My stowage solution involved a small battered case, into which I tossed picks, straps, cords, stomp boxes, and maybe an extra pack of smokes. If I needed “extra space,” there was also the small compartment inside my guitar case into which I tossed picks, straps, cords, stomp boxes, and maybe an extra pack of smokes. Ditto the glove compartment in my rusty Olds. I had no organizational system and I spent more time looking for something I just knew that I had, but couldn’t find. If I did find it, it was usually battered or tangled, or both.

I took a ten or twelve year sabbatical from playing, during which I got rid of every instrument, every piece of equipment, every pick. I didn’t have much to start with, so unloading didn’t take very long.

Then one Christmas, my wife bought me a beautiful Yamaha twelve-string acoustic. That started the current trend and before long I had a cheap Strat knock-off and a very small amp. More time went by and I became more and more involved in my rediscovered passion. And as I acquired more and bigger gear, I found myself falling into some of my bad old habits again. Fortunately, the internet was a way of life by then and it was simple to find resources to help with all the many facets of being a musician.

One very helpful and informative article I found here: Tips to Live and Learn By: On and Off the Gig. It lists many of the “can’t-do-withouts” that today’s musician should tote around with them.

But I still needed my own system; a way to help with the guesswork that confuses me at almost every gig. It’s one thing to have the gear, but if you can’t find it or it’s broken from abusive traveling habits, it doesn’t help. I’ll start with everyday space for my instruments:

L-R: Yamaha 12-string, Fender A-style mandolin, Schecter Elite, Danelectro '59.

Obviously, this isn’t a gig. But the stand I use at gigs won’t work in the limited space I have in my man-cave. There are a lot of expensive solutions out there, but simply anchoring a 2×4 into the wall and then screwing rubber-coated U-hooks into the 2×4 works perfectly for my needs. This keeps the instruments off the basement floor and the 2×4 creates enough of an offset to keep the instruments from banging on the wall. And since my music room also doubles as a tool room, no one has to trip over my babies when getting a hammer!

The Danny I use for open tunings. I had the local guitar wizard set it up especially for that. Problem solved for the old second guitar issues!

Now, on to the traveling purposes! Below I have my current method:

At the top right, there is a tote box purchased from the local home improvement center. It has a bright yellow snap-lock lid which makes it easy to find in a dark nightclub. The yellow-black contrast works very well; so much so that transportation officials adopted that scheme for many road signs. I decided to adopt that as well, so I use yellow friction tape to ID my cords. It makes them easy to see, and no one can walk off with the wrong cord.

Into the tote goes a fishing tackle box for small parts (I’ll elaborate on that later), foot switches and stomp boxes, 8-ft plastic tube for the Talkbox, microphones, several 20-ft cords, a power strip, a 3-ring binder, a very thirsty towel, a small stand for the mandolin, and the small red lunchbox contains my wireless components. I tried to use mainly red velcro to bind up the wires (yellow was not available). Again, red is easy to see in the dark and Velcro can be used over and over. Zip ties needed replacing after every gig. Plus, the Velcro can be used to organize cabling before a gig.

Now this helps a lot for most of the stuff to carry around. But there are a lot of small parts as well. I wondered about this before stumbling on the solution while looking for scout supplies for my son. A fishing tackle box works great for the small stuff:

It’s amazing how much I have been able to put in here. Tuner, extra strings, picks, capos, slides, patch cords, a small flashlight, mike adapters, pre-amp, a small tool kit, wire cutters, Blitz Cloths, plus some off-the-wall stuff I learned from watching other musicians. I have a few wooden clothespins for securing lyrics to the stand on a windy day, a few Sharpies, business cards, a box cutter, an old toothbrush for cleaning, emery board, and even a Swiss Army Knife! Close it up and it fits snugly into my tote.

The 3-ring binder has become a nice little addition:

It’s a plain white affair with pockets inside the covers. I got several of those transparent inserts since they last longer than punching a hole in the paper. The first page is my main cheat sheet. The numbered list at the top documents the effects positions on my amp. The printing on the amp’s control panel is small and my middle-aged eyesight sucks! Right below that, I have my preferred dial position of all the controls. The knobs all get moved around during transit, and who can remember where they were when they left the house? The numbers are the “o’clock” position of the control knobs since there are no calibration numbers on my amp. Below that, I have the PA channels my mikes go into. And finally, the slider settings on my acoustic pre-amp.

The rest of the inserts are used for song cheat sheets. Darkness again can be your enemy at gigs. So I found a nice solution at the lighting department of the same home improvement store:

This one has a mounting base which screws right into my music stand. I use rechargeable AAA batteries for the six LEDs. The light cost around thirteen dollars. I use rechargeables for the light and for my wireless unit. I keep them in the charger between gigs.

Finally, having the stands that work for you is a biggie:

I spent the extra cash and got the orchestra music stand. It won’t tip over as easy as the collapsible ones and pivots to just about any angle you’d want. Same with the boom-style mike stand with the tripod base. The three-bay guitar stand is a little small for what I need, but it does the job. Plus it’s stable and has a small footprint. I saved my small gig stand for the mandolin. The amp stand is my latest acquisition. I never though about having one until someone let me use theirs recently. It’s great because it raises your small but powerful amp off the floor for better projection. It also tilts it back slightly which makes it a lot easier to hear what you are playing!

Watching over all this is Sydney, my road manager. For some reason, whenever I practice he comes in and gives me his opinion of my musicianship. Right after I took this picture, his brother (and my A&R man) Simon jumped over and bit him in the neck. Hilarity ensued.

Time to pack up and get going:

This will all fit snugly in the bed of my Ranger pickup. I have a retracting cover which locks shut in case the weather is bad. During the winter months, I keep my instruments in the passenger compartment with me. My thinking is if I keep them as warm as I am, then I won’t lose so much time warming them up before a gig.

In the end, I guess being a working musician is like working in a M.A.S.H. unit. You have to be mobile and still be functional. And since most of us have to move our own stuff around, we may as well keep things easy and organized so we can concentrate on playing

• What kind of guitar should I buy (acoustic, electric, classical)?
• What are some brands I should look for?
• What are the different types of guitar strings?
• How much is a good guitar for a beginner?
• Did I get a good deal?
• What is a capo?
• What are jumbo frets?
• What’s the difference between Spanish and Hawaiian guitars?
• What are some good effects or pedals for the acoustic?
• What are some good guitars for people with small hands?
• What are omni-directional and uni-directional speakers?
• What is some reliable and affordable equipment?
• What pickups should I get for great tone?

What kind of guitar should I buy (acoustic, electric, classical)?

There are many packaged deals out there, mainly around $300. They generally come with a guitar, amp, picks, strings, gig bag, and all the other little things needed to get you started. The drawback of these is mainly quality. The second choice, if you have the extra money to spend, is to start off with a mid-range ($400 to $500 or so) guitar. This way you won’t have to spend more money for a nicer guitar later on. The drawback to this choice is that you are going to have to buy all those little things mentioned above.

You’ll have to choose between electric and acoustic guitars. There are some differences that need explaining. To find out what they are, read the complete answer What kind of guitar should I buy? Guitar Noise has a lot of information on how to buy equipment. You should definitely browse through those articles if you are not sure about what to buy.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Choosing a guitar and select edit to make improvements.

What are some brands I should look for?

Many “no-name” brands are actually, generally speaking, good. A “no-name” brand is a brand that has no brand marking or simply a brand that isn’t “famous”. Then, there are also the famous companies, and there are many to take a look at. Of course you should be the one determining which brand and model is best for your next purchase, but we understand that you might need some guidance.

We’ve got a list of some of the more reputable brands. To find out what they are, read the complete answer What are some brands I should look for? Guitar Noise has a lot of information on how to buy equipment. You should definitely browse through those articles if you are not sure about what to buy.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Choosing a brand and select edit to make improvements.

