spoken in interviews, and even written in their lyrics little tidbits about the way they approach playing guitar and songwriting. Today, I’m going to list and analyze a few of my favourite quotes from who I consider to be some of the greatest players and musicians out there.

“I just hate to be in one corner. I hate to be put as only a guitar player, or either only as a songwriter, or only as a tap dancer. I like to move around.” – Jimi Hendrix

Yes, when we hear the name Jimi Hendrix, we all think “incredible guitar player” before anything else. At the time, (and even still today) most of the world was referring to Hendrix as the greatest guitar player in the world – and that’s what makes this quote so interesting. He had what so many guitar players wished they could have, and yet he says he doesn’t want that. At least, not just that. The fact is that today, there are easily hundreds of thousands of guitar players out there who have the playing ability to rank up there with some of the famous guitarists of the past, but they’re unknown outside of their local community. There’s more to it than just being really really good at guitar, and I think that’s what Jimi is tapping into here. Obviously it’s important to be good – but in my opinion you’re only as good as your song and performance. Jimi did all of those things well, and it’s worth considering working on the whole package to get your listeners to be fully engaged.

“I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it.” – Jimmy Page

No matter how much you practice the solo to “Stairway to Heaven”, or how much money you spend getting the same equipment Page had when he tracked the riff in “Black Dog”, you will never sound exactly the same as he does. Even if you had his guitar in your hands, the answer is still no! That’s because that tone and playing style belongs to him, just like your tone and playing style belongs to you. Yes, you can alter your tone with various different pieces of equipment, but there is something inherently there that is yours and no one else’s. Sure, you can use your hero’s sounds for inspiration, but the longer you keep trying to sound like someone else, the further away you move from what makes you unique. As a tip, try practicing your playing on an inexpensive acoustic guitar, or an electric with a dry clean setting. Do whatever you can to make the thing sound good to your ears. When you can do that, you’ve found your playing tone. From there, you can “edit” by using a better acoustic, or dialing in a better electric tone.

“I’m not a good guitar player.” – Adam Jones

If you’re familiar with the rock band Tool, you’re probably aware of the fact that their fame comes more from innovation than anything else. That’s not to say they’re not all fantastic musicians, but when you listen to their songs and Adam’s playing, you’ll notice that there are never any long, “show-offy” guitar solos. Their music is heavy rock, with a lot of progressive elements (in their later works, anyway), so it’s kind of an odd thing to not feature the guitar in such a limelight. However, it works. It works really well. While he doesn’t typically shred your face off, Adam’s soundscapes and riffs add an atmosphere to their songs that just wouldn’t be there if it was your typical rock guitar god. If there’s something you feel you are less than adequate at doing on the guitar, sometimes it’s a good idea to just forget about it and really perfect what you’re already good at. For me, I went through a phase where I thought I HAD to be able to “sweep-pick” to be good. I practiced for a while, but I could never quite get it to sound how I wanted it to. I’m just not good at it – so I don’t do it! The lesson here I think is to play to your strengths.

“There’s only one thing worse than becoming successful with something you don’t believe in, and that’s failing with something you don’t believe in.” – Steven Wilson

I love this quote. Steven says this when asked if he had ever attempted a musical project with the end goal being essentially “fame.” Playing music that everyone else wanted hear, and not necessarily what he wanted to play. His answer was yes, but he regrets ever having done it. Basically, the idea here is there’s no point in playing music if it isn’t music you don’t love or appreciate. If you succeed with it, then you’re stuck doing this thing you hate to do just to keep everyone happy. If you fail with it, then it was all a huge waste of time. The best thing to do is stay true to yourself, and play what you enjoy and what makes you happy. Chances are there’s people out there who will like what you’re doing, and they’ll catch on. That’s what happened with Steven – he went and worked on musical projects he does believe in – and now he’s one of the busiest working musicians and producers today. At least if things don’t become “commercially successful”, you still spent time creating something you could stand behind.

Lots can be learned from your idols! Listen to them play, and listen to them speak. You never know what a different approach might do for you.

Happy Playing!

Tips on Tones – Issue 19 from MyRareGuitars.com

There’s a bitter-sweet thing about digging around for an ideal guitar tone, and it’s that the sky really is the limit. Beyond the fact that every build and brand of guitar will have its unique tone signature, every little thing you run your guitar through will play a role in the sound that comes through the amp. Even a subtle drive boost from 3 to 4 on your tube screamer can make the difference between “whoa” and “WHOA”.

                Keeping in mind how such a subtle change can make such a huge difference, there are things you can adjust on the guitar itself that can change its sonic characteristic entirely before its signal even reaches the first pedal. I’m not talking about swapping anything out – in fact I urge you to test out what I’m about to describe on one guitar you have at home.

                If you think of your guitar’s pickups as its “ears”, you will agree with the general consensus that the closer they are to a sound (or vibrating string), the louder that sound is. While this is true, the distance between pickup and string can affect your tone in a lot more ways than just volume.

While you can simply go to Google and type in “ideal pickup height for guitar brand / model X”, and probably end up with a pretty good sound, it isn’t against the law to deviate from these measurements and perhaps find something that might suit you even better.

Whenever I’m trying to dial into a particular tone, I like to visit the extremes first. For example, I’ll listen to something with its treble setting at 10, followed by zero. This gives you an idea of that setting’s range, and makes it easier to find what you like (and don’t like!).Your pickups can be treated in a similar fashion. Try setting your pickups as high as you can get them (without having them connect with the low or high E strings when you fret them at the last fret).

Many pickups that are too close to the strings like this will end up having too strong a magnetic pull, interrupting a string’s vibrational pattern and cause it to produce a strange overtone / double-note effect. It’s not exactly conventional… but hey maybe it could be used for some kind of sound design! For those of you looking to have a guitar with very hot pickups that sounds in tune, however, this makes it easy. Simply back off the pickups until this warbled sound goes away, and you’ll have the hottest tone you can get without the negative sound effects.

You’ll know you don’t want your pickups super-hot like this if you’re the type of person who doesn’t always play balls-to-the-wall aggressive. You lose dynamic range, and if you want to have a warmer, more rounded tone then I’d suggest bringing the pickups down a tad more. The term I like to use for this is “granting yourself headroom”.

If you’ve ever done studio recordings or worked with a soundboard, you’ll know what that familiar red light looks like when a signal is too strong. It’s kind of the same thing with your pickup height, just unfortunately there’s no LED on the pickup to show when the signal is too hot. Basically, the “ideal” height would be somewhere that allows you to play hard at full volume and get the pickup to break up a bit, while still allowing you to soften up and play without the output being “in the red.” Plus, if you miss some of the tone you get from having your pickups as high as they possibly can, you can always compensate with a little gain from a pedal or an amp.

Every pickup is different, but here’s a rough middle-ground for a 2 humbucker guitar that should give you what I’m describing:

• Fret the Low E string at the last fret, and set the neck pickup to 5/64 distance between pole piece and string. Repeat for high E string.
• Fret the Low E string at the last fret, and set the bridge pickup to 4/64 distance between pole piece and string. Repeat for high E string.

Why set the bridge pickup closer? This picture explains why in a nutshell:

Simply put, a string’s vibrations are much tighter where it is closest to its bridge and nut. So, in order to match the output of the bridge pickup to the neck, it needs to pick up a similar vibration by being placed closer to the string. Which brings me to another point… ideally you won’t need to adjust the pole pieces of your pickups. These are specifically set for each individual string, and should already be matched as long as your guitar is set-up properly. If you’re noticing some serious output imbalance from a specific string, then it may be time to look into adjusting the pole pieces – but that should only be a last resort.

If you want even more “headroom”, simply try bringing the pickups further back! It really is just “salting to taste.” This just gave me an idea for another analogy… never salt anything before you’ve tasted it! Just like everyone’s taste buds are different, so are everyone’s ears. Instead of finding a measurement online, setting it, and being done, you should play the guitar first! Then you can tweak your pickup, then play the guitar again, tweak, etc etc…

When you’re done, you should have a tasty tone that is crafted just for you.

Happy playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue 18 from MyRareGuitars.com

Issue 17

“You are what you eat” is an expression we all know and understand as truth. Simply put, if you want to live a healthy and balanced life, you need to eat a healthy balanced diet. That said, the expression can be used with a much more metaphorical meaning for a number of different things. Your experiences, your friends and what you surround yourself by play huge parts in the person you are. Often you have no choice but to live through something that can change you for the better or worse. On the other hand, there are many things you have the ability to choose from that will have an impact your life, or at least some aspects of it. Music is one of these things.

For a musician, what you listen to plays a large role in what you end up creating, whether you are trying to or not! We are like sponges. We hear something we like, it soaks in, and later on it leaks out in our writing, playing, and the tones we decide to create. I can recall more than a few occasions where I’ll be listening to a track, and then hear a riff that sounds almost identical to something I’ve written without having any intention of doing so.

Keeping this in mind, you can actually increase your guitar “vocabulary”, and, in a roundabout way, improve your guitar tone without even having an instrument in your hands.

Here are some things to consider:

1) Listen to various genres

Even if you know the style you want to play or create, try not to limit your listening to that genre.

The most famous and signature guitar tones out there were not created by someone re-hashing something that had already been done, but by blending a variety of influences and sounds. Tony Iommi didn’t have a metal band to listen to for inspiration and look what he created! You’ll find that different genres call for different tones, and you will grow to appreciate subtle nuances that you can incorporate into your own playing and writing.

2) Try to isolate the guitar

The overall sound of a song is comprised of all the instruments mixed together. So, sometimes when you try and recreate a tone while playing by yourself you can over compensate in some areas. Adding extra gain, treble or reverb are a few examples. It might sound great alone, but throwing that into a band situation may just make everything sound muddy and convoluted. You’d be surprised to hear how some of your favourite songs’ guitar tracks sound on solo! It’s tricky, but try going back and forth between isolating the guitar in a song and then listening to the whole mix.

3) Study and analyze different players

Ask two guitar players to play the same riff with the same guitar and each will sound different. Did they just play a hammer-on or did they slide to that note? Was that the open D string or the A string in the fifth fret? How fast is their vibrato? What is their note selection and phrasing like?

These are all things that every guitar player does slightly different from another, resulting in a unique play style and tone. Usually you will be able to find repetition in a player, and if you can tap into that then you can expand your repertoire in no time.

Put it this way: your guitar, your amp, and your foot pedals are all inanimate objects. Sure, they will sound different depending on what they are and how they’re set, but it’s you who is actually telling them how to sound.

Tips on Tone – Issue #17 from MyRareGuitars.com

When I was out doing my Christmas shopping this year at the local toy store, I saw a woman pass by with a cart almost filled to the brim. She stopped in the aisle in front of me, grabbed a boxed up quarter sized guitar from the bin, and put it in her cart. She couldn’t have been stopped for more than 5 seconds – enough to see the price tag and then carry on. Now, that’s all well and good if this was simply a toy guitar, but this was a fully functional six string acoustic with a brand name.

Such is the way the world runs: convenience over quality. We microwave manufactured food instead of cook fresh food, we watch over compressed movie streams online instead of buy a video, and we buy guitars from the toy store instead of a music shop. All of these have something in common: they’re cheaper and easier than the alternative. The downside? Well, low quality movie streams hardly give you the experience of a blu-ray, and too much manufactured food will eventually kill you. Many would argue, however, that they don’t know if their son or daughter will “be into” playing guitar and therefore justify spending a “safe” amount. Here’s the problem with this:  going with that “safe” purchase may turn out to be the sole reason that someone gives up playing the guitar.

A guitar set up is a service done to a guitar to ensure it is playing the way it should, including everything from setting the action (distance from the strings to the frets) to the intonation. (Overall tuning of the guitar across the entire neck). Yes, the manufacturer should have done this before shipping too, but a set up isn’t permanent. Changes in weather and humidity, as well as string tension affect the guitar’s set up, and who knows how long that guitar has been sitting in that box since it was last looked at.

String action that is too high will simply make the guitar harder to play. Action that is too low can cause an annoying sound called fret buzz when you play, or even make it so notes don’t sound at all. Intonation that isn’t correct will make it so that even when your strings are tuned, somewhere on the neck they’ll be out of tune. Fret ends can be sharp due to differences in humidity, causing the wood in the neck to literally shrink.

What does this mean for the new player?
Well, they won’t be able to say “man, this action is too high”. They’ll simply think that playing the guitar is too hard. Or if they get fret buzz, they’ll think they are playing it wrong. Ultimately this will lead to discouragement, and they’ll associate playing with a negative experience.
When you buy a guitar from a music store, the guitar will (or should) have been inspected and setup by someone at that facility, and if there are any issues with the instrument soon after purchase as far as set up goes, they’ll adjust it for free. The toy store doesn’t have anyone who can do this for you. If you need to get this service done, it’s going to cost you another $40+. Not to mention the fact that often times these guitars can only be set up “so far.” Many don’t have adjustable truss rods in the neck, meaning that once the neck starts to bow, you can’t really save it unless you want to pay far more than the instrument is worth. The solution to all of this is to invest in a good guitar.

Getting a “good” guitar doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. You can find great entry level guitars at music shops for low costs that are guaranteed to be set up, ready to play, and will last a long time. Sure, you may end up spending a little more than you would at the toy store, but you’ll be avoiding the potential hassle of extra costs. More importantly, you’ll be giving your aspiring guitarist a tool that won’t be inherently discouraging and annoying to play, which will give them their best shot at learning a musical instrument.

What Makes an Entry-level Guitar “Good”? from MyRareGuitars.com

With that said, it would sound wrong for me to tell you that thousands of guitar players around the world complain after their instrument has been worked on by an individual who has had more experience adjusting guitars than any other technician in the world. In fact, she’s so bad that every single instrument she graces with her finesse ends up needing to be worked on again to fix what she’s done. The worst part? She may be working on your guitar as you’re reading this.

We all know her as Mother Nature, and if you’re just entering into your winter season like we are here in Canada, you’d better keep a watchful eye on your prized six strings.

Changes in temperature and humidity will do a number on your guitar if you don’t store it properly. The cold, dry season of winter is not the best climate for any stringed instrument. Not to mention, flipping on your electric heaters at home only make the problem worse. Investing in a humidifier to put in your guitar room is a worthwhile purchase, and mini humidifiers are available to carry around in your guitar case. Storing your guitar properly is a good way to avoid potential repair and setup costs; repairs such as the one I’m writing this article about…sharp fret ends.

A sharp fret is the result of the moisture content in a guitar neck’s wood decreasing due to dryer climates. A lower moisture content means that the wood will literally shrink, causing the frets to stick out over the fingerboard edge. This of course means it will be very uncomfortable to play, and in extreme cases, you can actually cut your hand.

To remedy this, you’ll need to file the fret ends down to size. This is a delicate task, since you:

• Want to get rid of any “fret overhang”
• Want all the fret ends to look good, and look the same
• DON’T want to damage the wood.

Below is my method for taking care of your sharp frets.

First, you’ll need a flat file to get all the protruding edges filed back into place. The best, safest tool you can use for this in my opinion is one such as this:

These are “Fret End File Blocks” that have a flat file mounted inside them at a pre-set angle. This ensures that every fret will be taken back the same distance, at the exact same angle. The danger of trying to file back the fret ends manually (without experience) is that you risk slipping and damaging the neck, and it’s possible to file the bevels at too steep an angle. Not to mention, it can just take a really long time!   If the fret begins to slope too near the strings, it’s a lot easier for the string to slip off the neck when playing. Most block angles are pre-set somewhere around the 35-55 degree angle range, with 45 degrees being a good midpoint. Many are adjustable so you can set an angle you want.

The method to using the file block is relatively simple. Remove or loosen off the strings, place the tool on the neck and slide it back and forth. Don’t push too hard against the frets, the tool will do a good enough job on its own. It is good practise to set a number to count how many times you slide it back and forth (say, five to start) and stop to check the frets between each set.

When you’re done this process, you may feel that the frets still feel sharp. Make sure that you are feeling the fret from the bottom of the fret as opposed to side to side. A fret that feels sharp from side to side but not from bottom to top means that you’re done your job with this flat file, and it’s time to move on to the shaping file.

This fret end file is the tool to use for smoothing out your beveled edges. You can use a three corner file, too – just be sure that at least one side is ground down flat and smooth. You need to be able to glide this file along the neck, so a file that has grit on each side is just going to end up tearing the wood.

With the flat side of the file against the finger board, place the file against the fret’s beveled edge. You want to use the length of the file, so place it where the fret meets close to the tip of the file.

The method you’ll want to use here involves a couple different motions with your arm and wrist. You’ll be sliding the file forward:

… while also turning the file inward, and curving or “rolling” it over the fret end. It’s kind of similar to turning a door handle while pushing the door open.

Only slide the file in one direction, and again count the number of times you file. Start with three strokes on each side, then check the fret end. You should have something that looks similar to this when all’s said and done:

The last step is to buff and polish the frets to get rid of any file marks you’ve just made. For this, I find a rotation of “fret erasers” from stew mac do a great job. Start with the lowest grit, then work your way up to the highest. You can use sandpaper as well, but for that you’ll want to put some tape down to protect the fretboard. If you go this route, you shouldn’t need anything abrasive – maybe just 400 grit to start, working your way up to 600.  When you’ve finished with that, a quick polish up with steel wool will make the fret look fantastic.

That’s it! It takes a bit of practise, but your hands will be thanking you the next time you slide them down the neck!

Happy Playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 14 from MyRareGuitars.com

by Vince Schaljo

With the Christmas season fast approaching, finding the perfect “something” for someone can prove taxing. Depending on how well you know the person, you can often find yourself taking a shot in the dark picking something up that you think they might like or use. When it comes to budding guitar players though, it’s easy to fill a stocking with little things you can be sure they’ll use. Here’s my top ten list of practical stocking stuffers for the aspiring guitarist!Strings.

Every guitar needs to be restrung on a regular basis. Learning how to do it yourself will not only save a little money in the long run, but will also mean you don’t need to leave your guitar at a shop overnight for a simple restring to be done. If the player is relatively new to the instrument, a medium gauge 10-46 should do just fine. If they’re more experienced, find out what they like first!

Lemon oil, string winder, guitar polish.

I lumped these together because they all have to do with general guitar maintenance. It’s imperative that a guitar neck is kept in good condition by giving it a healthy dose of lemon oil when it gets dry. A string winder will help the restring process go much quicker, and guitar polish will help keep your guitar-playing-companion’s baby looking nice and shiny. Just as I mentioned with the strings, learning to do these simple things will save time and money!

Clip Tuner

Playing a guitar that’s in tune is better for everyone in the instrument’s vicinity. Clip tuners make keeping it in tune very easy, and can be used even in high volume areas. Simply clip the tuner to the guitar’s headstock, set it to “vibration”, and the tuner will read each note based on the vibrations that the frequency sends through the guitar.

Capo
A handy tool for any player hoping to be the next big singer-songwriter, a capo allows you to shift the “open” position of the guitar from the nut to any fret you wish. This allows you to play typical open chord shapes for chords that would normally require extensive barre chord shapes. It’s also a lot of fun to experiment with alternate tunings with a capo, or even using a “partial” capo to leave some strings open.

Strap / strap locks

Anyone who wants to play in a band or play in front of an audience will get good use out of a strap. It feels different to play when the guitar is hanging from your shoulder than when sitting, so it’s good to get used to both before you jump on the stage. When it comes time to do that though, strap locks would be a good idea. Many straps are notorious for slipping off a guitar’s strap buttons, which are what strap buttons are here to prevent. You can get inexpensive plastic ones, or invest in a set of metal locks that replace the original guitar strap buttons.

Picks!

There is a conspiracy that exists among guitar players where all their picks up and vanish. So, when someone hands us a handful of guitar picks, it’s like winning the lottery.
Just like with strings, make sure you know what the experienced player likes to use before buying. Guitarists can be picky when picking their picks.

Effects Pedal

Most professional players’ guitar rigs contain at least a couple effects pedals. The budding player can plug in a pedal to try and dial in a sound similar to that of their heroes, or just to have a little fun. Even if you’re not sure what kind of effect they may want to play with, a good reverb, delay, or boost pedal will always be a winner.

Educational Program

Relatively inexpensive computer programs exist that make learning songs and jotting down musical notation easier than just learning by reading it. Guitar Pro is a good example – you simply download any compatible sheet music or tab, and the program will playback the song as it reads through the notation. You can slow parts down and speed them up, or even write in your own notation and have the program play them back using a variety of selectable instruments. There’s a ton more features that make it a great tool for any player looking to learn, practice, and write music.

Guitar Lessons

Ok, so you can’t throw them into a stocking. That said, one on one guitar lessons with a good teacher is still the best way to learn an instrument. An interactive setting where the student is able to ask questions and receive feedback simply can’t be beat by a program or just reading online.

Cheddar Shredder

Sometimes shredding for five minutes can turn out cheesy. With this fantastic invention, shredding for five minutes will actually create strands of delicious cheese. You’ll need to start with a solid brick of it, though.

Merry Christmas, and happy playing!

Stocking Stuffers for the Budding Guitarist from MyRareGuitars.com

Now, these are all things that are easily noticed and rather simple to change. You can remove fluff, you can use a different pick, and you can practise a different playing style. Some things, however, go unnoticed and can be simply “accepted” for the way they are. Each string is wrapped around a machine head, where it then goes to lay on a nut. When you fret a note, you are pushing the string down so it makes contact with a piece of metal fret wire. At the body of the guitar is a saddle that cradles the string before reaching its ball end where it is held in place.

The size, shape, and quality of each of these components has an effect on how that string vibrates just as different picks and annoying fluff does. The thing is, when you pick up a high end guitar and play it, the “wow” factor you get from its sound is a combination of everything that that was put into its construction. As such, it can be hard to identify exactly what you want in a guitar without trading out components and listening for yourself. Trust me on this though: if you take a guitar with a plastic nut and play an open E chord, then remove the nut and put on a bone one, you’ll hear the difference right away. In this article I’ll talk about some of the examples I listed above, and things to consider when thinking about tone and your playing. Let’s start at the top…

1. The Machine Heads

The most important part about sounding good is playing in tune. While falling out of tune isn’t always a fault of the machine heads, they’re definitely a main contributor. Proper stringing methods combined with a good quality set of pegs is the best way to keep a guitar in tune, and taking it a step further would be to invest in a set of locking tuners.

Apart from tuning stability, you may actually notice a tonal difference from a tuning peg that is built better than another. A peg that is well made will have all of its inside components fit securely, and the mechanism will operate smoothly. Tight fitting, well-built parts make for a much smaller risk of rattling noise, and transference of vibrations from the string to the wood will be superior.

Plastic heads on the tuners definitely add a cool look and vintage vibe to the guitar, but over time these can be notorious for breaking and crumbling off of their posts. To me, that’s a little too much vintage vibe. If you’re set on going the non-metal route, be sure to go with a good quality reputable brand – but even then don’t expect them to last forever. 

2) The Nut

After the machine head, this is the first place the string rests on the guitar. A good nut is one that is made of a high quality material, and is cut to the right size. You don’t want your strings to be lying on the first fret, or too far away from it. Nut slots that are not filed properly can cause fret buzz, make it too hard to play, or even cause strings to slip / get caught resulting in tuning problems. The idea is to use a hard material that won’t decay or chip under string tension, while still being something reasonably easy to cut into shape.

A solid choice for good nut material would be bone. Many players agree that a bone nut yields the best sound compared to others, and luthiers are happy because it is relatively easier to work with than some of the other options. Synthetic materials exist that have been manufactured to mimic bone density like TusQ, and as such behave similarly. Other materials you can use are metal, graphite, wood, and ebony. Graphite is a good choice for instruments with tremolo systems, as it allows the string to move a little more freely. Using a pencil to draw into the nut slots of a non-graphite nut is a trick you can use to simulate that benefit.

Keep in mind that when you fret a note, you are effectively cutting off the string between your finger and the nut. Therefore, the effect that the nut material has on your overall tone is minimal compared to the effect it has on open notes. Some guitars come with a “zero fret” installed which was originally intended for quick instrument production. It’s far easier to file the nut down far enough for the strings to simply rest on the zero fret than it is to get the string height at the nut right without a zero fret.

Perhaps a side effect of this style is that the zero fret may equalize the tone from your open notes with that of your fretted notes. The string sits on “fret zero”, so even when not holding anything down, you get the sound of a string against a fret rather than just the nut. No matter the route you go for material, if you’re looking to replace a nut try and have someone custom make one for your guitar. It’s extremely important that this piece is done right!

3) The Frets

Technically you could use a variety of different materials for your guitar frets, but, unlike the nut, most guitars use either a “nickel-silver” or “nickel-steel” compound. Different levels of hardness can be achieved by adjusting the percentages in this compound. For a high quality fret, you want a very hard fret material. Harder frets are of course more difficult to work with for the luthier, but they will last longer by reducing the amount of fret wear caused by your strings.

What’s more important when it comes to your frets is their shape and size. This is one component that really boils down to your playing style. For quick and easy play, a tall and wide fret is very handy. The taller the fret, the less force you need to apply to make the string meet it. This can be a double edged sword if you aren’t used to tall frets. Yes, it will make playing fast runs easier, but it will also make playing notes sharp easier as you will likely be pushing too hard out of habit. You’ll need to adjust your playing a bit to really benefit from taller frets.

Wide “jumbo” frets are well-liked because they tend to be easier to bend strings across, help greatly with vibrato, and typically feel smoother when sliding up and down the neck. As a bonus, the fret won’t wear as fast as a thin fret as the string spans across a greater surface area.

For the true “vintage” feel, you’ll want a thinner fret. For some, it is easier to play a guitar with thinner frets due to extra space you’ll have between them. As the string makes contact with less surface area with these, intonation should be more accurate here as well (as long as the frets are seated properly!)

No matter the fret size you go with, proper maintenance of them is key. When your frets become worn (and they will), you will need to get them crowned and possibly levelled. Fret buzz, dead notes, string grinding and poor intonation are problems that can be avoided by proper care of your frets.

As always, experiment! Try things you may not have and see what works for you.

Happy playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue #16 from MyRareGuitars.com

The Minimalist 

We had to start somewhere. The very first electric guitar was, of course, as simple as it gets: a neck, a small body, one pickup, and one volume control. Over the past eighty-something years, manufacturers have made additions and changes to their guitars to give more options to those who want them. You may think that if two, three, even four pickup guitars with all the bells and whistles are available, why would anyone ever settle for something with just one? Yet, many companies are still making one-pickups, and there’s only one reason for that… people still buy them!

There are definitely some advantages to owning a single pickup guitar, and there are those who argue the “less is more” idea in this regard. Here’s a few things to consider about this design:

1. Rock Out.

Just plug in, and play. There’s no second guessing anything here: you have your one pickup turned on full, and you’re always getting pure guitar tone through the amp. If you enjoy playing a style of music where all you ever need is that shrill, loud, bridge-pickup sound, then why not have a guitar that gives you exactly that?

2. No “Crutches”

You don’t have the option of switching pickups, rolling off any tone, or pushing / pulling any knobs. Everything you get from your amp is from you. Playing a single pickup guitar forces you to physically play different if you want to sound different. Having a good sense of dynamics is key, and exercising the use of different picking styles can get you a variety of tones you wouldn’t think possible from just one bridge pickup. Mixing these ideas with good use of your volume knob can easily turn a single pickup guitar into a multi-functional beast.

3. The “Rumours”

There’s a few arguments out there that suggest what’s going on inside a single pickup guitar, or rather, what’s not going on, can ultimately affect its tone. It is a fact that the magnetic field used by pickups to amplify your strings also has a small amount of “pull” on them. I’ve had players come up to me with a complaint that their guitar has a weird out of tune, double note effect when fretting notes all the way up the fret board. The simple fix is to lower the pickups – they were pulling too hard, interrupting the string’s vibrations. So, with only one pickup, perhaps it can be assumed that less force pulling the strings allows it to vibrate better, and longer. That translates to more sustain, which is always a sought after quality in a guitar.

4. Easy on the Workbench

If your single pickup guitar’s electronics start having problems, it won’t take long to fix it. When you open it up, you’ll see that there’s virtually nothing to it. One pickup, one volume control, and one input. That’s it. It will take no time to identify the culprit, fix it, and get back to playing!

The Everything-ist

It’s a natural thing to want to move forward, and it’s no different for guitar makers and players. It didn’t take long for the electric guitar to evolve, and have the number of options you can see on some models today. Below I’ll list some of the things that you can find on guitars with “way too many” knobs, and try to dispel some of the confusion surrounding their functions.

1. Blending Pickups

This is obviously something you can’t do with a single pickup guitar. Typically, with your toggle switch in the middle position on a 2 pickup guitar, both of your pickups are “on” creating a “blended” sound from both combined. If your guitar has independent volume knobs, you can then increase or decrease one pickup’s volume to further change how your guitar sounds. Better yet, some guitars come with a “blend” knob, which will fully sweep from neck to bridge pickup so you can hear everything in between, and dial in to that tone you’re looking for.

2. Coil tap / coil split

These are two different features that are commonly referred to as the same, or mixed up. While both change how your pickup sounds, each does it in a different way. A coil tap is used on single coil pickups, and works by essentially reducing your pickup’s full output. Think of it this way: your pickup is a magnet with copper wire wound around it thousands of times. When electricity passes through that whole distance of wire, it means you are getting your full output (unless your guitar’s volume is turned down). A coil tap takes the signal from an earlier point in these coils, thus reducing the overall power of the pickup. It will give you a softer, more “chimey” tone that will remind you of the old Fender sound.

A coil split is a function that refers to humbucking pickups. It allows you to cut out one of the two coils in the pickup to leave you with a single pickup sound, which is great if want to have the best of both worlds from one guitar.

3. Switches

You can have switches on your guitar that can have virtually any function. A kill switch that will essentially turn on or off your guitar’s output, a phase switch that will flip your pickup from being “in phase” to “out of phase”, or even having independent toggle switches for any number of pickups on your guitar.

It comes down to the kind of player you are. Do you want one instrument that can handle anything, and are you able to handle everything included on the guitar? Or do you want a guitar that can do one thing really well? Either way, I recommend giving both a try before dismissing them without playing. You might surprise yourself!

Happy playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue #15 from MyRareGuitars.com

Sometimes, however, we can be thrown for a loop. There’s the rare occasion where we hear something through our speakers that makes us second guess what we’re hearing, and wonder if it’s even a guitar making those sounds. In this issue, I’ll talk about three (perhaps lesser known) techniques and devices that have been used to create strange, cool, and even iconic sounds by many great players of the past and present.

The E-Bow

For those who thought that a guitar pick or your fingers were the only method of setting your guitar strings in motion, you’re in for an interesting surprise…

For those who want to try something other than a pick and still sound good, (sorry Nigel) there was a device invented in the late 1960’s that could be used in place of a guitar pick that created a sound that mimicked that of a bow on the strings. Aptly named, the “E-Bow” (short for electronic bow) works using a magnetic field that slowly brings the string into vibration.

This means there is no pluck, hit, or attack – you simply get the “hum” sound seemingly from nothing. There are different ways you can use this; single string guitar solos sound really cool while under this effect, and you can even glide the E-bow across the strings while holding a chord to create violin-like arpeggios. The trick is finding the resonant “hotspots” on your string. Depending on the location you place the E Bow over the string, you can create a few different sounds. If you want an idea of what this thing sounds like, check out Steve Hackett’s playing in “Carpet Crawlers” or David Gilmour’s in “Take it Back”.

The TalkBox

You may have heard this sound before and either thought there was some kind of effect added to the singing, or that it was a simple guitar “wah” pedal. Peter Frampton would tell you otherwise!

The TalkBox is similar to a guitar effects pedal, except for the fact that it’s your mouth that’s ultimately altering the signal. The unit takes the guitar output from the amp, and sends it through a plastic tube that the guitarist holds in their mouth. When the shape of the mouth changes over the tube, so does the output sound coming from the tube. That sound goes through your mic and voila! The talkbox sound. You can use this effect to literally sing the words of songs and have them sound robotic and electronic, or you can just shape different sounds to make a unique effect. It definitely comes in handy – especially when your mouth is moving around while you’re soloing anyways.

Have a listen to Joe Walsh in “Rocky Mountain Way”, Peter Frampton in many of his songs but especially “Do You Feel Like We Do”, or for an example in heavy rock music check out the solo in Tool’s “Jambi”.

The Kill-switch Effect

                  For those of you who may not know what a kill switch on a guitar is, it is usually a control that comes in either the form of a button or a toggle that simply cuts out all output from your guitar. The original intention for this would be, of course, to limit stage noise when not playing. Simply flip the switch, and there’s no hum from the guitar amp! Just remember to flick it back on when it’s time to play. Though this was the original intent – many rock guitarists now see a function like this more so as an effect, thanks mainly to guitarist Tom Morello.

While fretting notes with your left hand, you can rapidly flick on / off the kill switch to create a more “intense” sounding tremolo effect. Instead of your output fading in and out quickly, it’s literally shutting off and on. You can use this technique on its own to create an interesting effect, or add other signal processors into the equation to mimic other instruments.

No killswitch on your instrument? Not to worry! If your instrument has two pickups each with independent volume controls (like a Les Paul configuration), you can simply turn one pickup all the way down and quickly switch the toggle from neck to bridge pickup to get the same effect. You can hear the effect in action in a lot of Tom’s work as well as a few other artists who have adopted the technique, but to hear a couple good examples check out “Know Your Enemy” for a sound that’s almost harmonica-like, or the solo in “Bulls on Parade” that sound like a DJ scratching a vinyl. Both songs are by the band Rage Against the Machine.

Unconventional, but cool! Sometimes it’s refreshing to think outside the box – you never know what you might come up with.

Happy Playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue #14 from MyRareGuitars.com

Perhaps you’re not the person who has a soundproofed studio in their basement to record your hottest new guitar solo idea at ungodly levels. Maybe you don’t have a giant rehearsal space in your living room to host jam parties until four in the morning. These are things that any musician can relate to, or can at least say they have had to relate to at some point in their lives!

So if you’re living in a crowded neighborhood or apartment, how can you play your guitar and truly enjoy the sound you’re getting without receiving angry letters from next door?

1) Power Soaker / Attenuator

This is for those of you who just can’t put aside your powerful tube amp. The phrase “sounding good while playing loud” is synonymous with “tube amp” – you really want the tubes to be running hot in order to get their full potential. What a power attenuator does, essentially, is keep the tubes running hot while reducing your overall volume level. The tubes may still be running hot (your amp turned up to a desirable level) but a large portion of the power can be re-routed to the attenuator instead of all of it going to the speaker.

That said, you are still sucking power from the amp. If you’re driving the attenuator at too high a level, you’ll likely end up sucking out some of that tone that you’re trying to preserve. If this is the route you must go, invest in a good quality attenuator. The Rivera Rock Crusher or the THD Hotplate are each strong examples of a good place to start.

2) Go Solid-state

As time progresses, technology gets better and better. While it still hasn’t captured the sound and feel of a real, loud tube amp (in my opinion), a good quality solid state amp can sound far better than many tube amps when comparing “bedroom” levels. In addition, many solid state amps today come with a plethora of onboard effects you can explore without breaking your bank. Here’s a couple examples of good solid state amps to check out:
Roland Cube

I love the Roland Cubes! They have an excellent clean tone, and a few different levels of crunch that go all the way up to “R-Fier Stack”, which by name seems to be a mesa boogie simulator. While extreme levels of saturation are rarely pristine sounding on solid state practice amps, I really like the “tweed” and “classic stack” settings on this one. Dial in a little reverb and slap-back delay (which you can have both of directly from the amp) and you’ll have a sweet bluesy tone from a small, quiet amp. Some of the upgraded versions feature an onboard tuner, and loop recorder as well.

