Guitars

Playing Dead Notes
Guitars

Playing Dead Notes

Music encourages creativity, imagination, and composition. When a simple groove seems too repetitive, it might be necessary to spice things up by creating places for dead notes. The most common place to hear a dead note is within a bass line, although a composer can incorporate this element into their […]

Factory Buyout Clearance Sale
Guitars

Factory Buyout Clearance Sale

If you are familiar with Guitar Fetish, you might have heard about their epic factory buyout clearance sale. They have had one available almost every year since 2014, even though the website says explicitly that these are limited opportunities. You can find factory buyout bodies, guitars, basses, necks, and acoustics […]

Guitar Shop 101 Happy Little (String) Trees
Guitars

Guitar Shop 101: Happy Little (String) Trees

Most musicians don’t give a second thought to string trees unless a problem develops with their guitars. Even then, many players haven’t heard of this small, but essential component. When there is insufficient pressure on a string because of the way it sits in the nut, the guitar sounds more […]

Adding a Bigsby on a Strat
Guitars

Adding a Bigsby on a Strat

Paul Bigsby once declared that he could build anything. When we made that statement, he went from building Crocker motorcycles to creating musical instruments. Bigsby was a foreman in the LA machine shop where Crocker motorcycles were built. He would eventually form a relationship with Merle Travis, who needed help […]

How Thick is a Stratocaster Body?
Guitars

How Thick Is a Stratocaster Body?

The Fender Stratocaster (“Strat”) is an electric guitar that Leo Fender’s team designed between 1952 to 1954. That team included Freddie Tavares, George Fullerton, and Bill Carson. This electric guitar has been continuously manufactured since 1954, featuring a double cutaway design with an extended horn shape on the body for […]

Peavey T-60 Tone Circuit
Guitars

Peavey T-60 Tone Circuit

Guitars were expensive in the 1970s. If you wanted to grab a Fender Stratocaster in 1977, the MSRP was just under $600. That puts the price of it at $2,400 when accounting for inflation. That investment got you an instrument with a neck pocket where you could fit at least […]

Mexican Martins My Thoughts
Guitars

Mexican Martins: My Thoughts

Martin guitars are bulletproof instruments that can handle some intricate playing and the occasional impact without experiencing significant damage. Although many of them get made in the United States, many are manufactured or assembled in Mexico. When musicians compare a Mexican Martin to one built in the United States, they […]

Riff Guitar – ES335 Copy
Guitars

Riff Guitar – ES335 Copy

Gibson debuted the ES-335 guitar in 1958. It was a semi-hollow design that quickly earned the nickname “Dot” because of the Pearloid inlay developed for the instrument. Several unique innovations were part of the original ES-335, including the guitar offering the first thin line archtop that musicians could purchase. In […]

Girl playing guitar and wondering why rhythm guitar is so hard
Guitars

Why Is Rhythm Guitar so Hard?

When someone picks up a guitar for the first time, they almost always get a feel for the instrument’s rhythm. Each chord strum creates specific body movements that correlate into a 1-2-3-4 beat. The rhythm a guitarist establishes can help them establish melodies, backgrounds, or percussive elements while giving momentum […]