What are the different types of guitar strings?

I got an email from someone last month on strings for a Vox guitar. Which led to my visiting a site dedicated to Vox instruments and amps and an interesting discussion on strings. Which led to my asking Dan Lasley (for the whatever millionth time) about the difference between round wound and flat wound strings. Which led to Dan forwarding me a URL to a great glossary on strings, on the JustStrings website. Which led to me writing them and getting permission to share a bit with you. This is from the “acoustic guitar” section and deals with two of my favorite types of strings:

• Phosphor Bronze – longer lasting tone than the 80/20 (Bronze) due to phosphorous content. These strings provide about 80% of the brilliance of a new 80/20 set for a bright, rich tone that’s not excessive.
• Silk amp; Steel – offers the driving force of steel strings and the soft tonal properties often associated with classical strings. A center wrap of silk fiber provides easier fingering and minimizes the brilliance for a sweeter more mellow tone. Popular with folk guitarists and finger-style players.

JustStrings’ glossary covers almost everything imaginable, for classical guitars to basses, from violins to mandolins. They’ve even got a bit on cryogenic strings. If you want to read the whole glossary (and you should certainly bookmark it for easy referral), visit the JustStrings website.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to guitar strings and select edit to make improvements.

How much is a good guitar for a beginner?

There are some questions you will have to answer first. Do you want an acoustic, electric or classical (nylon string) guitar? What sort of music do you envision playing? Are you serious about learning to play?

Anyway you choose to answer these questions, a guitar does not need to set you back all that much. You can get a decent one (new or used) for under two hundred dollars. Yamaha, for instance, makes very good guitars at very reasonable prices and they are very durable (mine is over twenty years old now!). And all the “big name” manufacturers (Fender, Guild, Gibson, etc.) also have “off-shoot” companies make very reasonable “cheaper” guitars. When I think of a good, reasonably priced acoustic guitar for a beginner, I almost always think of Yamahas. Mostly because I know a lot of people who still have theirs and they are still very playable.

Buying a new or used guitar can be an emotional ordeal, especially if you haven’t the faintest idea of what you are looking for. This is why it’s important to do a bit of thinking and investigating before even setting foot inside a music shop. It doesn’t matter if it’s going to be your first or fortieth guitar, take a moment to gather your thoughts. For an introduction to buying a guitar read The Rites of Spring. You might also benefit from reading several of the articles on our buying equipment page.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Beginner guitar prices and select edit to make improvements.

Did I get a good deal?

This is a very subjective question. A guitars worth and value is highly dependent to the one who plays it. Reviews do help, but the final judgment should be made by the one who plays, not by the reviewers. For those of you looking for reviews or thoughts on certain pieces of equipment – guitars, effects, amplifiers, etc. – visit Harmony-Central. Harmony Central is a large collection of user reviews for a large range of equipment for all players. As a word of advice, look in the reviews for technical errors with the product, rather than entirely focusing on the type of sound it can produce.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to beginner guitar prices and select edit to make improvements.

What is a capo?

A capo is a device that allows you so move the nut of your guitar around. Okay, not really, but if you think of it in those terms you’ll be able to get a lot out of one. Essentially a capo is a strip of hard material (usually rubber or plastic) which is clamped onto the neck of your guitar at a position of your choosing, effectively providing you with a full barre on whatever fret you place it. It is a floating nut, if you will. Capos can look fairly high-tech in spite of their simplicity of function.

You can find more about capos, including how to use one to transpose the key of a song (and make it easier to play), in the article The Underappreciated Art of Using a Capo.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to capo and select edit to make improvements.

What are jumbo frets?

I hope that I can explain this right…Jumbo frets are a cheaper way of producing what is known as a “scalloped” fretboard. The idea behind this is to make it so that your fingers don’t have to actually press all the way down onto the neck of the guitar, thus allowing you to have a lighter (and therefore (supposedly) faster) touch. What some guitarists would do is to have the fret board slightly dug out (scalloped) between the frets. Putting slightly higher (or “jumbo”) frets is a lot cheaper than having a scalloped fretboard.

But does it help? When you use a guitar with either a scalloped neck or with jumbo frets, you have got to know that your fretboard is now supersensitive to touch. If your finger is not fretting a note precisely, you are going to be a little shaper or flatter than normal. This may not seem like much (and can be compensated for with practice) if you are playing single note leads. But if you are playing chords, well, you can imagine that it’s not going to sound pretty.

Bottom line, if you are already a guitar virtuoso, perhaps jumbo frets might be a new direction for you. If you’re just starting out, it can cause you a lot of grief and you’ll never know why you always sound slightly off.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Jumbo frets and select edit to make improvements.

What’s the difference between Spanish and Hawaiian guitars?

The term “Spanish guitar” is what we nowadays call a “classical guitar.” The guitar as we know it now was developed in Spain close to three hundred years ago. The classical guitar came to America, and later Hawaii, along with the Spanish explorers and sailors. It was smaller than the typical acoustic model of today and the strings were made from gut (nylon in the present day). Nowadays people use the term “Spanish guitar” and “classical guitar” almost interchangeably, although it more often than not describes the music the guitar is playing rather than the guitar.

The Hawaiian guitar, is just as confusing a term. Believe it or not, Hawaii was apparently the birthplace of the steel string guitar! I can’t confirm this, but there is a great story and you might want to read All about the Hawaiian Steel Guitar.

Presently, if only to be more confusing, most people think of any guitar that you play on your lap to be a Hawaiian guitar. “Lap steel guitar” is also a typical name for it. Lap steel guitars look like short, stumpy pedal steel guitars but without the pedals.

But in Hawaii, a “Hawaiian guitar” is any guitar played in “slack-key” style. Slack-key is, essentially slide guitar done on an instrument with lowered (hence “slack”) tuning. Traditionally Open G is the tuning of choice.

I hope this helps. I do not profess to be a guitar historian and, like most things in the music world, where you come from often dictates what you know. Post a thread on the Guitar Forums page and let’s see how what our readers can add to this knowledge.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Spanish and Hawaiian guitars and select edit to make improvements.

What are some good effects or pedals for the acoustic?

An effect or two can add something to an acoustic guitar sound. Generally, you can add any effect pedal or multi-efx unit that was designed for electric guitar to your acoustic setup, too. There are also effects that are made specifically for acoustic guitars.

I don’t know your budget and if you prefer multi-efx or single boxes, but I guess I can give you some ideas which effects you might check out. BTW, if you gonna use effects, you have to amplify your guitar, otherwise, nobody will hear the effect but only your acoustic sound.

• Not an obvious one for an acoustic guitar, but if you’re playing Led Zep, why not try out an overdrive or distortion pedal?
• More often used with acoustic guitars is a reverb effect. It gives the sound more depth. You can adjust the controls: would you like to sound as if you were playing in a cathedral or in a bathroom?
• A delay – This can fill different shoes. If you keep the delay time short, it sounds similar to reverb. If you increase the delay time, you get echoes (you have influence on how many echoes and how quickly after you play a note). This can be used in different ways:
  • give the sound more depth, just like a reverb
  • slap-back echo: listen to some rockabilly songs – an echo right after the note, very short, very “hard”
  • playing harmony with yourself: play a note, play another note for example a third above the first: the delay will repeat the first note and if you timed your second note correctly, this will happen right when you play the second note.
  • spacy sounds
• A chorus: makes your sound shimmer a bit, hard to describe with few words. Often used in pop and rock songs.

Basic line: get your guitar, go to a music store and play.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Acoustic effects pedals and select edit to make improvements.

What are some good guitars for people with small hands?

I’ve size 5 1/2 hands (glove size) so I know what you mean. I do play my beloved red Guild with no difficulty. After some years of practice and lessons, I think I’m just used to it. I love the sound so much, I worked at it. Dar Williams also has small hands and loves her Huss and Dalton. I’m looking into Daisy Guitars for my daughter. They’re made by Schecter, a great company with solid reputation, and they make acoustic and electric. Some of the acoustic Taylors are 3/4 size and the Takamines aren’t bad. I love my Fender Strat and find it much easier to play than the Guild, but I think that’s the nature of electrics.