Yamaha THR5

Like the cube, the THR5 has an incredible clean tone and features a bunch of different onboard gain settings and effects. It comes with a tap delay that doubles as a tuner when you hold the button down. The coolest thing about this amp though is the included THR Editor. This is computer software that allows you to go in and edit your amp’s effects and amp simulators at any time. Think of the THR5 as a guitar amp combined with an audio interface – for under $300! Upon loading up the THR editor, you’ll notice a ton of options to choose from and sounds you can create. On top of all this, the amp has a vintage-cool look to it with an orange glow coming through the front grill to make it look like it’s got tubes working hard on the inside.

3) Plug into your Computer

Again, with the advancement of the digital age, more and more of the ways of old are being phased out to make room for that of the new. The theme seems to be “convenience over quality”. While you can get everything you need in one little box, many would argue that you end up sacrificing overall sound quality. With these advancements comes (for some people) the irrelevance of even having a practice amp in their practice room. New products are always coming out that allow you to simulate amp sound and dial in tones that were previously thought unimaginable without actually having the amp at your disposal. A big name that has been taking the market by storm in recent years is known as “Axe-FX” by Fractal Audio Systems.

It is an entirely digital unit that features not only a large bank of remarkable sounding amp emulations, but also endless editing options for these emulations, or basic effects that you wish to change or create yourself. The positive thing about using a system like this is that your limitations are greatly reduced in comparison to using a physical amplifier. That is, the number of parameters you can play with go far beyond the pre-programmed “bass, mid and treble” you get in a stock amplifier. It’s no surprise that many artists are catching on to this way of playing and recording, with the likes of Adrian Belew, Guthrie Govan, Tom Cochrane and Alex Lifeson (to name a few) all singing its praises.

I guess the best advice would have to be: don’t be afraid to leave the comfort zone. We’ve all heard for years that the only way to play and sound good is to go all tube and use a 3,000 dollar guitar. But then, isn’t playing music supposed to be about an individual’s feeling and originality, and maybe not trying to do what everyone else already is? I think it’s great to explore, and realize that quality sounds can come from the “wrong” places; and they can do it without giving you a bad rap amongst your neighbours, too!

Happy Playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue 13 from MyRareGuitars.com

1. Know your parts.

Sure, spontaneity has its time and place, and often a lot of things that make the final cut of a song are things that have been written or jammed out on the spot. That said, having a solid grasp on your songs and the parts you are going to play means you get more time to focus on tweaking tone rather than making mistakes or writing as you go. In the studio, time is money! The more takes you can bang out, the bigger the pool you have to choose from when piecing things together.

2. “Magicians” can only go so far…

 As I said, there are some extremely gifted individuals in the recording industry. However, as a wise man once said, “you can’t polish a turd.” If you enter the studio with a guitar that hasn’t been restrung or set-up in months, your recording is already doomed to mediocrity. Here’s an example: take a black marker, and a brown marker. Draw two lines. Do they look different? Yes, they are different colors! By the same token, let’s say you’re using two different guitars on your recording – one that’s set up properly and one that hasn’t been touched in months. Even if they’re both bang-on in tune in the open position, chances are the intonation on one is going to be all askew. It’s going to be the brown marker, and there’s nothing you can do to change that other than use the black marker again. Or just get the guitar intonated.

3. Then tune. Then tune…

This should be obvious, but keep your guitar in tune! Check your tuning before and after each take to ensure nothing has slipped out. As a general rule, if you’re recording with another guitar player, bass player etc. be sure to use the same tuner they used. Different tuners can vary ever so slightly in their readings, and discrepancies are far more audible when played back than when played live.

4. Layering

“The wall of sound” as it’s so famously described! You’ll want to double track a lot of your guitar parts – especially your rhythms. It can sound pretty powerful just using the same guitar and settings, but for a thicker sound try using a different guitar. Two different instruments can add a more “live”, or “real” sound to the mix even if it’s the same person playing the parts. If a second guitar isn’t available, or you simply enjoy the feel of one in particular, try switching pickups or rolling off some tone. The idea is to add depth and thickness to the guitar track, so you may as well make it sound like two guitars!

5. Distortion

If your songs played live involve a lot of distortion, that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to match that amount on the recording. Too much distortion can take away from articulation drastically and just make for a jumbled sounding mix. You’d be surprised how big of a sound you can get in a recording with a much smaller amount of distortion – especially with the layering technique I talked about in point 3!

6. Mic Placement

Your ears work a little bit different than microphones. When you listen to a guitar played through an amp live, it’s not just the guitar and the amp that are vibrating. You’re making the room move, too, and depending on where you place your mics you can pick up some of this room sound. If you’re looking for straight, tight, pure guitar tone then you’ll want to use a close-miking technique to capture just what the amp’s giving you. For a more airy, ambient and open sound, try a more distant mic. If your cabinet has multiple speakers, it’s a good idea to choose one to mic up. Find the speaker cone, and see what it sounds like depending on where you aim the mic. You can also try using more than one microphone on the same speaker in a different location, or even try miking a separate speaker. The closer to the center of the cone, the harsher and brighter the tone. The further out, the opposite! Try it out!

7. Signal Processing

We all love a nice slap-back delay and wet reverb, but it’s a good idea to record your guitar as dry as possible without any effects. You’re going to be EQing your guitar tone after it’s recorded, and you’ll generally want any changes like this to be done to just guitar and not the effects. You can easily add these on after the fact. If you’re like me, and you absolutely have to hear some effects when recording (if you sound better, you play better!) then you can have the effects sent to your headphones but not to the recording track. That way you hear what you want without potentially compromising anything.

These are just a few things to consider when trying to get the best guitar sound possible in your recording. There’s lots more to keep in mind, but it’s good even to have the basics down. Best of luck in your studio adventures!

Happy Playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue 12 from MyRareGuitars.com

Simply put, they are exactly the same as any standard electric guitar but with a lower voice. A standard guitars tuning (from lowest string to highest) is E A D G B E. Baritone guitars are usually tuned a fifth lower (A D G C E A), or a fourth lower (B E A D F♯ B). Therefore, all the chord patterns you already know are exactly the same on a baritone, but simply produce a lower voice.

Why use a baritone when I can tune my standard guitar lower?

“So why not just take my trusty Fender and tune it lower?” you might ask. If you did, you’ll find the strings to be too “floppy” and not enough tension to produce a useable sound. The solution? Make the neck longer and use heavier strings. More precisely, make the “scale length” longer and use heavier strings. What is the scale length?

Airline Baritone Guitar & Eastwood Baritone Guitar

The scale length is the precise length of the suspended string, the length between the nut and the bridge. Generally speaking, most Gibson style guitars have a 24 ¾” scale and most Fender style guitars have a 25 1/2” scale. String sets of 10-46 gauge are typical for these guitars tuned E-E. On the other end, tuned a full octave below the standard guitar at E-E, a Fender Bass has a scale length of 34” and strings in the 45-100 range. Eastwood produces a number of “short scale” bass models, with a 30 ½” and 32” scale, also with the 45-100 string sets.

Most Baritone guitars fit in the middle and have a scale length ranging from 27” to 28”. Eastwood’s Sidejack Baritone has a 27” scale and uses D’addario Baritone Light strings, 13-62, tuned B-B.

Why is a baritone guitar useful and why should I buy one?

OK, with all that technical stuff out of the way, the next question, “why is a baritone useful and why should I buy one?” The real advantage is that ANY guitar player can pick one up and be an expert baritone player immediately as the tuning is identical to their standard guitar, just lower. So every chord pattern you play is identical on the baritone.

For example, when you play an open E chord on your guitar, you’ll do exactly the same on your Eastwood baritone, but it will be an open B. Get it? So you can play any song or riff you already know, right out of the box, but you’ll notice a darker, more haunting texture in your tone.

Jeff Senn Model One Baritone Demo

The Jeff Senn Model One Baritone is a new Eastwood Custom Shop model, and one of those guitars that really could tip you into falling in love with baritones! VIEW MODEL ONE BARITONE INFO

NEW: Classic 6 Baritone semi-acoustic

New Eastwood Custom Shop Classic 6 Baritone

Truth be told, baritone guitars are still a little bit of a niche, though not as much as it used to be, and we’ve notice a steady increase in the number of users over the years. But still, you won’t find many semi-acoustic models available out there, which makes this recent Eastwood Custom Shop very appealing: Imagine a George Harrison Country Gent-style guitar… but with longer scale for a slightly darker tone! Sounds amazing… at the moment, the Eastwood Customs Classic 6 Baritone is a crowdfunding project, and those interested need only leave a small deposit to guarantee theirs and make sure the guitar gets made. 

A brief history of… Baritone guitars

Next, let’s take a look at the history behind the baritone. Danelectro was the first to introduce the electric baritone guitar in the late 1950s where it soon appeared in a lot of 60’s surf music as well as background music for many movie soundtracks, especially spaghetti westerns. These days you’ll hear baritone in all types of music from folk to rock to heavy metal. The voice of the baritone is low enough to stand out in the mix next to a standard guitar and is high enough to cut through well above the bass.

Ian McKeye and his baritone guitar, live with The Evens

Brian Wilson used baritones often in his arrangements with the Beach Boys. Glen Campbell used them in great songs like Wichita Lineman.  Ian Mackaye from Minor Threat uses a Sidejack baritone with his band The Evens. Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny uses baritones in his arsenal of guitars. Pat Smear of the Foo Fighters also uses a Sidejack Baritone. Colin Newman of Wire (who came up with the idea) uses the Airline MAP Baritone. The great Richard Hawley (can you tell I’m a big fan?) uses a Sidejack Baritone on his recordings, many of which were inspired by one of the earliest adopters of the baritone, the fabulous Duane Eddy.

If you have a studio, you really NEED a baritone electric. You won’t have to invest any time in learning to play it and you will quickly discover many useful applications. Eastwood produces a few variations and price points to suit every need. The Sidejack Standard and Deluxe baritones are under $500, great bang for the buck. The new Airline MAP and MAP DLX are killer baritones and come in under $900.

OK… How does a baritone guitar sound?

Here is a great example, where RJ Ronquillo rearranges Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus using the new Airline MAP DLX Baritone. The result is a deep, dark, beautifully haunting and more tearful composition than the original – “stripped” down to just a Baritone, without the need for gratuitous nudity.

Check out RJ here again, riffing along with his Sidejack Baritone giving “Hey Joe” a darker bluesy vibe, then showing the versatility of a baritone in surf and western styles.

Here is Lance Keltner taking a Sidejack Baritone for a spin with his band. Note the clarity when played along with a Stormbird Bass.

The baritone is also very useful when paired with a wide variety of effects:

..and with a little dirt too to give you that garage rock sound.

..and you can have hours of fun driving the baritone through GuitarRig 4:

So there you have it. Starting at just $429, it’s time to jump on the baritone bandwagon! Take home one of Eastwood’s family of baritone guitars and add some punch to your playing and recording endeavors. You’ll be glad you did.

update Oct 5/2014: here is a link to a recent Premier Guitar review of the Airline MAP Baritone:

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/20377-eastwood-guitars-airline-map-baritone-review

Also just announced the MAP Baritone received the 2014 “Premier Gear Award”

BARITONE GUITAR: What It Is & Why You Need One from MyRareGuitars.com

Not exactly. Sure, a guitar’s color is really just for show – but the construction and design of both the guitar’s neck and body do have an effect on your sound. Last time I talked about some of the woods that can be used in a guitar’s construction, and here I’ll talk about a couple of the ways it can be put together to both look and sound unique.

The earliest form of the electric guitar wasn’t far off from the acoustic. After all, the original intention was to simply find a method of effectively amplifying the guitar’s volume so it could compete better on stage with other popular instruments of the day. Eighty-five years later, we still see this original design in use all over the world: the semi-acoustic.

“Traditional” looking semi-acoustics retain the aesthetics of the acoustic guitar. The Gibson ES-150 was the first commercially successful of this type: a very large, thick and hollow guitar that was widely used in jazz ensembles.

When referring to the tone of a semi acoustic, the most common word you will hear is: feedback. Depending on who you are, this could be either a very good or a very bad thing! When your guitar and amp levels go up, these guitars are notorious for that high pitched growl that (if not desired or controlled) will make your ears bleed. When they were invented, there was no need to set a guitar to the level that induced such sounds. Once they were discovered as a culprit of feedback, alternative construction methods were sought out (which I’ll talk about later) while certain individuals embraced their “faults”.

Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, T. Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, John Lennon, B.B. King, and Eric Clapton are just a few notable examples of musicians who made great use of the semi-acoustic guitar. The first two I listed were two of the earliest electric guitar players to live. Their use of the instrument is one way that it can still be used well today: jazz. The earliest guitar tones heard in jazz, rockabilly, blues etc. were done using a semi acoustic. If you are looking for the warmest, roundest yet most “chimey” tone you can find that really holds a “vintage” appeal, then make sure to invest in one of these. On the contrary, if you’re looking for a hard rock, gritty snarl that will give you ample feedback whenever you need, this is the easiest way to achieve it. Not to mention: if you already own a solid body guitar (or are in a band with another guitarist who does) you can create some pretty thick sounding tones when layering a semi acoustic with a solid body.

Designers and luthiers are always looking for ways to make things better, and that’s why when feedback became an issue, they looked for other options. This is when the solid body electric guitar began to surface. The idea was that without the resonating air space that came with the hollowbody guitars, feedback could be reduced. Long story short: it worked, and the solid body electric guitar is now the most recognizable design that can be associated with the words “electric guitar”.

The obvious benefit of the solid body guitar is that it allows you to crank your level and gain to heights you wouldn’t be able to with a semi acoustic without getting nasty feedback. That’s not to say you can’t get any. Look at Jimi Hendrix and Steve Vai – both are masters of controlling overpowered equipment. Another benefit is that the guitar is not as delicate. If you’re one to throw your guitar around, or are prone to dropping things… a solid body is less likely to break on you. You might say it’s pretty solid.

More options tend to come with solid body guitars. For example, the “Set-neck” construction was really the only design used before the birth of the solid body. Neck-through guitars and bolt-on guitars came later, and offer other subtleties in tone and functionality. The bolt-on, for example can be removed or replaced on a whim, while a neck-through guitar is commonly regarded as the best design available to achieve the most sustain. Another advantage of the solid body is that they tend to be easier to work on. Most semi acoustic guitars don’t feature a back panel, so in order to get at their electronics you have to pull everything through their pickup cavity or their F holes. Many solid bodies do feature a pack panel, and the ones that don’t tend to have their electronics mounted to their pick guard. It makes life a whole lot easier for you or your technician!

All in all, there’s a couple things to consider when deciding between these two options. Do you want to play heavy and loud without the fear of unwanted feedback? Do you want to maintain the dynamics and subtleties of your guitar while sacrificing headroom? As always, listen to your heroes and then listen to yourself. Test things out, and see what you like! If you still can’t decide, then just do what every guitarist ends up doing: buy one of everything!

Happy Playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue 11 from MyRareGuitars.com

A wise man once said “measure twice; cut once”, and the same goes for drilling holes. Placing the Bigsby in the right spot will have been all for nothing if you slip, and either scratch the body or drill in the wrong spot. It’s for this reason that I’d like to back up a bit. If you’re worried about ruining the finish, you may want to tape off the body where you’ll be drilling before lining up the Bigsby. In my photo example here I marked my drill spots on the body of the guitar, then covered them with tape.

This works if you want to save tape, but it means you’ll have to line the Bigsby up again and re-mark your drill spots on the tape.

Whichever route you go, you’ll need to use a thin marker to slip in the middle of each screw hole you see on the Bigsby. With the marks in place, you’re safe to make your pilot holes! From here on out, the installation of the Bigsby is simple – but you’ll still have to be careful with the drill no matter how much you’ve taped up your guitar. Be sure to use a drill bit that’s smaller than the screws provided, and start off slow. As a final confirmation of alignment, after you’ve drilled the first hole, screw the Bigsby down to just that one hole. From here, you can still rotate the Bigsby if it may have tilted a bit during the drilling process. After you’ve made any necessary corrections, you can safely drill the rest of the holes and fully attach the Bigsby to the guitar.

The first time I added a Bigsby unit to a guitar, I found the stringing process to actually be trickier than the installation! One thing you may wonder is when to put the included spring under the arm. It’s really up to you, I’ve done it both before and after stringing with relatively similar ease. The benefit I find with adding it after is that the pins you loop the string ball ends over are slightly easier to reach without the spring.

To start, bend the string at the tip. This will allow you to thread it easily underneath the rotating bar without scratching the finish:

From there you can pull the string all the way through until the ball end lines up with the bar with the string pins. Now you can bend the string again at the ball end, to make it easier to loop it around the bar:

When you’ve got the ball end on, it becomes a game of tension. Unlike a guitar bridge, the pin is not going to just hold the string on unless you pull hard on the string until it’s tuned up to pitch. You may want to physically hold the ball end to the pin with your finger until you can get a good grasp on it.

The first time you do this modification may take a while, and the stringing process definitely takes some practice. After you’ve done it once though, you’ll have no problem doing it again. With a little bit of research and know-how, you can make all sorts of changes and upgrades to an already great instrument. I hope you can take something away from this article, and perhaps even gain the confidence needed to turn this:

into this!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – issue 11 from MyRareGuitars.com

If you’ve ever got (or thought about getting) a tattoo, you can probably remember the heated debate that went on in your head. What should it be? Where should it go? How much do I want to pay? Will I even want to look at this 30 years from now?

Any form of permanent modification should be something that is long thought out, and carried out by someone who knows what they’re doing. The same can be said for modifications done to guitars. While just about anything is possible to change or fix, just about anything is possible to mess up too.
In this article I’ll go over the process I use to put a little “spring” in your “string”, to change “still” to “thrill”, and move from “turf” to “surf”. This one’s all about the Bigsby tremolo system, and how to add one to your guitar.

The Bigsby was perhaps the earliest iteration of the now widely known “whammy bar”. It works by wrapping the strings around a cylindrical bar, which is then rotated by pushing a lever or “arm” down to loosen the strings. This creates a drop in pitch. A raise in pitch can be achieved by lifting the arm, thus rotating the bar in the opposite direction to tighten the strings.
With proper installation, you will have a great working tremolo unit that keeps your guitar’s tuning very well. The Bigsby is not meant for extreme drops or raises in pitch, but rather subtle vibrato.
The first thing you’ll need to do is figure out which Bigsby hardware model you want. There are various types, some that come attached with a tailpiece and some that just fasten right on top of the guitar. This decision is mostly based on aesthetic appeal, but make sure there’s enough room on your guitar’s body if you want a larger Bigsby. For hollow body guitars, find out if you have a center block inside the guitar that you will be able to mount screws to. If it does not, you may have to go with a tailpiece Bigsby such as the B70, or B3. Here’s a picture of a B70 followed by one of a B50 that mounts directly into the face of the guitar’s body:

Some guitars feature a tail piece that is drilled into the face of the guitar’s body. If you’re absolutely set on installing a Bigsby on this instrument, keep in mind that you will either need to try using a model like the B70 or B3, or be willing to cover up those unsightly holes left after the installation.
Another thing to keep in mind when making your purchase is that standard guitar bridges are not always designed to function with tremolo units. The strings will tend to catch onto the saddles and just push and pull the bridge as you use the tremolo arm, affecting intonation and just making things sound rigid. It would be a good idea to invest in some kind of “roller bridge” (like the one in the following picture) to allow proper use of your Bigsby:

Alternatively you can use a set of files to lightly file out the grooves in the saddles to “round” them a bit. It won’t work as well as rollers, but it’s better than nothing!
Let’s get the process started. Once the strings are off, you can begin by swapping out the bridge if you have one. Ideally you will have one that fits the old bridge posts. Next you can remove the guitar’s tailpiece to get ready for the new Bigsby. For this example I’m installing a B50 Bigsby to an Airline Tuxedo with center block.

Alignment

Typically your new Bigsby will come with an “alignment string” that you can use to ensure your Bigsby is set properly. For full instructions on how to use it, check out their official install instructions at www.Bigsby.com. The following are the steps I take and some tips you can use in addition to using this string, or without it.

It’s important to first place the Bigsby in a spot that looks right to you. Set it on the body, and look at it from different angles. Does the arm sit in an accessible spot? Is it too close to the controls for your liking? The distance you place the Bigsby from the bridge makes a difference. The closer to the bridge, the steeper the angle from the saddles to the Bigsby. Too close, and you risk having too much pressure on the bridge resulting in it being pulled backward and affecting intonation, as well as poor tremolo functionality. Too far and you simply won’t have as much tremolo control. This can also risk not having enough string pressure on the bridge (when set low), and potentially cause strings to pop out of their saddles when plucked. Here’s a look at what a close B50 placement does to the string angle VS a further B70:

Keep in mind that some bridges (like the one I’m using for this example) are placed on an angle for intonation purposes, and it’s easy for this angle to deceive your eyes. You want the Bigsby to be aligned with the guitar, not the bridge. For this reason, I remove the angled bridge from the posts when first placing the unit.

With the bridge removed, placing a straight-edged block that is sized correctly up against your bridge pickup cover can solve both the straightness issue and distance issue as seen here:

You can cut a block out of wood to use for this purpose, or find something of a good size like I did here.

Of course, distance and straightness aren’t the only factors that come into play when lining up the Bigsby. You want to make sure the strings travel straight from the bridge to the Bigsby string pins. With the bridge back on the guitar, hold a guitar string across the Low E string saddle down to its appropriate pin. Confirm that the string remains straight for this distance. Repeat this process for the High E string, and make any side-to-side adjustments of the Bigsby necessary.

It’s a good idea to repeat this process a few times – adjusting the Bigsby straightness and distance, then the straightness of the string from saddle to pin before getting ready to drill. Once you’re completely satisfied, it’s on to the next step!

That’s it for part one. Next time, I’ll go over the preparations for drilling, the actual drilling, and finally, perhaps the most difficult part: the stringing of the guitar once the Bigsby has been installed!

Happy Playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – issue 10 from MyRareGuitars.com

When an electrical device fails, and its functions are a mystery to you, it’s normal to feel a little helpless. The first thought is to take it in for repair, which is your best (and most cost effective) bet if you’re someone who just wants to play. However, for those “do-it-yourselfers” or any interested in learning to work on guitars, this is a beginner’s guide to the minor electrical repair of a guitar.

The first step is to identify what the problem is. Is there no output at all? Does the guitar cut in / out when the cable is jiggled? Do you have output from only one pickup? Do you hear a dirty crackling noise when you rotate the volume/tone knob? Is there a constant loud hum that comes from the amp when you plug the guitar in? These are all common problems that can occur, and are usually very simple soldering fixes. In order to get started, here’s a list of what you will need:

1)     Soldering Iron (not too powerful, 30 watts will do. You don’t want to fry your components!)

2)     Solder

3)     Wet Sponge (wet paper towel will do)

4)     Screw driver set

5)     Needle nose pliers

6)     Wire cutters/strippers

7)     Electrical contact cleaner

Before opening the guitar up, check that the knobs and the input jack are tight. A loose bolt can signal the reason for the problem – if the bolt is loose and a knob is turned, the whole pot will spin. This can eventually lead to wires being disconnected. In order to properly tighten a bolt, hold the top still with a flat head screwdriver, and then tighten with your pliers like so:

Now it’s time to open up the guitar! Different models will have different access spots. Most often, a guitar’s electronics will either be mounted to the pick guard on the front of the body, or will be accessible through a panel on the back like this one:

Sometimes, neither of these are available which leads to a tricky process of feeding the components through the pickup cavities, the input jack cavity, or even through one of the thin “F-holes” on a semi-acoustic. Most people call them F-holes because of their shape, but when you are trying to feed a large volume pot tied to a string through it without damaging the pot or the guitar, the name will have a new meaning. More on that later.

Here, I’ve opened up an Eastwood Sidejack which has the electronics mounted to the pick guard:

The first thing you’ll see is that there really isn’t much to it. At least, not for a 2 pickup guitar with basic volume and tone controls. At this point, it’s time to remember what the issue was. If it was just a dirty crackling sound, you may only need to spray some contact cleaner into the problematic component. Find the small hole in the pot, and spray some in. Rotate the pot back and forth until the noise goes away. If this doesn’t seem to help the problem after a few attempts, the pot may need to be replaced. Was there no output at all? Check the connection of the wires at the input jack, and make sure the metal piece that the cable make contact with is properly bent to do so. Check that the “hot” wire (usually red) is connected to the volume pot properly. If you see a wire that’s completely disconnected, well that’s a dead giveaway. How do you know where to connect it if you aren’t experienced? Look for a lump of solder somewhere that doesn’t have a wire attached to it, and just place the wire up to it. Check to see if that fixes the problem. Alternatively, many guitar manufacturers offer wiring diagrams that you can follow and match exactly.

What if all the wires seem to be connected, but the problem is still there? Hopefully, this is just what’s known as a “cold solder joint”, meaning something is not fully connected with solder. With your hand, gently jiggle each wire around at its connection. When you find one that makes the guitar cut in and out as you move it around, you’ve found the cold solder joint!

(not in a guitar, but shows a good solder joint vs a cold one on the right)

A guitar that is making a constant, loud hum noise could be a grounding issue. Check that the grounding wires are all properly connected. These are normally the wires that have a large portion of their wrapping stripped, and are soldered to the tops of the pots. Follow along the grounding wires to see where they attach to – you will notice each component connects with each other somewhere, and then one wire goes through the body of the guitar to attach to either a bridge post or a tailpiece screw.

When you’ve found the wire that needs to be re-soldered, you can get your soldering iron ready. When it’s hot, you’ll need to “tin the tip”, which just means to melt some solder on to the tip of the rod, and then wipe it on the wet sponge. The fresh solder on the tip allows for better solder and heat flow. If the wire is still somewhat attached, you can use the iron to melt the solder holding it and detach it completely. Often a wire may need to be prepared to be re-attached, such as this one:

Here I cut off the “bad” end, re-stripped the wire, and then coated it in solder to make re-attachment easier:

The tabs on the pots have small holes in them, and the best connection you can make is when the wire sits in this hole. To do this, make sure the hole is filled with solder. Then, heat up this solder with your iron and thread the wire end through. Make sure the solder fully connects the wire and the pot tab, and there are no holes between them. This is exactly what a cold solder joint looks like, and you don’t want that! If it looks good, let it cool, and you’re done!

When I fixed my first electrical problem on a guitar, all fears I had of making things worse went away. It really isn’t too daunting of a task; as a matter of fact, it’s kind of fun doing the troubleshooting and figuring out the problem. Hopefully you’ll feel the same when you fix yours!

Happy Playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – issue 9 from MyRareGuitars.com

Personally, I’m not a smoker. With that said, a situation like this is not at all unfamiliar to me nor should it be to any who are reading this. Remember the first time you had to buy a set of guitar strings?

Nowadays I always gravitate to the same package, but I can remember staring blankly at a giant wall full of different colours, brands, prices and sizes of strings wondering “what the heck?”
So, what string is best? Is there a superior brand? Are the fancy “coated” strings for 10 dollars more worth it?  What gauge should we be using? What’s a “hybrid” pack? Can we replace just one string if we only broke one?
These are all fair questions to ask. In this article I’ll answer each one, as well as address some tips for getting the best tone out of the strings you use.
First things first:

The Brand.

In my experience, the reason people buy a particular brand of string boils down to: recommendation. If you take 2 Stratocasters each strung with a different medium gauge 10 – 46 set, (base set, uncoated… more on that later) you likely wouldn’t be able to say “these are D’Addario, and the other one has Ernie Ball!” (Unless you cheat and look at the colorful ball ends of the D’Addario.)
It’s really not comparing apples to oranges. More like red apples to a different shade of red. The string sizes are the same, the material used is the same, and they are manufactured in the same way. In some cases, they may even be made in the same factory! Rather than being too concerned about brand, you should worry more about your string sizes, or the…

String Gauge

The thickness of your strings is measured in “‘thou”, or thousandths of an inch. To use the example I used above, a medium gauge 10 – 46 set of strings means that the thinnest string measures 0.010″ in diameter, while the thickest comes in at 0.046″. This set of strings as well as the “light” gauge 9 – 42 are the two most common sizes that brand new guitars are strung and set up with. It is for this reason that these are two sizes that many players stick with – the player is familiar with this size of string and not much work needs to be put into the guitar when it is restrung. A lighter size string such as these are easier to manipulate, so fast playing and techniques such as bending require less effort. However, many would argue that a thinner string tends to sound…well… thinner when plucked compared to a larger one. Moving from a 10 – 46 set of strings to an 11 – 48 will certainly result in a noticeable difference in feel, and you may also find that your overall tone changes. That said, there are many fantastic guitar players who are living proof that you can get a HUGE sound from a small string – Billy Gibbons, Eddie Van Halen, and Jimmy Page, to name a few.

There are packs available that combine thicker E, A, and D strings (to provide meatier sounding rhythm guitar) with thinner G, B and E strings to allow for easier play. If you plan on playing your guitar in a lower tuning, a thicker gauge string will make it so your strings remain tight enough to accommodate the lower pitch. It may take a few re-strings before you find the size that suits you, but that’s part of the fun!
PS – If you are converting to a different string gauge, always get your guitar a setup. The string tension will be different, and you will need to make changes to accommodate that.

The Materials

While acoustic guitars are typically strung with phosphor bronze, an electric guitar requires a metal that works better with the magnetic pickups. The majority of electric guitar strings are made of stainless steel, or are a steel core that is wound with nickel. While the steel strings tend to last longer, many players gravitate towards the nickel plated string for its softer touch and easier playability.
Some brands take the process even further, offering strings that are coated in a polymer type material. Elixir strings are a notable example. This addition can prolong the life of the string, and make it a lot smoother to the touch. These ones tend to cost more than their uncoated counterpart, but the argument is that you won’t need to replace them as soon. I personally prefer the uncoated steel or nickel, but again, this is something you’ll have to test out and see what you like!

General Tips

Strings sound different when worn-in as opposed to just being put on. It really is a preference thing, though. I prefer a string that is almost new, while many prefer one that has a week of play in it. Either way, this is why I always prefer to restring the whole guitar when you snap a string. One brand new string with 5 old ones will stick out like a sore thumb both in looks, and the way it sounds. The amount of time to go before changing your strings depends on the player, and how much you play. Some professional musicians get a fresh restring every gig! I tend to go about a month before doing a restring on a guitar I play often.
If a string sounds dead or muffled, check to see if it’s dirty. Dirt can collect in the grooves between windings and cause the string to not vibrate properly. Even a tiny piece of fluff on the string will affect its output and resonance.

Check for dents in your strings before putting them on. If not stored properly, a string can develop a bend in it. Sometimes it will disappear when under tension, sometimes it stays which will alter the vibration of the string. If the notch in the string is located above a fret, it can cause fret buzz.

All in all, don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of strings available. Find one that works for you, or have a different style for another guitar you own. Try things out, and see how they change your tone and playability!

Happy playing!

Tips on Tones – Issue 9 from MyRareGuitars.com

As we age and mature as guitarists, the instrument can become more and more second nature. The mystery and confusion that was once there slips away, and, although replaced with an understanding and love of the instrument, can make us fall into a cycle of repetition and feel as though we’ve “reached our peak”. It’s great to have a thorough understanding when writing or playing music, but sometimes the raw, energetic yet simplistic vibe can only be achieved through exploration of something you may not be totally comfortable with. The cool thing is: if you’ve already mastered the guitar, you’ve given yourself a strong foundation to be able to experiment with a few other stringed instruments that are similar, yet different enough that you will achieve that “fresh” feeling when you pick them up. In this article, I’ll list and explain a few of these you can try out, and hopefully come up with something you didn’t think you were capable of!

Before introducing another instrument, there’s something you can do with a regular six string to mix things up a bit. Experiment with different tunings.

The way the guitar scale is set up, it’s very easy to feel restricted or “stuck” without some serious time spent learning the neck and musical theory. While I do recommend both of these, using an open tuning is a good way to “jump in head first”, if you will. It forces you to forget everything you’ve learned about shapes, and play strictly based on what your ear is telling you. Not to mention, with strings being looser or tighter than they would be in standard tuning, the timbre of your guitar will be slightly different than what you’re used to. The most common places you’ll be able to hear examples of open tunings would be from lap steel and slide guitar players such as Jerry Byrd or Ry Cooder, or acoustic singer-songwriters and finger style players such as Joni Mitchell or Michael Hedges. Try some tunings out, and see what you can come up with!

The first guitar alternative I will list will be the twelve string guitar.

No, this will not change your chord shapes or scales (provided you keep it in standard tuning), but the way a twelve string sounds is enough to make you write and play differently. Just listen to “Hotel California”, “Turn Turn Turn”, or “More than a Feeling”! The iconic fullness and brightness of the guitar tone in these songs is not something that would exist without the use of the twelve string guitar.

Next up is the baritone guitar.

Again, although this time not tuned E to E, you can still fret the same way you would as on a standard 6 string and have the guitar sound good. That’s because a baritone guitar is still tuned with separations of perfect fourths, with one major third separation between the second and third strings just like a guitar. It’s just tuned lower, from B to B. To compensate for the lower tuning, the string gauge is set higher and the neck scale length is set longer. What does this do? It makes for a very chunky, warm, and potentially heavy sounding instrument. That, and it just feels good to fret those thick strings and strum an open E (well, technically open B on the baritone) chord!

Keeping with the theme of using the same layout as the 6 string guitar, up next is the 6 string bass. Some bass guitars add strings to the bass or treble end only, but this particular instrument I’m talking about is 6 strings tuned E to E, just an octave lower than the regular guitar. What this does is give you a familiar instrument with the low end “thump” of a bass guitar. It’s pretty cool to be able to lay down a smooth bass line, and still be able to strum a full chord.

Here’s a tidbit for trivia: the seafoam green Fender guitar that “can’t even be looked at” in the movie “Spinal Tap” is actually one of only two Fender Bass VI’s in this color that exist!

The last instrument I’ll talk about is one that sits further from familiarity than the other’s I’ve listed so far: the tenor guitar.

This is a 4 stringed instrument typically tuned in 5ths (C G D A). While still a stringed instrument, the fact that it has 4 strings that are tuned differently than a standard 6 string forces you to play differently. Some shapes that you would do on a guitar will cross over, but they won’t give you the same result. Barring the third and fourth or the first and second strings anywhere on the neck, for example, will give you a perfect fifth power chord. The size of the guitar, tension of strings when tuned to pitch, and location of the notes (open C string on a tenor will have a much different quality of sound than fretting the same C note on a guitar) all amount to a different experience when writing and playing before even considering the different tuning!

All of these instruments, whether they bring a sense of familiarity or confusion, are a great way to expand your horizons and give you a fresh feeling when you play. Don’t get caught in a rut, try something new!

Happy playing!

Tips on Tones – Issue 8 from MyRareGuitars.com

Wear and tear is one thing. Dirt and grime buildup is a completely separate thing! Sweat, oil, and dead skin builds up on the fret board when you play and has a tendency of getting trapped under the frets. Think of it like plaque buildup on your teeth. Metal can become tarnished, or just build up grime on the bridge especially. A lacquered body collects all the oil and sweat from your arms, hands and fingers leaving scuffs and fingerprints. If a criminal touched a black guitar at the scene of a crime, police wouldn’t even need to dust the thing for prints to find the culprit.

Looking at a clean guitar is obviously much more appealing than the opposite. It makes you want to pick it up and play, and it doesn’t feel gross when you do so. In this article, I’ll list and explain some of the products I use when it comes time to maintaining the clean look of your instrument.

