I was trying to choose between two guitars the other day, each constructed of different woods.  Apart from providing unique looks, the types of wood used in guitar construction produces different tonal qualities as well, which will ultimately affect the sound your instrument produces.   Given the choice between a rosewood or maple, and I went for the vintage maple sunburst because of the brighter sound, and also for the striking finish!  Anyway, if you’re wondering what the difference is,…

The Vox AC15CC, or AC15 Custom Classic is a nice amplifier – despite being manufactured in China, it has plenty of character and tone. Still, there are plenty of people on the internet willing to invest time into performing modifications on this amp to take it a step further. Having done quite a few modifications myself, I thought I would write an article to try and consolidate those that I have performed, both to document my journey and also to…

More and more people are getting into B.Y.O (Build Your Own) pedal kits, modifying a pedal or two, or even working on the electronics of their own guitars. So you’re looking at starting out building or modifying a pedal or two, or switching the pickups out on your guitar? What gear should you have to get the job done? When starting out, there are a few essential tools that you should have in your arsenal. Read on to find out…

With the Gibson Les Paul Push Tone, no longer will changing pickups be a major project – this new system from Gibson allows pickups to be changed by simply pushing them out from the body, and disconnecting wire clips and plugging in a new set – all achievable in a matter of minutes. The new Gibson Les Paul Push Tone comes with two sets of Gibson pickups – a set of vintage Burstbucker Pros humbuckers and a set of single-coil…

The world of DIY effects has become even flashier with the introduction of two different kits for creating your custom effects. The Beavis Board from Beavis Audio is a kit consisting of a breakout box, breadboards and a collection of components that enables you build a huge array of stompbox circuits including overdrives, distortions, fuzzes, filters, amplifiers, tremolos, noise generators, oscillators, and more.  This one looks mighty interesting, as it allows you to not only tailor your sound but also…

This post over at Guitar Lifestyle intrigued me – ToneRite claims to have produced a product which automatically “breaks-in” a guitar by attaching to the bridge and emitting vibrations.  According to them, the ToneRite Signature accomplishes in 24 hours, what would normally take 6 months of normal playing, after which the full, mature tone of the instrument can be heard. According to their research, audible improvements can be heard after an hour: One of the prevalent theories is that playing-in(de-damping)…

Sure, you can carry around a tuner to help you get your strings back into musical zen, but why have a separate item to lose when you can have it built into your guitar?  I’ve seen guitars that have built-in tuners from the factory, but these tend to be acoustics, where they can afford to hide extra electronics inside the hollow body itself. Well, for $70,  you can purchase a DIY kit called the N-Tune, which is a tuner with…

If you haven’t heard about the ASUS Eee PC already, it is basically a paperback sized, ultra-portable laptop, scaled down on features but offered at a price point that is almost irresistible.  It comes in Linux and Windows versions, an on my digital photography website, Shuttertalk.com, I spent quite a bit of time looking at it to see if would be suitable as a photographer’s companion out and about. I was excited then, to see people over at CDM doing the same thing…

Take a trip to the unorthodox side and see some unusual musical instruments, ranging from tame thumb pianos to an outrageous drum set made from cheese wheels.  There are quite a few guitar examples, including: Snake Guitar Split-Level Doubleneck from China Hindu Doubleneck “Ouija” board guitar for communicating with the “Grateful Dead” And my favourite – the Assault Bass.  That’s Assault with a capital A for Attitude.    

Bringing your guitar amp off the ground and pointed in an optimal direction has a few benefits.  For a start, the controls will probably be more accessible to you.  Also, because an amp’s output is quite directional, it often helps you hear your playing better by angling it towards you.  Finally, when performing on stage, giving it a bit of tilt may help project the sound towards your audience better. I often lean my amp back against a wall for…