And yes, it’s a very common problem among women. I’m on a Yahoo group called GuitarWomen and this has been a topic of discussion. Practice, practice, practice does help. I’ve played classical piano and working for that octave plus reach has helped the guitar playing. Best advice is go out and try a few before you buy. And as my husband would say, don’t forget to look at used instruments; they can be just as good, and much less expensive.

What are omni-directional and uni-directional speakers?

Omni-directional speakers usually send sound in all directions, front and back. They are not standard, and are usually found in outdoor plazas.

Uni-directional speakers only send sound in one direction – forward. This is normal for most PA speakers.

There are also omni-directional microphones, which are not good for live music. It is better to use microphones with a “cardiod” pattern.

The “Sum” is sometimes called “Mono”, as it is the combination (or addition) of the Left and Right signal. Check out the sound engineering Q&A for more on this topic.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to speaker types and select edit to make improvements.

What is some reliable and affordable equipment?

I’ve been using my Strat for the last 17 years, for any style! As long as your fingers can get the sound, nothing else will. As for upgrading: You could take your Squire and upgrade the pickups. The Fat Strat sounds like it features humbuckers!? If it doesn’t, you can do what I did. I replaced the bridge position with a Seymore Duncan JB Junior, that’s a humbucker in the shape of a single coil. DiMarzio offers great options too. Make sure that which ever one you go with has a good amount of lows and mids. Otherwise, you’ll be almost back at where you started with the stock pickup.

50 Watts will be fine for small rooms and situations where you can mic the speaker and go through the PA. But it’s cutting it close, or slim so to speak. I’ve recently bought my first transistor in years, the Fender Roc-Pro 700. The nicest features are it’s versatility, the tube in the preamp section, and the light weight! It screams for sure and has 70 Watts. I used to play through an all-tube half stack: Super heavy and way too loud to sound good in small settings.

You have to also remember: Guitar Centers, or any other store’s sales reps will try to sell you something. Anything. I don’t know much about those Marshall combos, but none I have tried ever floored me.

How about some JBL wedges? I don’t know the model name, but I’ve worked with many singers that use them for rehearsals and gigs. Some even have some good digital effects. Wouldn’t know myself about the Fenders, but they could be great.

Wow, when you ask about learning improv, you are asking the question, if there ever was one that is most important! Hard to answer in one email; but you are on the right track with records! Too many students come to me and sometimes without realizing it themselves, ask me to “train” them into being able to improvise. No teacher can do it for you, so listening to those discs and learning solos is an important thing, as well as simply jamming along (some people denounce that noodling with scales). You have to actively make yourself speak in this language, because learning music/improvising is no different than learning a language. Just speak…just play. A great teacher, of course can save you a lot of wrong and tedious turn offs, but lots can be learned on those as well.

Check out dome lessons on soloing and improvisation.

What pickups should I get for great tone?

A humbucker will help greatly with that singing, sustaining lead tone you want to get. There are exceptions to this. Listen to Eric Johnson. He uses strats with single coils. The humbuckers tend to get the bass in there and thicken up the sound a lot. You don’t need to get a new guitar or mess up your pickguard. Get a replacement guard with a cutout for a humbucker and the remaining single coils (the guitar’s cavity may have to be molded for the huumbucker to fit, some strats need to have this done some don’t) a medium to high output humbucker and some matched single coils with electronics and put on guitar. But if GAS [Gear Acquisition Syndrome] is a chronic condition, like it is with me, a new guitar could be in order. heheheh

Another amp…..Yes. You won’t get the sound you are looking for from your current amplifier. Sorry. Santana uses either mesa mark IIC plus a boost pedal in front (usually a tube screamer of some sort) or a Koch. These are a new amplifier out that i hear he is going nuts over. Good luck and i hope i have made sense. Later and good luck.

So here goes:

Plectra/Plectrums

Unfortunately, offering concrete advice on plectrum selection is very difficult, there is probably no piece of a guitarist’s equipment which is quite as subjective as his plectrum. Everyone has fairly concrete ideas about what sound his guitar should have, what strings he should use, etc., but nothing has quite the wide variety of options as the humble plectrum – ask 20 guitarists what they use and you are likely to get 20 different answers. The options of material, shape and thickness are almost endless. To keep this article within reason, I have decided to confine myself to normal plectra and ignore things like finger-picks, for the time being – maybe another article at a later date.

For beginners, it is important to stress that there are no hard and fast rules with regard to plectrum selection, it is purely a matter of taste what you use. Some prefer thin plectra, some thick, some medium, some swear by Tortex, some by real tortoiseshell. If it feels right and plays well for you, it is a good pick – for you.

There are, however, some tips which may help the new guitarist to decide which plectrum to choose. In fact, I take back what I just wrote, there is one hard rule in choosing a plectrum (see, even I can’t make my mind up) – buy as many different ones as you can afford and try them all out.You never know, in there may be your non plus ultra, your dream plectrum – no matter who it’s made by, what it’s made of or how thick it is, if you think it’s the bee’s knees, then it is. But, then again, who knows, there may be one out there that is better than your current favourite and you will never know until you find it.

I’ll list the various factors which contribute to choosing a plectrum and let you make the choice which you prefer to use:

Thickness

The thickness of the pick has an effect both on the sound produced and on it’s playability.

A thin plectrum (anything less than about 0.4mm is regarded as “thin”) is mostly what beginners start out with. It will make strumming chords relatively easy, because of the flexibility of the material. On the other hand, many guitarists say that playing a lead riff with such a thin plectrum is difficult because it doesn’t give the control of a thicker plectrum (although there are long-standing professional guitarists who use nothing else but thin plectra – see what I mean about personal choice?). A thin plectrum will tend to give the sound a slightly sharp edge to it, no matter what material is used. Depending on the type of music you are playing, this may or may not be a good thing.

Medium plectra (from 0.4 up to about 1mm) are possibly the most widely used of all. They offer enough rigidity to maintain good control during lead sequences, but also enough flexibility to not make strumming chords difficult. The sharp edge to the sound, produced by a thin plectrum is reduced and a slight softness (or roundness) is heard. How much noticeable this softness is depends on the material used for the plectrum and tortoiseshell, for example, will be softer and rounder in tone than a carbon fibre mixture or metal, for instance.

Once you get above 1mm, all plectra seem to be rated as heavy and come as thick as 3mm or more (although the playing tip is very little thicker than a medium plectrum). They give excellent control over lead passages, but suffer in the rhythm category. The big fat 3mm picks seem to be loved primarily in the jazz world.

Material

There seems to be no end to the different materials used in making plectra. There are all sorts of plastics and natural materials, from tortoiseshell to space age metals and ceramics. Each one has it’s own character, feel and sound. Whether it is right for you or not is, unfortunately, going to be the result of trial and error. In my collection I have fake tortoise shell, nylon, carbon/nylon mix, Tortex, plastic and metal. No two sound exactly the same.

One of the nice things of, particularly, man-made materials is that they slide easily over the strings and produce little resistance (which can produce an unpleasant sawing or scraping sound). The same property is also one of it’s greatest weaknesses – it moves as easily around in your fingers as it does over the strings and keeping control over the plectrum is often a major problem (particularly for beginners, who have yet to master the finesse of “as little pressure as possible, but as much pressure as necessary”). One of the easiest ways, that I have found, of stopping the plectrum revolving in your fingers is to drill a couple of small holes where your fingers grip, although you can buy plectra with holes already drilled through them. There are also commercial products like the romatically named “Gorilla Snot”, which also stop slipping.