I found a dirty old bass neck in the shop, so I’ll go over the process with photos using that.

1)     The Fret board.

This one was never played, so luckily there’s none of the characteristic “green powder” in and around the frets, but I’ll still do what I normally so in this situation.

For polishing the tops of the frets, I find the “fret erasers” from Stewmac work best. You don’t need to use all of them, but it’s good to go over each fret with at least a couple different grits. Here’s the difference between a dirty fret and one I went over with just the red fret eraser:

Small shavings of the fret eraser and dirt will be collected around the frets, so before cleaning, I spray the board with some compressed air. Next, it’s time to clean the fret board.

The product I use here is called “Simple Green”, which is just a general cleaner. Be advised, you don’t want this to soak into the wood! It’s very much a karate-kid technique: scrub on, scrub off.

Make a few sprays along the neck, and scrub it in using a scrub brush or toothbrush paying extra attention to where the fret meets the wood. Once you’ve scrubbed everywhere, wipe it off with a shop towel.

While this process cleans the board nicely, it can dry it out. Next you’ll have to give back some moisture. There’s different oils you can use like lemon oil or linseed oil. I haven’t tried the latter but have heard it does the trick. Applying it is the same idea as the Simple Green here, except instead of scrubbing I use a shop towel to rub the oil in, and then out. After all is said and done, your neck should look like this:

2) The Headstock

The headstock had some weird water marks caked onto it, so for this I used a small amount of “Goo Gone”. This stuff works great, especially for removing sticker residue. Don’t use too much, and remember to wipe it off. This should be a “last resort” product for stuff that just won’t come off, and even with it you’ll still need to use a little elbow grease. It also tends to leave the guitar feeling greasy, and the product itself is very runny. Here’s what the headstock looked like after:

3) Hardware

Next I did the tuning pegs. For all things metal, lighter fluid or any fluid that contains the flammable “naphtha” chemical mixture works very well. Naphtha is getting harder to find, (at least where I’m located) and some brands are removing it from their formulas. Double check that the fluid contains it before you buy.

For light grime, you can just rub the fluid onto the metal with a shop towel. Don’t light a smoke while doing this, unless you want to be in a Jimi Hendrix tribute band.

If the stuff isn’t coming off, you can remove the metal components, and leave them to soak in a bowl full of the solution. A good alternative is a metal polisher like “X-treem metal polish”, but the powder is very dry and messy so if you go that route be sure to wear gloves.

4) The Body

As most people likely did, the first time I polished guitars I used the standard “guitar polish” you find in guitar stores. I’ve never found that to do a fantastic job, leaving swirl marks and taking forever to wipe in and out. One day I bought a product to try and cover up small surface scratches, and found that it served as a brilliant guitar polish! The product is called “Scratch Doctor”, and is intended for car finishes.

Just put some on a shop towel, wipe it onto the guitar body until it’s evened out (it’s easy to see where it’s been applied) then wipe it off. The pictures here don’t really do it justice, but you can kind of tell:

Make sure you don’t re-use these shop towels. The product can harden a bit on the towel, and you don’t want to leave scratch marks later on.

5) Electronics

If you’ve ever spun a knob and heard a static, crackly noise, chances are you’ve got a dirty pot. A quick spray from electronic cleaner will typically fix it right up. I use “Deox-It” – this is a very expensive cleaner, but it’s also a very good one. A tiny spray is all you need, so the canister goes a long way.

With the pot exposed, you’ll see a small hole in the bottom somewhere. Spray the cleaner in, then rotate the pot back and forth until the noise is gone. Voila! The same process can be used for a dirty toggle switch.

That’s the basics! Try some of these out if you wish. I do not work for any of these product manufacturers, I just find that they work best for me!

Do your research, talk to some techs and see what other opinions are. Most importantly, make sure a product is safe to use before you use it.

Happy playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 8 from MyRareGuitars.com

Well, that’s what I’m telling you! But don’t worry; the process is rather painless, and as long as you use the right tools and follow this guide, you’ll have your frets properly crowned and polished in no time.

First off, what does it mean to “crown a fret” and why is it necessary? If you look at your recently levelled frets, you will notice they appear very flat on top with tons of horizontal scratch marks.

This is not a good thing because: A) it is not very visually appealing, B) the strings will scratch up and down the fret when you bend, causing a “nails on chalkboard” effect, and C) the strings will contact too large a portion of the fret, causing your intonation to be off.

When a fret is installed, its intent is for the string to contact the center of the fret and not such a large surface area. What crowning does, then, is shave off the edges of the fret to make it round on top, or at least leave a very fine flat surface down the middle. The idea is not to take a bunch more fret off the top, but instead to just round it out. You don’t want to make all the time spent levelling a waste! Here’s some things you’ll need:

(From left: Diamond crowning files, sharpie, fret erasers, masking tape)

The crowning files shown here are a tad expensive, but I find they work the best for me. There are plenty of other options out there that don’t cost you an arm and a leg. I tend to use the 150 grit as it gets the job done faster. Note: these files are double sided, each side shaped for a different width fret.

As I stated in my last article, it’s a good idea to use masking tape to tape the fret board between frets as a backup in case you slip. To save tape and time, just use two pieces and move them from fret to fret as you work your way up. I didn’t use tape for the following photos.

To begin, mark off the entire length of each fret with your sharpie like so:

(sorry about the black mark on the fretboard, there’s a chip on my camera lens.)

The marker will serve as a template for when you start to file. When you file each fret, watch as the thick marker line gets thinner and thinner. When you’re left with a very fine line down the center that’s barely visible, you know that the fret has a nice crown:

Continue this process all the way up the neck, and you’re done crowning! When you’re finished, you’ll have something that looks like this:

Before you string up the guitar, it’s a good idea to use those fret erasers to polish up the frets, followed by some compressed air to get rid of the fret filings and residue left over from the polish.

The “fret erasers” from Stewmac are good because they’re colour coded depending on the grit they are. The best is to use a combination of a couple different grits for each fret; I like the green #600 and the yellow #1000. Steel wool is a good alternative for this step.

After you’ve polished the frets, you can clean the fret board and give it a nice dose of lemon or linseed oil, and your fret board should now look something like this:

All that’s left to do now is string it up, and have fun!

Happy playing!

Airline BOBKAT: http://www.eastwoodguitars.com/airline-bobkat-red/

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 7 from MyRareGuitars.com

Companies like Fender, Gibson or PRS tend to offer few body stylings, but more color palettes or electronic setups. The cool thing is that even though two models may look the exact same, chances are they have a completely different sound. While many factors come into play that affect the sound of the guitar, perhaps the biggest factor lies at the beginning of the electrical signal path… The pickups!

Even more interesting is that the majority of pickups work using the same phenomenon… Electromagnetism!
A pickup is essentially a magnet wrapped in a copper wire, which creates a magnetic field around itself. When a metal string vibrates within this field, it creates a disturbance which in turn creates electrical energy in the coils. This energy flows through your cable to your amp, where it is converted back into an acoustic sound by the speaker.

So if most pickups operate under this same principle, why do they sound different? The answer is a number of different things: the material used at the core of the magnet, the size of wire and number of times it wraps around the magnet, the number of coils, the pickup’s position on the guitar and proximity to strings, and the pickup’s power source (is it passive or active?)
When looking for a guitar or different sounding pickup to compliment your playing style, it’s good to have an idea what ballpark you might be in. Without further adieu, here’s a few things to look out for during your search!

The Material:

There are two main materials that a pickup’s  core can be made of: ceramic and alnico. Ceramic pickups tend to give a harsher, brighter tone, while alnico are usually more warm and smooth. That said, alnico pickups can be broken down even further into types II, III and V. Alnico III is the weakest of the three, followed by II, and then V being the strongest. What’s the best way to find the right pickup for your playing? As I’ve said in other articles, experiment!

The coils:

The two main types of pickup coils are single coil, and double coil (otherwise known as a humbucker).
The single coil pickup was the original design, featuring one magnet with one coiled wire wrapped around it. The design worked, but it allowed for exterior frequencies to be picked up and amplified other than the guitar.
The humbucker was invented to cancel out these noises, by adding a second magnet with its polarities facing opposite the other magnet. This creates an out of phase effect, and drastically lowers the amount of noise that can get through. What it also does is increase output, and has an overall warmer, bassier tone than the single coil.

Where they go:

When you strum an acoustic guitar close to the bridge, it sounds a lot more thin and trebly than when you play over the sound hole. Electric guitars work the same way: a pickup placed close to the bridge will amplify those thinner tones. To compensate, pickup manufacturers tend to wind their bridge pickups “hotter” than their neck pickups. This adds warmth and output, so unless you want an extremely loud neck pickup and extremely quiet / shrill bridge pickup, try not to mix them up!
Pickup height is important too. Ideally you’ll have the pickups set in a way that there isn’t much of an audible volume difference when switching from pickup to pickup. Often you will notice the bridge pickup will have to be slightly higher than the neck to achieve this. Again, experiment and test different heights of your pickups to see how it affects your tone!

Passive or active:

Passive pickups function in the way I’ve described thus far. Active pickups have one major difference: a preamp powered by a 9V battery. Why? They have a lesser number of coils in the pickup, which requires the extra power boost. The lesser coils make for smaller susceptibility to feedback, but a much smaller dynamic range than that of the passive pickup. Many hard rock and metal musicians have gone the way of the active pickup, as they rarely need to have an output any less than “extreme”.

At the end of the day, you shouldn’t buy a guitar or replacement pickup because (insert name of famous guitar player) uses it! You don’t know what other equipment said player is using, the way their album was mixed, or how their sound technician works. The bottom line is: you are not (insert name of famous guitar player)! They already did their “tone quest” and found what works for them. So, try as many pickup combinations as you can. Try playing the guitar at various volumes, not always on ten! See how different pickups change your tone or even your mood while playing. You may even discover that the way a different pickup sounds will make you play differently and try new things, which is definitely a good thing!

Happy playing!

Tips on Tones – Issue 7 from MyRareGuitars.com

The absolute first step before you do any kind of fret leveling is to ensure that the neck is as straight as possible. I explained a good technique for doing so in my “Worksop Issue 5”, so you may refer there before reading on if you like.

There are some contraptions available to help keep a neck straight, or apply force to simulate string tension while you work (such as the Erlewine Jig), but said contraptions are relatively pricey and to explain how to use them would fill up an article on its own! For now, we’ll go without.

With a straight neck and the strings off, you can begin to map out the bad frets. Using a fret rocker or straight edge, test each fret in the same way I explained in Issue 5. This time, however, you need a way to remember where the problem areas are. With a sharpie, mark along each fret where the rocker… rocked. If you’re nervous about slipping with the marker, you can tape off the entire neck as seen in this picture:

When it comes time to filing, you can use these markings to indicate where you need to pay more attention. Keep in mind the person in this picture is likely making markings for crowning the frets – only mark the fret in the area it’s actually high in.

Once the markings are done, you can get ready to start filing! Again, as a precaution and to save from cleaning up metal “dust” afterwards, you can tape off the neck. It’s also a good idea to lower the neck pickup if you feel you may slip and hit it, and taping off the whole top section of the body will prevent fret filings from flying into the pickup cavities or onto the guitar.

There are a couple different tools you can use to file the frets, my favourite being:

These fret level bars from Stewmac. I use the 16” and the 8” as the 24” tends to be too long for the instruments I’m working on. The idea is to wrap sandpaper around the beam, and slide it back and forth on the frets to make them level with each other. The weight of the beam should be enough force on the frets, so you shouldn’t have to push down very much. I like to use a 220 grit paper, but there are many who start with a lower grit and change to a higher grit as they progress. This helps make any file marks in the frets get smaller and smaller, eventually resulting in a smoother fret. Personally I prefer to do this step afterwards while I’m crowning each fret, so I find sticking to a 220 grit works just fine.

Like I mentioned before, the markings you made are reference points while you file. Make sure you hit those points in particular with the file and essentially get rid of those markings. You can also look and see the filings coming off each fret – there will be more buildup beside the high frets of course.

While you want to make sure your frets are level, don’t overdo it! A fret only so high, and the more you file, the closer you get to needs a re-fret job.  The fewer strokes it takes you to get the frets level, the better.  With that in mind, it’s a good idea every few strokes to go over with the fret rocker and check those problem areas.

When you’re confident with the height of the frets, you’re done! It’s time to move on to crowning and polishing. That’ll be next time on Vincent’s Workshop. For now…

Happy playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 6 from MyRareGuitars.com

by Vince Schaljo

Here in the great white north, winters can be… well… pretty great and pretty white! Unfortunately they can also be pretty annoying for your everyday commute, just trying to get from point A to point B.
One thing that can really help keep you safe and make your drive easier is, of course, a decent set of snow tires. If you just spent a small fortune on a brand new car, the last thing you want is to slip on some ice and have the thing destroyed!

Snow tires are a small price to pay for a better drive and reduced risk of damage. What does this have to do with guitars? Nothing! But here comes my analogy anyway. If you’ve spent a small fortune on a nice guitar and a nice amp, wouldn’t it make just as much sense as snow tires to want to represent their sound to their full potential? To reduce risk of damage to components? To help the signal flow from point A to point B well?
The term “it’s just a cable” is one I hear far too often, and while it’s true that most cables can get the job done, (to a degree) not all cords are created equal. Taking good care of your cables is important, and using a quality cord where it is required can actually improve your tone. Not to mention using the wrong cords can potentially cause serious damage to some expensive equipment.

One example of an error (and I’ve been guilty of doing this myself in a pinch) would be: not using a proper speaker cable when connecting an amp head to its cabinet. Just because the connector end fits into the input doesn’t mean the cable is meant for that purpose. Speaker cables should be used with your amp to head connection at all times, while instrument cables should be used from the guitar to the amp at all times. Why? The biggest reason is the shielding (or lack thereof) in the cables. Your guitar puts out far less power than the amp does, and as such your cable will need a good amount of shielding to keep unwanted external noise out. An amp that pushes so much power out needs a cable that will allow for more electrical flow, and does not require as much (if any) shielding to keep out the unwanted noise. When you plug an instrument cable from the amp into your cabinet, it struggles to feed signal through. It’s used to the easier flow through a speaker cable. You run a huge risk of damage to your equipment by putting this kind of strain on the amp. Not to mention, the small speaker cable required to make this connection will generally not cost you as much (depending on quality) as a longer instrument cable anyway!

The flipside of this error is: using a speaker cable to plug your guitar into the amp. As I mentioned, a speaker cable typically has far less (if any) shielding. With the low output from your instrument, outside noises have a much easier time getting into the cable which can result in lots of feedback, squealing, and static. It’s a good idea to spend the extra money on a better quality instrument cable for this reason.  You get what you pay for!

Make sure you buy only what you need. If you’re only ever going to be playing venues where you will never be more than 5 feet away from your amp, don’t use a cable longer than 10 feet! Just like when you throw a baseball or shoot a water gun, signal loses strength as it travels. The longer the cable, the more distance that needs to be covered which can actually have an effect on your tone and output.

Lastly, do a good job of maintaining your cables. When you’re packing up, don’t crumple them up and throw them in your car! Not only can this ruin your cables, but it also just makes it that much more difficult to untangle everything when it’s time to set up again. Learn how to properly wrap your cables, and try to keep them from being tied to each other like spaghetti. A small piece of tape or velcro around each separate cable coil is a good way to do this.

Save your money! Take care of your cables, and take care of your equipment by using the right cables!

Happy playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue 6 from MyRareGuitars.com

It’s important to understand how your amp reacts to its settings to get the tone you want – especially if you’re one to use multiple guitars.

The first thing to understand are your basic controls. Bass, Mid, Treble, and Presence would be a good place to start. The first three are generally understood. This is a fixed 3-band EQ, meaning that each control handles a pre-set section of frequencies. As I said earlier, not all amps operate the same so it is important to get an idea for how each dial affects the signal. While bass and treble knobs almost always boost in level, sometimes an amp’s “mid” knob will actually be cutting the level.

The other thing to get a handle of is how much each knob changes the tone, and where in its rotation it does this. Sometimes you can’t even hear a change in tone from 0-5, while other times you end up on a different planet.

A good way to test your EQ dials would be “over exaggerating”. First off, make sure your amp’s volume is set where you want it because cranking it or decreasing it will have an effect on the EQ.

Next, set the EQs somewhere you would never actually set them to – either all zero or all full. From here, you can sweep each one either way to see the effect it has on your overall tone. You will likely notice a point in each knob’s rotation where you can really hear a drastic difference. Some people use this “break” point as the setting for each knob, but it really comes down to your own ears and what you’re looking for.

“Presence” is one of many other parameters that you can find on an amp. Other common names could be “shape”, “contour”, or “enhance”. Again, these effect pre-set frequencies but can be thought of more as a master tone knob. “Presence” will typically boost your high mids – highs, while “Enhance” might boost the lows and the highs. It’s important that you look up your specific amp, because again, the controls will vary from amp to amp.
Another thing to keep in mind is the tone you set yourself when you’re playing alone at home probably isn’t the same tone you want to keep when you’re playing with a band. It’s important that the instruments aren’t fighting to be heard, especially if you have another guitarist in the group. You will likely find that in order to have your guitar cut through and really sound good in the mix might not sound as good on its own.

The last thing to look out for that I’ll talk about is your gain setting. It’s very easy to become comfortable with a very saturated and warm level of gain.

While a higher gain setting can sound super sweet (or menacing as the case may be), too much distortion throws your frequency range all over the place and can potentially mess things up… and not in a good way! The other thing that tends to happen with a lot of gain is your mistakes aren’t as audible. While some may say “but… that’s a good thing!”, getting used to playing without all that distortion can really improve your articulation, and, in turn, improve your tone!

Happy Playing!

Tips on Tone – Issue 5 from MyRareGuitars.com

There are two main sounds a guitar can make that really make me cringe. The first being one that’s terribly out of tune, and the second… the notorious fret buzz. An out of tune guitar is a quick and easy fix, but fret buzzing can be caused by so many different things that sometimes it’s hard to get rid of without compromising the playability of the guitar (or spending some serious dough on fretwork!)
In this article I’ll try to tackle as many causes as I can think of, and explain how I go about identifying the culprit of an annoying buzz.
First and foremost is the setup. Check to make sure the neck relief is good and the string height is proper. If it’s not, a simple twist of the truss rod or heightening of the bridge could solve your problem. (You can check out my other articles for advice on these steps.)
Although further increasing the relief in the neck or raising the bridge could potentially get rid of fret buzz, the problem is likely elsewhere if the guitar is already set up well and by doing this you’re just covering up the problem.
Think of fret buzz as a symptom. If you had a bad headache that lasted for a week, would you simply keep taking Advil and hope it goes away? Or would you get checked out, identify the root of the problem and target that specifically?

In most cases, the “buzzing” is due to the string hovering too closely over a fret and rattling against it; hence the term “fret buzz.” Occasionally your neck might twist, a fret might pop up, or your action may just be too low causing this to happen. In extreme cases, certain notes will be beyond just a buzz and end up “fretting out”, or play as a higher note than the one you’re trying to play. For argument’s sake, let’s say the setup on the guitar is good, and by eye you can’t see any funny business in the fretwork when you sight the neck. The next step is to identify where the buzzing occurs.  If a string is buzzing when played open, and the setup is good, your nut may be filed too low. Check to make sure there is sufficient clearance between the string and the first fret.
Does the guitar have a zero-fret? If so, make sure the string is sitting flush up against it. The idea of a zero fret is to have the strings rest entirely on top of it. This is where the scale length begins on these guitars instead of the nut. You may actually need to file the nut more so the string rests well on the zero fret to get rid of that buzz.

Next to check would be the saddle. Sometimes what sounds like fret buzz could be the string rattling somewhere other than a fret. Try moving the string from its groove on the saddle, and place it elsewhere on the saddle. If the buzz stops here, you may need to file the groove a bit, or perhaps the saddle is sitting loose in the bridge.
Another common culprit for buzz happens in the machine heads. Sometimes a piece comes loose inside the mechanism, creating a distinct, long sustaining buzz sound. Your best bet in this situation is to replace the machine head itself – you can likely find single ones for sale at your local music shop.

If that’s not it, the string itself could be the culprit. Many times I’ve simply switched out a string, or rotated the ball end a bit and erased an unpleasant rattle. Strings that are too loose will move around more when strummed, so switching to a heavier gauge may make a difference as well.
Loose screws anywhere on the guitar have a habit of causing a buzz as well, so just make sure everything’s nice and tight.

So that just about does it for open notes, but what if you’re getting fret buzz when fretting a note? Fret wear, high frets, low frets, uneven frets, neck warps, neck humps and bad set-ups are all potential culprits if this is the case. The first thing is to figure out where the buzz occurs. Is it limited to just a couple frets, or all over? The best case scenario is that you’ve just got a high fret or two, and a gentle tap with a fret hammer may fix your problem.

When I say gentle I mean very gentle! Hitting too hard could do more harm than good – the only thing worse than one fret that’s too high is one fret that’s too low.
Before you start smacking things though, make sure that the fret ends of the fret in question are resting firmly into the wood, and not hovering above.  If you can’t tell, just push on the fret and see if it moves like a loose tooth. If it is indeed loose, hitting this with a hammer won’t do a thing except make a satisfying “smack” sound. In this case, you’ll want to glue the fret back down to where it needs to go. Pour a small amount of super glue around the fret end that’s sticking up, then wipe any excess glue off of the fretboard and neck. Be sure to push firmly on the fret, (or clamp it if you’ve got one) and again wipe off any glue that seeps out the sides. A good glue won’t take too long to set.
Sometimes you’ll need to do a lot more to fix buzz problems on a guitar, so next time I’ll talk about some methods for fret leveling and more steps to erasing that pesky buzz.

Happy playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 4 from MyRareGuitars.com

Often times, a guitar’s poor action is fixed with an easy twist of a truss rod like I explained in my “neck relief” article. However, adjusting the truss rod should not be the primary source for fixing your string height! The guitar is built bearing in mind that the neck will be set properly. Putting too much relief in the neck in order to raise string height can lead to problems elsewhere, so it’s important to set the neck well and then adjust your string height at the bridge. To find a height that works for you, there’s no harm in experimentation! Try setting the bridge to where it’s uncomfortably low, and gradually raise it until you’re happy with the playability. Personally, I prefer to use a measurement tool to quickly dial in a height that I know I’m comfortable with. The “string action gauge” from Stewmac has everything you would need. The bottom of this tool has markings that go up in increments of ten thousandths of an inch beginning with .010. Placing this edge down behind the low E string, the distance from the fret to the bottom of the string should be around .075-.078, so, between the .07 and .08.

On the other side, again place the edge down behind the high E string. The distance I go for on this side is around .063-.065, or, you should just see the .06 marking peaking out underneath the string. The numbers I’m using here are for guitars around a 25″ scale length, assuming standard tuning, and neck relief set similarly to how I described in my neck relief article. From here, you can make minor adjustments to suit your needs! If at this point you are still experiencing fret buzz in certain areas, your neck or frets may need some extra work in order for the guitar to set up well. Sometimes the strings may be too hard to push down in the first fret, or may even play too sharp! It is not uncommon for the nut slots to be cut too shallow. With the right tools, this is an easy remedy. You’ll need a set of files, sized correctly for each string. You don’t want the slot to grab and choke the string, so you actually want to use a slightly larger gauge file than string gauge. As a general rule, try to go .003″ larger. So, for a .010 high E string, a .013″ file would be fine. Some stores offer double edged files that are marked 1-6 instead of a gauge – be sure you know which gauge they are before cutting!

In some cases the number may not necessarily pertain to the string slot you are trying to cut.
The other 2 tools I use are a straight-edge, and a set of feeler gauges to measure the height of your first fret. The idea is, of course, to not cut your slots too deep!

Remember to make sure your neck is set before making your nut adjustments. If you cut it with an over bowed neck, you run the risk of having open-note fret buzz once you straighten it out again.

Laying the straight edge down across the first two frets, try sliding different combinations of gauges underneath until you find a combo that just contacts the straightedge.

Let’s say .040 is the one that worked. Now, you want to add ~.005 to that number to make .045, find the two feeler gauges that total this new number (or close to it), and use them as a “shield” when cutting your nut.

In this case, I took size .022 and .024, stuck them together, and lay them flat on the fingerboard against the nut. Then, I cut each slot with the correct file until making contact with the feeler gauges. It’s a quick and easy way to get your proper nut height set without having to worry about going too low!

After you’ve got your neck set, your string height at both the bridge and nut set, and your intonation dialed in, you should be ready to play!

Happy playing!

Written by: Vince Schaljo

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 3 from MyRareGuitars.com

Last time I talked about the benefits of compression, which led me to want to talk about some of the other heavy hitters in the world of signal processing. The first thing you need to ask yourself is: “what am I looking for?” Are you looking for a boost or more gain? The opposite? Are you looking for something to thicken up your tone, or maybe just some fancy sounding effects? In this article I’ll give some examples for each of these, and an idea as to where they can be used.

Let’s say you’re looking to enhance the clarity of your tone, and perhaps even clean things up beyond what the EQ enables you to do. This is where a compressor pedal would come in handy (like I talked about in my last article) or even a filtration/EQ pedal. There are some pedals that allow you to dial in and adjust specific frequencies, which could be useful if you’re playing a venue that doesn’t have a professional sound system / technician. You could also purposely crank or take out certain frequencies to create interesting effects, or to make it easier to get feedback from your amp if that’s your thing! Other pedals have a pre-set frequency range that they alter, such as the popular Ibanez Tube Screamer. This guy pushes your midrange, and is a very effective way to make your lead guitar work…well… scream.

Perhaps rather than cleaning up, you’re looking to make things dirty or just give yourself a nice boost. With a tube amp, generally speaking you want your tubes to run hot to get your best tone. That said, the more gain you put in, the dirtier the signal will be when it comes out.

A good boost pedal (I’m partial to the MXR micro amp) will increase the signal level of your guitar before it reaches the amp, thus pushing the amp harder. Think of it as instantly raising the height of your pickups with the flick of a switch… Or stomp of a foot. You can use one of these in band situations during a solo section where you need to be heard, or just to enhance your tone if you like it dirty! Many boost pedals come with an output volume knob, so you could theoretically use it in the opposite way to quiet yourself down, or clean up your tone a bit.

Modulation and time-based effects processors are next: these are the ones that fall under the “fancy effects” category.
Modulation effects are things like chorus, flangers, phasers and tremolo. You can use any of these to add flavour to particular riffs, or in some cases drive the feel of the guitar in the entire song! Here’s an example of a heavy phaser effect used by Eddie Van Halen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-IUB62zDlA

And some chorus used by Kurt Cobain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YyDg9tT0Vw
Time-based effects are things like delay and reverb. A lot of amps come with their own reverb installed, but you can always experiment with different pedals to try a variety of different sounding ones. Generally, reverb is used to thicken up your tone. Be careful not to use too much! While it may sound nice and creamy right next to your amp, in large rooms especially you can start to sound very muddy if you over do it.

A “slap-back” delay is another way of getting a thick sounding guitar tone. “Slap-back” is a term used to describe a delay of just one repeat that comes very quickly after the initial hit. Again, you can use a delay pedal not just as a tone enhancer, but also as an effects pedal by playing around with the settings!

Once you have a few pedals, it’s important to decide which order you’re going to chain them in. While the generally accepted rule of thumb is to start with your dynamics, then do EQs and filters, then modulation, followed by boosts, and finally time based processors… you’re always free to experiment! Maybe you want your delay to go through a boost, or maybe you want to boost everything before you put on that tremolo. After all, these effects you’re using weren’t created without experimentation! There’s a world of soundscapes to explore.

Happy playing!

Written by: Vince Schaljo

Tips on Tones – Issue 3 from MyRareGuitars.com

Maybe if you could actually make out the song they’re listening to it might be enjoyable… But instead all you get is the “thud thud thud” from the bass! Why is that, anyway?
It’s all about vibrations, and transference of energy. The speaker receives a signal to start vibrating, which starts a ripple effect causing nearby air particles to also vibrate. If a solid object is in the way, this energy will react in a way dependent upon:
1) the material and size of the object, and
2) the frequency and amplitude of the sound.

The lower the frequency, the larger the sound wave produced. Bigger sound waves have an easier time resonating with larger objects, while higher pitched small waves will bounce off. If your neighbor rolled down their car window, the smaller waves would have an easy escape and you’d actually be able to hear the song.

Different instruments initiate these vibrations in different ways. For example, on a recorder, in order to play the lowest note possible you need to close all the holes before blowing into it. This creates the largest air cavity it’s capable of, therefore creating the largest sound wave and the lowest note.
Have you ever looked inside a piano? You’ll notice that the longest, thickest strings are the ones responsible for making the lowest notes.

A guitar operates in a similar way – the difference being that instead of hitting a thicker, longer string to produce lower notes, you physically change the length of your strings to do so.

The three main things that tell a string what note it’s going to play are its length, tension, and size. On a guitar, your strings are all the same length between the nut and the saddle. In fact, each string is under a similar amount of tension as well (somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds of tension per string). The reason each open string produces a different note therefore, given the same length and similar tension, has to do with the size of the string. A thicker string under the same amount of tension as a much thinner one will create a much lower note. For example, if you wanted to tune the Low E string to sound like the high B, you would end up tightening it to the point that it would just snap. On the other hand, If you tried to tune the High B so it sounded like the Low E, the string wouldn’t have enough tension to properly vibrate. The sizes of the strings on your guitar were carefully calculated by their manufacturer to achieve a proper balance.

Of course – your guitar has more than six notes! When you start playing and fretting notes, you are essentially decreasing the length of each string. Lets say you play an E in the seventh fret of the A string. The distance between fret seven and the nut no longer has anything to do with the note that string is producing – it is now dependent on the shorter distance between fret seven and the bridge. The string hasn’t changed it’s size, you’ve just shortened its length, thus raising its pitch.

So what if your guitar is out of tune? If a string is flat or sharp in the open position, you can increase or decrease its tension by simply turning the machine head to bring it to pitch. However, what if it already is in tune, but when you fret a note it’s sharp or flat? This is when you’ll need to intonate the guitar by slightly adjusting the strings’ length.

Before you intonate your guitar, you’ll want to make sure your neck relief (talked about in my previous article) and your string height (will talk about in my next article) are already set the way you want. If your action is too high, you have to push the string further towards the neck in order to sound a note. By doing this you’re essentially bending the string, potentially making the note too sharp and giving you a poor reading.

Once your action is set, you can test the intonation. The distance of the strings from the nut to the 12^th fret should be equal to that of the 12^th fret to the bridge. If the bridge is placed in the wrong spot on the guitar, automatically you know you’ve got a problem! If it’s in the right spot, then you should just need a few minor tweaks to get the guitar intonated. For this example I’ll be using an Airline 2P with tune-o-matic bridge.

First, play the open A string. Make sure it’s perfectly in tune. Then, play the same A string one octave higher in the twelfth fret. If the tuner reads that the note in the 12^th fret is flat, you will need to shorten the string between the 12^th fret and the bridge by moving the saddle closer to it. If it’s sharp, lengthen the string by moving the saddle away. Repeat this process until each string reads the same note when played open as when played in the 12^th fret. That’s it! Well… hopefully. Other factors can come into play like worn frets, twisted necks, or even applying too much pressure to the string. These are all things that you will, of course, want to fix to have your guitar play in tune all the way up and down the neck.

Happy playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 2 from MyRareGuitars.com

The range between the quietest sound something can make and the loudest is what’s known as the “dynamic range”, and it’s very important to make use of it in the correct way not just in movies, but also in your guitar playing.

Generally speaking, to get the best sound out of a tube amp you have to run it hot. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to constantly dig in and play loud. Try experimenting with different thicknesses of picks, or even without a pick at all. That said, there’s nothing quite like a crushing strum of the strings through a stupidly loud amp.  Look at the iconic “windmill” gimmick – sure it looks cool, but the idea was first done for a heavy strike.

Using your fingers with a low gain setting at high volumes can give you a very warm sounding tone, while still enabling you to really bite in when necessary. The way you pluck the strings will have the greatest influence on the output you get though the amp, while the settings on the amp will process and alter the sounds you are feeding it.

These knobs are essentially volume knobs that are assigned to a specific range of frequencies. The bass handles the lows, while the treble handles the highs. Therefore, if you’ve got everything turned on full, you’ve basically just turned up your overall volume rather than EQ anything. The best thing you can do is play with your settings, and understand that every guitar is different. You will likely adjust settings every time you plug a new guitar in.

All this being said, in a band situation it’s about sitting well in the mix. You don’t want to be fighting anyone for level, and you want to sound articulate and clear. Jumping from super quiet to super loud, or hitting notes slightly weaker than others can turn out sounding sloppy. If the style of music you are playing doesn’t require you to explore your entire dynamic range, it would be a good idea to shorten it! It’s for this reason that one of the most common things you’ll see on a guitarists pedal board is a compressor.

A compressor takes the dynamic range, and “squishes” it. Very basically, it is quieting down the super loud parts so everything is on a more level playing field. This way, slight variations in picking attack or finger pressure are not as obvious as they would be without a compressor.

Many compressors only have a few controls, and often times things are labeled differently, but I’ll outline the main parameters here.

Threshold: The threshold control determines the level at which the compressor fixes the incoming signal. Whatever level you set the threshold to, everything above that value will be compressed, while whatever’s below it will remain untouched. So, the lower your threshold, the more you are actually compressing. Many guitar pedal compressors don’t have this control, meaning the threshold value is pre-set. The only way to adjust how much is being compressed with these type of pedals is to, well, make things louder! Increase your input, and more will be affected.

Ratio: This is the amount that the compressor will choke the signal by. A ratio of 8:1 means that when your input signal is 8 decibels over your threshold, the output becomes only 1 decibel over your threshold.

Attack: This is the setting that determines how quickly the compressor decreases the level when the threshold is reached.

Release:  This is the setting that determines how quickly the signal comes back to the level your ratio is set to once your input falls below the threshold.

Be careful setting your release! Let’s say you have a guitar part that’s really loud and very soon after dips down quiet.  With a release that’s too slow, the signal is still being compressed when you go to play that quiet part which may make it a lot quieter than you would like! On the other hand, setting a release value too quickly can give you an unwanted “pumping” sound as you hear the level being adjusted in and out.

Compressors can be difficult to learn, but once you’ve got it down you’ll greatly appreciate the difference they make in your dynamic range!

Happy playing!

written by Vince Schaljo

Tips on Tones – Issue 2 from MyRareGuitars.com

No matter the price of the guitar, the fact is that they all operate the same way and all need to be maintained the same way. Recently, I began an article series called “Vincent’s Tips on Tones” (check it out if you haven’t!). In the first issue, I mentioned that a proper guitar setup can have a large impact on your playing, and ultimately your overall tone. In this series, I’ll go further into detail about setting up your instrument and fixing issues that prevent you from playing to your full potential.

For starters, a little about myself:
My name is Vince and I’ve been working as a guitar technician at Eastwood Guitars for the past three years. It is my job to inspect, set up, repair, and prepare the instruments for shipment to their final destination. For the first few entries, I’ll go over the essentials of a basic guitar setup assuming there are no major problems with the instrument.

The first thing you want to do is look over the entire guitar for any blemishes, and make sure the electronics are functioning properly. There’s nothing worse than doing a full set-up only to notice a problem that’s going to require more work. If you’re working on a heavily used guitar, it’s still good practice to familiarize yourself with any damage on the guitar before you work on it. That way, you won’t notice it afterwards and think “uh-oh, did I do that?”

