Yamaha Silent guitars are great for late night and early morning guitar playing when you don’t want to disturb others, and are mostly well designed. I own two Yamaha steel string silent guitars and have found them quite reliable, with only a few minor problems showing up after years of use. This doesn’t mean that…
For most guitars a ground wire to the bridge is a must to cut background hum while you play. With single coil pickups this is more important than with shielded humbuckers, or active pickups where the preamp circuitry already removes unwanted noise. Electric guitars still work fine without a ground-wired bridge, but there are some…
With modern day electric guitars you will find basswood used more than ever before, while Alder remains a tried-and-true classic loved by many guitarists. Black Ash and swamp ash have also been a favorite for guitar manufacturers for decades, however due to climate change and other factors, swamp ash has become in short supply. Basswood,…
Although humbucking pickups are designed to reduce the hum that single coils are well known for, you can still reduce buzz even further. Depending on where you play, what equipment you play through, and the importance of quiet background buzz to you and your performances – it can be well worth adding shielding to an…
Plugging in your electric guitar for the first time can leave you feeling a bit confused and disappointed. Unlike the sounds you’ve come to associate with the instrument, why is your tone sounding so clean? The reality is that getting your guitar ready to play your favorite style of music takes a little bit of…
A bland sounding guitar can be a frustrating roadblock to overcome on your quest to be a prolific guitarist. Your guitar can sound bad due to rattling strings, dull tone, or even your guitar sliding out of tune when bending strings. Although the guitar hardware and setup can be to blame, poor playing technique can also…
The Fender Blues Junior is an amp loved by guitarists around the world. Especially those chasing that warm and classic Fender Tube Amp sound. Its compact size is by no means evocative of its tone, it offers a massive and powerful sound that is ideal for both live and studio use. But do you know…
Effects pedals are a dynamic and exciting way to create new tones from your electric guitar or bass, and things start to get interesting when you chain multiple pedals together into an effects loop. As your pedal collection grows, things can get complicated when working out what the best pedal order is to build your…
Spearheaded by indie giants of the 80s like The Smiths and Echo & the Bunnymen, bands have taken inspiration from their jangle pop guitar tones ever since. For a sound so defined by its bright and playful tone, working out what type of guitars, amps, and even pedals will create this iconic indie rock sound…
In the early 90s’ Grunge took over the world. Every guitarist from Seattle to Sydney was chasing the guitar tones of bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. However, without the resources of the internet to help them out people had to rely on word of mouth or the occasional mention of a guitar pedal in…