The consensus of opinion seems to be that, begnners should start with something in medium thickness. The material is irrelevant, but it’s, perhaps, wise to start with plectra that are readily available and cheap – they are usually that way because they are popular. Dunlops seem to be available almost as widely as Coca-Cola and, judging by the posts on GN, the plectrum of choice for many guitarists.

As you get a little more experienced, why not try something with a different sound, like a coin. The American quarter makes a nice plectrum as does an old English Shilling with it’s milled edge. In fact, there is a whole market selling plectra made out of sometimes pretty odd materials. You can buy them made of semi precious stones, wood (with some very exotic looking grains), old cymbals, silver and glass, the list is almost endless. It’s just one of those things that makes buying plectra so much fun – you’ll never run out of something new to add to your collection.

Shape

This is another “no-holds-barred” area of plectrum design. Everyone wants to prove that “his” shape is better than everybody else’s. There is every conceivable combination of angles and curves, from a circle to a triangle and everything between and beyond. You only have to look at my small collection to begin to appreciate the diversity. Don’t start off right away with weird shapes, though, get used to the “plain vanilla” teardrop-shaped plectrum first. It’s that shape because experience has proven it to be the best shape for most guitarists (OK, I know, but finger pickers shouldn’t be reading this anyway!).

Size

There is one particular size that can be called “standard” and makes up about 90% of all teardrop plectra. This is where the beginner should start – don’t start with the exotic until you have mastered the mundane.

Over and above the “standard” size, there are a number of oversized plectra and a good assortment of smaller ones, often referred to as “jazz picks”, which also seem to make up the majority of the 2mm+ thick plectra. I would not really recommend these for the beginner, certainly not until you have learned to grip the plectrum correctly. Don’t start out with anything too small, too big or too ungainly (there are some big triangular things that could almost substitute for a frisbee), you need to be able to hold it comfortably.

Conclusion

For the beginner, the middle-of-the-road, plain vanilla teardrop plectrum is the best choice to start with. Coincidentally, whilst I was writing this, there was a post on GN asking what plectra people used. As you can see from the replies, which I’ve shortened for brevity,… well, take a look for yourself…..

• Heavy.
• Medium …… Heavy is good for picking but completely sucks for strumming. Medium can do both well. Light sucks for everything.
• medium
• extra heavies
• medium
• 58mm most often, but when there’s lots of strumming involved I sometimes grab a .50mm
• .60mm
• Thin on strumming my acoustic… Medium when it involves some soloing
• medium
• medium
• extra heavy or nothing
• between .50mm and 1mm
• Jim Dunlop Jazz I, Sharkfin, Fender Heavy, Fender .46mm Thin, Pick Boy 100/70/50 (one of my favs), TeckPick – Brass & Aluminium and a Dava Control

My small collection:

Ranges from the thinnest at nothing measurable in the top left hand corner to a 3mm fatty in the top right hand corner. With the exception of the 2nd right at the top (at 2mm), all the rest come in the 0.4mm to 1mm bracket.

In the first article of this two-part series (The Definition of Tone), we took an introductory look at the world of replacement pickups for electric guitars. As much a part of a guitarist’s signature sound as wood or fingers, pedals or amplifiers, the pickups are the starting point where the guitar’s sound becomes electric. While it can be tricky to find the pickups that will help you find ‘your voice’, there is really no excuse for crummy tone these days. Guitarists on a quest for satisfying sound have a very wide variety of high-quality aftermarket pickups from which to choose.

As you might recall, I was in search of replacement pickups for my late 80’s Ibanez 540s. This guitar has a lightning fast neck, a very attractive cherry sunburst, tiger-striped maple top, and major mojo. With the right pickups, I knew this would be my “number 1″ guitar. It has double coil (humbucker) pickups in the neck position and bridge position and a single coil pickup in the middle position (known as an H-S-H configuration).

From the neck pickup, I wanted to be able to get warm, clean tones for both rhythm playing and single-line solos in a jazz setting. I also wanted to be able to get a smooth, singing sustain when using the neck pickup for high-gain soloing reminiscent of the sounds that Carlos Santana gets. If possible, I’d want to be able to get some “Strat-like” funk and grit from this pickup when I split one of the coils and used a crunchy, mid-gain setting.

From the bridge pickup, I wanted a great ‘power-chord’ sound that was neither too muddy nor too thin, and a harmonic-rich lead tone that really cuts through for rock solos without sounding shrill on the high notes.

From the middle pickup, I hoped to be able to produce a very interesting sound for clean rhythm guitar parts, mostly balanced across the frequencies with perhaps slightly de-emphasized bass response and treble with a hint of that “chime-y or glassy” quality. I also wanted the ability to combine the middle pickup with the neck or bridge pickups in order to get those interesting “position 2 and 4″ sounds that a Strat can get (sometimes referred to as ‘quack’), especially with a clean amp setting. I also wanted try to get rid of the annoying 60 Hz hum that single coil pickups cannot eliminate.

Final Selection

I listened to a lot of sound-clips and asked a lot of questions of guitar players familiar with different pickups. I considered pickups with ceramic magnets, alnico 2 magnets, and alnico 5 magnets. I considered pickups with regular pole pieces, small allen-screw pole pieces, oversized pole pieces, staggered-height pole pieces, and ‘blade type’ pickups without individual pole pieces at all. For purposes of blending the humbuckers nicely, I decided to select pickups of the same magnet type for the neck and the bridge. It turns out that alnico 5 magnets were used in the highly coveted vintage humbuckers from the late 1950’s, so I focused my search to pickups in the PAF family. (PAF stands for patent applied for and refers to the pickups used on Gibson guitars back in the 50’s. These pickups had the letters PAF stamped on them and the nickname stuck.) I chose the “59″ pickup from Seymour Duncan for the neck position. I decided to get the “4-wire” option to allow me the coil splitting configurations I was hoping for. Wanting a slightly more modern sounding pickup, I selected the “Custom 5″ model for the bridge position. Finally, I decided on the “Duckbucker” from Seymour Duncan for the middle position. This pickup is designed to produce the desired ‘quack’ sound but in a stacked double coil configuration that provides the 60-cycle hum-canceling effect and still fits in a single coil-sized hole. I was comforted to know that Seymour Duncan pickups come with a 21-day trial period. If for some reason the pickups weren’t satisfying in my guitar, I could send them back and try some another model until I was happy with the results.

Circuit design

Even before I had made my final pickup selections, I knew that my wiring diagram would be fairly intricate in order to get the pickup combinations I desired. I’d want not only to be able to have each of the humbuckers operate with both coils on, but also to be able to split either of the coils for single coil sounds. This was not a common wiring approach as most coil-split circuits provide for only one of the coils to be split. I wanted to be able to combine the neck and bridge pickups in parallel – not only as dual humbuckers, but also as the top coil of the neck pickup combined with the bottom coil of the bridge pickup, and vice versa. These “outer” and “inner” coil combinations became very popular in the mid 80’s when Paul Reed Smith guitars introduced the 5-position rotary switch for their dual-humbucker guitars. These combinations can produce some interesting ’scooped’ sounds reminiscent of Strat or Tele tones. My “wish list” represented 9 combinations so far, and I hadn’t even considered the middle pickup (alone and in combination) yet! I knew my stock hardware wasn’t going to get me what I hoped for.