If the guitar looks clean and is working, you can begin the setup. The first thing you need to understand is that whatever adjustment you make will have an impact somewhere else on the instrument. For example, flattening out the neck will both lower your strings and alter your tuning and intonation. For this reason, it’s important to inspect each piece in order, and make the adjustment where necessary. Often times you will need to go back and readjust changes you’ve made so everything will balance! Today I’ll focus on:

 Neck Relief.
Generally speaking, you want your guitar neck to be as straight as possible. A neck that is too far “back bowed” can cause significant fret buzz problems and dead notes, while one that is too far “over bowed” can cause your action to be impossibly high and throw off intonation.
With a keen eye, you can visually check for this by holding the guitar by its body, and looking down the side of the neck from the nut to where the neck meets the body. Be sure not to push on the neck when doing this as you could influence the bow in the neck. What you’re looking for is a bow in the neck. A neck that dips down like a valley is referred to as being over bowed. One that dips upward like a hill is known as being back bowed.

If I’m working on my own guitar or I know what the owner likes, sighting the guitar in this way is enough to know what kind of adjustment I need to make to be happy with it. If it’s for an unknown customer, I prefer to use a measurement method that will turn out the same way each time.

Using a capo, clamp down the strings in the first fret. Then, push down on the low “E” string at the 17th fret. Now, look at the 8th fret. There should be just a sliver of space between the bottom of the low “E” and the top of the fret. If you have one, slide a .010 feeler gauge underneath the string. If it just sneaks under, you’re golden.

If there’s a large gap between the feeler gauge and the string, it means your neck is over bowed and you’ll need to tighten your truss rod. If the gauge pushes against the string too much or doesn’t fit underneath, your neck is back bowed and you’ll need to loosen the truss rod.

Once you’ve determined the state of the neck, you can try an adjustment if necessary. First you’ll need to find the truss rod access, which is typically located where the headstock meets the neck just above the nut. You will need the right sized Allen key or truss rod wrench to make the adjustment (your guitar should have come with this when you bought it). If the key does not fit perfectly snug, do NOT turn it! The last thing you want to do is strip your truss rod!

Once you’ve found a wrench that fits in tight, start by making a small turn counter-clockwise to loosen the rod. You never want to tighten first incase the rod is maxed out. Once you’ve learned that the rod will spin, you can start to make small adjustments whichever direction required to straighten the neck. Counter-clockwise will loosen the rod, while clockwise till tighten. Remember to sight the neck after each turn to see what’s happening with the neck.

When you think you’re happy with how straight the neck looks, you can check the relief again with the capo method, followed by a play test! Many times a simple neck adjustment is all a guitar will need to play smoothly. However, if during your play test there are still problems with the guitar, the issue lies somewhere else – but we’ll get to that in a later “Guitar Workshop”! Next time, I’ll talk about the two things I follow up every neck adjustment with; String height, and intonation!

Happy playing!

Vincent’s Guitar Workshop – Issue 1 from MyRareGuitars.com

Sure, new stuff is fun and definitely a viable way to improve your sound pallet, but there is a plethora of ways using the equipment you already have that could help you get that tone you’re always looking for! Over the next few months I’ll outline some tips and tricks I’ve learned through my own experiences, as well as some things I’ve picked up from professionals around the world.

To kick things off, we’ll start with the basics. Playing an instrument and making music in its purest form is an extension of yourself. You’re the one playing the guitar, so ultimately you are the one responsible for the majority of how it sounds. Your mood, your focus, and your blood-alcohol level are just a few things that can have an effect on your overall playing before we even get into the equipment you’re using! If you feel like crap, you’re going to play like crap. One of the main things that can contribute to all of these factors is how the guitar feels in your hands. Think of it this way: you’re a lumberjack and your boss hands you a dull saw, asking you to cut down the thickest tree in the forest. Is that going to put you in a good mood? No. Will you be able to remain focused? Probably not. Are you going to want to grab a cold-one half way through the tree? …Maybe.

Like saws for lumberjacks, guitars are tools for guitarists and should be treated as such. This brings me to my first tip:

Get your guitar professionally set-up!

Your guitar is not going to remain the same since the day you bought it. It is absolutely necessary to maintain it with string changes and set-ups to keep it playing the way you want it to. Comfort and ease of play will make you want to play your guitar, and really enjoy it! Things like old strings, fretbuzz, dead notes, sharp frets, high strings and poor intonation are all things that physically make you need to play your guitar differently in order for it to sound acceptable.

Those changes you are making (like using a lighter touch to avoid fretbuzz, applying more pressure for high strings, or completely avoiding dead notes) are obvious factors that affect your tone in a negative way. The height of your pick-ups, as well as dirt or poor connections in the electronics are typically inspected with full service set-ups as well. Issues with either of these will affect your output, and therefore your tone will suffer.

With a guitar that feels good in your hands, sounds smooth through the amp, and looks clean and polished, it will be as if you got a brand new instrument without the price tag.

Happy playing!

Written by: Vince Schaljo

Tips on Tones – Issue 1 from MyRareGuitars.com

When I assess a guitar for set up, the first thing I do is sight down the neck. I want to see how much ” relief ” or bow is in the neck. I like to have the neck as straight as possible to check for unlevel frets, twist in the neck, and humps in a certain part of the fret board. I also like to move the truss rod a bit to make sure it works properly.

Once I have sighted the neck and made necessary adjustments to make sure it is straight, I take a fret rocker (multi sided straight edge) and check the frets, three at a time to make sure they are level. If I encounter a high fret, the straight edge will teeter back and forth to the other two lower frets on each side. I always check on the bass side, middle , and treble side while the guitar is tuned to pitch. Because the frets are over radiused before installed, they have a bit of spring to them. Frets can become unlevel on one side or the other as well as the middle, causing buzzing on specific areas and strings.

Once I have determined the need for a fret level, I remove the strings and adjust the truss rod again to make sure the neck is straight. I may mark certain areas of the frets with a sharpe that visually stand out as high spots in the fret board. I pay close attention to what the neck was like with string tension as well as with out to see how the plain of the neck changes. I want to account for these changes when leveling.

Depending on the severity of unlevelness, I will use either a leveling bar with 220 grit sand paper or a single cut fret leveling or mill file. I always check for loose frets that maybe glued before I start leveling. I prefer a leveling bar or file over a radiused block so I can better control the amount of material I take off in a certain area.

Once I have milled the frets level I need to go through with a crowning file to make the frets round again. I use a 150 grit diamond crowning file and then touch up with a 300 grit crowning file.

Once the frets are levels and crowned I go through the process of dressing the frets with 360, 400, 600, steel wool, and 800 grit. Then I follow with micro mesh sanding pads that go from 1500 to 12,000 grit. I finally finish with a light buffing compound and a buffing wheel on my Dremel tool to give the frets a smooth, mirror like finish. At this point I am ready to string and setup the instrument.

Unlevel frets is very common problem that can show up on new guitars as well as used instruments. Buzzing and sizzling sounds in a specific area are common signs of unlevel frets as well as divots and wear from general playing, which can cause intonation issues as well as buzz. Set ups are general maintenance for guitars and fret levels are needed on well played instruments to insure even playability so if you haven’t had your guitar looked at in a while, take time to visit your favorite guitar tech. You’ll be glad you did!

Posted By: Dave Anderson
Read more about the author: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2012-12-06/music/dave-anderson-interview-tritone-guitar/

Fret Levels For Accurate Guitar Set Ups from MyRareGuitars.com

Dr. Dave Walker (guitarist)

“How can there be a Dm chord in the key of C?” This is one of the most common questions I get asked as a theory teacher. In some cases the person has not considered that there must be different chords in any given key or else we would have to stay on one chord for a long, boring time. More often though the student knows that “the chords of the key of C” are C, F, and G (or G7). This last idea is partly true – those are the MAJOR chords in the key of C. However, every major key contains 3 major chords, 3 minor chords, and one diminished chord. And not only does every major key have that same number of chords of the same type – they are all in the same order.

Let’s start with the C major scale. This is simply all of the notes (i.e. the letter names from A to G) put in order, starting and ending on C. So the C major scale is: C D E F G A B C. I have placed these on the staff in example 1, with tab underneath for those who don’t read music.

Chords in C (Ex. 1)

To create chords in any key, we take each individual note in the key and build a chord on top of it. We call the note that we are building on top of the “root” of the chord, and its note name is the name of the chord. We then take the 3rd note above the root, and the 5th note above the root, and these form the notes in our chords. So if we take C as a root, the 3rd note up from it is E, and the 5th note up is G. Our C chord then contains C, E, and G. Likewise, if we start on D, we get F as the 3rd note up, and A as the 5th. So Dm contains D, F, and A. Example 2 shows all 7 chords in the key of C.

Chords in C (Ex. 2)

How do we know that C is a major chord but Dm is a minor chord? There are three ways. First, you might be able to just hear the difference between the sound of a major and minor chord. Second, you can learn the theory of intervals which will tell you the internal construction of these chords. But the third is the simplest: you can memorize the order that chords appear in a key. The sequence is the same for every major key.

Let’s number the notes in the scale from 1 to 7 (since 8 brings us back to C again). The chords we build on notes 1, 4, and 5 are always major chords. The chords on 2, 3, and 6 are always minor, while the one on note 7 is always a diminished chord. So the sequence for any major key is this: 1 – Major, 2 – minor, 3 – minor, 4 – Major, 5 – Major, 6 – minor, and 7 – diminished. (MmmMMmd for short.)

Notice that all of these chords have just 3 different notes. On the guitar, we can distribute these over the strings at different locations to give us different “voicings” of the chord, but it will always have the same name. For example, whether you play a C chord in the “cowboy” shape closest to the nut or as a bar chord at the 8th fret, you are still just using the notes C, E, and G.

So to get back to the original question, there is a Dm chord in the key of C because that is the chord that we can build on the note D. The same logic applies to the Em and Am chords, as well as that B diminished chord.

Written by: Dr. Dave Walker

Finding the Chords in a Key from MyRareGuitars.com

Jimi Hendrix in Studio

If you are thinking of learning guitar or getting into the guitar scene, one of the important decisions that you will need to make is whether you want to go acoustic with your guitar or electric. Both types of guitar are fantastic and offer a wide range of playing styles to experiment with. Today we are going to highlight the main differences between the two to help you make your decision.

1. The type of music you want to play
The type of music you want to play will be the greatest indicator of which kind of guitar you would like to go for. An electric guitar is best suited for rock, metal and blues music, although it can be used more creatively if you have the knowhow. However if you are seeking a guitar to sing songs with and play alone, classical guitar or ballads then acoustic is the best bet for you. You can also play acoustic versions of rock songs with an acoustic guitar which can be great fun, trying to figure out how to play a rock song on your acoustic will also help with your learning process.

2. Where you are going to play
If you are going to play your guitar with others and will have access to amps and other equipment, then you may be happy with an electric guitar. If you goal is to play in a band with a drummer, bassist and so forth then you will definitely want to go electric. If you need a guitar that will be more mobile and give you more options (such as playing by a campfire or playing in a park) then acoustic is the best bet. Acoustic guitars are great for taking to a barbeque or round to a friend’s house, if your friend also has an acoustic there is nothing more fun than strumming some tunes while sat outside on a beautiful summer’s day.

3. Your budget
An acoustic guitar can be picked up for as little as £50 whereas an electric guitar is significantly more expensive. As well as the cost of the guitar itself, electric guitars tend to be more high maintenance, requiring specialist equipment and storage to get the best out of it and keep it running for a long time, so if budget is a primary consideration for you then an acoustic guitar is probably the better option for you. But if you are serious about learning the guitar you may want to invest a little more to get a semi decent guitar, the sound quality and tone will be far superior to any low cost options.

4. Your commitment
If you are absolutely committed to the art of playing guitar then an electric guitar will give you more options, more longevity and more variety for the kind of music that you can play, whereas an acoustic guitar is quite limited by comparison. If you really want to be a guitar pro and you are fully committed then you will derive very intense pleasure from mastering the nuances and subtleties that you can achieve with electric guitar.

5. Your need for variety
Although acoustic fans will hate that we are saying this, the truth is that acoustic guitars have limits that electric guitars simply do not have. Whether you like to twang your notes, extend them or vibrate them, the electric guitar is a lifetime of new discoveries, special skills and moves that you can show off at various opportunities! (sorry acoustic guitarists, but its true!) There are also a whole host of different techniques and styles that you can adopt on the acoustic guitar, using a slider or even a loop pedal can give you hours of fun.

6. The kudos factor
Electric guitars are just plain cool and so if you are taking up an instrument to impress, win fans or show off then electric is definitely the way to go. Electric guitars look good, sound great and can make a relatively novice player seem like a superstar with a just a few choice skills. Acoustic guitars can also be very cool, however you will need some more advanced skills with an acoustic to really start attracting fans.
Choosing which guitar to start on is a big decision, there are multiple factors you need to weigh up in order to make the right choice. Everything from your preferred style of music to how much noise you can make will have weight. The best way to know is to go into your local guitar shop and ask to try a couple of guitars out, get a real feel for the difference between acoustic and electric. Whatever you decide on it is important to pursue your learning, the first few weeks are often the hardest but, like with most things, the more you put in to it the more you get out.

Ben writes about music and currently works for a guitar shop specializing in acoustic guitar strings .

Beginner Guitar Tips: Acoustic vs Electric from MyRareGuitars.com

It is pretty much an unavoidable thing that happens in every guitarist’s lifetime. We get in ruts. The difference between great players, and players that tell you that they have pretty much given up, is that great players’ know how to steer out of the ruts.

I want to share with you, my 7 top tips on getting your guitar playing out of the ruts and back on the highway of rock ‘n’ roll! What’s best about learning how to get out of a rut, is that you learn the techniques once and become aware of when you might be in a rut, and avoid it at all costs from that day onwards.

So, here we go, lets get stuck into the guitar and have some fun starting from today! Try a technique at a time over the next week and I promise you will want to share these tips with everyone.

1. Listen to a different style of music
Head straight to Spotify or where ever you like to get your music from, and start listening to some music you have never heard before. Honestly, you will be surprised how much your listening affects your playing. If you are an acoustic-pop guitarist, try listening to some hip-hop and hear what the guitar is doing. If there is no guitar part, could you make a part to compliment the track? Perhaps you are a shred guitarist and have become slightly lost in a sea of notes? Try listening to some simplistic music, the type of music often found in film and performed on the piano. Appreciate the note choice and try your hand at working out the note use over the chosen chord.
This is my top tip because it has helped me become a diverse guitarist and it develops your ear.

2. Take a guitar lesson
Ok, I know I am a guitar tutor in Brighton, but I honestly do believe in the value that taking guitar lessons holds. If you explain your current level, tastes and where you want to take your playing, any good guitar tutor should inspire, and put you into action. Quite often, just seeing a good guitarist up close and explaining what he is doing, will be enough to clear your guitar-haze. Give your guitar teacher pieces of music you want to aim towards, and ask about realistic time frames for how long it will take for you to be able play the song.

3. Jam with someone
If you have any time to spare at all, then please find a local musician to jam with you, even just one night a week. Sharing musical ideas and writing parts to compliment each other’s lines will improve your musicality, and give you an idea of how flexible you are. You will also get a good look at how even your rhythm and lead skills are, as you trade off accompaniment.

4. Record yourself
Now, I know this is not quite as easy to do as some of my other tips, but if you have access to recording yourself, then go for it. It is scary at first hearing yourself, but you will get used to it and learn how be critical about your playing, in order to produce a recording you can’t wait to share. You learn how to interweave guitar parts, making use of a variety of tones to create the ambience you are looking for.

5. Experiment with an alternative tuning
This is a really fun way to get out of a rut and an excellent way to make some beautiful sounds you never knew you could make. Investigate into open G and open D tuning for starters, and learn what notes to tune the strings to. What is amazing about this technique is that you can’t rely on your trick book anymore, and unless you learn someone else’s music in this tuning, you rely fully on your musical creativity rather than shape and memorized patterns. Some players get so engrossed in alternative tunings that they never turn back and become completely shaped by the tuning.

6. Attempt to play music performed on another instrument
As guitarists, we quite often have an array of tricks and approaches that we pull out at any time, often slightly adapting them to fit the musical situation at the time. If you consider that the notes we play are largely in part due to the shapes we were told to learn, then you start to realise why many guitarists sound the same. A lot of great guitarists I have met over the years have had this one attribute in common; they all listen to music from piano, saxophone, violin and trumpet, and pretty much any melodic instrument as well as rhythmic instruments to build a great rhythmic command. Being able to take music from another instrument and perform it on guitar may be my number 6 top tip, but it is an art well worth mastering.

7. Immerse yourself in music
Picture music as your fuel. You need fuel to run, and when music equals creativity, then why not immerse yourself in a sea of songs? Find the time to listen to music, both consciously and sub consciously. By that, I mean sometimes have the music as a background sound and then at other times listen to the music and imagine how to play the parts. Pay attention to the tone, dynamics, note choice, space and development of a part throughout the song.
So, that was my 7 top tips that will hopefully guide you out of the woods and onto the road next time you are lost, whilst on your pursuit of guitar mastery.

Tom Clark is the founder of Your Guitar Tutor, and is a guitarist who is passionate about sharing expert advice on anything guitar.

7 Ways To Get Your Guitar Playing Out of a Rut from MyRareGuitars.com

Thank you to everyone who wrote to me at DrDaveBlogFeedback [at] gmail.com for all of your kind words about my articles on self-publicity. You raised so many good questions that I want to take this opportunity to talk about when you don’t want to do your own publicity. So:

When should you consider using a professional PR firm?

The short answer is when the advantages out-weigh the cost. So let’s consider what a good PR firm can do that you can’t.

Most importantly, a good PR firm will have a list of contacts that will be very difficult if not impossible for you to get. Many of these influential people will not accept unsolicited submissions unless they come from a trusted source. So your PR firm should be able to get your music into the hands – and ears – of the movers and shakers in your area of the music biz.

Related to this is a good firm’s ability to pre-screen music for their clients. In essence they rate your music compared to the field, and will only pass it on if it is considered good enough. While this can sometimes be exasperating for an artist, it helps cement the bond with the critics, reviewers, A&R folks, etc. who they deal with. The better this relationship is, the more weight their recommendation will carry.

So a good firm will provide extra sets of ears for your music. They will also give you extra sets of eyes for your other materials, punching up the text and maybe suggesting more effective photos to help you stand out from the crowd.

It may seem redundant to say that the business of a public relations firm is public relations, but at a certain stage in your career you will need someone with just this focus. I deal directly with the presidents of several small- and medium-size labels, and while our initial contacts have always been good there comes a time when other issues draw them away from artist promotion so that some of their artists, or some of their music, is not given the attention it needs. The example that comes to mind right away is follow-up. The PR firms that send me music always follow-up in a few weeks time to be sure that I have listened to the (usually) CD and to ask my opinion. Some will discuss the music and compare it to other artists to get a better idea of my taste and the tastes of my readers so that they can fine tune what they send me. Not surprisingly I review a greater percentage of their submissions because I like more of what they send. No, it’s not rocket science but patient, long-term work that eventually pays off for both the company and the artist.

Cross-promotions might be something that interests you. Some firms can arrange guest spots for artists on recordings or tours that can introduce your music to new fans in different genres. These don’t just work at superstar levels, and they can be a real career boost to both artists as well as a lot of fun. So you need to know who the firm represents and whether these possibilities exist. It also pays to keep your eyes and ears open for these types of opportunity as you meet other musicians at your gigs, or theirs.

Finally, a firm can help with bookings. Some firms double as booking agents and will send CD’s out in advance of a tour. Others work with booking agents (or the artists themselves if they book their own gigs), pointing out areas where their music has been well-received and in demand. They might be able to supply a good opening act that will bring in the local crowd as well as complementing your own music. And even though it is painful to consider, a good firm can even suggest postponing a tour that is potentially disastrous due to lack of interest in the music. Even small local tours can be costly and I know of several good groups that have broken up over these financial fiascos.

So the bottom line is common sense. If self-promotion is getting you the results you want, save your money. If you feel that you have tapped your current market completely and are ready to move to the next level, consider some professional representation, but find a service that is within your budget. A good first move is a trial deal for your new CD. If your sales improve and new markets open up you may want to move into a longer-term relationship. Even if sales stall, if you find that you get valuable feedback on your music or marketing efforts, you probably want to try again with your next CD having learned from experience.

In any case, don’t be afraid to ask the important questions when approaching a PR firm. What contacts do they have in your particular field? What strategy do they have to get you to the level you want to attain? Who have they represented and what have they done for them? Get references. Get their opinions. Get prices. Yes, it’s a lot of work. But it’s work that will pay off in the long run, and free up your time to concentrate on your music.

Post by Dr. Dave

Tips for Getting Reviewed – Part III: When to Use a PR Firm from MyRareGuitars.com

The good news is that you don’t need a professional publicist to get your music out into the world in a pro format. In fact, some of the best material I’ve received over the years has come from individuals, while some of the worst has no doubt cost the artists a fair amount of cash. Here’s what you need to know:

CD or Download?

Most reviewers want a CD. This is a more expensive option than having them download your music, but many reviewers and critics will refuse to download. Some people are still technologically challenged, while others are so busy that they feel they don’t have time to download. I’ll often give an album a first listen in the car, and for those albums I download I’ll maybe have to convert to MP3 and put them into iTunes and on to my iPod, so if I’m pressed for time I’m most likely to just grab a CD from the pile and listen to it. But there is a big exception, for me at least: if an artist sends me a link to one song that they feel is representative, I’ll usually listen to it as soon as I can, and if I like it I’ll download the album. But that’s me, and others tell me they won’t do that – they need a CD.

Data Sheet

Most CD’s are accompanied by a single sheet. Laser printing is fine, but use colour if you can. The title should be the name of the CD and the artist. The label, recording studio, producer, etc. can all be mentioned later, but you want the title and your name (or your band’s name) to be the focus and stick in the reviewer’s mind. Finally, display your web site’s URL prominently.

The trick with the data sheet is to give enough information to hook the reader, but still keep them wondering “Who is this artist? How can I find out more?” You want to give an idea of the musical style, the makeup of the group or style of soloist, if the music is original or covers or a mix, and maybe a little about where you are coming from musically.

Try to find a starting sentence that will grab the attention of someone who will like what you’ve done. Remember that you can’t please everybody, so try to hook the reviewer or critic who is going to be favorably inclined.

Talk a little about the music but don’t explain each song. Give a capsule overview of the music and what you were trying to achieve.

Give a one or two (at most) paragraph musical biography of yourself. It should tell something about what made you the artist that you are at this point, and how it led to the music on the album.

No Glossy Photos Please

At least once a month I’ll get a glossy photo of an artist with a CD, and it always saddens me to think of the pointless expense. These are very rarely used, and it is much better to include a number of digital shots in your online Press Kit.

Online Press Kit

It is expensive enough to send out a CD and single data sheet without sending an entire press kit to every potential reviewer. Set up a “Press” section on your web site, and include the basic components of a press kit there. Have shots of album covers in different sizes and resolutions, artist photos, gig shots if you have them, and any other graphic PR material that might interest a fan or other reader. This is the place to include previous reviews, testimonials, and fan comments, as well as tour schedules and upcoming events. A full biography of every member of the group and other info such as gear endorsements should be here as well. Think of this as the one stop a reviewer or critic will make and give them as much information as they could possibly want, clearly labelled.

The “Don’ts”

OK, so here are the things that you should not do.

DON’T exaggerate claims wildly. Saying that everyone will love your music will only determine some critics to contradict you, often very unkindly.

DON’T give your life story. Give the musical essentials and let the reviewer check your web site for more, if they want it.

DON’T cite testimonials unless they are from major sources. Even the most glowing quote is meaningless if the source is unknown (let’s hope you have at least one friend who likes what you do!).

DON’T include your CV. One page is enough, and some won’t even read that.

DON’T cite your parents as your “greatest fans.” Do I have to tell you why? Don’t laugh though. I’ve had two of these in the past month.

DON’T think that “formal” language will sound impressive. Let the reader know who you are by speaking naturally. Use good grammar and spelling but your own words. “I thought to myself I’m gonna make the best damn album I could!” is better than “I took upon myself the consideration that I should produce a product the most praiseworthy that one in my situation might conceivably produce, given of course the constraints.”

DON’T be afraid to follow up. Give the reviewer a few weeks to receive the CD and to listen to it. Remember that most of us get one or more a day, and often this is not our main job, so it might take a while to get around to your work. Remember to be polite; you don’t want an angry reviewer taking their first listen.

… and …

DON’T get angry and attack someone who decides not to review your work. I’ve occasionally listened to a rejected CD and decided that my initial impression was wrong and given it a good review. But I’m only human, and a really angry email back would probably make me want to just toss the CD in the trash. (Fortunately this has not happened to me, but I have heard from critics that it does happen.)

Press Release

I will talk about press releases because I still get them from some press agents and publicists, as well as some artists who seem to have taken business courses or seminars. Except for the major media, these are largely unnecessary. A good data sheet is all most people really need. So unless you think your CD may sell more than 100,000 copies this might be a waste of time.

Even when I write for a magazine, I have to smile at the start of almost every press release: “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!” Realize that most magazines have a lead time of 3 or more months and you will see what I mean. A major artist may stoke interest by pre-announcing an upcoming album, but few reviewers or critics will write much until they hear the music. And those who will are usually well aware of what is in the pipeline well before a press release arrives.

If you do decide you need to send out a press release for whatever reason, even to the local newspaper, follow some simple guidelines. Use the “For immediate release” as the starter. Remember to indicate the date and city of origin. Order your paragraphs in decreasing order of interest, remembering that most small papers will start at the top and cut when they get to their maximum word count. Give the essentials of the album, and then of the artist. Then details of the recording and artist. Think “If they only publish up to here, will they know what they need to know?”

In this case you DO want to fill at least a full page in case they decide to publish the whole thing. Who knows? Maybe you will hit a slow news day, or maybe they are looking for a local music story, or maybe someone there saw you last week and liked what you played. But try to make it all interesting to a potential new fan.

Finally, be sure to include all contact information. This means web sites for the music as well as the artist (if they are different) so that fans can learn more and buy the music. Include also contact information for the media outlet in case they want clarification or maybe even an interview.

Write the release with the expectation that the music will be a big success and the media will publish the entire thing, but for your own sanity be realistic. Be confident but not over-bearing. It’s the killer combination.

Written by “Dr. Dave” Walker
blog.davewalkermusic.com

Dr. Dave Walker is a writer for blog.davewalkermusic.com and for Just Jazz Guitar. A former computer science professor, he has since come to his senses and now teaches music.

Tips for Getting Reviewed – Part II: Your Publicity Package from MyRareGuitars.com

1. WRITE MELODIES.
   I can’t tell you how many guitarists think that blazing speed or awesome technique will impress listeners. They don’t. Most people listen to music, and the heart of music is good melody. Why have songs like Greensleeves and Scarborough Fair lasted for centuries? Why do Hey Jude and Stairway to Heaven remain so popular?
2. EXPAND YOUR CHORD VOCABULARY.
   Three-chord songs have been done to death, and unless you have a really exceptional melody (see tip #1) you should give the melody as much emotional depth as possible by supporting it with rich harmony. A little harmonic surprise now and then will keep the listener interested. Make us wonder “What will happen next?”
3. BALANCE REPETITION AND CONTRAST.
   The two basics of music are repeating things enough so that they sound familiar, and contrast to keep the repeated stuff from becoming boring. Constantly repeating a small phrase, even on different scale steps, is enough to drive most listeners crazy. Too much new material without any repetition just sounds disorganized and pointless. This applies to melodies as well as chord progressions.
4. PLAY MUSICALLY.
   Too many good albums are ruined by robotic playing. Learn to accept a take that may have a flaw or two but really gets the feeling across. Don’t aim for that perfect take that has the soul played out of it from doing hundreds of earlier takes. Often you are the only one that can hear the “imperfection” anyway, but most listeners will hear the lack of spontaneity. If you just can’t get it right, take a break or do a different song and come back to it fresh.
5. DEVELOP YOUR OWN SOUND.
   Don’t fall into the trap of buying your idol’s gear setup and trying to get their sound. They’ve already done that and the audience knows it. An original sound stands out from the mass of wannabes and will always get serious consideration. This doesn’t take a rack of expensive gear. Use your ears and the equipment you’ve got and see what sounds you can get that you really like. You may be very pleasantly surprised. If you want a new pedal, try one that not everybody uses.
6. LISTEN TO AS MUCH MUSIC AS YOU CAN.
   See what others have done that you like. Listen to stuff you don’t like and try to figure out what makes it popular. Listen to classic songs that keep getting re-played and covered, and try to figure out what is so special about them, keeping in mind all of the previous tips. It is very important to know what has already been done, to keep you from “re-inventing the wheel” or inadvertent plagiarism.
7. IMPROVE A SONG.
   I’ve saved the best tip for last because you need to keep all of the previous ones in mind for this one. Pick a song that you think is good, but could be better. Then come up with your own version that you think is better. Keep the good parts and improve the weak parts. Let your imagination go with this one! After a couple of these you will be able to listen more critically to your own songs, and improve them in the same ways. Learn to hear like a listener, instead of the songwriter!

Written by “Dr. Dave” Walker
blog.davewalkermusic.com

Dr. Dave Walker is a writer for blog.davewalkermusic.com and for Just Jazz Guitar. A former computer science professor, he has since come to his senses and now teaches music.

7 Tips for Getting Reviewed from MyRareGuitars.com

David Anderson

So, it’s cold out side and the snow is falling. You decide to sit by the fire with your favorite hot beverage and your guitar for a little one on one time. You give your prized axe a strum, but it seems someone has replaced your instrument with an imposter. This guitar looks like your old friend in every way, but it’s buzzing and rattling, and the frets are sharp. You ask yourself what is going on.

Humidity is what’s going on, or more accurately, the lack of humidity. Guitars and other stringed instruments require 45 to 55% relative humidity in the environment in order to function properly. If your guitar gets below 45%, it will actually begin to shrink. Your instrument can easily loose 1/8 of an inch of mass from shrinkage due to a dry environment, and that means sharp fret edges, notes that buzz, cracks in the wood, lifting bridges, and even failing neck joints. If your instrument is over-humidified, on the other hand, you will notice an immediate difference in the way it plays due to the neck relief changing and the top rising and bellying up. You may even notice a difference in tone.

But don’t “fret”…it’s not too late! You can reverse the condition of your guitar by simply changing the relative humidity of the environment in which it resides. If you have a hard shell case, you can easily add humidity by purchasing a guitar/case humidifier, but you must be sure to keep the guitar in the case while not in use to allow the case interior to act as the immediate environment for the guitar. If you like to hang your instrument on a wall or display it on a stand, you will need to get a cold mist humidifier for your room (home furnaces with built in humidifiers will not suffice). It’s a good idea to purchase a hydrometer so you can keep track of the relative humidity in your area. Expect it to take a few weeks for your guitar to acclimate to its proper environment. This may seem like a lot of effort, but so is humidifying and repairing a top crack or dressing frets due to dryness, fixes not covered by the manufacturer as warranty work. Prevention is key!

So, if you want to give that special stringed someone the gift that keeps on giving, give the gift of humidity. Your guitar will be happy, and you will too.

Written by: David Anderson

Guitars & Humidity: Taking Care of Your Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

DInosaur Jr’s amps… most people will be fine with much less than that…

I believe that a guitar amp doesn’t need to have more than 50 watts of power… ever!

Heh! I can hear the clicking of many keyboards preparing their rebuttals to that comment!

It’s never wise to make such a sweeping generalization. But there is some sense behind my comment – at least I think so! My belief that more than 50 watts is a waste has to do with where guitarists play, the type of equipment available in live venues if a guitarist gigs, and how output power affects a guitar amp’s performance.

Guitar Amp Power Requirements Have Changed Over The Years

Back when rock and roll was young guitarists required huge amounts of back line power to fill ever larger live venues. Public Address or PA systems just weren’t up to the task of being used to amplify electric guitars so everyone in the room could hear. So, walls of 100 watt amps became a common site.

Today, if a guitarist plays a venue that would require 100s of watts of amp power to fill the room the venue will have the capability to mic the guitar amp. In that case, a 4 watt Gem or a Fender Champ could work just fine!

There’s also the unfortunate fact that some bands still insist on playing with punishingly high stage volume levels regardless of whether their amps are mic’ed. I’m not going to address this topic here – musicians should protect their hearing and the hearing of their audiences!

So, why aren’t all guitar amps under 10 watts? Because of tradition – that’s a BIG reason why lots of manufacturers still make high powered amps – and because different styles of music require different tones and varying amounts of clean headroom.

Guitar Amp Power Determines Clean Headroom

If you could compare two guitar amps that were identical in every way except one had more power than the other, what would you find?

Well, interestingly, Mack guitar amps make that comparison easy! For example, our Heatseeker amps – the Heatseeker HS-18 and now discontinued Heatseeker HS-36 – are identical amps except that the 18 features two EL84s producing about 18 watts and the 36 features four EL84s producing about 36 watts.

How are they different? The 36 has more clean headroom than the 18. Otherwise, in a ‘blind; testing they sound the same.

What? The 36 has to be MUCH louder than the 18 doesn’t it? After all it has twice the power! What gives??

Guitar Amp Power and How It Relates To Volume

OK, here’s the deal with power and how it relates to volume..

1. Double guitar amp output power – increase volume by 3 dB. The decibel, or dB, is the unit of measurement for audible sound volume. The more dB, the louder the sound. An increase in sound volume of 3 dB is generally considered to be the smallest change in sound volume that the average human ear can detect!! That’s why the 36 doesn’t produce much of a noticeable difference in volume compared to the 18.
2. Increase guitar amp output power 10 times – double the sound volume. It takes TEN TIMES the output power to double volume!! That means you have to play through a 100 watt amp to produce twice the volume as your 10 watt amp!!

So, jumping from a 25 watt amp to a 50 watt amp and then to a 100 watt amp will result in higher volume for sure. However, there won’t be nearly as much volume difference between the 25 watter and the 100 watter as you might expect. The 100 watter will be about 6 dB louder than the 25. You’ll hear the difference, but it won’t be huge. 25 watts is already REALLY LOUD! In fact, as you can now guess, 10 or 15 or 18 watts is LOUD AS HELL when you turn it up.

The above information is based on physics and how the human hear translates changes in air pressure – sound waves – to what our brain perceives as sound. It is also based on all things being equal other than output power – primarily that means that to perform comparisons you plugged the amps into the same speaker cabinets and played the same guitar through them with the same intensity.

How Many Guitar Amp Watts Do You REALLY Need?

This is how I help customers decide on how much power they really need. Bascially, we determine together how much clean headroom is required and select the amp on that basis.

Headroom is defined as being the volume at which the amp starts to overdrive or distort the incoming signal from your guitar. Fender Twins are known for producing LOUD clean tones – it’s extremely difficult to get that amp to overdrive. Therefore, it has LOTS of clean headroom.

A 1 watt amp designed to produce overdriven and distorted tones (basically more of a distortion pedal than an amp!) will overdrive at very low volume. This type of amp has very low clean headroom.

So, how do we figure out how much clean headroom and output power is required?

1. Determine the syle of music. There are two extremes that relate power to music style to clean headroom. AC/DC cover band? Crunch all night with extra distortion for solos. Country band? Predominantly clean all night. The cleans have to be loud enough to keep up with your band’s stage volume.
2. Determine how to get distortion for solos. Are you going to rely on your amp for distortion or are you going to set up your amp for cleans and use pedals?
3. Determine the venues where the amp will be played. Do you only play at home? Do you occasionally jam with another guitarist or two? In a garage/basement band? Gig in small venues only? Large rooms? Stadiums? The jump from playing by yourself or with another guitarist to playing in a band is step that may require more clean headroom regardless of music style and method of generating distortion. The jump from a band setting in a small venue (basement, small bar) to a larger venue (bigger bar, halls, etc.) may require another increase in clean headroom. The key is to determine when/if your amp will be mid’ed and your band’s stage volume.

The louder you need clean tones the more headroom you need and the more power you require.

• Playing music that requires lots of clean tones and you have to be loud enough to keep up with the band on stage? You need more headroom.
• Do you rely on pedals for overdrive and distortion and your amp to be clean all the time? You need more headroom.
• Do you want your amp to produce overdrive and distortion and loud cleans are not as important? You don’t need as much headroom – you want the amp to overdrive at lower volumes. You need to drive the amp into its sweet spot at a volume level that won’t make the first 5 rows of the audience look like those guys riding rocket sleds.

Now, not all amps are designed the same. Some amps of equal power are specifically designed with more or less headroom. It’s rare to get the opportunity to play an amp in your chosen venue before buying – whether you buy online or from a local store (ever tried to determine an amp’s clean headroom when the kid next to you is practicing tapping using that 100 watt Marshall?) – so you need to rely on knowledgeable players and the manufacturer to guide you. It also helps to have an unconditional, money-back guarantee so that you can get ALL your money back if for whatever reason it turns out that the amp you bought is not suitable (see Mack’s 100% Money Back Guarantee).

How Much Guitar Amp Power Is Enough?

Getting back to where we started, why do I think that 50 watts is all that would ever be required?

Because regardless of the clean headroom required, you should never be in a position where stage volume demands more power than 50 watts. A 50 watt amp turned up enough to get it into its sweet spot is PUNISHINGLY loud.

So, before you assume you need 100 watts because that’s what ___ uses, think about the music you play, how you get your overdriven/distorted tones and where you play. Then carefully consider how much power you REALLY need!

– Don Mackrill
http://www.mackamps.com/

How Much Guitar Amp Power Do I Need? from MyRareGuitars.com

The concept of improvisation can be intimidating for some musicians, but since you’re not going to start out in front of a rock star audience with nothing but an electric guitar and whatever musical ideas might be lurking in your brain, it’s nothing to be apprehensive about. Just think of it as part of your daily practice routine, and you’ll soon begin to enjoy it and cultivate it as an important aspect of your musicianship. To get started, check out some of these tips for beginner’s improvisation on the electric guitar.

1. Elaborate on Hooks
   You probably have some favorite hooks in the back of your mind, so why not use them as a jumping-off point for your improvisations? Just get solid in the key and repeat the hook until you forget how you got to it and where it’s headed, then make up the rest on your own. Because you’re starting with a certain rhythm and flavor, it shouldn’t be hard to continue it, but be sure to add something of yourself so you’re not just imitating. Think about how you’re feeling in the moment and express it while you play.
2. Link Sections of Exercises and Favorite Solos
   Choose sections of technique-building exercises that you enjoy, making sure that they’re in the same key or transposing to achieve this effect. You can simply string them together at first, then start to switch out sections, elaborate, and eventually go off in your own direction. If you’re not inspired by your technical exercises, work with some excerpts from favorite solos.
3. Get In on Blues and Pentatonic Scales
   Once you’ve become comfortable with the idea of manipulating melodic material, it’s time to start building some on your own. The simplest blues scale, and possibly the most fun to work with, gives you the option of taking a major scale down to the blues by lowering the third and seventh degrees. To keep things interesting, alternate the lowered degrees with the original major third and seventh tones – the blues flavor will seem effortless. You can also try the seven-note blues scale by lowering the third, fifth, and seventh degrees of a major scale. Improvising on a pentatonic scale can be a good way to start out because, as the name suggests, it involves only five tones. To play in minor pentatonic, simply choose a tonic tone, then add a minor third, build on two major seconds, and top it off with one more minor third. For example, starting with C, you would add E-flat, F, G, and B-flat. You can take the minor pentatonic scale to the blues version by adding an F-sharp/G-flat.
4. Turn On a Rhythm CD, Pick a Scale, and Go
   When you’ve got the basics down, you’ll be surprised at what rhythm can do for your improvisation. It can help you bring originality to the process, enabling you to be more creative and bringing out the ideas you’ve come up with while experimenting.
5. Grab a Friend and Switch Rhythm and Lead Roles
   If you’ve never experienced the energy that builds when musicians jam together, you’ll get addicted once you grab a friend and start improvising. You might have a melodic idea that fizzles when you’re on your own, but a friend can pick it up and turn it into something interesting that you can run with. As long as you both agree on a scale to play with, you can simply switch rhythm and lead roles every few measures to really get the benefits of feeding off of each other. This is a great way to keep your creative juices flowing and get experience in collaborative improv.

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education performing research surrounding online universities and their various program offerings. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Improv 101 for Electric Guitarists from MyRareGuitars.com

Double Popping

Most people who have only recently started playing the bass guitar make themselves content with a simple slap groove. This is because few novice guitarists are aware of advanced techniques like double popping, which makes use of other fingers and creates more complex arrangements of popping.

The formula for a double pop is simple to memorize and master.

1. Start with a slap (S).
2. Proceed to hammering on (h).
3. Pull-off (p).
4. Pop using your first finger.
5. Pop using your second finger.

Sweep Picking

With sweep picking, and especially through arpeggios, the best thing novice bass guitarists can do is to take things step by step. Begin with sweeping two strings. Master this. Conquer it. And only after that should you move on to something more advanced.

When you research online for tips and exercises for sweep picking, you’ll notice that advice tends to vary about the finger positioning and the upstrokes and downstrokes used. There is no right or wrong advice, though. What matters is that you choose the method which you’re most comfortable with.

Harmonic Tuning

Techniques are not all about playing. There are also essential advanced techniques which focus on maintaining the quality of your music and the condition of your instrument. Using harmonics to tune your bass guitar, for instance, is a critical technique to learn because you get to listen to both notes as you work on the pegs.

Harmonic tuning works best when you’ve plugged your bass guitar. Now, start by placing our finger over the E string’s fifth fret. Play it using either your thumb, picking finger, or with a pick. The high-pitched note it produces is a harmonic. Release the string and allow the harmonic to play out. How was it?

Practice, Practice, Practice

The techniques listed here for playing the bass guitar are just the start, of course. There are many other techniques to learn. If you want to be a great bass guitarist then you need to constantly practice. You should also welcome every opportunity to learn new things because that’s the only way you can hone your craft.

About the Author: Belle writes for SherwoodMusic.org, where you can read her recent post on guitars and beginner piano lessons online. You can also check out her other writings on Bill Monroe Bluegrass Music, her other musical love.

What You Should Know About the Different Bass Guitar Playing Styles from MyRareGuitars.com

Last month, I published a survey that asked questions about the state of electric guitar tone as it is today vs. what I called the “golden age” of rock and roll.

If you missed it you can find the survey here.

Survey Questions & Results:

1) There’s lots of high quality gear available if you’re willing to pay for it, but how has the flood of inexpensive gear affected tone quality in general?

• 62% – I believe that, compared to the golden age of rock and roll, the average piece of gear’s tone quality has decreased.
• 38% – I believe that, compared to the golden age of rock and roll, the average piece of gear’s tone quality is at least as good.

2) Compared to the 60’s and 70’s, has the glut of inexpensive gear on the market caused a general decline in electric guitar tone as heard on recordings, in live venues and at home?

• 59% – I believe that, in general, electric guitar tone is not as good as it was in the 60’s and 70’s.
• 41% – I believe that, in general, electric guitar tone is at least as good as it was in the 60’s and 70’s.

3) With all this inexpensive gear at their fingertips, do today’s guitarists spend less time working on their craft and more on finding equipment to make them sound “good”?

• 74% – I believe that, in general, today’s guitarists spend less time perfecting their skills and more time trying to find gear that will make them sound good.
• 26% – I believe that, in general, today’s guitarists spend at least as much time perfecting their skills as they did in the 60’s and 70’s.

The results were conclusive and interesting!

In general, the majority of the over 120 survey respondents believe that the electric guitar world was a better place in the 60’s and 70’s.

60% of them believe that gear and recorded/live guitar tone sounded better back then.

However, when it came to how much effort guitarists invest in improving their skills, almost 75% of respondents said that today’s guitarists are slackers compared to the good old days.

Comments ranged from wistful nostalgia and anecdotes from back in the day to virtual shots to the head demanding that guitarists get over vintage envy and take advantage of the cornucopia of gear available to today’s guitarist.

Click here to check out all of the survey comments.

So, are you surprised by the results?

Does it confirm that the gear market and guitarists in general have strayed from the path of tonal nirvana and earnest sweat and toil or that most of us are hopelessly stuck in the past?

Should the gear industry take note and make product development decisions on what appears to be a majority view that, on average, their products just aren’t as good as they once were or should they forge ahead taking as much advantage of technological development as possible?

Email me at Don@MackAmps.com with your thoughts and if I get enough feedback I’ll discuss the deeper issues related to this topic in next month’s article.

Don Mackrill
www.MackAmps.com
Don@MackAmps.com

Better Now or Then? – The Tone Survey Results!!! from MyRareGuitars.com

Says Dave:

The guitars were American-made and made at the height of American craftsmanship, the Marshalls were made with quality parts, and you had quality players – you couldn’t record a record unless you had a high level of ability.  Plus studios had the best mics in the world, they had good consoles and tape. Now we might have more stuff available, but it’s not as high-quality.

Jay goes on to ponder the current state of electric guitar gear and whether it is actually more difficult to get what he calls “a convincing, old-school rock tone” than it was when Page, Clapton and Beck were young. So, here’s the deal!  I thought I would ask what you think about this topic…

First, read Jay’s article. Then click on the link below to take a quick four question survey and tell me what YOU think!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE “BETTER NOW OR THEN?” SURVEY!

As always, I’ll share the results next month!!

Cheers!

Don Mackrill – Don@MackAmps.com

PS: Check out another article on Woody Tone: “Mack of Mack Amps on EL84s and Tone Controls”. In this two part interview I explain why I like EL84s, how the Heatseeker line of amps came about and why I don’t like TMB tone stacks!!

PPS: Join the Mack Amps mailing list and take advantage of the current Member’s-Only discount on Heatseeker HS-18 and Skyraider SR-15 boutique amps!

Better Now or Then? (The Tone Survey!) from MyRareGuitars.com

This month we’ll look at a few aspects of getting a good live sound. While this article is mostly aimed at those of us with who have don’t have much or any stage experience, there may be something of interest here for almost anyone.

Last week I had the genuine pleasure of attending a League of Rock ‘dark stage’ rehearsal night at Toronto’s famous Chick’n Deli night club. This was an opportunity for the six bands in the current session to rehearse their three songs on a real stage – and in this case, somewhat unexpectedly, in front of a real audience.

League of Rock is the creation of Terry Moshenberg, a dynamic entrepreneur and experienced marketer and promoter – who also happens to be a guitar playing musician.

Each LOR session, of which there are three per year, some 26 to 30 amateur musicians – ‘regular’ folks, some of whom have never before been in a band let alone performed live – are formed into six ‘bands’ and, over a 12 week period, work up three songs. Each session culminates in a recording date in a pro studio and the final gala gig at a major Toronto live music venue.

So, how did I end up at a LOR gig? Well, Mack Amps is pleased to announce that it is now the official guitar amp sponsor of LOR, Toronto!

Along with meeting a bunch of great people and having a blast, witnessing 18 songs being performed by a diverse group of guitar players who, for the most part, used various Mack amps (2 guys brought their own amps!), was a tremendous live guitar sound learning experience.

Here are some thoughts about what I learned.

The Guitar’s Place In The Stage Mix

I think of live guitar ‘sound’ as being comprised of two concepts: how good is the tone and can it be heard by you and the audience?

Consider what is going on when a typical rock band performs live:

• Drums: A drum kit produces a tremendous amount of sound energy with fundamental frequencies that range from the bass part of the audible frequency spectrum to mid range. Harmonics of fundamental tones reach all the way into the high midrange and even high frequency portions of the spectrum. You might be surprised at how much high frequency sound energy is present in a kick drum thwack not to mention toms!
• Cymbals. Of course, cymbals produce lots of high-mid and high frequency sound energy. However, their fundamental tones are centered in the mid range.
• Bass. True to its name, the bass produces fundamental tones in the bass to mid range frequencies.
• Vocalist. The vocalist is producing mid range fundamentals with high-mid and high frequency harmonics.
• Keyboards. If your band includes keyboards, they can be pumping out sound that spans the entire frequency spectrum from sub-bass to highs.

The guitar’s fundamental tones span bass to mid range frequencies and the guitar’s harmonics add energy in the high-mid range.

If you simplify each instrument’s frequency range to be generally characterized by its fundamental tones you can get a fairly realistic picture of what’s happening on stage:

• Lots of bass and low-mid energy from drums and bass.
• Lots of high-mid and high frequency energy from cymbals, vocals and often keys.
• Lots of mid range energy from low frequency instrument harmonics and lower fundamental tones from vocals and keys.

There is a LOT of competition on stage fighting to be heard!

Obviously, guitars are a critical part of a band’s sound and are known for being heard, but how do you obtain that ideal combination of stellar tone that is easily heard by both you and your audience?

EQing guitars in a recording mix is a topic of many books and is well beyond the scope of this article. However, there are a few simple things that any guitarist can do to get good live sound.

Analyze Your Guitar Tone

Your tone may sound great when you are practicing at home or playing along with recordings. However, it may not translate well to the live stage.

A fairly common characteristic of what I heard the other night is guitar sounds that seemed muffled and lost in the low-mid wash of sound booming from the stage.

In these situations the guitar players usually increased the volume at the amp in an effort to hear themselves, further adding to the general pandemonium going on in the lower half of the audio spectrum.

What to do? Here are two very basic, but critical suggestions:

1. Turn your guitar volume to 10. Many, but not all guitars feature a ‘volume control bypass capacitor’. No, that’s not something from a Star Trek episode, it’s an electronic component wired across a guitar volume control that prevents your tone from becoming muffled (reduction in high midrange frequencies) as the volume is turned down. If your guitar does NOT have one, whenever you turn down its volume your tone will generally lose presence and recede into the mix. In this case keep your guitar’s volume at 10 to help you stand out. If your guitar does have a volume bypass cap, it’s still a good idea for you to have all of your guitar volume pots full up when you hit the stage and adjust your sound before the first song’s count-in. This will ensure that you are tweaking your sound with the most signal possible coming from your guitar and gives you the best chance of avoiding a gear adjustment that will actually fight against getting a good stage sound.
2. Turn your guitar tone to 10. Guitar tone controls have one function: they roll of high and high mid range frequencies. Since we are trying to achieve optimum ‘sound’ – the combination of great tone that is easily heard by you and your audience – and since guitar tone ‘lives’ in the upper and high mid range frequencies, it makes sense to hit the stage with tone on 10. As with guitar volume, this gives you the best opportunity to properly adjust your gear and it ensures that you do not inadvertently roll of the highs and cause your sound to recede into the mix. Having said that, there are times when a tone control adjustment is certainly warranted: for example, removing the ‘ice pick’ quality from some Teles or getting Eric Clapton ‘woman’ tone from a humbucker guitar. But, generally tone on 10 will help you cut through the mix.

3 Ways To Get Clean Electric Guitar Tone On-Stage

The term ‘clean headroom’ is often used, but having spoken to many guitarists over the years there is generally some confusion as to what it means.

The practical definition of clean headroom is the volume level at which your guitar signal starts to become distorted. The volume at which your tone just starts to breakup or overdrive is the point of maximum clean headroom. How loud you can get a clean tone depends on many variables such as how hard you pick, pickup output level, amp design and settings, etc.

There are three ways to achieve a clean tone:

1. Guitar volume 10, amp clean. Your basic sound is clean and, if you use overdrive and distortion it will come from pedals.
2. Guitar volume less than 10, amp dirty. In this case you set up your amp for a distorted tone and roll off your guitar volume to get a clean tone. Your distorted tone is only a flip of the guitar volume away. Note that this contradicts my earlier recommendation to leave your guitar volume on 10. “Switching” from clean to overdrive and distortion via your guitar volume control is a great strategy if your guitar volume pot is set up properly (see above) and your amp is sensitive enough to changes in guitar volume. Some amps do a great job of changing their tone with guitar volume changes and some don’t – check our your amp to see how it responds.
3. Guitar volume 10, amp channel switching. If your amp has multiple channels one is usually adjusted for a clean tone and one for an overdriven or distorted tone.

Any of the above methods of achieving a loud clean tone is valid. The one you choose depends on your gear, the music you play and whether switching tones within a song is a necessity.

Note that a clean tone will most likely have a better chance of cutting through the stage mix. Generally, the balance of upper and high mids will be greater than an overdriven or distorted tone and your guitar sound will be less compressed allowing your picking and playing dynamics to be heard.

Distorted Electric Guitar Tone On-Stage

Whoever came up with the phrase “Less is more” must have been referring to distorted electric guitar tone!

You will likely have heard this before, but some of the heaviest electric guitar tones feature relatively little distortion.

For example, Keith Richards, ACDC, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, etc. have recorded some of the heaviest rock guitar sounds ever – and many of these iconic ‘heavy’ tones are really not all that distorted.

I realize that LOTS of great guitar tones feature LOTS of distortion, but to achieve the best stage guitar sound for classic rock and blues music styles, dialing down the distortion is almost always beneficial.

While there are many flavors of distortion – overdrive, fuzz, etc. – I generally think about it related to two needs: rhythm and lead.

If a song requires a distorted rhythm tone, often referred to as ‘crunch’, the ‘less is more’ credo is critical. Richards and the Young brothers are the masters of getting incredibly juicy, resonant and HEAVY crunch tones that are, when you listen closely, amazingly clean relative to their impact.

The distortion required for lead playing is dependent on the song and the player. However, I believe that the ‘right’ amount of distortion for solos is just enough to produce ‘flow’. What’s flow? It’s that musical moment where your tone is distorted and compressed enough and possesses enough sustain that the player can focus on their performance without having to ‘fight’ their way through a solo.

This may sound kind of esoteric, but I am sure you have wrestled with solos where your tone wasn’t quite there – either there wasn’t enough sustain or not enough distorted breakup and compression. Dialing up the distortion to get to that point of ‘flow’ alleviates the problem, but overdoing it will cause your sound to, once again, recede into the stage mix.

I also believe that the amount of distortion needed to obtain flow varies according to the song. Heavy songs with lots of crunch backing the solo requires more distortion; a much less distorted tone is often the perfect fit for obtaining flow with ‘lighter’ songs.

Having said that, I know there are lots of examples of impossibly distorted solos in otherwise clean songs and clean solos in heavy songs – in those cases the contrast is what works. However, I believe that a good rule of thumb is to use just as much distortion as it takes to get you into flow – and no more.

What happens if you use too much distortion on stage?

Your tone won’t fit the song and will negatively impact the quality of your band’s overall sound and its performance. Part of getting a great stage sound is making sure your audience isn’t cringing even if they can hear you LOUD and clear. Since the primary objective of performing live is to provide your audience with an enjoyable experience, this problem should be avoided at all costs!

Worse yet, using too much distortion can overly compress your tone and, depending on how the distorted tone is EQ’d, there can be a dramatic perceived loss in highs and clarity and you end up not blending in with the song and not being heard properly! I suppose that if your tone is negatively affecting the overall performance, not being heard might be a good thing, but I think you get my point.

How do you easily get the right amount of distortion on stage?

So,this is how to best get a distortion sound on stage and still be heard properly:

1. Crunch. My favorite method of getting good crunch is from an amp – preferably one that features power tube distortion. Richards and the Youngs rely on plugging a great guitar into a great amp and turning it up until they get the tone they want. Although there are lots of overdrive and boost pedals that can get crunch tones, for the most part you will find that amp crunch is more dynamic, resonant and pleasing to the ear. Dynamics are important because a good amp will respond to your picking attack by changing the amount of crunch. Organically altering your distorted tone by playing harder and softer during a song is FUN!
2. Lead. This is where pedals can really come into play. Stomping on a box to elevate your tone for solos is a classic method. However, you can get great amp lead tone by setting your amp for lead distortion and rolling your guitar volume down for clean/crunch and up for solos. Or, if you have a multi-channel amp it is easy to set up rhythm and lead tones.

There are many more aspects of live guitar sound that we haven’t covered. If there is enough interest in this topic I’ll continue next month.

Let me know how you get great live guitar tone by emailing me at Don@MackAmps.com or simply post your reply, below!

Don Mackrill
www.MackAmps.com

Getting Great Guitar Sound On Stage from MyRareGuitars.com

Joey Leone’s recent article on the importance of set-up was spot on. Years back, I worked as a salesman in a small, independent music store. I’d never worked in music sales before, so unpacking brand new guitars fresh off the UPS truck was a new experience for me. I quickly discovered that they were almost never properly adjusted. It was a roll of the dice at best. The guitars that happened to come in playing well were the first to go out the door in the hands of happy, paying customers. The other instruments would hang on the wall a lot longer, while we repeatedly explained that a professional set-up would make them play and feel much better. So I got to thinking that if I learned the basics, and at least got the guitars and bass guitars into reasonably good adjustment, sales would go up. I started talking to our guitar tech, and asked him to explain to me how it all worked. He was amazingly patient with me while I relentlessly picked his brains, until finally, I began to “get it.” I got pretty good at setting up the instruments, and sales went up substantially—not that the owner of the store was in a hurry to give me a raise for my efforts!

Still, I was glad for what I’d learned. While major repairs and maintenance (including fret work and the neck set on acoustic guitars) were things I was wise enough not to tackle, routine adjustments became, well, routine. The electrics were the easiest to work with, because most of the adjustments were done mechanically, with a screwdriver and an Allen wrench.

I found a quick way to scope out a truss rod adjustment, without needing the expensive machined straight edge our tech used. Using both hands, I’d just press the bass string down in two places on the fingerboard, simultaneously–say at the third and 11th frets–and then pluck the string with a free finger. If the string bottomed out, it meant the rod was too tight, and the neck too flat. Conversely, if I could see much more than the thickness of a playing card’s worth of space between the string and the frets (looking from the side, as you would while playing), it meant the rod was too loose, and the neck had too much forward bow.

After that, I’d start adjusting the saddles—up or down for string height, and on the electrics, forward or back for string length. These two adjustments—height and length—are highly interactive. If your strings are higher, you have to press them down farther to play a note. That means more stretch, higher tension, and raised pitch—resulting in the need for lengthening the string, by moving the saddle away from the nut a bit. Lower strings mean less stretch, and less need for compensation. Different players like different string heights, of course, so there’s no single right way to do this, but at the store, I’d try to find a middle ground that would satisfy most players.

Nut slot adjustments are something untrained players shouldn’t mess with. The tech showed me how to do them, using an X-acto saw blade and 400 grit sandpaper. If the slots aren’t shaped properly, the strings won’t seat and flex properly, causing all sorts of problems. I started out doing nuts on cheap, entry-level guitars that had action bad enough that I could hardly have made them worse. And amazingly enough, I had a pretty good touch, and was able to do them well. Still, I left the top-of-the line instruments to our tech, though I’ve done the nut slots on my own pro guitars, since then. Ironically, most guitar techs don’t take the slots down far enough, in my opinion. That’s because if they go too far, the strings start buzzing, and they have to make you a new nut, or at least do some extra shimming—things they really don’t want to take the time do. I think the open string clearance between the nut and the first fret should be about the same as the clearance obtained between a closed string (that you’ve pressed down at a given fret) and the next fret up (toward the bridge). That way, you don’t get additional stretch at the first fret, sparing you the all-too-common aggravation of a guitar that plays sharp at the first fret. But talk to your guitar tech about it. As the saying goes, don’t try this at home.

Worn frets make guitars play sharp! That’s because as a fret wears down, the string vibrates from the front edge of the fret, rather than from the crown—effectively shortening the string, and thus slightly raising the pitch. Worn frets can also cause string buzz against higher, less worn frets. If you then raise the action to offset this, you create all sorts of tuning and playability problems. So get your frets worked on, when they need it. A guitar tech I know suggested that changing your strings is like buying gasoline for your car—something routine and inexpensive. Getting your frets adjusted and replaced is like buying tires. More expensive and done less often, but it’s something you simply must do, from time to time.

Keeping your guitar in tune requires strings that still have some elasticity. They don’t have to be brand new, but over time, strings become stiff and brittle, long before they break. Stiff, brittle strings play sharp, so once they reach that point, it’s time for a new set.

String gauges can make a difference, too. I like fairly heavy strings on my Strat. I use a 12 to 52 set, with a wound 3rd string—pretty much the same gauges I use on my acoustic flat top. I find them more stable, tuning wise, than lighter strings, and I like the fatter tone I get. But some people have no trouble with the lighter, faster, 9’s, 10’s, or 11’s. It just depends on your touch and style.

The weather affects your guitar! Humidity swells wood, higher temperatures expand everything, colder temps contract everything, and all of these variations affect the tension on your strings. A guitar can be in tune at home, and get wonky in a cold car trunk on the way to a gig. At the gig, you re-tune the still-cold guitar, only to have it shift on you again as it warms up in your hands, requiring you to re-tune again (and again!). Don’t worry. It’ll eventually settle down. Better still, arrive a little early, and let the guitar warm up before you play it.

Finally, let me just touch on the question of scale tempering. Musical scales are built around theoretical mathematical ideals, but real world instruments have built-in compromises. These compromises are called scale tempering. The modern equal-tempered tuning system was a major innovation developed for keyboard instruments during the time of J. S. Bach, and his composition, The Well Tempered Clavier, demonstrated its effectiveness. Prior to that system’s introduction, you could not play in some keys without retuning your keyboard. These days, most guitars are built according to the equal-tempered system, but ironically, acoustic pianos employ a variation called “stretch tuning,” to compensate for the sharp harmonics generated by their stiff, massive, bass strings. The piano sounds more in tune with itself, but it’s a challenge to get guitars and other instruments in tune with the piano. Guitars with compensated nuts, guitars employing the Buzz Feiton nut and tuning system, and guitars with computer-designed curved frets are all examples of recent attempts to improve tuning accuracy and compatibility with keyboards.

There’s no way this short article can address all of the things that affect how in-tune a guitar plays on its own, and with other instruments. But I hope it points you in the right direction.

Gordon Kaswell is an award-winning composer, working musician (playing guitars, keyboards and bass guitar), and freelance writer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. You can email him at gordon@efn.org

Adventures in Intonation from MyRareGuitars.com

But, it’s still good to know what components of your electric guitar connection need replacing so you can prevent yourself from spending money on something that wasn’t actually necessary. Here is a basic order for troubleshooting the connection between your electric guitar and amplifier.

1. Cable

• Before you even attempt to get your precious guitar or your expensive amplifier fixed, you need to find out if your cable is just messing with you. The fastest way to check it is simply… replace it.
• Switch it with another that you know is guaranteed to work and you’ll know immediately from your guitar troubleshooting if you need a new cable.

2. Guitar

• Jiggle and turn the tone and volume knobs. There could possibly be something wrong with the volume or tone knobs of your guitar and you can find out by giving those knobs a little jiggle. If there appears to be static in the sound or no change in tone or volume when the knobs are manipulated, now you know it’s a guitar problem and it’s primarily in those knobs.
• Lightly jiggle the cable input. A lot of guitar troubleshooting finds bad guitar input jacks, because they tend to go bad with lots of playing while you’re sweaty. If you have your guitar plugged into the amplifier, move the cable around in the guitar’s input slightly and notice if you hear any static or dismissal of sound.
• Press the strings to the pick-ups. The pick-ups underneath the strings where you strum are where all the tone gets absorbed into the hardware and if those aren’t working, your guitar is now a poorly made acoustic. To check, simply turn on your guitar while plugged into an amplifier and lightly press a string to one of the silver dots on your pick-ups. If you hear a sound come through your amplifier, then your pick-ups are all ship shape.

3. Amplifier

• Check the power: This one is a no-brainer, but sometimes it can be overlooked when you get overwhelmed by your guitar problems. For this guitar troubleshooting, if your amplifier won’t turn on, you’ll need to try the power cable. Simply switch it out with another and see if your amp turns on. You’ll immediately know if something is wrong.
• Move the cable around lightly inside the input: Just like you tested the input on your electric guitar, the input on your amplifier should be tested the same way. Jiggle it around and if you hear any static or the sound begin to cut out, you’ll know it’s an input problem.
• Press and turn all of the knobs, even the ones not used often. I once had a faulty knob that chose to create a loud, blaring noise every time that it was pushed in slightly. Test your amplifier knobs by pressing on them and turning them in their appropriate directions.

It really stinks when you have to get repairs on your electric guitar or your equipment, but doing the necessary guitar troubleshooting can save you some money on unnecessary repairs. Go through these steps the next time there’s a problem with your guitar’s connection and discover where the source is.

Kyle Hoffman is an experienced guitarist that loves to play just as a hobby, and to perform live on stage. To learn Kyle’s valuable tips for beginning the guitar the RIGHT way, visit How To Play Guitar as part of his popular guitar blog, How To Tune Guitar.

Guitar Troubleshooting: Finding the Source of a Bad Electric Guitar Connection from MyRareGuitars.com

Guitar Hero: Jimmy Page

But there are things you can do to help the process along and progress faster to the speed licks you’d like to be playing.

1. First the basics: Make sure your guitar is set up properly. If the action is too high, or the neck is warped, or the strings are too heavy or too light for your hands, it’s going to be hard to gain speed. It also won’t be as much fun to play.
2. Try different picks. Some people like thinner or thicker picks, and you might not be using the right one for you. Many shredders prefer smaller jazz-style picks to the traditional teardrop style. Go spend a couple bucks and pick a large selection of thicknesses and shapes to see what works best for you.
3. Use a metronome. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. Start with a slow tempo on your metronome. Really slow. Like 52bpm. Pick out a scale or musical phrase you’d like to work on. When you can accomplish that phrase at that speed 5 times in a row without making a mistake, bump your metronome up just one notch. That’s generally 2-4 bpm faster. Go through the same process there, bumping it up a little bit each time. Within 15-20 minutes you’ll have that phrase blazing fast!
4. Work on your right hand. We tend to forget about our right hand a lot since the left is where all the action is. But your right hand is the engine driving the action. If it can’t move fast, it won’t matter how fast your left hand can go. Back to your metronome again, take just one note (preferably a fretted one) and practice playing 8th notes and 16th notes. Again bump the tempo up slowly until you’re reaching speeds you want to hear.
5. Practice left hand finger patterns. Scales and arpeggios are good also, but these 5 finger patterns will give you most every combination you need. Here they are:
   • 1-2-3-4
   • 1-3-2-4
   • 1-2-4-3
   • 1-4-2-3
   • 1-4-3-2.

   Do these on each string, in both directions, and on different areas of the neck. You can reverse them all.

6. Keep a written log of your progress. Using this “slow and grow” method, you may not notice that you’re getting faster in regular playing situations. I certainly didn’t. One day it snuck on me while I was listening to a recording from my gig the night before. I heard a blazing fast guitar lick and asked my girlfriend who the heck that was! She reminded me that I was the only guitarist in the band so it must have been me.

So, yes, it does take putting in the hours to get your speed going, but these tips will help you get there faster. As Eddie Van Halen said in a recent interview, “Just keep playing and playing and you’ll eventually find out who you are.”

Get at it!

Post by: Phil Johnson

How Your Guitar Heroes Learned to Play So Fast from MyRareGuitars.com

The Meaning of Boutique
Boutique is a French word whose literal translation is “shop”. It appears to have come to prominence worldwide in reference to the fashion industry: boutique fashion designers and boutique clothing stores that sold pieces made by boutique designers.

Two dictionary definitions of the word boutique reads: “a small business, department, etc., specializing in one aspect of a larger industry” and “a small, exclusive producer or business”.

These are somewhat vague explanations and if we were to get really philosophical we would examine the terms “specializing” and “exclusive” in an attempt to achieve a precise definition. You’ll be please to learn that we won’t go there in this article!

It appears that there is a common theme developing regarding the concept of business size: to be considered boutique a business must be small.

However, is there more required of an amp company to be considered boutique?

The Boutique Debate
If you spend any time at all browsing online forum threads that address this topic you will see a number of different criteria discussed relative to defining a boutique amp and/or amp company.

Following is my assessment of the most commonly mentioned characteristics. And, I’ll give you my 2¢ worth on each one!

• Size: Yes, as the tired joke goes “size does matter”, but in this case small is better (if only my wife would agree…). Virtually every participant in the online boutique debate agrees that to be considered a boutique amp company small or limited production capacity is a requirement. A common example is Mesa Boogie. Often considered the first boutique amp company, Mesa seems to have outgrown the genre. I agree that mass production is not a characteristic of a boutique builder. There are some fine amps that are mass produced – many by Mesa – but, that is not the essence of a boutique builder as will be discussed below.
• Philosophy: There’s that word again. Don’t worry! A few thoughtful forum dwellers brought up the idea that boutique amp companies have a different mission than non-boutique companies. They believe that a boutique amp builder’s primary focus is on the integrity of their product concept: “built to a standard not to a price” was how one put it.I think this is a critical characteristic of boutique amp companies. Whether a builder focuses on replicating vintage designs or developing unique creations, each one follows their own recipe to make a ‘better than mass produced’ amp.Evidence of this is seen in any boutique builder’s product line. There is almost always a direction or common theme to which their products adhere. You don’t see boutique builders going after widely divergent market segments as some ‘big’ companies do: $200 entry level amps all the way to multi-thousand dollar, hand wired reissues!
• Hand wired vs. printed circuit boards: There is much lively debate concerning the authenticity of boutique amps that use printed circuit boards (PCBs). Is this an oxymoron? Many guitarists think so. The hand wired camp believe that only an amp whose every component and wire has been hand soldered can be considered boutique. However, there are many amp companies that are generally considered to be boutique, such as Soldano, Rivera, Fuchs and THD to name a few (Mack uses a PCB in the Gem) that use PCBs. Note that while these amps use PCBs, they are hand assembled and, in at least the case of the Gem, are hand wired to the chassis mounted components.Does an amp have to be hand wired to be considered boutique? Not in my opinion. The manner in which components are attached and soldered to a circuit board simply does not affect tone. A poorly laid out eyelet board will sound just as bad as a poorly designed PCB. A well designed PCB amp will sound indistinguishable from a hand wired example.Reliability is often cited as a problem with PCB amps. While a poorly designed, mass produced amp is a recipe for problems, a well designed PCB amp will be at least as reliable as a hand wired amp. After all, PCBs are used in spacecraft and military electronics – two of the most inhospitable environments on or around the planet – and, since in both of those applications cost is insignificant compared to reliability, hand wired electronics would be the norm if PCBs were unreliable.
• Price: Many guitarists believe that boutique amps are very expensive – and many are. As we all know boutique amp prices can easily run from $2,000 up to tens of thousands for Dumbles and the like. However, there is a growing segment of boutique builders who offer amps at prices in the $1,000 range and sometimes less. While $1,000 is not inexpensive, it is much less than many guitarists believe possible for a boutique amp. Plus, there are many mass produced amps from big companies that are in this price range – and higher!Nonetheless, relative to a small builder (there’s that size thing again) price is indicative of what goes into their products. Building amps completely by hand or hand assembling them simply requires more labor than if the same product is mass produced. That means a higher price. When you add in the additional cost of high-end and sometimes custom components that some boutique builders use, the price quickly escalates. BTW, my explanation of high priced, mass produced amps is that their price reflects what the company thinks they can get for them.
• Location: Most if not all participants in the boutique debate seem to agree that to be considered a boutique amp builder, production must take place locally – not in Asia or other areas of the world where labor rates are low. To my knowledge there is no small amp building company from these areas that claims boutique status (although there is a Malaysian maker of reportedly high quality amp kits that many consider be in the boutique category).I tend to agree with the assessment that an amp builder should not be considered ’boutique’ if it has their product manufactured by a third party company in, say, China. I believe that the ability to maintain product integrity relative to component quality, build quality and functional consistency is compromised if production is not close at hand.There appears to be a growing body of evidence supporting this belief based on a North American amp company that would have previously been considered boutique, but who has, it appears, elected to manufacture at least some of their product overseas. While their amps have proven to be popular and are now sold at GC (the boutique builder kiss of death?), anecdotal reports suggest that the tone and build quality of the amps are not on par with their past, domestically produced, products.
• Tone: It’s interesting to note that in all of the online forum threads that I studied, VERY few participants mentioned tone as a defining factor of a boutique amp! A few commented that not all boutique amps sound good to them. Most did not mention relative tone quality at all!I think this reflects the reality that while many boutique amps produce exceptional tone, there are mass produced amps that sound good too – or at least ‘good enough’. This is where price enters the thought process of guitarists. Is the improvement in tone worth the extra money for a boutique amp? Or, is there even an improvement in tone at all? Since tone is such a subjective assessment there are many answers to the above questions. That said, I think there are many guitarists who don’t equate significantly better tone with a boutique amp simply because they would never consider buying one.Nonetheless, I believe that if an amp claims to be boutique, that it should produce very good tone indeed. This leads to another personal belief: once in the boutique price range every increment in price should produce a noticeable improvement in tone – otherwise the value of the higher price amp is degraded.