In addition to a “five position, two pole” pickup selector switch, the guitar had one master volume control potentiometer (or “pot”) and one master tone control pot. It also had a double pole-double throw (DPDT) “on-off” mini toggle switch to allow splitting of one coil from the humbuckers. In order get the desired “upper coil / both coils / lower coil” combinations from the humbuckers, I knew this mini toggle would have to be replaced by a DPDT “on-off-on” mini-toggle switch. I developed a circuit diagram that allowed me to pick the upper coil from the neck pickup at the same time that I was selecting the lower coil of the bridge pickup, and vice versa. In order to preserve the hum canceling properties of the outer and inner combinations, I would need to reverse both the magnet polarity and direction of the winding for one of the pickups. (see open pickup surgery below)

So far, I had realized my goals for positions 1 and 5 of the 5-way switch, and felt confident that I could get what I wanted in positions 2 and 4. It was position 3 that I was stuck on. I wanted to be able to use position 3 for the middle pickup by itself, but I also wanted to be able to use position 3 to combine the humbuckers. I needed another switch, but didn’t want to drill another hole into the guitar. I decided to use a “push/pull” DPDT switch built into the pot that I would use as the volume control. While I was changing out this pot for one that includes a DPDT switch, I decided to use an audio taper pot instead of the linear taper pot that was in the guitar. The audio taper pot provides a smoother range of control as the pot is rolled from the lowest value to the highest, conforming more closely to the way the human ear perceives changes in volume. (note: Humbuckers typically need 500K ohm pots for best results.)

The stock pickup selector switch did not provide a straightforward way for combining the humbuckers, so I researched options and found a 4-pole, 5-way switch known as the “superswitch”. I designed a circuit to get exactly what I wanted, but was set back when I discovered that the superswitch was too deep in its physical dimension to fit inside the shallow control cavity of my guitar. So, forced to reuse my stock 2-pole, 5-way selector switch, I cobbled together a ‘work around’ that was functional, but inelegant in implementing all the choices I wanted. In position 3, when the push / pull switch was ‘pushed’, I would have the middle pickup by itself. When the push / pull switch was ‘pulled’, I would have the combination of the neck and bridge pickups as dictated by the on-off-on mini toggle (i.e. outer coils parallel / neck and bridge double coils parallel / inner coils parallel).

Open pickup surgery

In order to preserve hum-canceling when combining the inner or outer coils of the neck and bridge pickups, I had to reverse the magnetic polarity and winding direction for one of the pickups. I decided (arbitrarily) to make the change on the neck pickup. By gently loosening the screws in the base plate, I was able to separate the pickup bobbins from the housing. I then unwound the cloth tape that protected the pickup windings. This revealed the magnet nestled on the underside of the pickup between the pole pieces. I carefully slid the magnet out, flipped it over like a pancake, and slid it back into place. After re-taping the bobbins, I tightened up the screws on the base plate, and I was done. Total elapsed time, about 3 minutes. In order to reverse the direction of the winding, I simply treated the ’start’ end of the winding (in the case of Seymour Duncan humbuckers, the black wire) as the finish and the ‘finish’ end (green) as the ’start’. This change would be invisible when running the pickup by itself, but would make all the difference in preserving hum cancellation when one coil from the neck pickup was paired with one coil from the bridge pickup.

Installation

Installation went very smoothly. I used a ’star ground’ technique to avoid any ground loops. This technique joins all the parts of the circuit that need to be grounded at a single point as the rays of a star emanating from the center. The ground wires from the pickups and the pots and the chassis were all grounded to the audio return on the guitar output jack. I used 22 gauge solid core copper wire, but wished I had some stranded wire on hand as it is typically easier to work with and is less prone to breaking. I tinned all the leads prior to soldering and was careful to heat the joint, not the solder. This is important in order to prevent ‘cold’ solder joints that can cause unreliable connections during operation. I had left one of the strings on the guitar in order to have an easy way of testing the guitar before buttoning up the back plate. I also tapped on the pole pieces with a tiny screwdriver (keep the volume down!) in order to make sure that the switches were providing the correct combinations. When the guitar checked out 100% it was time to string it up and take it for a test drive. Total installation time was approximately 90 minutes.

Final Results

I couldn’t wait to plug the guitar into my rig to test it out and hear the results. First I made sure that the pots were working (check!). I dialed in a clean setting and strummed a jazzy chord using the ‘59 neck pickup set as a humbucker. I was delighted to hear such a full tone, a bit darker than I could ever coax from the original pickup, with a very rich midrange. Even with arpeggiated licks high on the neck, the tone was never brittle, even with the tone control maxed out. I then dialed in a high gain setting and the guitar gave forth a sustain like it never had before. It had a slight hint of natural compression without any artificial quality at all. Fast licks had a good balance between rounded slur and crisp articulation. I knew that this pickup was demonstrably better than the pickup it had replaced, but I hadn’t even begun to really reveal its versatility. I then flicked the mini toggle to split the upper coil. Back to a clean amp setting, I played a handful of blues licks with bends and double stops. No one would ever confuse it for a vintage Strat, but it was most assuredly a single coil tone with a pronounced ’snap’. The tone darkened up a by a subtle amount when I split to the lower coil instead. Again, decidedly single coil, but no one would be forgetting Stevie Ray Vaughn’s or Eric Johnson’s tone any time soon. I decided to see if I could find out what this pickup was NOT good at and it didn’t take long. To my ears, it was entirely too muddy for hard rock power chords. I didn’t consider this a shortcoming because I never intended to use it in such an application. I suppose a punk rocker that wanted to create a thick wall of noise would find it quite useful.

I switched down to the Custom 5 pickup and did the same kinds of tests from the bridge position. With a crunchy hard rock rhythm setting on the amp, I got a very hot ‘power chord tone’. Thick with solid low end and nuanced mid ranges, it was decidedly ’scooped’, especially compared to the Seymour Duncan JB pickup I have in the bridge position of another guitar. Instantly, I knew that this was a major step-up from the original pickup. Stepping up the gain and playing my best imitation of flashy hard rock solos, this pickup did not let me down. It had a nice high end that wasn’t shrill at all and didn’t get muddy when playing some low notes on the wound A and E strings. I needed to tweak the pickup height down a bit in order to get a good clean sound, which thankfully didn’t alter the ‘hot’ sounds noticeably. Splitting the coils had much the same effect as was evident when splitting the neck coils. The lower coil was a bit brighter than the upper coil, and while both were musically useful, neither was a stand out. (Like the man said, “if you want to sound like a Strat, buy one!”). I found that the single coils ‘crunched’ passably, but in high gain settings, they simply weren’t my cup of tea. Again, this was never my objective, so I wasn’t terribly disappointed.

As if the results thus far were a mere opening act, I switched to the middle pickup not knowing what to expect. The first thing that struck me was how quiet the Duckbucker was. Intellectually, I knew it should be quiet owing to its humbucker construction. I just didn’t consider the psycho-acoustic impact of switching to position 3 and hearing absolutely no noise. Dialing in a clean setting I started a few licks of my poor impersonation of a ‘chicken picker’. I was stunned! The snap and twang that I had hoped for was in full effect! Very bright and punchy, this pickup revealed ‘inner’ nuances to my favorite jazzy chords that I had never heard. It had a lovely chime to it with a “shimmery” high-end sustain. I started playing some bluesy licks and noticed a problem instantly. As I bent the strings, the volume would drop off very noticeably, and then increase as I released the bend. I suspected that the very narrow pole pieces were too far from the strings. I raised the pickup as close to the strings as I could without hitting it with my pick. The ‘volume drop’ problem was essentially gone, but it seemed to lose a bit of it’s ’shimmer’ and ’snap’. Pickups that are too close to the strings can rob a guitar of sustain as the pull of the pickup’s magnet physically dampens the string’s vibrations. Some tweaking will be needed to find the lowest possible height that I can get away with without seeing the ‘volume drop’ problem return. Another possible remedy would be to try the Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails pickup because it has tonal characteristics essentially identical to the Duckbucker, but with a blade design instead of individual pole pieces.

I then combined the Duckbucker with the neck pickup in all three mini-toggle positions. I was surprised to hear the nice varieties of tones that I could get. One of them was sure to work as a reasonable approximation of the Sultans of Swing sound, and another worked nicely for the Comfortably Numb / Brick In The Wall tone. Combining the Duckbucker with the bridge had similar results, only a bit brighter than the Duck/neck combos. In a critical listening environment, a schooled ear would readily know that this was not a Strat in positions 2 and 4. But in a live band situation, the sound would be plenty sufficient to evoke the familiar tones.