What Is A Boutique Amp?
I believe that a boutique amp is made by a small manufacturer who follows their own philosophy of how to build amps that are better than mass produced products.

Yes, there are lots of ways to interpret that… and that’s why there are lots of boutique amp companies!

Mack Amps Heatseeker HS-18

Send me an email and let me know what you think!

Don Mackrill
Don@MackAmps.com
MACK AMPS

What Is A Boutique Guitar Amp? from MyRareGuitars.com

Define Your Music Goals

The first question you need to ask yourself is, what do you want to learn? What is it that you want to be able to play on an instrument? We are all different and there are many reasons why we play music. It might be because we want to learn how to play our favorite songs on guitar, learn to play jazz piano, play bass guitar in a band, master the drums to become a drum teacher and so on. They are all valid goals to want to improve on your instrument and they each require different focuses for study. If you sit down and think, what do I want to achieve on my instrument, then you can define your goals and what you want the outcomes to be from your music practice. This will help set up what you you need to work on and also will give you a measure so you can monitor your progress along the way.

What To Practice

Once you have defined your music goals, you can break down the goal to lower level details of what you need to do to achieve your goals and get the most out of music practice. Scales are great for many reasons, however, if your goal is to learn how to play your favorite songs on acoustic guitar, then learning how to play scales isn’t a very good way to go about achieving the goal that got you interested in learning acoustic guitar in the first place. It’s simple things like this, playing mundane exercises, that put people off sitting down and learning to play an instrument.

A better way to learn to play your favorite songs would be to get the music for the songs that you wish to learn, look at the chords in the songs and then spend your time learning how to play the chords and chord shapes in the song. Once you spend some time learning how to play the chords used in the songs you want to learn, you’ll be able to put the chords to use and start playing the songs.

When you break your goal down to a lower level like this, and focus on making sure that what you are practicing will give you the right for the outcome that you want to achieve, its easy to see that any music goal is attainable and can be reached in a reasonable amount of time.

Consistency Is The Key To Good Music Practice

One of the great motivation killers is that we get enthused over something, spend a large amount of time on it and because of the other things happening in our lives and we find that we can’t keep spending all that time on something every day. It’s a big misconception that you need to play for hours on end every day to become a really good musician. For most of us, it’s not practical to be able to spend hours and hours playing music on a daily basis.

When you first start out learning to play something, you usually think that you will need to spend forever on being able to play it. The fact of the matter is, its consistency that will get you to reach your goal, not massive amounts of practice in a short space of time. It is much better to work consistently for short periods of time, than it is to spend all your weekend working and then put not time towards study during the week. A large aspect of playing an instrument comes down to muscle memory. In that way music is a bit like sport. Your muscles learn what to do and they develop over time.

You will not become a good runner by running 6 hours every Saturday and Sunday and then not doing any running Monday to Friday. You would do more damage than good and would be much better off if you went on a 30 minute run on six days of the week and had one day off as a rest day. That’s comparing doing 12 hours of running against doing 3 hours of running per week, and its doing the 3 hour of running per week that will make you the better runner.

Its the same with music. Consistency is they key. Can you commit to spending 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week to learning to play your instrument? Even on a busy day, we can usual find 30 minutes to spare. If we make that 30 minutes a priority, it will happen on all 6 days that you decide you are going to commit to practice. If you spend 30 minutes a day, focusing on the music that you set out to learn to achieve from the goal that you defined, you will find that you will reach your goal in a short space of time. Not over months, more likely over the course of a few short weeks.

Try It Yourself, Become A Better Musician

Put the above, simply concepts into place to develop a music practice routine and stick with it for just 2 weeks. After 2 weeks you will find that you will progress significantly and realize that you will be able to reach any musical goals that you set for yourself.

As you achieve each goal you set, the motivation to continue will be in ample supply. After all, we are only talking about a 30 minute investment of your time. Anyone can afford to do spend that, especially when it will turn you into a better musician.

Post by: Nick Cresswell
Nick Cresswell is a musician, music teacher, author and webmaster of FreeJamTracks.com. Free Jam Tracks provides guitarists, bassists and drummers with free, high quality jam and backing tracks as well as articles and instruction on music and music theory. Visit Nick’s site to download free jam tracks and backing tracks.

Music Practice & Motivation from MyRareGuitars.com

String bending is a great way to make your playing stand out apart from everyone else. With a slight bend of a string you can take your soloing into a whole new dimension.

String bending refers to actually stretching the string upwards towards the ceiling, or downwards towards the floor, causing an increase in pitch as the string is being stretched. If you are not familiar with string bending, you should definitely start taking action today and practice it. Use your ring finger to firmly hold down a note on the fret board. While holding the note down, bend the string upwards or downwards, while making sure firm string pressure remains on the fret of the guitar.

A good rule of thumb is, when bending the LOW three strings ( E,A,D) you should bend down towards the floor. On the HIGH three strings (G,B,E) you should bend upwards towards the ceiling. One very IMPORTANT rule when string bending is to be able to nail the pitch you’re going for without drifting. This makes your playing sound much more professional and pleasing to the ear.

Example: You are playing a solo within the pentatonic scale, you are getting ready to bend a note with your ring finger and intend on bending it a whole step (two frets up). When you bend that note you accidentally over bend making the note slightly sharp. Or, under bending the note making it slightly flat. This is a common over looked problem in players who bend a lot of notes. The majority of the people who are doing this don’t even realize it’s a problem for years. It’s the difference between Professional and Amateur.

A great way to improve your playing with string bending is to work on adding more emotion into your playing by utilizing the bends as a tool. Look at some of the blues greats like S.R.V. or Clapton. They don’t necessarily play with burning speed, but the notes they do play, and the bends they apply, display powerful emotion and feeling within their guitar playing.

When soloing in any style of music, your bends can really take the solo to new levels, unleashing all the power and feeling of what you are trying to say musically. Bending the notes in different ways can change the feel of your solo as well. By bending slowly and gradually reaching that note is a whole different sound then just a quick bend up.

Another great sounding technique to try is “GHOST BENDING”. This is done by starting the note in the bent position and releasing it back to the original note. Pre-bend the note up a whole step and then release it moving it back down to the original pitch. This has a very unique sound, similar to a whammy bar dive.

Take the necessary time to examine how you bend your notes. Be sure to either bend your strings a whole step up or down, or a half step up or down. You’ll need to practice on nailing the pitch with complete accuracy. This will help clean up your playing tremendously.

Out of control note bending can destroy a great guitar solo.

If you properly practice your bends daily, you’ll soon get to a point of complete control, and you won’t even be thinking about it anymore. This is when you’re actually using bending as a tool, Or Weapon!

For More Information, Click Below…

Post by: Bob Molton
Guitar Instructional Product Development

Guitar String Bending Secrets from MyRareGuitars.com

Even if a guitarist starts out sloppy and looks at their own playing half-hearted, eventually they will start taking it more seriously, because they tend to get a taste of what’s possible in their own playing. Eventually a guitarist will become somewhat of a perfectionist, and for many the word perfection is sublime, but once you attach that “ist” to it, it some how taints the beautiful word perfection, by suggesting that there is a lot of work involved.

Well, I would be lying if I said that there wasn’t any work involved, but feel comfortable in saying that, because if you do play guitar, then you already know that there is no really easy method to establishing an exclusive prestigiousness in your playing.

However, there are two ways of looking at this. I don’t believe in right and wrong, I only believe in good and better. In my opinion there is no wrong way to do anything, only a better way and I strongly believe that those who have chosen to remove words such as “can’t” and “wrong” from their vocabulary, travel further. Also, a hard lesson for most of us, and I certainly am no different, is this false form of competition. The competition that I am speaking of, comes in the form of competing with time itself. Usually this is cleverly masked as competing with someone who is better than yourself. This is an unhealthy form of competition. You shouldn’t compete with those who are more advanced than yourself in anything that you do in life. Instead, you should correct your thinking and use them as a milestone to reach. This is a mandatory outlook, and I am sorry if you do not agree, but after studying many things in my life, it still stands tried and true.

There is one person that you should compete with, and only that person. That person is you. By doing this, you inspire and push yourself to accomplish what you know that you are capable of doing. Yes, this is a pep talk, but I often remind myself in my life of these very same things, though over time it gets easier and easier to the point where you almost don’t have to remind yourself of these desirable attributes in thinking.

I’ll leave you with this very true thought. Success in anything is 90% proclaimed by the correct and positive mindset. Re-read that and eliminate the word “correct”.

1. Practice everyday for an hour.
For many of you, finding the time to tackle personal interests is daunting, considering that many of you work very hard in the job world, and many of you have a family to attend to, not to mention the things that would seem necessary to conquer in order to exist. Its all about being able to manage your time. An hour isn’t much and can be fulfilled effectively. The best time that I have found to practice is with the TV on and the sound on mute. If you have a favorite program that you cannot get away from, keep your guitar handy and practice during the commercials. That is not the most effective way to practice but it still does the trick. Practicing throughout the day or evening is the best way. Practice for 20 minutes, take care of something that requires your attention, go back and practice for 10 minutes, take care of something else, then practice for 25 minutes.

That is not a formula. Don’t take me literally when I say practice for 20, then 10 and then 25. The key is to break it up and you really shouldn’t keep track, unless you are having trouble disciplining yourself.

2. If possible work with a metronome.
You can buy one for peanuts, but there are a lot of free ones out there. My personal favorite is a program called Guitar Speed Trainer. I like it the best because its an actual training method that doesn’t require a lot of time, and you can program your own passages into it. The best part about it is that it has the typical tick-tock sound of a metronome, but it is one step better for the simple reason that you can match up the notes you play with the notes that are being played in the program.

The key to using a metronome is to find your limit and then set the metronome to an extremely conservative number. If you can play something very easily at 80bpm (beats per minute) then set it to 60bpm, no matter how incredibly boring it is. Practice a riff at this speed, several times over, until it is flawless, then set the metronome for anywhere between 61 and 65bpm. Take breaks in between, repeating this process until you have reached a speed where your hands lose control, then stop. Call it a day. The next time you go to practice, practice starting at 60, and then practice starting at a slightly higher setting like 65bpm. Use that formula for taking breaks and slowly building your speed. It will take a little bit of time to reach your goal, but being consistent is what will get you there, a lot quicker than you might think. You’ll be glad you did it.

3. Don’t always practice the same thing.
Make the attempt to step back and look at the exercises that you are playing, and make the effort to figure out how you can make them a little more difficult, interesting and melodic in order to challenge yourself. Then practice them with the metronome using that same principle. Figure out different timings and look at ways to make your picking hand pick out 2 notes on this string, 3 notes on that string and 4 notes on another string, within the same pattern or exercise.

4. Practice with one chord.
Pick any chord and see how you can condition yourself to come up with different strumming approaches and rhythms. Really think about it. “I’ll try playing this chord with 3 strums in even timing. Now I’m going to take that chord, play 2 strums and hesitate before the 3rd and final strum”, or “I’ll play this chord five times, with 4 down strokes, but the 5th one will be an upstroke”.

5. Practice with multiple chords.
Go out there on the world wide web and find a chord chart. Pick five randomly and play each one over and over again, repeating its name as you are playing it. Then, ignoring chord progression formulas, rearrange the order of those 5 chords. This will help you memorize and will train your ear for ultimate modulation. After you have mastered those 5 chords, add another 5 chords. Now you have 10 guitar chords to work with when you experiment with chord progression. Continue this process.

6. Get a simple tape deck for recording purposes.
I would say use some recording software that you might have, but a tape is a little bit faster, for when you want to record quickly and have immediate playback. Record yourself playing a chord that interests you. Record yourself strumming it over and over again, with any rhythm that you like, but make sure to record it for a good length. Play it back and then solo over it, which brings us to….

7. Soloing.
People think to hard about guitar and they think way to hard about soloing on the guitar. They have no idea because they choose to be stubborn and not correct their thinking. It is not hard. Forget scales – forget modes. Do you honestly think that when I am improvising, I am thinking about what mode I am playing out of? If someone asks me later what mode I was playing out of, I can most certainly backtrack and define, but let’s look at the word theory. Theory, as in theoretical, as in theoretically this is a way to explain something so that two people can be on the same page, but it is a tool like the guitar itself, and it is far from being set in stone. Unfortunately, people base their musical lives around this. The world of musical theory is beautiful and fascinating, but until a guitarist is willing to experiment, it will not make a lot of sense, no matter how knowledgeable that guitarist may be. Which brings us to….

8. Improvising.
Yngwie Malmsteen declared that “The genesis of all musical creation comes from improvisational playing”. I know that I have quoted him before, but I can’t even put it as well as he did. Don’t be afraid of it. Too many people ask about how you get started improvising and then developing your own solos. The answer? develop your own style. Listen to a lot of different types of music and not just guitar related music, and yes, Malmsteen even said the same thing. Build a massive collection of varying musical genres and then jam with those Cd’s or mp3s as often as possible. You may not be very good at first, but that’s a part of any challenge. Start with a note and if it matches what you are listening to, then find another note that matches to go along with that note. Try to keep in rhythm with the music that you are listening to while you are playing those 2 notes, and then take a chance and grab another note. That 3rd note may not work so well, but you always have options like bending or sliding that note up to one that does work. In doing this, you are training your reflexes. I still hit a lot of funky notes when I improvise, but have taught myself to correct them, almost before its noticed. You can do this too. Some people don’t even know when I’ve made a mistake and some people do. I don’t care because I’m having fun. That’s the whole point of music and people are quick to forget this. Which brings us to the fact that the best musicians, artists, scientists, human beings…

9. Do not judge.
I have learned so much from musicians who were not nearly at my level of skill, just as much as I have learned from those who were way beyond it. The thing to ask yourself, is whether or not you are doing this for yourself or for other people. If your answer is that you are playing what you want to play, the way that you want to play it for yourself, then you have already won. The reason is because even those who have massive dreams to become musical icons, start with what they want to hear in music. One of my other great passions is film-making and the greatest filmmakers; Fellini, Scorsese and Kubrick were highly self indulgent. Most people are too afraid to be this way. They feel that it is selfish and they are sadly mistaken. When you have an idea or a style in anything that you do, you will attract to you, those who appreciate it, and considering that the world currently suffices some 6 billion people, I think that if you desire to, you can certainly find those like-minded individuals.

My point for saying all of that was because it is important to realize that the most unlikely sources can be great teachers. Mankind desires recognition. Give your fellow man recognition. This is key and the reason is, because those who cannot recognize others around them are not capable of recognizing their own self worth, and therefor, their own potential. You could say that this is really heavy stuff, and you are right in saying so, but the truth of the matter is that everyone has at least a personal dream of what they want to see come out of themselves, and even the everyday Joe, who just wants to learn a few chords, has a secret longing to see where they can take an instrument such as the guitar. It does not matter how far you want to take it, but everyone presents themselves with a challenge that is worthy of their own capabilities. Sadly, few go through with this, when it is just around the corner. This now brings us to the conclusion, which is…

10. Limit yourself.
This is a trick that Steve Vai uses that I read about when I was a kid, and it almost works too well. What you do is pick two notes, generally next to each other but they can really be anything. Take those two notes and play only those notes for as long as you can. You can do absolutely anything that you want with them. Bends, sliding up, sliding down, hammer-ons, pull-offs, tremolo picking, etc. Make a good attempt every now and then to play those 2 notes for at least a half hour. I’m not going to paint a pretty picture. At first it is interesting and you come up with lots of ideas for those 2 notes, but after about 5 minutes, you start to lose your mind. However, if you stick with it, you will very soon realize that there is a whole plethora of concepts and ideas out there.

The important thing about this exercise is that when you finally give yourself a break, your hands go crazy. Its like they’ve been cooped up in a prison cell for 6 years and are now being set free. The ideas will flow to you so quickly that your mind can barely keep up. I will also say, that this method of training works best if you are pretty relaxed when it comes to improvising on the guitar.

Final thoughts. You will notice a common factor that seems to act as an under-layer throughout these 10 methods of guitar training. That layer is the metaphysical, aka mental power. This was cold turkey, I admit that as well, but I did not write in such a heavy manner to scare you, I wrote this the way that I did, not even to inspire you. You can only inspire yourself. I wrote this to hopefully settle that negative thought process and attitude that most guitarists have. Why are guitar players so arrogant? well, you don’t have to be. No matter how good you become, there will always be someone better and that’s a very good thing. It will push you to get better, at the same time keeping you humble.

The over-all message is to just have fun with it. This is not work, this is play. Those 10 approaches to playing really do work, but if you apply them, you have to think of it as fun and get excited about the progress that you are making. With that, I will simply say, here’s to you and the wonderful journey ahead.

Post by: Tennyson Williams
Tennyson Williams has been studying guitar for eight years, sixteen hours a day, and has studied every style of music imaginable. He has played in bands, that encompassed a wide range of music. It wasn’t until after eight years of piano lessons, that he made the decision to become a self-taught musician, but the journey has been well worth it for the guitarist. His sole passion is to share with others, his endless knowledge of music, in order to make their musical dreams a reality. He currently maintains a site called GuitArticles, where a wide variety of lessons and articles on the intellectual properties of music can be found.

10 Ways to Maximize Your Guitar Playing from MyRareGuitars.com

The second factor is to use good quality mics and pre amps as you will only get good clarity and detail in depth on a recording with good mics. If you don’t have a good source signal it will be incredibly hard to get a good final sound. The other factor is to ensure the player behind the kit is of a good standard for the music you are recording and has the ability to be tight with the band and know when to and when not to overplay. Being able to use dynamics within their playing can make a difference on a recording and paying attention to detail is always important when playing drums on a recording. The most important thing though is to be as tight as possible with the rest of the rhythm section.

The Bass Drum

One of the most important decisions when recording drums is to decide what mic or mics you want to use and getting the right positioning for them. The most commonly used bass drum mics are dynamic mic with the AKG D112, Shure Beta 52a, Audix D6 and the Electrovoice RE20 being popular choices. I personally would favour a Senheisser 421 on the beater and a good Neumann outside the bass drum to pick up the sub frequencies to blend with the clicky signal.

The close mic on the bass drum will have spill from the other drums and cymbals in particular the snare and tom toms. The best way to get around this is to use a gate. The attack should be set quite fast like with most other drums, in order to get a punchy sound. The release should be set to close fully once the sound has finished so you don’t hear the spill but watch you don’t set the release to quick and lose some of the source sound. Most drawmer gates can do a job on a kick drum.

The next thing is to set up a compressor on the bass drum. If you set an attack time which is a little slower (10 to 20mS), it will allow the click of the drum hit to pass through the compressor it is being compressed. To help get that clicky sound on the kick, use a ratio of around 3:1 and have the threshold set around an average of -4dB of gain reduction to each beat beat, the release should return to normal before each beat. A good kick drum compressor I find the TLA Audios Valve 5051 is a good kick drum compressor. You just need to make sure you drive the input to get a punchy sound.

If the kick doesn’t have enough presence then try equalizing around 4 and 7kHz on a mid Q just adding a little gain where you feel appropriate around these frequencies. This should give the kick more definition and make it cut through the mix. Most good Equalizing units should work but a personal requisite of mine is to use a valve EQ for added warmth. A good EQ for this although not valve and used more for mastering is Massenburgs GML 8200, this unit has several bands of fully parametric EQ for ultimate control.

The SPL Transient Designer allows you to change drum sound envelopes, meaning it possible to add or subtract attack and sustain. Once this has been done listen to the kick drum with the overhead mics and see how they sound together. With the overheads added the Bass drum should sound more natural and slightly ambient. Adjust the compression and EQ again if it needs it, but bear in mind that once the rest of the mix is added that the sound will might need minor adjustments again.

Snare Drum

The best way to record a snare drum I find is to use 2 mics, one above and one below the snare drum with the above mics phase reversed. Shure SM 57s tend to be a popular choice while I sometimes find 2 AKG C451s can do a good job.

Snare mics tend to pick up a lot of unwanted low spill from the kick drum and toms, and may pick up the hi-hats to. For this again gating is necessary preferably a frequency based gate with some bass end and treble rolled off where the problem occurs the side-chain input could be useful if found necessary. If the snare needs more definition I tend to find adding around 1.8khz on a fairly tight Q is where the crack of the snare is and can make it cut through the mix really well. If you need any extra crispness, then try a little high EQ at between 4 and 7kHz. To give a bit more body to the snare, sometimes a little gain between 110 to 160Hz can work well but watch you don’t add to much as too much in this frequency range can muddy your mix.

Compression on the snare is also recommended to get a tight punch sound. Try not to over compress and be sure not to have the gain reduction go over -3 or 4 dbs. Most drawmer mics can do a good job on the snare although I quite like using an Urei 1176.

Toms Toms

The most common Tom mics are the dynamic Sennheiser MD421 which tends to be clipped onto the toms. As toms are normally hit during fill-ins and rarely anywhere else, then a gate is needed when they are not in use. Take off some low end from the gate’s side-chain input will eradicate false triggering from kick-drum spill. If you struggle with getting a suitable gate a good alternative is lose the spill after the recording in your sequencer or tape machine.

I tend to give the Toms some definition give the small tom some boost around 6k the mid tom 5k and the floor tom some 4k. Obviously this is hugely subjective and depends on the sizes of the toms you are working on. Adding between 100Hz and 200Hz I tend to find good frequencies to work with for picking out the resonance of each tom. A fairly small reverb can be a good idea also to have the toms sit in their own space in the mix and also give a bit more of a live sound that the processing might have lost.

Again compression can be a good idea when recording the toms. Be sure to listen to the Toms with the overheads and not just isolated as the overheads play a large part in the final sound of the drums.

Hi-Hats

The AKG C451 is a popular hi-hat mic which works really well pointed away from the kit. No gating is needed for the hats. Rolling off all the low frequencies is advised to lose the spill of the bass, snare and toms.

Overhead Mics

AKG 414s tend to be very popular overhead mics for a majority of people although I sometimes find them a little clinical. A personal favorite of mine are Coles 4038 or 4040 Ribbon Mics. They seem to get a great smokey sound that oozes expense to me. As Overheads pick up the cymbals and hats getting good definition on these mics is really important. For indie and jazz, using a lot of the overhead mix can be imperative. For rock and pop, I tend to use more of the individual mics and add a little over-heads subtly. I tend to find the overheads need no compression and should never be gated so an open sound is achieved.

A little equalizing is sometimes necessary on the low end where the kick overspill may be a little much and there may be some phasing issues on the low end having used several mics in a relatively close space. Rolling a little low end here can help with both these potential issues. If the drums were recorded in a fairly small room sometimes a reverb can be added. I tend to find a Yamaha SPX 900 or the more expensive Lexicon PCM 80 can do a really good job here.

Post by: Matt Walters
Matt Walters is an experienced drum player and has 15 years experience as a sound engineer. He currently runs his own recording studio.

Article Source

Getting a Great Drum Sound from MyRareGuitars.com

The minor pentatonic scale is created using the root (or 1), flatted 3rd, 4th, 5th, and flatted 7th of a major scale. Notice that there is no 2nd or 6th scale tone used. There’s an interesting reason for that but it requires a substantial amount of music theory to explain it and this isn’t really the place for that.

To create the minor blues scale we take the minor pentatonic scale and add a flatted 5th (or sharp 4) to it. In the key of A, this creates a scale with the notes A, C, D, Eb, E, and G in it. Some people don’t differentiate between the minor and the major blues scales. If someone calls a scale a blues scale, assume they mean the minor version.

A major pentatonic scale is created with the 1st (root,) 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th tone of a major scale. In C that would be C, D, E, G, and A. To make it a major blues scale you add a flatted 3rd which gives you C, D, Eb, E, G, and A in the key of C.

Notice that the rule governing relative major and minor keys/scales is also in effect here. If you look at the keys of A minor and C major, which are relative, meaning they contain the same notes, you’ll see the same group of notes.

The A minor blues scale is A, C, D, Eb, E, and G. The C major blues scale is C, D, Eb, E, G, and A. Same notes, different starting point. This sort of thing happens all the time in music. This is of particular interest if you’re playing blues lead guitar because you can see that your blues guitar scales really do double duty. Once you learn one pattern, it’s really useful for 2 keys, one major and one minor.

So how to we apply this scale to a standard 12 bar blues chord progression? What’s cool is that the simplest approach is really simple. Whatever the first chord of the chord progression is, let’s say it’s A7, use that minor blues scale to solo over the song. There’s no need to change scales at any time.

Keep in mind that this is only one possible approach, and in many cases it’s not the best approach. There are several ways to play over a 12 bar progression, or any other kind of chord progression. Many of these approaches use some combination of major and minor blues scales.

It is easy to find the 5 “boxes” or patterns of the blues scale on the internet. A simple search should turn up hundreds of choices. Once you learn the blues scales and have them under your fingers. You’ll want to start jamming with them and learning how to make the sounds you want to hear.

For more blues guitar lessons and help with your blues guitar scales, check out Playing Through The Blues, my blues lead guitar course.

Post by: Griff Hamlin
www.PlayingThroughTheBlues.com

Blues Guitar Scales: How Blues Scales Work in Lead Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Keep in mind that many guitarists are satisfied with their ability to play just a few songs here and there. There are many guitarists who enjoy performing in clubs for larger audiences. Others strive to become accomplished nationally and internationally. The practice habits for all are different, because the goals are different.

For the purpose of this article, I believe it’s safe to say that those who enjoy playing a few songs here and there, will, most likely, bypass the rigorous schedule of scale and chord practice.

For the intermediates, advanced, or professional players, scale and chord practice is absolutely essential. In fact, daily practice sessions are in line with these levels of musicianship. Why? The development of strength, endurance, recognition of melodic and harmonic structure, and, of course, more facility on the guitar.

The leap from good to great on the guitar is actually a short distance. Shorter than one might think. It’s really all about the level of desire and commitment one has, that will determine the actual distance. However, willingness without action equals fantasy. Good intent means nothing if one is not prepared to act.

None of us believe that, as guitarists, our fingers somehow magically end up on the correct note, the correct string, at the right time, merely by accident. In fact, a great melodic solo and chord work is generally reflective of many years of pure practice. It’s almost a guarantee that behind every great guitarist, there are thousands and thousands of hours of scale and chord practice. It’s important to remind ourselves of all the benefits as a result of this hard work.

For starters, practicing scales develops finger strength, wrist control, picking techniques, pivot techniques, thumb placement, fret logic, and a multitude of other essential elements needed in order to execute in a professional manner. By practicing scales as scales (not musical statements per se), we learn very good habits and general rules of performance. We also learn that rules are made to be broken. When we, as experienced guitarists, break a rule, we at least know that we are, in fact, breaking a rule. Further, we all know that it’s permissible to break certain rules due to the impositions of certain styles of music, among other things.

For the experienced guitarist, I truly believe it’s important to remember how we arrived at our proficiency level. This is important because, in reality, we should never stop learning and progressing.

As a progressive guitarist, I enjoy those over-the-top solos that generally send chills up the spine of the listener. However, I also enjoy the hours of personal practice that allows me to execute those solos. Performance is one thing and skill development is another. It’s beneficial to enjoy both.

Imagine setting aside approximately eight straight hours of practice time and devoting a good share of that time to practicing one or two scales only. The thought of this routine might surprise some of the more experienced players. Once again, why practice scales when we can solo into infinity? The answer is forth coming.

I can almost guarantee that after a few hours of practicing a scale, the strict succession of the scale tones will disappear and will be replaced with new musical statements. Further, fresh new techniques will also emerge. For example, one might discover a new way to pick a string, cross a string, mute a string, embellish the scale tones, as well as many, many other discoveries. How’s that for progression?

A hardcore practice session can easily turn into a fantastic creative session. This is great news for the original guitarist and songwriter. Need a new guitar lick or song? Practice, practice, practice.

Everything discussed thus far, pertaining to guitar scales, also applies to practicing guitar chords. In music, time waits for no man. Chord construction and execution takes practice. Especially, when dealing with extended chords and altered chords (let’s not forget inversions). Not all of us will have the opportunity to encounter a major 11 Augmented 13th chord. However, what happens if we do? Answer; play it at the speed of right.

Whatever your level of musicianship, be sure to practice for the sake of practice. Great things will result from your hard work.

Post by: Michael E. Fletcher
©2008 Michael E. Fletcher. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
www.UltraGuitarMethod.com

Practicing Guitar Scales & Guitar Chords: The Inherent Value from MyRareGuitars.com

Patterns and Modes
Modes don’t require learning additional patterns. Modes stem from the same patterns as the major scale. Understanding how to play and apply major scale patterns is the key to grasping the modal concept.

Patterns of the Major Scale
The notes of the major scale cover the entire guitar neck. Instead of tackling the whole thing all at once, the fretboard is always learned in steps by focusing on one position, or pattern, at a time. This is usually accomplished through 5 patterns. Once the individual pieces are memorized they can be connected to complete the whole scale template. Each pattern may make a unique shape, but they all are simply broken pieces of the whole form. So, the individual patterns don’t become new scales on their own. They are all simply different arrangements of the same scale tones.

Playing Over Chords With Modes
The major scale can be played along with any one of its notes or chords. For example, the G major scale includes the chords G major, A minor, B minor, C major, D major, E minor, F# minor b5. The whole scale can be played over any one of these chords. When the G major scale is played over a G major chord a typical, happy, major sound results. To hear this correctly, guitar players need to have a friend strum the G chord or perhaps record or loop a rhythm track to play over. Any part of the G major scale, in any position or pattern, can be played. It doesn’t even matter what note is used to start. Guitarists can jump into the scale anywhere they like and use the notes in any order. The root G may be emphasized in order to tie the scale to the chord better, but the modal concept still works without doing so.

When the G major scale is played over the second chord, A minor, the sound of the scale changes. Again, guitar players need to have a friend strum the chord or perhaps record or loop a rhythm track to play over. Now the same scale tones sound minor, dark and jazzy. Any part of the G major scale, in any position or pattern, can be played. It doesn’t even matter what note is used to start. Guitarists can jump into the scale anywhere they like and use the notes in any order. The root A may be emphasized in order to tie the scale to the chord better, but the modal concept still works without doing so.

Seven Scale Modes
In the above example, the sound changed when playing over G and A minor because mixing notes and chords no different from mixing colors. Yellow and blue make green. Red and blue make purple. And so it is that the G major scale played over a G chord makes “Ionian Mode” (or the Ionian scale) while the G major scale played over an A minor chord makes “Dorian Mode” (or the Dorian scale). Each major scale degree, or chord, has a unique tonality and sound. Patterns, positions and starting points don’t effect the modal sound. Rather, the note or chord the scale is being played over establishes the mode.

Hearing and Playing Music Modes
Mixing colors has to be seen in order to be understood. Likewise, music modes have to be played and heard. In fact, many music theory concepts have to be applied and experienced this way. Theoretical explanations alone can’t demonstrate how modes work. Guitar players need to apply the concept to the fretboard.

Seven Greek Mode Names
Each major scale note, or chord, has its own unique sound characteristics and corresponding Greek mode name. The seven Greek names have origins in the church and include Ionian Mode, Dorian Mode, Phrygian Mode, Lydian Mode, Mixolydian Mode, Aeolian Mode and Locrian Mode. All musicians use the same Greek mode names because this music theory concept is relative to all instruments.

How to Learn Scale Modes
With music theory, each concept builds on the next. Guitarists should never get ahead of themselves by studying topics that they’re not ready for. The modal concept is related directly to major scale patterns and guitar chord progressions. To learn modes, guitar players must first master the major scale and its patterns. Next, guitarists should learn how the major scale is used to build chords. Finally, all good players should learn about chord progressions and playing by numbers. Then, guitar modes will be easy to understand and apply.

Play Until Your Fingers Bleed!

Post by: Mr. Desi Serna
Author of Fretboard Theory
www.Guitar-Music-Theory.com
Scales, Chords, Progressions, Modes

Guitar Modes: The Modal Scales of Popular Music from MyRareGuitars.com

Now, within lead guitar there are two main types of learning – the physical techniques (such as hammer ons, bends, vibratos etc.) and the theory. The first step with the theory side of lead guitar should be to get a basic understanding of scales.

Think of scales as pots of “flavours” – each scale has its own unique flavour because of the different notes it uses. Different notes act as different tensions over a particular chord, and eventually guitarists learn which tensions compliment particular chords. Of course, it’s a matter of personal taste what goes with what. That’s where your creativity takes over.

Technically, a scale is merely a sequence of notes – that’s it! However, it is the intervals between each note in the sequence that defines its structure and flavour. For example, we have the natural major scale (also the 1st mode called Ionian). The numerical notes of the major scale are:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Simple, eh? That’s because the major scale is the basis from which we build all other scales. Even minor scales are referenced against the natural major scale. For example, the natural minor scale (also the 6th mode called Aeolian) is:

1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 – the “b” means “flat”, so what it’s really saying is “the 3rd, 6th and 7th tones of the natural major scale have been flattened”. This is what creates what has been named the natural minor scale (or Aeolian).

All scales work in a similar way, being noted against that original major scale position.

Therefore, in light of all this, it would make sense to learn the natural major scale first! Once you’ve done that, you have your foundation scale upon which to build all other scales/flavours.

Now, when learning a scale, the notes will be spaced out over the 6 strings. These are known as intervals. Looking at the major scale once again…

1 W 2 W 3 H 4 W 5 W 6 W 7 H… then the sequence starts again at 1.

The W stands for “whole step” – this is the equivalent of a two fret space on your guitar. So, if you were on the 3rd fret on the low E string (the note G), moving up a whole step would put you at the 5th fret (the note A).

The H stands for “half step” – this is the equivalent of a single fret space on your guitar. So, if you were back on the 3rd fret on the low E string, moving up a half step would put you at the 4th fret (the note Ab).