When I returned the 5-way switch to slot 3 and pulled up on the push/pull pot, I was treated to tones that this guitar had never produced. The dual parallel humbucker tone was dead-on for an old Gibson LP in the middle position. It rang out with full humbucker presence, but with a little extra top-end crispness and little extra low-end tightness. Adding a slight hint of crunch, I was able to get tones reminiscent of Steely Dan guitar tones from the 70’s. Very, Very cool ! Toggling up to get the ‘outer’ coil combo was exactly what I had hoped for. A very desirable tone approximating a “spanked” Tele was immediately present. (think Keith Richards crunchy rhythm sound) The ‘inner coils’ gave a slightly altered tone that had it’s peak shifted a bit to the midrange. Equally appealing, equally musical. Neither of these combinations had a trace of hum (the surgery was a success!). These last combinations rounded out the test drive that took me through all 16 unique combinations from this guitar.

Aside from the personal satisfaction from accomplishing my objectives in this do-it-yourself project, I got a HUGE smile on my face the first time I took this guitar out for a gig. Our soundman (a fellow guitarist who owns many expensive guitars, amps, and other toys) was floored by how good my tone was with just my guitar, a cord, a small Fender solid state combo amp and a touch of reverb. The notes seemed to jump off the fingerboard with a new crispness and the hi-gain solo tone was just transcendent. I played the best I ever had with this band that afternoon, even taking a few extra choruses on Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers (check out Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow CD for the definitive version of this Stevie Wonder composition). This guitar is officially ‘number one’ for me.

Conclusion

My total cash outlay for this project was under $250 and total time spent was approximately three hours (not counting research).

Inspiring tone can really stimulate a player to new heights of creativity, and noodling with the pickups is a fun and effective way to get very close to the heart of the tone. I hope this two-part series was informative and inspiring to readers who have considered getting “under the hood” and tricking out their axes to get a custom “hot-rod” sound. Gentlemen (and ladies), Start your soldering irons !!

I am grateful to all who helped me with my journey, especially my ‘tone brothers’ on the Seymour Duncan website message forum. Special thanks also to John at BlackroseCustom.com and Lew at lewsguitars.com for excellent advice and fast service.

Also check out… Replacement Pickups Part 1

1. The wood ages and the sound matures, bringing out overtones you never knew existed.

When you buy a new acoustic guitar you need to be very careful the first several years that they don’t dry out or get too much humidity. Why? The wood hasn’t settled into its cured state yet. Curing of wood is so very important that done right the wood goes for a pretty penny. The old forest wood that is being pulled up from the bottom of the Great Lakes is prohibitively expensive. Some believe that Stradivarius aged his wood under water so that the cells would lose moisture slower and also be affected by anaerobic bacteria. Personally I haven’t got time to wait, so I’ll go with a used guitar. Now maybe you can’t tell the difference, but you will be able to tell the difference in the next item.

2. Used guitars are generally a lot cheaper, 50% less than what they retail for isn’t uncommon. The PK30 from Tacoma sells for $1469 US online, you can get it from guitarweb on Ebay with a cosmetic finish flaw for $749. That’s a practically new guitar. My 1979 Flyde Orsino cost me $300. New that guitar is $1500. To get the tone that my 25 year old guitar has you’d have to spend $2000-3000. All those numbers are retail folks.

That brings up an interesting point, I classify “used” guitars into four categories: old used, new used, refurbished, needs work to play.

Here is how I break them down:

Old used is at least 10 years old. These guitars have a history. They weren’t turned over just because a new model came out. Most have been gently played or played and forgotten. This is where I recommend you buy. The best bargains are here.

New used is less than five years old. “I bought it for my son and he lost interest” guitars fall into this category. “I thought a better guitar would make me play better” guitars fall in here too. Generally these are low to mid range guitars. Still you can find some decent bargains in here too.

Refurbished guitars are factory seconds or used trade in guitars that have been fixed by a reputable dealer like my friends at guitarweb on Ebay. You can find some great deals on very recent models at places like this. If you go this EBay route, look for a seller with lots and lots of positive feedback.

Needs work to play is something you should just steer clear of, unless you find a 1943 Martin that needs a new neck for $200. Buy it and take it to your local guitar shop to be fixed. The other time you might buy a guitar like this is if you are looking for a specialty guitar. For instance an old archtop Jazz guitar could be had for next to nothing. Take that into a luthier to have the neck reset for a couple of hundred bucks and you could have a real gem.

3. Most guitars don’t get used that much in the first place. More people give up rather than stick to playing. I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but I’m sure there are more guitars in basements, under beds, in attics that aren’t being played than there are guitars being played. Wouldn’t that be nice to find an old Fender Strat that was only driven to church on Sundays by a little old lady?

4. The design of the guitar hasn’t changed much, if at all, in the past 30 years. Not that I need to elaborate on this one, but aside from pickups, not much else has changed.

5. There is something satisfying about bringing the guitar home, taking off the strings, vacuuming out the inside, cleaning the fretboard and body, restringing with fresh new strings and hearing that first chord.

6. Used guitars are not like used cars. Used guitars are like vintage wine or cigars, they get better with age.

For instance, this will link you to a page with a 1943 Martin that is listed for $9000. Click on over to the next page and you’ll see one listed for $135,000.

7. There are woods available in older guitars that are no longer available. Brazilian Rosewood for example, is only available now in three piece backs. Why? Because all that can be logged now are Brazilian Rosewood stumps. True you can find really high end guitars that have solid Brazilian backs, but if you are reading this article you probably aren’t looking to spend six grand for a guitar.

8. Older guitars are often handmade. Why is that better? Because each individual unit was examined by hand every step of the way. Sometimes cutting to laser precision doesn’t make the best sound out of a naturally grown piece of wood. Luthiers used to tap the tops and listen to make sure the tone was right all over the top and they still do in high end guitars. That doesn’t happen in an assembly line factory.

Okay, let’s pretend I convinced you. What do you need to check to make sure the guitar is in good working condition? Well here is a list of 10 things to check.

1. How does it look? Does it look like it was well taken care of? Does it look like it was well played but still in good shape? If a guitar was well cared for it shows. I like mine to look slightly played in, so I know a guitarist was caring for it.
2. How does it sound? Play every note on every fret of every string. Make sure it doesn’t fret out. Could be a sign of needing a fret job, or worse yet a neck reset. If you bend strings, bend ‘em and check out the sound. Pay attention to all of the frets, not just the ones you play. Pay special attention to the ones at the sound hole end of the fret board.
3. Speaking of the neck here are five handy dandy tests.
   a. Sight down the neck from the side. The neck should appear pretty straight. A little bit bowed is okay, a lot is not. A hump where the fretboard meets the body is a good reason to put the guitar down. Also make sure the neck is not twisted from side to side.
   b. Hold down the low E string at the 1st and 12th fret, or wherever the neck meets the body. Now look at the 6th fret, can you just barely see light? If you think you could fit a first string under you are good. Any space greater than a 6th string and you need some setup work, possibly a neck reset if the action is too great and there isn’t enough saddle or bridge.
   c. Gently push the neck to and fro, up and down; it shouldn’t give at all. It may flex a little, but the neck socket should be like a rock.
   d. Look at the neck joint at the body, it should be flush.
   e. Look at the joint of the fretboard and the top, it should fit snug.
4. Check to make sure the neck has a truss rod. Reinforced is okay, truss rod is better.
5. Check out the space directly in front of and behind the bridge. Both sides should be relatively flat. If the back bulges up a lot behind the bridge, or sinks in front, put the guitar back. A symptom of this is very high action. Some bulge and sinking is to be expected, but the distortion should be less than half of the bridge height.
6. Speaking of action, how is the action at the 12th fret? Is it how you like it? If not, see number 7.
7. Check out the bridge and saddle. Is there any room for the saddle to be lowered? Is there any room for the bridge to be lowered? If both have been lowered as much as they can be, it’s a sign the neck probably needs to be reset. The saddle shouldn’t have big grooves in it either, that’s another sign of a desperate need for a neck reset.
8. Little cracks are not a problem, big cracks are. Use your best judgment. They are cheap to fix.
9. Push down lightly on the top all over and listen for creaking. If it creaks one of your braces may be unglued.
10. Listen to it. Try to disregard the strings, they are probably older than dirt. Does it sound like a new set of strings would make it sing? If you really think you might buy it, ask the shop to put on some new strings. If they won’t, buy a set yourself and put them on. $4 spent to test the thing isn’t much.

Some of the problems above may be acceptable to you. I sometimes buy good guitars with necks that are coming off the body. I know ahead of time that a neck reset($200-300), or new frets($10 each), or a top crack($50) is going to be necessary and bargain accordingly.

What are some good brands to look for? Well, to each their own, but here is what I look for:

Lesser know names: Fylde, Grammer, Springhill-(Fender), Mossman pre-’76, Weymann, Marwin, National, Vega, Washburn (30s and 40s)

Better known: Guild, Epiphone or Epi – archtops, Kay archtops, Gretsch, Yamaha LL series, Gibson, Takamine – (high end only), Alvarez – (high end only)

Well known (and hard to find a bargain): Martin, Taylor

High end but sometimes a good deal: Everett, C. Fox, Froggy Bottom, Lowden, Huss and Dalton, Northwood, Lakewood, Brook, McIlroy, Breedlove

Probably should steer clear: Any old Ovation, but there are exceptions. In general plastic doesn’t age as well as wood. I do love the new ones though. If you find a refurb, that might be a great deal.

Not even if you paid me: Any acoustic Fender from the mid 70s with a Strat headstock, huge neck block and broomstick support inside.

And two more I just wouldn’t buy: Any old used twelve string. New used maybe, but the string tension over time is a force to be reckoned with. Any laminate top guitar. What’s the point? Laminate tops are strong, so strong they don’t really improve their tone with age. If you are just looking for a knockabout, this may still appeal to you.

Where should you go to get them?

Here are my favorites:

Looking to save a buck or two on a new used guitar? Can you live with a crack repair, bridge reglue, finish defect? If yes head to guitarweb on EBay.  5157 positive feedback ratings can’t be a fluke. They go through cycles on guitar brands, Gretsch is really popular now, Garrison was a week or two ago, Takamine is ever present and some good deals on Tacomas can be had. They also have a large selection of Electrics and inexpensive acoustics.

Strictly high end guitars – Shoreline Acoustic Music. Looking to step up to a better quality guitar? This is definitely a must browse site. Shoreline has McIlroy, Taylor, Martin, Lakewood, Brook, Fylde, Northwood and whatever anyone has traded in. Some great deals, (don’t confuse great deals with dirt cheap, these are high end guitars), can be found on their Dutch auction page.

All types of guitars can be found at Elderly Instruments. Got $135,000 burning a hole in your pocket? Well they have a Martin for you. Elderly also has guitars for $200 so you should be able to find a vintage guitar in your price range. Elderly does the best job of describing the condition of their guitars that I have ever seen.

Buffalo Brothers has a nice selection of mid to high end guitars and includes a special section for lefties.

Did I hear you say you want a bargain? You want something off-beat or maybe just a fun place to shop? Go to Fat Dawg’s World Famous Subway Guitars. Not only do they have a little of everything, they have good prices and a great return policy.

One other choice you might want to consider is a pawn shop. If you’d like to learn more go and read A-Js article Where to Find Great Prices.

I hope this helps you in your quest for ancient tone.

Good luck and if you have questions, I’m just a forum away.

Walk into your local music shop and you are instantly overwhelmed by the mass of items that are begging for your attention and cash. And they hit you all so hard that by the time you recover, you’re stuck with something you didn’t really want. So now you’ve got to save for ANOTHER week for that pedal. You go in the next week, BAM, and you’re stuck with a whimsical set of maracas and still no pedal. It happens. It shouldn’t happen.

This article is about one thing and one thing alone – saving money. Now, I’m going to be honest with you right here. If you’re the sort of person that uses bits of left-over electrical cable as a belt and refuses to spend £5 to replace the broken D, A and high E strings on your second-hand Hohner Strat copy, then this article is not for you. This is not one of those infomercial-esque money saving programs where if you do X here and Y there, you will soon have Gibsons to burn. It’s not like that. This article is about necessities. Sometimes, we have a hard time distinguishing necessary from not, especially when we have money in our pocket. In some places in this article, I’m actually going to recommend spending MORE than you were planning to. But before you close your wallet in disgust, I’m thinking long term, and if you’re serious about guitar playing, so should you.

The Little Things

You know the sort of thing. The little tiny things we can’t do without, such as straplocks, straps, tuners, slides, capos, picks… the list is endless. But is all of it necessary? That’s the question.

OK, there are some things that are DEFINITELY necessary, such as a pick, a strap, and some straplocks. Straps and straplocks, though, are subject to debate – what’s right for you? Is that £6 strap going to survive gigging? Do you WANT to gig? If you don’t, is that £25 strap REALLY necessary? Of course, the longer you’ve been playing, the easier these questions become – experience will prove to be your best and most trusted teacher. But at first, it can all be a little daunting. However, the fact of the matter is, if you plan to gig, you need a decent strap and some good straplocks.

When you think about straplocks, those little tiny pieces of metal (or plastic, which we’ll come to in a minute) can cause quite the discussion, can’t they? And I bet you’ve seen those small, cheap, black plastic straplocks that require no drilling or anything. And, if you are trying to save money, I bet you’ve considered them, and maybe even bought some. But is that really the best idea?

Consider this – you buy a set of £15 straplocks that protect your instrument for good. You’re out of pocket £15, but you’ve got peace of mind knowing that those straplocks will probably outlive you. Buy a £2.50 set that isn’t that reliable, and you could end up paying upwards of £50 in repairs. You might even have to start shopping for a new axe. So not only do you have to get a new guitar/pay for repairs, you also have to buy a decent set of straplocks. You’re out of pocket £67.50 in that case (£50 for the repairs, £15 for the new straplocks, and £2.50 for the straplocks that caused the whole ordeal). In the long term, I’d rather get the £15 set. If you can get them, have a look at the straps that come with straplocks already attached. No drilling, and a good quality set of straplocks to boot. I got mine for the same price as a set of Jim Dunlop straplocks by themselves, meaning I’ve also saved money on a strap. Well worth it, in my opinion. If your guitar is broken, then were you REALLY saving money? No, of course not.

As for picks, buy a few different gauges/brands, and then find a particular one you like and stick with it. As for things like slides (and, to a lesser extent, capos – I say lesser extent because no matter what your style is, you probably should consider one), this is yet another case of necessity. Yes, it WILL broaden your horizons slightly, but why pay for stuff you won’t use? Consider your style before you leap at a slide. Will it suit you? Will you use it? Is it necessary?

Comfort In Sound Part I – Of Amps And Ampleness

This only applies to those of us that require amplification (electric players and acoustic players that don’t like being drowned out), of course. If you play electric, you obviously need an amp. There’s no two ways about it. You can’t appreciate the full extent of your guitar’s capabilities (the sustain, the tone, that dial on your guitar that seemingly doesn’t do anything in particular) without some sort of amplification. But what do you REALLY need?