Obviously though, to be practical, we want to play the scale across 6 strings, not just 1. This is where you need to know about string relationships and how a note at one fret on the low E string is the same as another fret on another string. That’s what allows you to condense the scale into a “box” about 4 or 5 frets wide, across the 6 strings of your guitar.

Essentially though, it’s these whole steps and half steps that determine the structure of notes/tones in a scale and therefore determine the overall flavour of the scale!

At this stage, it’s not that important to know the actual notes you’re playing (e.g. the notes of the “B major scale” would be: B C# Eb E F# Ab Bb), but rather just understand the sequence of intervals in the scale. This will allow you to visualise the scale more generically, in any given key.

The A major scale, B major scale, C major scale, C# major scale etc. all have their own notes, but the intervals they all use are the same… the major scale’s sequence of intervals!

There are many resources on the web to help take you to the next stage of learning scales. Once you know how intervals work within scales, you can also learn how chords and arpeggios are essentially created from the same bag.

However you progress, don’t become complacent and learn things parrot fashion – don’t just learn scales… understand them!

Post by: Mike Beatham
Mike Beatham runs a free, easy to follow guitar lessons site with backing tracks and audio exercises for you to develop your own unique playing style. Visit FretJam.com/ to learn guitar at your own pace.

Guitar: Understanding Scales from MyRareGuitars.com

Begin by forming good study habits. Part of your study will be physical performance and part will be mentally engaged in the study of theory, listening to recordings, tapes and the radio, watching television, Internet and watching live performances. You will be talking to other guitarists, students and professionals, studying in classes and with private teachers and of course via online guitar courses, guitar training software etc. You will also be improvising. All of these activities will give you valuable information and experience, increase your skill, broaden your scope and develop your insights. Keep an open mind and learn something from everyone you meet …even if it is not what to do!

The following suggestions should help you in your study and practice:

• Never practice or study when you are tired or worried. Relax a bit before you begin. If possible study in a quiet place where you can be undisturbed. Have a music stand adjusted to your eye level when you practice, and make sure that you always have good light. Form the habit of studying in a regular place and at a regular time.
• Several short study practice periods on successive days are usually better than one lengthy period of study. A little study every day is better than spasmodic, inconsistent study. Use various ways of making yourself think about what you are studying. If you are looking at a printed page of notes, try to imagine them on a guitar finger board and vice versa.
• Form the habit of mentally reviewing every page of music you study before going on to the next one. See how much of it you can recall and try to remember it. When you have learned something make use of it as soon as you can. The sooner and more often, the better. If you have learned fingerings for a few new chords so that you can play them even slowly, make up an exercise or song that involves these chords and has you shifting from one chord to another often. It is not enough to learn about something. Unless you utilize this information it does not become a part of you.
• When you have completed a reasonable amount of material, take time to summarize what you have covered. You may want to write your summary. Keep a good music dictionary handy, and use it frequently. When you have discovered the meaning of a new word or term, use it yourself.

Self Study

To correct poor study conditions, consider thoughtfully each of the questions below and write specific answers to each one. Then decide what you can do to correct each of the things wrong with your study conditions. Make notes of these and correct them:

1. What can you see on your desk, music stand, or through your window that distracts you?
2. What music, talking or other noises are disturbing your practice and study?
3. What is wrong with your position or posture when you practice or study?
4. Are you sure your lighting is adequate? What is wrong with it?
5. Is your work space large enough and arranged well?
6. What materials do you lack for effect study?
7. What time of day is most difficult to practice or study? Why?
8. What worries or special interests divert you from studying?

Effective methods of practicing or studying, of themselves, will not suffice. Careful planning also is essential. Lay out your work systematically before you begin. Each individual’s time, facilities and desires are personal matters. Just be sure to adopt some plan and stick to it as conscientiously as possible.

Post by: Mike Hayes
Mike Hayes is a guitar teacher, author, performing musician and session guitarist with over 30 years of professional experience. Find out more about how to learn guitar fast with his popular free ecourse, available at: => GuitarCoaching.com

Accelerate Your Guitar Playing from MyRareGuitars.com

How Many Songs Should I Record?
Please try and decide this before the session starts as this can kill studio time. If you’re unsure how many songs to record, get in touch and we’ll talk you through it. We’ve worked on thousands of sessions, so we have a good idea of what is achievable.

Quality or Quantity?
I feel quality is always better than quantity. Most venues, management companies, publishing and record companies will probably only listen the 1st minute of each song and won’t get past the 4th song, judging you on the songwriting, production, level of musicianship and the quality of the recording.

Equipment
Turn up on time with all your equipment checked and ready. We’ll be there on time getting set up so the clock will be ticking. Bring everything with you that you’re likely to need. Spare strings, plectrums, batteries, leads, etc. You can guarantee that the item you forget will be the one thing you need. Test all your gear the day before. Instrumentation, Scores and Lyric sheets – Please try and have all scores, lyric sheets written and brought to all sessions where needed. Think about different vocal parts like backing vocals and harmony parts before sessions. Also think about any string arrangements or percussion that might be needed.

Arrangements
Rehearse your songs thoroughly and make sure all band members know all their part(s) to each song.

Less is More
Your recording is not the time to try out your chops and blistering solos. A simple part played well tends to be more effective on recording rather than someone’s flashy self-indulgent routines. Remember the song is the most important thing, not your playing.

Click Track
I highly recommend that you play to a click track as this not only keeps the tempo even through the song, but makes over-dubbing process more straight forward. It also makes any track editing easier and more accurate. We cannot, for the sake of example, take a bass phrase recorded during the first verse and copy it to the last 2nd verse if the song speeds up, So playing to a click gives you more flexibility at the production stage and enables things to be achieved faster.

How long does Recording last?
This is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string of string. If you are organized, well rehearsed and tight the recording procedure will obviously prove a lot quicker. Also if you are working with session musicians this will usually save time as they are used to working in a studio environment daily and will tend to race through their parts. Either way preparation is the key and around 70% of your session should be spent on the recording phase.

Mixing
Once all the recording is done, the next stage is the mixing. Mixing is where we apply EQ (equalization) and dynamic effects (e.g. compressors, expanders, noise gates) to each track, and set the correct track volume relative to all the other tracks. I also decide where each track should be panned in the stereo mix for the arrangement to gel and to highlight certain aspects of the arrangement.

How Long Does Mixing Last?
Similar to recording this can vary. It depends. On how much track editing there is, whether you want to alter the sound of any tracks using other effects, whether you have a clear idea of how the finished track should sound. Simply put, the more time you can devote to mixing, the more likely you are to come out with something that you are really pleased with. As a very rough guide, i would suggest planning to spend 20% of your session time on mixing. This is estimation and can be less or more.

When Do We Mix?
I recommend that you don’t mix straight after finishing recording because you will be tired. Leaving at least a week between the recording and the final mixing session will enable you to come back with fresh ears and fresh ideas about the songs you recorded.

Mastering
This is the process where we prepare and transfer your recording to a format that can be duplicated on CD. During mastering, the final stereo mix will be processed to even out the highs and lows, boost the overall volume, and make it sound more consistent across different formats and playback systems. I myself use a combination of PC based audio editing and mastering applications to achieve this. And yes the mastering and CD burning stage will probably take at least an hour. So this is another thing to factor in when considering how long you need.

Lastly, despite everything I have said, I always say to my clients who come into my London recording studio, to come prepared to have fun and enjoy the whole studio experience.

Post by: Matt Walters
Matt Walters is a professional sound engineer/producer and runs his own recording studio in London.

Planning Your Recording Session from MyRareGuitars.com

First some quickie suggestions right off the bat for you guys and gals.

Phase 1

1. When using a wah wah and a distortion always have the wah wah before the fuzz box (how’s that for old school?) in your chain. You want to effect your guitar signal before you distort it. When using a clean boost that should be last in your chain right after your distortion units.
2. Use as few pedals as you can. The more effects you use the more your sound suffers. If you are using more than 5 or 6 pedals try using an A/B switch and set up two loops to keep the chain as short as possible.
3. If you like a tight sound, ceramic speakers are a good way to go. In general AlNiCo speakers tend to be a bit more saggy. But there are some Alnico speakers that are clean too, these tend to be the higher quality ones. And as they break in the ceramics tend to be tighter and cleaner.
4. Lower output pickups tend to be thinner eq wise, and subsequently a hotter pickup tends to be darker sounding. If you want to use a lower output pickup for the reason that they reproduce your playing dynamics better, you must use a higher output amp. Again, if your guitar is a high output axe you can use a smaller amp, and still achieve a nice fat sound.
5. Shorter scale guitars make light gauge strings feel extra light, and consequently longer scale guitars make light gauge strings feel a bit heavier. This is why back in the day when light gauge strings were not readily available, guitar players preferred Gibson guitars over Fender.

1962 Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar (Vintage)

Phase 2
Next on the cavalcade of hits, I will give you some examples of typical setups for certain types of music. Remember you can mix and match these suggestions for your signature sound.

Clean Country Sound:
This is a sound made popular by country pickers since the 1960’s. It’s a clean sound, very little if no distortion at all.

• Guitars: Fender Stratocaster, the bridge pickup for a bright twang with a bit less output and fatness then the Tele bridge p/u. You can also get a great albeit a more modern country sound using the between the pickups sounds (2nd and 4th) on the Strat. For all you Eastwood fans check out the Wandre and the Joey Leone Signature Models for a great bunch of aforementioned country sounds.
• Gretsch models w/ DeArmond Dynasonic pickups give you a great country sound with alot of dynamic range for subtle to ear splitting tones. For those of you who want to dabble in some cool country tones try the Eastwood Classic 6 for a very reasonable starter country axe.
• A Gibson thin line arch top like a Byrdland is also a great clean country axe, don’t believe me? Ask Roy Clark and Hank Garland (Mr. Sugarfoot Rag). One of my idols Scotty Moore (of Elvis fame) played an L5 and an ES-295 during his years with the King.
• Amps: The cleaner the amp the better, period. A Twin Reverb comes to mind immediately as well the solid state high wattage steel guitar offerings from Peavey like the Nashville and Session 400. Amps with at least a 12-inch speaker will help you get that twang. If you are the only guitar player in the band consider using an amp with a 15-inch speaker. You can also use a smaller amp at a lower volume with a mike on it.

Gritty Country Sound:
Same guitars choice as above, just crank your amp up. 10 inch speakers are okay for this application. The Marshall TSL Series, Fender Deluxe. Vibrolux, and Super Reverb will make you smile.

Heavy Rock Sound:
Again I remind you I am an old school guy so I say….

• Guitars: Gibson SG w/ humbuckers is my choice for ultimate heavy rock guitar. It cuts and yet is still as fat as your fifth grade Home Ec. teacher. Tony Iommi, Angus Young, and Glen Buxton (the most underrated heavy rock guitar player) are shining examples of what an SG in the hands of a capable axe murderer can do. Gibson Les Paul Customs like Steve Jones and Mick Ronson used to play also kill.
• Those pointy guitars from the 80’s, Jackson, Charvel, Ibanex JEM and ESP’s are all a bit more edgy and hotter then a stock SG or Les Paul.
• I also love the sound of P90 equipped solid body axes for a great crunch sound, maybe a more punky sound is a better explanation. Les Paul Jr.’s ala Johnny Thunders and Leslie West are prime examples of this guitars sound when cranked. I am sure these guys influenced Billy Joe Armstrong in his choice de axe. Again, Eastwood offers some great single coil guitars of this ilk, the P90 Special, Stormbird and JR Elite just to name a few.
  1962 Fender Telecaster Guitar – Sunburst
• Amps: Marshall, Marshall and more Marshall. The JTM 800 is numero uno in my book, as well as the JCM 900 for a more modern shred vibe. I was also impressed with the Carvin stack offerings back in the day. THD, Randall, and Peavey also have really good sounding shred generators in many configurations.

Marshall Guitar Amps

Rock and Alternative Sound:
This is a potpourri of suggestions, please take one and pass the rest back.

• Guitars: Well take your pick, I am just gonna rattle em off….first the off the wall ones. These are the “next big things.” Maybe? Remember Cobain’s JagStang? Gretsch solid bodies from the 70’s and 80’s ugly as your neighbors AMC Gremlin. Silvertone’s and Danelectro’s from the 60’s. Link Wray, Jimmy Page, duh! Kramer’s from the 80’s, Eddie something or other played one of these. Carvin solidbodies from the 80’s. Still a great deal on Ebay. Ovation guitars form the late 60’s and 70’s (the Deacon, the Breadwinner, and Tornado.) The pickups were nasty sounding, but oh so cool. Legit ones. Fender Telecaster, Rickenbacker solid and semi-solid guitars, Gretsch arch tops, Mosrite solidbodies, and Gibson solidbodies guitars w/ P90’s.
• Amps: The Vox AC-30 is a seriously important amp in the history of rock and roll, for a very good reason, it’s an original. History tells us that early Marshall’s are in essence copies of a Fender Tweed Bassman. So the Vox is the only original amp design of the “Big Three”. Best news about that is that it sounds great! The Vox AC-15 is also a slammin’ amp. Portable, strong and ballsy just like my first wife.
• Fender Deluxe Reverb, crank it up and feel the magic. The singularly most versatile amplifier in the history of guitardom. This little dynamo is IMHO the best sounding amp ever made (Blackface models produced from 1964 to 1967).
• The Silvertone/Danelectro Twin Twelve. What a great/cheap amplifier should be. Two twelve inch speakers (usually Jensen’s) a killer tremolo and reverb. Most models I have seen run four 6L6’s in the output section. Although I own an early Danelectro Twin Twelve which runs a duet of 6L6’s that is a great amp. Also any of the Valco made amps will do the trick (Supro, National, Airline, Montgomery Ward).
• There are so many great boutique amps out there that are really well built and versatile. They are expensive, usually very expensive. Also they are tough to try out as many of these amps are not in music stores. Making it hard to test drive them . And if they do have one, that’s the problem they only have one, so you can’t a/b them with your favorite guitar plugged into them. Some of the ones I have either owned or played are Victoria (a tweed Fender vibe), Matchless (some Vox like models). I also really liked the early Bedrock amps that were basically JTM 45 clones.

Getting Your Own Sound with Guitars & Amps from MyRareGuitars.com

Pete Townshend (The Who)

#1. Being seen.

There are several ways to go when getting your name out there. Many musicians think it’s a good idea to move to a big city and play gigs for no money just to be “seen”. In my estimation, through years of experience, this is a total waste of time and effort. Take it from me, if you think your talent is worth not being paid for, it’s a guarantee no one will either. Being a good guitar player in a live setting is a good idea to showcase your skills, but if a guitar player plays well in the forest and nobody hears him (her)… well you get the idea.

My solution to this scenario is to fine tune your skills, find a high profile band and get the gig playing in that band. How do you do this? Take a page out of Keith Moon’s book. Walk right up to the bandleader during a break and introduce yourself. Shake hands, compliment the band and quickly present your card. At that point, you say “if you ever need a guitar player please give me a call I think I can do a good job for you.” Do your research and meet as many bandleaders as you can until you get the gig you want. I can tell you that bandleaders are always on the lookout for players, always! And if they don’t need one at that moment they soon might or might know someone else who does. There is no such thing as a wasted contact.

When I say high profile, I mean a cover band with a full schedule of well paying gigs. But if it is an original band you seek, this will be harder, but not impossible. Remember, you must prepare yourself for other then musical parameters to get the gig. Stuff like image fit and age specifics. Be real and reasonable. These days image is 90% of what original bands look for when filling positions. You may even have to switch over to a more “video friendly” axe. Also, a good tip for auditioning for an original band is to have songwriting ideas on your guitar. This is where a guitar education comes into play. If the songwriter has a three chord formula going, your alternative voicing on your guitar will quickly enamor you to the band and its producer.

#2. The Demo.

Oh yes, the old demo, the most underrated tool for gig attainment. I cannot tell you how many musicians I have auditioned in the past 5 years who do not have a decent/relative demo. You would think in the age of affordable digital home studios some one out there would be focused enough to have a relevant demo for a gig they are applying for. I recently ran an ad for a friend who owns a piano bar looking for an entertainer. The ad specifically said “piano player/singer.” I cannot tell you how many responses I got from solo piano players and from singers who did not play piano, and from people who sent demos without singing on them. Be focused enough to send a demo that is appropriate. Why in God’s name would I hire a guitar player for an R&B gig if his demo is a country demo. That to me means he’s trying to stretch or did not feel the R&’B enough to include it on the demo. No dice!

#3. Be professional.

I have alluded to this in other columns, but it bears repeating and in a bit more depth.

My motto is ABP, Always Be Playing. Study, study, study, take as many lessons as you can afford in as many types of music as you can. I believe that a classical guitar lesson will probably not transform you to becoming the next “maestro” but some classical ideas, or fingerings may make their way into your style. This will help you get a signature sound and feel. That is a very marketable commodity in the cookie cutter world of guitar players. Same can be said for country or jazz guitar disciplines, as they all add to the gumbo of what is to be “you.” Aside from your gear this is what you bring to every gig you do, and is a lot more valuable.

I played with a guy years ago named Lou Korosi from Glen Cove, NY who could play some mean jazz on his Telecaster as well as play rock, reggae and fusion. And Lou could move seamlessly from one to another. His rig was a Tele w/a bumbucker in front, a Twin Reverb and a MXR Phase 90. That’s it.

Once you get your gig, show up on time, with dependable, appropriate gear. Be prepared and relaxed. Remember you are a guitar player! A most noble of trades.

Now get to work!

Eastwood Guitars & Friends

I’m a Guitar Player, Now What? from MyRareGuitars.com

Going direct

It use to be that going direct was normally reserved for getting super clean guitar tones. I’ve read where Billy Gibbons recorded a lot of his great guitar tones going straight to the board. Additionally I heard that Jimmy Page recorded “Black Dog” straight to the board (albeit with tons of compressors). Now does that mean you can get “that sound” just by plugging in your guitar to your recording machine? Probably not – keep in mind that the pre-amps and EQ’s on the multi-million dollar mixing boards’ sound pristine. Additionally, they have very expensive compressors that they run the signal through to fatten it up – but don’t let me discourage you – plug in that guitar and see what happens!

Fortunately they have some great products at a reasonable cost to help you out when running direct today. Companies such as BOSS, Line 6, Korg and Zoom are just some of the companies that make some decent direct boxes. I personally have an older Line 6 POD that I’ve used for years. Depending on how you set the sound I’ve found that sometimes you can get pretty convincing tones out of these boxes and with out having to go to the trouble of setting up amps and mics. It’s been my experience that if I’m using the POD with a clean or semi dirty guitar tone I can get a decent tone. If you’re looking for a guitar tone that is heavy distorted I find that the POD tends to not sound as real.

Mix it up

One thing you can do is mix “real” amp sounds with the direct sounds. Keep your “real” amp sounds as the “up front” guitar sound in the mix and on a different track use the direct sound as a background mix sound.

An additional cool thing is when recording a distorted guitar you can split the signal from the guitar so that one line goes to the amp and one goes straight to the board. Now you have a distorted signal and a clean signal. You can blend both together as is or you can affect the clean tone with different effects and experiment while keeping your original performance. I’ve heard of a lot producers doing this and getting good results.

Setting up mics on a cabinet

Getting a good sound when setting up a mic and an amp can be easiest thing in the world or the hardest. At any rate it should be not glossed over and time should be taking to make sure you have the best sound going. I’ve used all different types of mics including Neumann, AKG and Sennheiser. However for a good and relatively cheap mic you can’t be the Shure SM57. It’s the standard workhorse and I’ve had great results with it. Take time to experiment with placing the mic in front of the amp straight on and also at a slight angel (perpendicular to the angle of the cone). Also try different distances as all these factors affect the sound sometimes for the good and sometimes for the not so good.

Additional tips:

• If you’re recording a 4×12 cabinet then you can experiment with different mics on different speakers. Record all (at the same time) and compare the sounds.
• Try using a condenser mic about three feet away from the speaker for a cool sound to mix in with the close mic.
• Also you can mic the back of the speaker cabinet however you might have phase problems so be sure to hit the phase reversal switch on your pre-amp or mixing board
• Remember that when using a dynamic mic (such as a Shure SM57) the closer you put the mic the more bass response you will get. Conversely when the mic is farther away you will get more treble less bass.
• Distance=depth is the old Jimmy Page adage. Place a condenser mic at the other end of the room and blend that signal with the up close mic. You can get some natural reverb effects and the overall sound should sound bigger.
• Notice in the picture I have the amp on the Auralex GRAMMA (Gig and Recording, Amp and Monitor, Modulation Attenuator). It’s a device that’s used to float an amp or loudspeaker that yields nearly total acoustic isolation, resulting in a purity of tone. I believe it helps out when recording.

Recording Studio 101: The Electric Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

The topic is… branding.

WAIT!

Before you click the back button, hear me out.

The simple definition of the word ‘brand’ is the image that a particular product has in a person’s mind. Let’s use some examples to illustrate this idea.

If I were to say the word… facial tissue… and ask you what product name comes into your head first, those of you in North America would likely say… Kleenex.

If we were talking about cars and I said… safety… what car would you think of? Most likely Volvo. Staying on the car theme, what if I said… ultra-luxury? Rolls Royce, right?

OK, you get the picture. Now, let’s play the same game only related to guitar amps. Here’s a couple to get you warmed up.

Metal. Let’s see, I would probably say… Mesa Dual Recto. Jazz. Hmmm… I’d go for Polytone Mini Brute. Rare. Easy! I’ve only ever seen one of these… on stage behind Robben Ford… Dumble.

Wanna have a go at it? Just copy the following table, paste it into an email (click on the link at the bottom of this article), fill in as many answers as you want and click on send. I’ve left some blanks so you can even write in a few of your own categories. Easy! I’ll tabulate the results and Next month we’ll see if there are any surprises! I’ll also let you know how the answers varied in each category.

Let’s have some fun!

Guitar Amps: What’s in a Brand Name? from MyRareGuitars.com

Recording vocals for me personally is always hit or miss. Some days you sing great and some days you feeling like a first day reject for American Idol. You want to try to be consistent and prepared so I’ve got my own routine for practicing my vocals so that when the day comes I’ll be ready to go!

#1 Assuming that you will be tracking all the basic tracks in one day and cutting the vocals at some other time, have the recording engineer make you a copy of the song without the scratch vocal. This is sort of like a karaoke version of your song. Now in Los Angeles we do a lot of driving so this is a perfect opportunity for me to get some practice in! I simply play the CD over and over again while I’m driving and practice singing over the track. You’d be surprised how many times you can sing a four minute song in the space of a daily drive! Now incase you don’t drive or don’t spend a lot of time in the car do the same routine but around the house. The point is you want to get comfortable singing to the track so when the day comes you are somewhat prepared. Additionally, I make notes of any good ideas of a particular way of singing the tracks as to remember. Heck, if it’s a great idea and I really don’t want to forget it I’ll sing it into the voice memo feature of my cell phone! (Furthermore, I do this routine while listening to mixes as well but more on that later!)

#2 Now, while you at it, try to memorize the lyrics! Okay – I know this might sound crazy but I’ve had more then one singer try to record their vocal track while reading the lyric sheet. I don’t recommend this – not only is it distracting but it takes away from the performance. If anything you should have the lyric sheet there as a guide and nothing else.

#3 Partying the night before is probably not advisable. You want your voice to be in the best shape it can be in – remember that the vocals are probably the most important part of making a good recording. Folks can sometimes overlook deficient guitars, bass and/or drums but it’s been my experience that if the vocal is sub par then folks will regard it as “demo” quality. Okay – so I know what you’re going to say next, “I know this guy who could gargle razor blades, drink whiskey all night and sing great the next day”. I know those guys too and like most anomalies they are very few and far between. Not only do you want to take care of your voice but you don’t want you nose to be stuffy. I know myself that when I have a beer the night before it tends to swell the passages in my nose which in turn makes it almost impossible to sing without the nasally sound.

Pushing the red button!

Different producers have different ways of recording vocals. There is no right or wrong way and sometimes you can use a combination of the two. My preferred way is to have the singer warm up by signing through the song a few times. This gives me the opportunity to dial in the pre-amp, compressor and overall mix. Then we start tracking “for keeps” and stack up four or five complete performances. I’ll pay attention to certain areas to make sure that I have the whole song covered. If all goes well then I’ll “comp” a complete track out of the five. Comping a track means basically going line through line picking out the best parts then copy and paste them to a new vocal track. This technique usually yields good results because the performance sounds natural.

The other method would be to be to sing the song all the way through. Then listen to the track and “punch” in and redo a word or phrase. The only problem I have with this technique is sometimes the punched vocal doesn’t match the original performance. Additionally I think that sometimes it can wear your voice out faster singing lines over and over again.

Auto Tune!

Okay so there’s an effect called Auto tune which can “tune” vocals as well as other instruments. I’m sure everyone’s heard some recording with auto tune applied. I look at auto tune like using a fire extinguisher – it should be only used in emergencies! I’m not saying that it’s bad to use but if you can nail the vocal without the auto tune then strive for the best vocal you can! Let’s face it you there to sing and perhaps do this for a living – if that recording doesn’t represent what you can perform live – then it might come back to haunt you!

Which mic to use?

What about if you’re recording at your home studio and you want to track vocals – what type of microphone should you use? Well microphones are like guitars in the sense that sometimes a less expensive mic can do the job. It’s not always true that an expensive mic will mix and sound well with your voice. I’ve recorded a bunch with the Shure SM7 and I’ve been pleased with the results. However there is a good selection of good mid level priced condenser mic’s that didn’t exist 5 years ago. Read as much as you can and ask what other producers/songwriters are using. Some mic manufactures offer a trial bases where you can try it and exchange it if you don’t like it. You might try renting a mic for the day or over the weekend. That way you can see what works and you can also rent mic’s that would be out of your price range to purchase.

Recording Studio 101: Preparing the Vocals from MyRareGuitars.com

Recording Studio: Command Center

For the singer songwriter there are a few items to check. When I’m producing a solo artist who plans on adding the rest of the instruments later, I set up a vocal mic and plug the guitar straight into the board. This is called the “scratch track”. It will be erased down the way so the quality isn’t overly important. What is important is that the artist can follow the “Click track”. This is the all important conductor which everyone will follow so it is imperative that you can play in time.

1. Practice your tune to a metronome and note the setting. Remember that in the studio (even if it’s a inexpensive one) time is money and the less time you spend on cutting the basic tracks give you more time for more important things down the road.
2. Put new strings on your guitar! Okay I know this is a no brainer but you would be surprise how many people are clueless and while were at it how about changing the battery in your pre-amp with a fresh one?
3. Have a firm idea of how the arrangement should go. With today’s software certain things can be changed down the road and sections can be moved fairly easy but once again you?re spending time doing this and it might eat up your budget.

Recording Studio: The Amp Room

For the band many of the same rules apply:

1. Make sure the band is well rehearsed or has a firm idea of the song.
2. The band will more then likely have to where headphones while recording – to some people this can be a different experience especially if you’ve been use to playing live. Also you might have to record in different rooms and you might not be able to have eye contact. Make sure your endings don’t require everyone having to look at each other. Once again this is a comfort thing and depending on the size of the studio you may have to deal with it.
3. Make sure all musical equipment (amps, cords, pedals, guitars, strings, drum heads) are in proper working before the session begins. I recently did a session were the bass player didn’t even know his bass was active and didn’t know he had to replace the battery! I was like, “Didn’t you wonder why your bass sounded like a transistor radio?
4. Make sure your drummer has no problem playing along with a “click” track. (Sometimes it’s not necessary to use a click track but in most cases it’s necessary.)

Finally, keep distractions to a minimum.

1. Shut off your cell phone
2. Don’t bring any unnecessary people to the studio.
3. Don’t bring in drinks/food that can spill on the floor and equipment of the control room or studio.
4. Keep the band chit-chat down while in the control room. It’s hard enough to concentrate without hearing about your exploits from the evening before!

The studio owner is not there to baby sit. He doesn’t care that your Mom and girlfriend thinks you’re the next biggest rock star. He’s running a business! If you act professional you will get more work done. Moreover, the smoother the session goes, the more out the studio owner might be to letting you do extra tracking off the clock.

Additionally, you might want to ask if you can help set up/tear down the session – this can be a great learning experience and it will help you get familiar with recording equipment and recording techniques. Plus it might get you some free extra recording time!

Recording Studio 101: Preparing to Record from MyRareGuitars.com

More tone controls are better – treble, middle, bass – a tone stack for every channel! Always has been, always will be… maybe not!

WHY?

Tradition is a powerful thing and change is hard to make. But, if you consider how tone controls affect an amp’s signal chain, investigate what a guitar and amp sound like with minimal tone controls (or none!) and then decide if you REALLY need them, you might be surprised at your conclusion.

Tone controls change or modify the tone of an electric guitar signal as it passes through an amp. However, the primary determinant of how your electric guitar sounds is the instrument itself, the amp’s overall design (gain stages, pre vs. power tube overdrive, etc.), its tubes, the speaker(s) and YOU the player. Tone controls are but one in a long line of factors strung between your brain, your gear and your ears.

We all have used tone controls to change the sound that our amp produces. Roll off the bass for a humbucker equipped guitar; trim the treble when you plug in that ice-pick Tele; peg the bass when playing your Strat; boost the mids to cut through the mix. All useful stuff. But, what would you sound like if you didn’t have tone controls at all?

In my opinion, despite their tone tweaking usefulness, traditional tone controls can detract from the quality of the tone… if you consider what your amp would sound like without them. Let’s dive into the nature of tone controls to find out why I hold this wacky belief!

Virtually every tone control you’ll run across, at least in a typical tube amp, is a ‘passive’ device. That means that it cuts or reduces the volume of certain frequencies. A passive tone control cannot boost frequencies.

Terminology check: tone controls are often referred to as ‘tone stacks’. The passive components that comprise tone controls – resistors, capacitors and potentiometers – are connected in such a way that when they are drawn on a piece of paper – a schematic – the treble, middle and bass controls look like they are ‘stacked’ on each other. That’s where the term tone stack comes from.

Because tone stacks are constructed from passive components, even if you turn the knobs up to 10, each tone control still reduces certain frequencies.

Yes, that’s right. With passive tone controls there is no such thing as a TRUE ‘flat’ setting where the signal is not affected in any way there is always some signal loss.

What the heck does all that mean?

Below is a graph that shows the frequency response of a typical treble, middle, bass (TMB) tone control often used by an amp company originally located in southern California. The graph depicts the level of frequencies with all the tone controls set to 10. As you can see the signal level at all frequencies is well below 0 dB — that means that the signal level is being attenuated or reduced as it goes through the tone stack – even at a 10 setting (yes Nigel, the same would hold true at 11 too!).

What does this mean? Two things.

First, a tone stack reduces the overall level of your signal. That’s why amps with traditional tone stacks need an extra gain stage to return the signal to its level before it got hosed down by the tone stack – more components, more cost, more complexity.

Second, even when all the knobs are on 10 the stack is changing the tone profile of your signal. The tone stack’s frequency response as shown in the graph has a big dip centered on 300 Hz. That means that the volume level of those frequencies around 300 Hz is a lot less than the rest of the frequencies – a cut in the low mids.

Here’s our tone stack’s frequency response set to provide a flat frequency response. Note that although the tone controls are not shaping the tone – all frequencies are being passed at an equal level -the signal has been severely attenuated across the board.

• 10Hz
• 100 Hz
• 1000 Hz
• 10000 Hz

You’ll likely be surprised to learn that to produce this ‘flat’ response the controls have to be set as follows:

• Bass = 1
• Middle = 8
• Treble = 0

I bet that’s not where you set your tone controls!

There are a few things at play here. First, at this flat response point you have to really boost the volume to compensate for the gain loss through the tone stack. Second, it shows how much the typical tone stack scoops mids – bass and treble have to be severely attenuated to match the low mid-frequency response of the stack. Finally, this shows that the tone controls are highly interactive and changes in one dramatically affect the other – you have to dial in crazy settings to get a flat response.

So, if it takes this dramatic an alteration of your tone controls to get a true representation of what your guitar sounds like why bother?

Is all this ‘bad’? Not necessarily. The tone stack in question has been used in dozens of amp designs that produce great tone. Maybe you won’t like the true sound of your guitar!

However, I want to plant a crazy idea in your brain: what would happen if you didn’t have a tone stack or you had a very simple tone control that could make subtle tone changes, but would not suck nearly as much gain and would not dramatically alter the frequency response of your guitar?

Well, in my experience you can really ‘hear’ your guitar (!) … you’ll hear a more balanced tone coming from your rig. Your tone will have more presence and, with an amp that has been designed with minimal or no tone controls, you will experience a more responsive, dynamic feel. If you like that sort of thing it’s VERY cool!

Of course, it’s impossible to properly convey the sound of a ‘tone-stacklessR17; amp on a piece of paper … you have to hear the difference!

So, when you see amps with minimal tone controls don’t dismiss them. Play through them when you get the opportunity so you can see for yourself. You may be surprised at what you hear and feel!

Send me an EMAIL (Don Mackrill) if you would like to discuss this further!

PS: Crystal ball time! I predict you’ll see an increasing number of amps with ‘lift’ switches that take the tone stack completely out of the circuit. A few big name amps have had this feature for years labeled as a “solo” switch. Why call it a solo switch? Because eliminating the tone stack increases gain and midrange response – both perfect for bringing your sound front and center! Wouldn’t that boost in tonality be a good thing all the time?

Consider having your local amp tech add a lift switch to your favorite box so you can experiment for yourself … the stack might get lifted and never put back!

Amp Tone Controls: Tone & Gain Sucking Leeches? from MyRareGuitars.com

You’ve finally made your decision to slap down some of your scarce cash on a reissue or new model tube amp built in the Far East for a BIG name manufacturer. It seems like a great deal: the vintage amps of this model sell for thousands of dollars more, it looks like the real thing and the specs appear to be the same (same tubes, same power, same controls, etc.). And, it sounded pretty darn good in the store too.

So, why should you NOT buy it and instead consider a hand made, BUDGET BOUTIQUE amp?

An excellent question and on that I’m sure will generate many opinions. Following is my take on this scenario. It may change how you pursue your quest for spine tingling tone … without having to re-mortgage your house to get it!

Why shouldn’t you buy the reasonably priced BIG name amp? That question can be answered in two words:

Value and Quality

BORING you may be thinking: these are goals that any business tries to achieve. However, in this case they really mean something and by paying attention to them you can have a significantly better amp ownership experience.

Bottom line: you CAN get an amp that sounds better and is more reliable than the BIG name, mass produced amp made in the Far East … for not a lot more money.

That’s right, in exchange for a reasonable price premium (I know … yeah right, you’re thinking) you really can get kick-ass tone that puts a mile-wide grin on your face and a piece of gear that is versatile and won’t break (and if it does it’s fixed pronto by someone who cares!). That’s the definition of a BUDGET BOUTIQUE amp. Sounds like good value? It is.

Here’s the alternate scenario to the one above. Magically, you’re now presented with a second amp featuring:

• All tube circuitry
• Kick-ass tube tone that blows you away
• Telepathic sensitivity to the player’s touch
• The ability to morph from chime to crunch to face-ripping distortion with the twist of your guitar’s volume knob
• Hand made, hand wired construction that is robust and reliable
• Customer service provided by a company that cares about creating a great ownership experience

All for only $200 – $300 more than recent Fender reissues or the same price or LESS than many Marshall tube amps… that are made in the Far East featuring printed circuit boards to minimize cost.

How do you decide whether to spring for the BUDGET BOUTIQUE amp? Let’s play out the scenario.

Is the tone difference that big a deal?
You bet it is – that’s owners speaking, not me. The difference between playing through an amp that sounds pretty darn good vs. playing through a BUDGET BOUTIQUE amp that blows you away is huge – you deserve the experience! BUDGET BOUTIQUE amps can do that.

Touch sensitivity isn’t even on my radar screen, what’s up with that?
An amp that is sensitive to your playing dynamics and instantly responds to your picking hand is a revelation. Warm, vibrant notes pop out of the amp almost before you play them. It adds a new dimension to your sound and a whole new layer of pleasure to your playing.

In my experience I set my amp up for a good tone and go for it. If I want to change tones I twiddle with the amp or throw pedals in front of it. What’s wrong with that?
Nothing. But, a really good BUDGET BOUTIQUE amp will be versatile giving you a range of awesome tones controllable from your guitar. Set the maximum volume and level of distortion you desire and then roll off your guitar’s volume to morph into beautiful clean tones and everything in between.

Won’t a mass produced amp with machine-stuffed, printed circuit boards be more reliable than a hand made amp?
Talk to owners of these amps and read on-line reviews to discover the answer. Amps that use printed circuit boards instead of hand wired boards or point-to-point wiring are inherently more difficult to repair. For example, a simple component replacement job that takes a few minutes on a hand wired amp could take an hour on a printed circuit board amp.

My local music store gives me good service. They’ll look after my amp if it breaks won’t they?
Sure they will or at least they’ll try. Unfortunately, the good people at your local music store are often stuck with a BIG name amp manufacturer’s less than satisfactory repair policy and response time. Dealing with a small amp builder can be a vastly different experience. Most recognize that satisfying EVERY customer is absolutely critical because they don’t have as many as the big guys and they know that bad customer service can sink their business. That means you get responsive service designed to get you back up and playing as quickly as possible.

Hand made, boutique amps have an image of being extremely expensive. However, BUDGET BOUTIQUE builders really do provide terrific amp value. It just takes a little effort to find them. Believe me, they’re out there all right … making great amps.

So, for a few hundred dollars more – or in some cases at the same or even lower price (!) – you can get strikingly better tone, much better reliability and personalized product support if anything goes wrong. Which amp would you choose?

BUY TONE NOT GLITZ!

Budget Boutique Amps: What Are They and Why Should You Buy One from MyRareGuitars.com

My first home recording set up was an Akai ¼ inch 2 track and a Harmon Kardon cassette deck, no EQ, the only effects I had were a few effects pedals. I would program one of my primitive drum machines or use a factory preset non-programmable rhythm machine while I was recording that I would usually add my bass or rhythm guitar. And after a suitable take I would ping pong the tracks back and forth from the 2 track to the cassette, adding effects on the fly.

My next home recording rig was a Teac 3340 4 track with a Biamp 6 channel board with internal spring reverb and a stereo 10 band graphic equalizer. Boy that was the real deal.

I did learn a lot about recording guitars and basses from my home recoding experience and also from listening to my favorite records too. So here is my top ten tips on recording guitars and basses.

BTW please send me some of your first home recording Frankenstein laboratory creations, I would love to hear them.

#1: Use chord fragments instead of whole chords

Like a good B-3 player who uses two or three fingers, your chords and their voicings should be well thought out and economical. Try not to use roots or fifths unless the fifth is an altered fifth like a flat 5 or augmented 5th. Analyze the melody notes and try not to crowd them with notes that proximate in the same octave i.e. if your melody note is a root middle C and you want to use the 9th in the chord use one either an octave higher or lower..

The whole idea here is to give room for the other instruments or just to open up the music and let the notes you leave out be implied as opposed to being heard, it’s an interesting concept check it out!

#2: Utilize ghost tracks when recording bass guitar

This is a very useful technique when you want to change the texture of your bass track, without changing the integrity of the original. First you will need to clone the track, once you have done that clone it a second time. Now you should have three tracks, eq the first clone track very bassy and cut all the highs. Now do the opposite to the second clone track, eq it high and cut the lows. Now instead of changing the original track you can just add the clones to your taste.

A few pointers on this technique, first I think you should electronically clone the tracks and not shadow them by recording another bass track (that is an entire different idea). Now when eq-ing your clones try to do it while playing it alongside your original track, that will give you a better picture of where to go with the eq.

#3: Have a guitar strung up to Nashville tuning.

Nashville tuning for those not familiar with it is a six string guitar tuned with standard first three strings and the next three tuned up an octave. It’s like a twelve string without the low strings, pretty cool idea. They call it Nashville tuning because that’s where it started in the studios in Nashville. You can’t play lead with it, or accompany with it alone, but where it comes into play is adding it to a track where you want to add a highlight to your track. A twelve string will sound a bit muddy in comparison. Try some alternative voicings, and work it in and out of the mix.

Prepare yourself to adjust the truss rod as this tuning puts almost no tension on the neck.

#4: Use stereo delays to fatten up rhythm guitar parts.

This is a method I have used for years, I especially like using the stereo delays on funky or single note rhythm parts. I will usually use a delay of 75ms to 150ms, panned hard left or right. The dry guitar panned one way the wet guitar panned the other way. This effect also works well on ½ note and ¼ note parts, like reggae-type feels.

You can also open up the delays for melody parts. What I like to do is set my time delays immediately when I record. I do this by counting the beats per minute and setting the delays accordingly. So if yourBPM’s are 105 I would set my delays at 210ms, 420ms and 840ms and use and combine them to taste.

One suggestion is to get a feel for it when you bring up your tracks, but I really start to get creative when it comes to the mix. Make it sound big, and don’t be afraid to get buck wild!

#5: Bass players use those flatwounds dammit!!!

Yes Mr. Bassman start recording with flatwounds and hear the magic. Don’t forget that drums record better when they are muffled (ask Ringo) and don’t decay, well boys sorry to tell you that unless you are playing Stanley Clarke style fusion your bass should not be sustaining all over the place. All it does is make the track feel real loose. Studio bass legend Joe Osborne recorded hundreds of sessions in the 60’s with the same set of “dead” strings for over four years! And when he did change them, he had to fish the dead ones out of the trash.

All your favorite James Jameson / Jerry Jemmot records of the 60’s were also recorded with flatwounds. Just try it!

#6: Always record a direct sound on a separate track

Whether you are recording through a POD or miking up your favorite amp, having the track recorded along side direct will always be a plus. You may never use it or just bleed it in, but you will feel better just knowing its there. The other plus is you can always “reamp” it by feeding the dry track through any device or by using a device such as a Reamp which allows you to run a recorded track back through an amp after the fact.

That’s the first part of this column – and remember, that you do not need a 24 track studio to create great music, you need go concise ideas and tons of overdubs and other filler. Reminder, Sgt Pepper recorded on a four track, Blizzard of Oz, 8 track, Uncle Meat a 3 track, all the early Motown hits two 2 tracks in sync, Dark Side of the Moon, 8 track – ..see a pattern developing?…..Part 2 next month.

Peace,

Joey Leone

P.S. Mike Robinson and I have been working on some custom designs – the first is the Joey Leone Signature Model – for the past 18 months. We are getting close to the release date and will have some information available in the next newsletter. In the meantime, drop me an EMAIL and I can fill you in on some preliminary information. Here are some sneak peaks at the prototype.

Joey Leone Signature Guitar Prototype from Eastwood Guitars

Joey Leone Signature Guitar Prototype from Eastwood Guitars

A Baker’s Dozen Tips: Recording Guitars & Basses (Part 1) from MyRareGuitars.com

Class A tube guitar amps. Everyone’s heard the term. It’s generally associated with higher-end amps in support of an amp maker’s claim that their product sounds “better”.

I’ll leave the debate as to which is better to others. What I want to discuss is what Class A really means and, from the pet peeve perspective, to debunk many amp manufacturers’ claims that their products are Class A when clearly they’re not! You may be surprised at how many amp makers falsely claim Class A operation. So, let’s review, in practical terms, what Class A really is and learn a simple rule of thumb you can use to spot operating class BS!

There’s no denying that Class A amps have different tonal characteristics when compared to the more common ClassAB amps. However, as with anything related to tone, “better” is in the ear of the beholder. There are plenty of butt kickin’ amps out there of both classes.

What does “Class A operation” mean? Technically, it refers to where on a tube’s operating curve, it’s biased. That’s it. Bias a tube one way and it’s operating in Class A, change the bias and it’s in ClassAB.

Of course, there are always technical details that complicate things. In this case, the complicating detail is that tubes biased to operate in the Class A “zone” require a lower voltage supply. Otherwise, they’ll quickly fail. Enough tech stuff, no need to worry about that. I mentioned it to avoid a misperception that you can simply take your amp to a tech for a 5-minute re-bias job and you’re in Class A land. Can’t happen. Fundamental changes to your Class A/B amp would be required to lower the voltage and otherwise set it up for Class A operation. Back to regular programming!

Fixed vs. cathode biasing is another “Class A” related misconception. Many believe that if an amp is cathode biased it is Class A. Not true. An amp can be A or A/B and fixed or cathode biased. Again, it depends on where the tube is biased on its operating curve not how it is biased.

Another factor in the myth is that if an amp has a “single-ended” power tube configuration it is Class A. Conversely, so the myth goes, if an amp has a push-pull power tube configuration it is Class A/B. Once again, the operating class of the amp is not defined by the power amp configuration. It is true that many (most?) single-ended amps are, in fact, Class A. But, on its own “single-ended” does not define an amp’s operating class. An amp can be Class A push-pull or Class A/B single-ended or vice versa.

The technical difference between single-ended and push-pull power amps are perhaps a topic for another article; I mention it here because they are common terms and often enter into the Class A vs. Class A/B confusion.

I mentioned above that Class A amps sound different from Class A/B amps. To review, Class A means the tubes are operating in a different part of their operating zone as compared to Class A/B. Two important things happen as a result. First, tubes operating in Class A produce more even harmonic content. Second, they produce less power.

Tubes biased to operate in Class A/B produce more odd order harmonics. Generally, even order harmonics sound more pleasing than odd. That’s why Class A and Class A/B sound different. However, as I mentioned earlier there are MANY GREAT sounding Class A/B amps. Don’t get unnecessarily biased toward Class A amps (amp builder’s humor – HAHA!).

The fact that a Class A amp with the same power tube configuration as a Class A/B amp produces less power leads us to the simple rule of thumb you can use to check whether an amp is really Class A: just compare the power tube configuration to the claimed output power rating of the amp.

Here are the guidelines I use to tell if an amp’s manufacturer doesn’t have their facts straight:

*Some smaller Class A/B Fenders (e.g. early Princetons and Deluxes, etc.) that feature two 6V6s are rated around 15 watts – later examples are in the more typical 20+ watt range.

If the marketing hype shows output power near or above these ratings and it says the amp is Class A – there’s something wrong! If the output power is a fair chunk lower, the amp is most probably Class A. Simple!

Next time you read a guitar mag have fun by checking the tube configuration, power rating and operating class claims of your favorite amps. You may be surprised at what you find!

Class A Tube Amps: Marketing Hype vs. Reality from MyRareGuitars.com

This month I will be discussing a much overlooked aspect of guitar playing and appreciation, the professional setup. As I always say – this is not MY Guitar until it is setup to my specifications. I think perhaps 90% of today’s guitar players do NOT have a personal guitar repair technician that they work with. People have a favorite video / music store with a favorite clerk that helps them with selections, a tailor, a banker, a doctor, a dentist, a lawyer… yet they don’t have a favorite guitar tech. Why? Here are three scenarios that will exemplify this point.

Scenario #1: My Seagull sounds better then my Martin!

How many times have I heard this story, “I bought this cheap guitar at a local music store for $200 bucks, and it really needed a good setup and strings, and afterwards it sounded amazing!” The truth is that this is no urban legend – the professional setup is the real deal – and can make a decent guitar play and sound very good and sometimes even great. This is true for electrics and acoustics equally, although the most obvious is the acoustic as they are usually more prone to neck and body adjustments due to heat and humidity (or lack thereof). But, the electric guitar also needs a good setup as well.

Scenario #2: Music store guitars.

In my 30+ years of perusing music stores I have rarely entered a music store where the guitars were maintained w/ fresh strings and a good setup. As a matter of fact they are rarely even in tune to concert pitch (A440). I know – the profit margin, the man hours, blah, blah, blah – the truth is Mr. Music Store owner you will sell more guitars if they are maintained. Truth be told unless you are talking about a high end guitar shop where they have to sell guitars to pay the rent, guitars are usually hung up on the wall and expected to sell themselves.

So if you are really interested in buying a guitar in a music store, ask them to restring it and set it up for you. I mean don’t be an idiot and jerk the guy around for no reason, but you should know what it sounds like before you buy it. For a guitar under $1,000? Probably not. But for something more expensive, you bet.

For all you vintage guys out there how many times have you picked up that prehistoric Strat and were disappointed with how it played, knowing full well that it probably has been sitting for a long time without the benefit of some needed tweaking. Most dealers will say, “dude I left it as I found it” like that is a favor to you, how convenient! It’s really a disservice to those who’ll plunk down 20 G’s for a piece of guitar history, because these fellas know as well as we know, that just because it was made 50 years ago don’t mean it’s a good guitar, and the only way to know is? You guessed it, if it’s setup professionally.

Scenario #3: Online Purchases.

Online mega stores, Ebay auctions, direct sales, mom and pop sellers, third party sellers, yes my friends this is where a majority of guitar and guitar related commerce is done, online.

I must confess that I was one of those “I ain’t buying what I can’t play” guys. The idea of paying for a guitar that I had not seen gave me chills, and even more frightening to this paranoid guitar buyer was the fact that I was buying one of many guitars in that model that they had in stock. Who was going to pick the one I was getting? Beavis or Butthead? Or what does “very good condition” mean? Now we deal with words like “vibe” “correct” and “players” guitar – and are supposed to know what that means. I know what new means, it means new! I know what a demo is, it’s a demo! Alas, now I have learned how to buy guitars that I cannot play, one way is to buy from someone who is reputable and has a track record. Another is to buy what you know, a 1970 ES 335 (if it has no issues) is a 1970 ES 335, you will pay for it, and 99 times out of 100 get what you expect (from a reputable dealer or seller).

BUT… Now please my friends, pay attention here because this is the gospel as I know it. Never take a guitar out of a box after it has been shipped to you, and expect it to play right. To me that’s an unreasonable expectation. You buy a guitar on the merit of its sound, playability and pedigree (where and who it comes from). Like I said earlier, you can’t expect the store owner to take a lower cost guitar, re-string it and setup to your specifications, just for you to try it out. All players have different ideas about string gauges and low action etc, etc. That is why you need to find your own local technician, who will begin to understand your personal preferences and expectations. These guys can make a $500 guitar play like a $5000 guitar, and the more they know about you the better a job they can do for you. So, as soon as you get your guitar, inspect it for shipping damage and for flaws. As far as flaws are concerned, be reasonable, as far as I am concerned my expectations on a guitars fit and finish are directly related to its price.

Here is what I believe are the necessary parts of a good setup:

• A neck adjustment (if needed)
• Intonation
• Action adjustment
• Fret work (leveling if needed)
• Pickup balancing
• Nut filing (a way underrated aspect of tuning issues)
• New strings
• Cleaning scratchy pots (used guitars)

These tasks should be done by a qualified guitar repairman. You should have a local guy who knows your likes and dislikes. I personally like a flat neck adjustment with almost no bow and a higher action then most would like. You have your own expectations for a setup, communicate these to your local repairman and than enjoy your guitar.

Guitar Tech Setting Up a Guitar

I will say again – any guitar I own is not truly mine until it is setup to my specifications.

So in closing my friends I respectfully say don’t decide whether a guitar is a good guitar or not until it is setup professionally.

So many guitars, so little time.

That Is Not My Guitar Until It Is Setup To My Specifications from MyRareGuitars.com

I recently saw a later model (Blue faced) Supro Corsica going on eBay and the seller claimed THIS was the Jimmy Page amp…he was positive…everyone had it wrong…if you wanted THE TONE this was the Page amp. It, naturally, got the “question/comments” section crackling with replies (including, yes, I admit it, one of mine…I just can’t help myself sometimes) asking where this guy got his information, how did he know, and so on. He also claimed the Bluefaced Supros were EXACTLY the same (minus cosmetics) as the earlier Gray Tolex-ed models, which just isn’t true (I’m hardly a Supro expert, but just easy simple research will show you they often changed the guts over the years).

The upshot? The amp, which looked to be in so-so condition, sold for $450 amidst a series of increasingly angry and defensive responses from the seller about what idiots the people who were writing him were….Along the way, there were wonderful stories and theories about Page’s amp (it was destroyed in a fire, yet somehow is at the R&R Hall of fame…some have seen photos that prove it’s a Thunderbolt; some that prove it’s not…I half expected someone to say they had a photo where the grill cloth had the outline of the Virgin Mary head-banging in it or something).

And Thunderbolts (the most common, and probably correctly, Page-associated model) these days are drawing anywhere from $800 to $1,200.

And you know what? Page or no Page, cheap (ten years ago) or not cheap (today), they’re TOTALLY worth it. They’re very well put together (if not as easy to service as a Fender – but then, what, except for a Fender Clone, is?), have plenty of volume for a gig, take pedals well, and sound awesome without a pedal at all. It doesn’t really matter what Page played on those albums (or if and when Hendrix used a Supro), because IF YOU use a Thunderbolt, you will sound REALLY GOOD. And isn’t that the point of all this tone chasing us sick, diseased, deranged gear-addicted people do?

And, despite the enormous (and goody for all of us, I say) amount of boutique amps companies, there really aren’t many Valco-ish boutique amps out there. In the early 90’s, everyone seemed to be building a Fender Tweed copy (with variations, of course). Then, it was Fender Blackfaces. Then, the current 18-watt craze.

1960s Harmony 525B Bass Guitar Amp

And it makes some sense. With Tweed Fenders going in the 3-5 Grand range, why not pick up a point-to-point (or hand stuffed circuit-board) copy of one of those great amps for two thousand? But no one could build and market a Supro Thunderbolt clone, with high grade parts, for any less than the $1,000 you’d pay for an original with a cap job and a tune up. So, while their price has gone up (lots) in recent years, they are still something of a vintage bargain, and they’re awesome amp.

But what if you can’t scrounge up $800-1000 for that tone, let alone a couple thousand? Enter the Harmony 420 and the Harmony 525 bass amps (made by Valco in the, respectively, mid and late 60’s). It’s much like a Supro Thunderbolt, with some minor differences, on a budget. On a super budget. They can be found, with some regularity, in the $200 range. Wow! Well-built 60’s tube tone for that kind of price?

The 420 (in the black paper covering with the silver grill cloth) and the 525 (racing stripe!) are the same amp on the inside. They run a ½ of a 12AX7 for the preamp (leaving ½ unused for you gain-adders and modifiers), another 12AX7 as the phase inverter, and two 6L6’s for the output (all the same as the Thunderbolt). The speaker is a 15″ ceramic Jensen (ditto- same as the Thunderbolt).

Where they differ from their Page-ian (Page-esque? Page-larian?)brethren? A solid state rectifier and a different tone control (the Harmonys have separate 500k Bass and Tremble controls, while the Supro has a single tone pot) that makes it a little more constipated sounding than the Bolt (this can be addressed).

I snagged the one in the photo (posed with a beat up, amazing Harmony H-72) for 100 bucks from some clown who refused to ship it. Local pickup is always nice…especially when it’s all they offer and you are the local one! Turned out it was a pawn shop about fifteen miles away. This was a great deal – the speaker needs a recone, or I’ll probably buy a Weber Alnico for it, as I’ll gig with it and tend to get new speakers for that. Some minor (very minor) modifications to the preamp for more gain, new filter caps, and this thing is a sustaining singing overdrive blues/rock amp.

Even if you have no interest in picking up a soldering iron, you can buy these for around two hundred bucks and invest very little at your tech’s and get a vintage Valco-made amp with boutique tone for under $400. You can’t beat that.

If you can afford it, though, get the Thunderbolt, too. That tube rectifier sings. And, you know, it was on every single song Jimmy Page ever cut. EVER! He never ever ever ever recorded without his Supro! And, just so you know (and capture THAT tone), he always put it 18 inches to his left and 17 inches behind him, wore a paisley shirt whenever he played it and never ate hamburger the day of the recording.

And before that, Arthur pulled a sword out of this most legendary of amps and became king of England……and after that, the Supro Thunderbolt discovered America while looking for spice routes to Asia…and after that it wrote the Canterbury Tales. Or maybe I’m thinking of Communication Breakdown?

Bio: Rob Roberge is the author of Working Backwards From the Worst Moment of My Life (due Oct 10th), the novels More Than They Could Chew (Perennial Dark Alley/Harper Collins, February 2005) and Drive (Hollyridge Press, 2006). He teaches writing at the Antioch University Los Angeles, MFA in Creative Writing and the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, where he received the Outstanding Instructor Award in Creative Writing in 2003. He plays guitar and sings with several LA bands, including the legendary Punk pioneers, The Urinals. In his spare time, he restores and rebuilds vintage amplifiers and quack medical devices. For news and more info, visit & or email at either www.myspace.com/robroberge or www.robroberge.com

Rob’s Crazy eBay Finds: eBay Myths & Misinformation from MyRareGuitars.com

Frank Zappa

One of the greatest musicians of the 20th century was also a damn good guitar player, he stands alone as a composer, instrumentalist and satirist beyond compare. His name was Frank Zappa. Frank is still IMHO the most underrated musician in the rock and roll era.

Frank was a master at the use of wahwah (check out his early wah solo on Orange County Lumber Truck from the album Weasels Ripped My Flesh), one of his techniques was using the wah as an EQ boost. His feel for the wah was so good he could feel the notch in the pedals throw that would give him (for most part) that growling round sound that Frank was known for during the 70’s. Try it yourself plug in your SG (or any humbucking solidbody guitar) and get your favorite distortion sound. Now go to the neck pickup crank it up but do not roll off the treble as you would if you were trying to cop the Clapton ‘Woman tone’, leave it up full and roll off the highs using the wah. This will give the wah a full spectrum signal for it to work with.

Another Zappa secret was his uncanny ability to combine exotic scales with the pentatonic blues scale. If you watch any videos of Frank playing you will notice he is not in the “normal guitar boxes”. Viva la Frank!!!

Speaking of Frank Zappa, it is well documented that growing up two of his favorite guitarists were Guitar Slim and Johnny Guitar Watson. Frank in a Guitar Player magazine interview said that his favorite guitar solo of all time was Guitar Slims Story of my life. This solo has a tone and approach that is very Zappaesque.

Guitar Slim

One of the secrets of Guitar Slims sound was the fact that he preferred to plug his guitar into a PA amp as opposed to a guitar amp. This was probably a Bogen or Premier. What Slim liked about these amps I am sure was the loudness (I have seen p.a. amps from the early 40’s using 2 6L6’s way before Fender used these tubes for his amps) their high end, and most important their reaction to the signal of his guitar (Slim was reported to be using a Strat and a 52 Les Paul) which gave out more signal than the microphones of that era. End result? Distortion mmmm yummy yummy!!!

Jimmy Page with his Fender Telecaster

How come I don’t sound like Jimmy Page when I play the intro to Heartbreaker when I use my Les Paul? Is it because I don’t own a 59 Burst? What can I do to make my Les Paul sound like Jimmy’s? Well first of all you would have to transform it into a Telecaster. That’s right a Telecaster. Now let me explain how this happened.

A young Jimmy Page was the protégé of British studio legend Big Jim Sullivan. Jim was a member of an elite group of cats who like their American counterparts the “Wrecking Crew” played on most of the hit records of the 60’s recorded in England. The fact is that 95% of the records we grew up listening to in the 60’s were made by the same two dozen or so musicians. The truth is no producer (the music industries version of a movies director) would put his reputation on the line using some prettyboys who were signed because of the haircuts or their trousers. (Rutles 101). This fact by itself is what separates the Beatles, the Stones from everyone else, they were the first truly self contained band.

Now back to Sully, Page and the Tele. Sullivan could be seen weekly in the UK and US as a featured player on the Tom Jones Show. Sullivan was known for his swarthy good looks and his White Telecaster. Being a studio player Jim knew the merits of the Tele, how it cut through the mix and was a safe bet at sessions as far as its versatility. (A side note; there was a guitarist across the pond making ground breaking records with his Telecaster, his name was Joe Messina one of the house guitarists of Motown’s Funk brothers).

When Jimmy took his formidable talent and studio experience to the studio to produce the first Led Zeppelin record Jimmy had an early 60’s rosewood board white Tele in tow just like Big Jims.

Jimmy had already toured with the Yardbirds using the Tele as well as the first go round with Zeppelin in the UK (check out Zep on the DVD Supershow). But Page felt that the Tele was not fat enough sounding for a power trio setup, Jimmy soon switched to the Les Paul for good.

Jimi Hendrix in Studio

Jimi’s tone using the Fuzz boxes of the 60’s. We all know how thin sounding the fuzz boxes of the 60’s were. Whether it’s a Big Muff, an Octavia,or a Tonebender, they were all pretty thin sounding. Jimi Hendrix used all of these at one time or another, yet his tone was mostly pretty fat and round sounding (unless he was looking for a special effect) This leads us to Jimi’s secret tone maneuver.

It’s a really simple one. We all know now that Jimi used Marshall’s most of his career and we also know that Jimi made use of the channel jumper cable (as seen in many of Jimi’s live video’s) Jimi’s trick was to boost the bass sounding channel to even out the thin sound of the fuzz box. This gave Jimi the desired fat tone he was accustomed to when he came up using Fenders and Ampegs. The other benefit was that when Jimi would simply turn down his volume for his rhythm sound it was still quite big sounding. Rarely in the videos I have seen (many) did Jimi ever step on a fuzztone for a lead, when you have seen him go to a pedal for a lead it was to a wah for the tone boost.

Surf guys outboard reverb unit trick. Boy did the surf records of the early to mid 60’s blow my mind. Imagine guitar records with no singing, simple melodies that almost everyone could cop, and tons of self important guitar slinger attitude. I ran into a surf guitar legend years ago and I asked him how he ran his reverb, because I could see that he had something funky going on there as I saw that his guitar was plugged directly into the amp.

He smiled and told me that he and some of the other cats of that era were using a primitive effects loop so to speak. Here’s how they did it.

He ran the guitar into input one of his Showman and then ran a cable from input two to the input of his Fender reverb unit and ran the output of the reverb to the input of channel two (or normal channel). This way he could not only tailor the sound of the unit with the onboard controls he could also utilize the second channels volume and tone controls.

One benefit he did not realize too, was that the guitar running direct into the first channel did not have its dry input signal colored by the reverb unit! This setup is also called the poor mans effects loop.

Adrian Belew - The Twang Bar King

What the hell is all that duct tape doing on the stage? Did you ever notice that when you have a single coil guitar plugged in that the amount of noise changes as you turn or move around? Yeah me too! Did you also ever notice that there were certain spots on the stage that you could get really good feedback if you turned a certain way? Yeah me too!

Over the years I have heard stories about how Hendrix would spend over an hour at his sound check finding those hot spots on the stage. Legend has it that Twang Bar King Adrian Belew took it to a new level by incorporating this feedback and sustain into his tunes as part of the melody and arrangement. This made it necessary to make these markings on the stage part of his setup. No room for spontaneity for Mr. Belew, he needed what he needed when he needed it.

So here’s the trick after the band sound checks bring out the tape and find your hot spots, even if you don’t utilize feedback you will still benefit from knowing where on the stage your guitar will be most responsive.

Joey Leone with his amps

That’s it for now my friends so, “keep those cards and letters coming in.”

Secrets of the Great Guitar Players from MyRareGuitars.com

MXR Micro Amp Guitar Effects Pedal

#1: MXR Micro Amp

This is by far the most useful pedal I have ever used/seen. What this pedal does is so simple yet so valuable to any guitarist playing any kind of music. What it does is makes your sound either a bit louder or much louder. Don’t sound like much, but think about it, how many times were you playing and thought gee I would like to be a bit louder without changing my sound.

So before I get all excited, let me tell you what this pedal actually does. The Micro-Amp is an FET preamp with a 0 to 20+ db gain structure that does not color your sound at all (aside from the fact that you are pushing your preamp section of your amp harder which usually causes your sound to be a bit darker). In my effects chain it is my last in line (btw I only use 4 pedals). Over the twenty-five plus years I have owned one I have used it not only as a boost but have also used it to boost line levels when using long cable runs to isolation booths when recording. I have also used it in a pinch when amplifying an acoustic guitar with a piezo pickup and no onboard preamp. One other comment about this pedal, the battery life (especially the early versions with no LED) is extremely long. Yipee!!! Check one out you will not be sorry.

Uni-Vibe Guitar Effects Pedal

#2: Uni-Vibe

Yeah I know Jimi Hendrix used one, and after he died Robin Trower used one on his post Procal Harum albums. There is a reason these cats used one, I think the reason is that there is a magic to the Uni-Vibe that you can’t put a finger on. The best way I can describe it is that it’s thick yet lets the guitars dynamics come through. I have also always believed that it works best with single coil guitars, again I believe this is due to its fatness. IMHO if you want a similar vibe (pun) for your Les Paul or SG use a flanger.

I recommend the original of course, they are not cheap and not too road worthy but they sound unreal. The Dunlop reissues sound okay but I believe the Line 6 Modulation POD Uni-Vibe sound is better and cleaner. I also recommend the FulltoneDeja-Vibe.

Ibanez Maxon AD9 Analog Delay Guitar Effects Pedal

#3: Ibanez (Maxon) AD9 analog delay

The AD9 is a great sounding analog delay, with three controls, feedback (repeats), delay time, and mix. These pedals were made in the late 80’s if my memory serves me correct. Before my brief analysis of this pedal let me proudly say that back in the late 80’s when we all got sucked into the idea that “digital delay was so much cleaner” mentality, I remember saying to my friend Jimmy Agnello “I dunno I like analog delays alot better”. Well now I think we all know that if it’s a toss up between sounding like Chet Atkins or Big Country…. well you get the picture.

When comparing the AD9 to its predecessor the AD909 I think the AD9 sounds more guitar friendly and less science-fictionary. I think that the AD9 sounds more Echoplexy than the Boss DC-2, and lets face it isn’t that what we want.

Musitronics Mutron V Envelope Follower Guitar Effects Pedal

#4: Musictronics Mutron Micro V Envelope Follower

I bought one of these little buggers back in the early 80’s when I was playing bass and wanted to funk up my sound a bit. It worked pretty good on the bass, but when I shifted over to guitar and finally got the nerve to plug it in it really started speaking in funky tongues. Although all it had was one button, dude that’s all it needed. It also sported a switch that went from high to low, which accentuated the higher or lower frequencies. I can’t say for sure whether Frank Zappa used the MicroV or the full sized Mutron for his auto-wah effect but this pedal cops his signature auto-wah effect perfectly.

I also love the Ibanez offering from their early small button series, but this one sounds even better. Another aspect of this pedal that I like is that it is a bit more touch sensitive than any other Envelope follower I have tried.

Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro Guitar Effects Pedal

#5: Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer

What can you say about a pedal that sells for ten times its initial price only 20 years later. The 808 in its original form had a small square on/off button on top, three knobs (distortion/tone and volume) and an LED light.. For most of us that have used this pedal the best way to describe it is its warm sounding even at its most trebly setting and it compliments the sound of any guitar and amp combination it is used with.

The pedal has its own sound no doubt, but part of that sound is its ability to not color your sound so much. To me it’s the perfect distortion pedal if you are prone to go back and forth from a cleaner sound to a slightly dirtier sound. The 808 is virtually indestructible and its battery life is pretty good.

Now onto the reissues and clones, first I will say that I like the reissue Ibanez TS808 that is currently available. I have A/b’ed it with a few of my original 808’s and they sound almost identical. I wish the lED was briter as on the originals you could gauge your battery life with it. The Maxon version which is in a smaller, flimsier case is not roadworthy at all. It sounds similar but not as close as the Ibanez reissue. The on/off switch is noisy and the pots are too close together for that foot adjustment we all have gotten used to with the original 808.

I must also mention a fellow Vermonter and electronics whiz Mr. Denny Coleman make a great version of this pedal under the name Musicians Junkyard Screamer this pedal is very close to the original, although I will say that it has a texture that my 808 does not, a kind of barely audible octave overtone that I like very much. Check it out.

Vox Clyde McCoy WahWah Guitar Effects Pedal

#6: The Vox Clyde McCoy wahwah pedal (model V848)

Yes my friends I know that there are many wahwahs that are classics and similar (Cry Baby’s etc.). I owned and used an original “Clyde” for years without knowing what a classic and valuable pedal it was. During this time I was using a Cry Baby also and was easily able to hear the difference between the two pedals.

Now I will also say that over the years I have had many guitar players complain about their wahs, and most of their complaints were based on the pedals not being setup right. The “throw” or the aperture (opening) needs to be set to your own taste, and that usually rights whatever problems you might have. (That adjustment is easily made by loosening the retainer screw which holds a plastic piece that comes down from the pedal and once this screw is loose you can adjust the throw on the potentiometer that controls the wah effect.

As far as the sound is concerned, I think that what separates the Clyde from the CryBaby is that it sounds a bit fatter in the low end and a bit less harsh in the open position. I also think that is has a nicer notch in the middle which helps for that wahwah sustain that Jimi used so well. I have never been a fan of the Morley pedals as their throw is too big and I can’t use them comfortably while standing.

Vox has reissued the Clyde with a true bypass and I own four of them and they are great, maybe even a bit cleaner than the originals which is a 50/50 aspect, some might like it, some won’t. I like these so much that I did sell my original Clyde for an insane amount of money.

Dan Armstrong Purple Peaker Plug-in Guitar Effects Pedal

#7: Dan Armstrong Purple Peaker Plug-in effects

These very cool little pedals were designed by Dan himself. They plugged right in the guitars output, which makes them IMHO a more studio friendly effect, but with a very simple reverse wiring you can plug them into the amp, and you’re good to go. The real winners of the line were the Orange Squeezer and Purple Peaker. Both of these add-ons were used by RyCooder, and David Lindley, and Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo used the Blue Clipper Fuzz duct taped to his guitar.

Here’s some really good news, after some really poor quality Korean copies of these high quality units were made back in the 90’s, these great little units are being handmade again in the USA using the original designs, and they sound great!!! Rumor has it that there will be some stomp box versions out soon too!

Now here’s some quickies….

• Vox Tonebender: classic 60’s fuzz box
• Boss pitch shifting delay pedal: very cool pedal for that quick harmony
• Ibanez Phase Tone: early script lettering one button, one pot, not the most versatile phaser but a great one
• MXR Dyna Comp: great compressor, can be very subtle as well as a real scwelcher. Also a great combo with any Chorus/phaser/flanger
• Boss Distortion (Orange Box): great direct into the board distortion effect, used it many times in the studio always with a shocked look from the engineer.
• Boss CE-3 Chorus: “the” chorus pedal as far as I can tell, it has the sound. It’s versatile, not very noisy and sturdy as a Tonka Toy.
• DeArmond Volume Pedal: until the Morley volume pedal strolled onto the scene this was the only show in town. The DeArmond was the industry standard throughout my formative years in this business. Keyboard players used it as well as horn players as well, but as a guitar player it affords you the luxury of leaving your guitar full out taking advantage of its full tonal voice.
• MXR Phase 90: another industry standard, sturdy, sounds great how can you look yourself in the mirror knowing you don’t have one kicking around your effects bag.
• Sam Ash fuzz box: red box probably made by Unicord, anyway old school fuzz box and ugly as a monkey’s rear end.