First of all, if you haven’t heard of a company/amp (I mean if you haven’t heard ANYTHING at all), leave it alone. I learnt this the hard way. Sure, my AcroBat practice amp is good for practicing, but I wouldn’t trust it at a club or gig. I’m getting myself a Marshall 30w, which is fine for what I’m realistically planning to do over the next 5-10 years (hey, if an agent spots us and demands we tour the globe’s biggest arenas for all the money we could dream of in the next three weeks, I’ll consider a 50w). And that’s fine for me – I’ve done some research into it, and yes, I did consider the 100w 4×12 cab. But what’s the point? The amp I need is primarily for A) playing in my room to develop new ideas and B) playing in very small places for no money where my fresh ideas are met with an overall sense of apathy. Besides, another thing to take into account is convenience. The bands you see on TV playing in front of a wall of Marshall cabs don’t have to lug them around themselves in a very small car. The bands you see on TV don’t have to toss a coin before a practice to see which poor soul has to load the gear into a car. Smaller amps cause no such trouble, and they’re nearly as loud as the ones that require a group of burly roadies with names like “Dustin” and “Twinge”. That’s something to think about.

Comfort In Sound Part II – Pedalpushers

Every guitar player who hasn’t taken their guitar to live in a cave knows that the market is forever being bombarded with new items. And some of them are truly revolutionary, and change the face of guitar playing. Some don’t. An awful lot of us get stuck with those that don’t. It’s a matter of – you guessed it – necessity.

Look at your set-up (I know that’s no hardship, because if there’s one thing a guitarist loves to do besides recite his set-up to an astonished onlooker, it’s to gaze upon his own brilliance). You should have a guitar, a pick, and if you play electric, a lead and an amp. Got more? We all do. I wouldn’t call myself excessive with my gear – I’ve got a Crybaby wah pedal, a Zoom 505mkII multi-FX unit and I’ll probably get a few more (perhaps an independent sustainer,). But many people have effects and other items that sit in the closet. Why? Because they’re not necessary.

When it comes to effects, we all know the truth. It is TOUGH. You go into a music store, and you’re just mesmerized by them all. You go in – again, knowing EXACTLY what you’re there for – and you can very easily be lured into something you neither need nor want.

Another truth – your sound (that sound that makes you you) can cost hundreds upon hundreds, even thousands. And if you care that much, then it’s worth every penny. But another truth is that some people feel there’s a stigma attached to certain items and sounds. There’s a thrift-shop aura around certain multi FX units (including my beloved Zoom 505mkII) that is ridiculous. And it’s a real shame that people refuse to even try some units because of hearsay. TRY them and clear your mind.

Comfort In Sound Part III – Your Voice

So far, we’ve covered amps, effects, straps, straplocks, and pretty much everything in between. But we have yet to cover the most important thing of all – your guitar. And there is one brilliant way to save money on guitars. This is really more for the beginner-approaching-intermediate, but I think it’s a good general statement:

Don’t invest in “chunks”.

By this, I mean that if you start with a Squier at about £150, fair enough – we all need something to start with, and you can’t go far wrong with a Squier (regardless of what some nay sayers will tell you). Then let’s say you’ve decided to make the commitment and you want to get a beautiful cherry red Epiphone SG for £460. Don’t talk yourself into getting a “mid-range” guitar to make sure you still want to do it – if you really want to do it, and I mean REALLY, you’ll know it. It’s an intuitive thing. Because if you get, say, an Ibanez for about £250 to make sure you want to invest in the SG, I can guarantee you’ll get the SG anyway. And when you do, what was the point in buying the Ibanez? It was money that could have been put towards the SG. Sure, you could sell the Ibanez and the Squier, but you still wouldn’t have enough from the resale to get the SG, and the resale value of the Ibanez CERTAINLY wouldn’t justify getting it in the first place. Think. Thinking actually saves you a fair bit of money.

If you’re looking towards getting your 20th or 30th guitar, then we’re usually talking about more money and even more brain racking. And in that respect, it’s both easier and harder at this level than ever before – easier because at this level, you know EXACTLY what you want and need from a guitar. Harder because at this level, you usually spend a bit more on guitars, which means that choice can blind you.

And with choices come questions. Lots of questions. HARD questions.

What’s the point in this one? Do you like Kurt Cobain enough – and is it tonally different enough from your other axes – to warrant spending $600 on a JagStang? Do you like BB King’s style, or do you just like the way the Lucille looks on you? Is this a “trophy” guitar, or are you actually going to get your money’s worth? Another way to make sure you definitely want a guitar is to try it once a week for a reasonable stretch of time, and then go and look at other things you want that cost the same or less. You’ll get more cynical and realistic about your potential purchase, and you may save a bit of money.

Conclusion

Guitars are investments, regardless of how you look at it – if you’re a beginner you’re investing in good learning conditions. If you’re leaving the beginner phase, you’re investing in the sounds that are going to define your whole sound and guitar philosophy. And if you’ve mastered your craft, then it could be for any number of reasons – a monetary investment in the future vintage market, an investment in experience, who knows. And investments cost money. And unwise investments always seem to cost a lot more. I hope you’ve found this article helpful and enjoyable, and I hope your next investment brings you exactly what you want from it.

Merry Christmas, and happy spending.

These are merely SOME of the questions that come into play when buying the second guitar. Hopefully, this article will send you in well-prepared.

1. HOW MUCH?

This is the key point – how much are you looking to spend? I assume you’re looking to spend a little more than you did the first time round, which on one hand is a good thing, because you’ve got more choice, but on the other hand is a bad thing, because too much choice can be the killer.

Look at some guitars you like. How much are they? What do you like about them? What are you paying for here? If you can’t really see what you’re investing in, do you really think you should be investing in it? And are you paying for the guitar, or the brand?

I’ll be honest – when I was shopping around for my second, I had it set in my mind I was either getting a Fender or an Epiphone. Other brands? What other brands? Those were the two for me. I left the shop with a Tanglewood Memphis, with a much better sound and a fair bit of money left from what I thought I would be paying for the Telecaster or the Les Paul. Tanglewood are a small British brand, and it just so happens that the shop I bought it from owns 90% of the factory, and the owner’s a lefty. This means quality lefties. Not only has it taught me a valuable lesson about paying for brand names, but I have also discovered a whole new brand and sound.

2. WHERE?

Another vital point – Where are you planning to get it? Turns out that the shop I got my first guitar from ripped me off to the tune of at least £20. So I don’t go there for anything these days. Are you thinking of getting it over the internet? Because although you could be saving a fair lump of cash, what guarantee is there that the thing will arrive whole? Have you played it? How’s the action? Don’t know? Well, that’s something to consider. One thing to remember: NEVER underestimate the power of spending money locally. NEVER. If the store is anywhere near what you or I would deem “acceptable”, it will come back to you in one way or another. The manager of my favourite shop now knows me on a first name basis and most of the staff call me buddy or pal, and recognize me.

Good service, to me, is worth me spending my money there, even if the odd thing is a little more expensive. Because that investment has now provided me with a place where I know I can be frank with my concerns, and where I can have my own room to play in when I’m looking to spend. Don’t be led into thinking that the only investment you’re going to make is in your sound and your guitar. Invest in people.

3. WHY?

This is the killer. Why are you buying this guitar? Is it because of the brand name? Is that colour really the best for you? Unless you’re unbelievably sage and experienced, you probably won’t take a guitar down to sample if it doesn’t appeal to the visual side of things. Luckily for people like me, we’re not talking about people who are incredibly sage and experienced – we’re talking about real people, who will never utter the sentence “Oh yeah, that’s the Gibson Smartwood Chanacharana Les Paul I got this week. It’s not as good as the one I ordered last week, that was Peroba wood, but you win some, you lose some.” But you should always purchase based on sound. Sure, this guitar looks fabulous, but how does it sound? Does it sound crummy when it’s run through effects and amps that are set to just how you like them? Are you looking to buy an acoustic? An electric? An electro-acoustic? A semi-acoustic? A bass? An acoustic bass? Obviously, the more you think about this, the harder it gets, which is, in the end, a good thing.

Another question of why – is it so significantly different from guitar number one to justify the money you’re investing in it? Chances are most of your sound difficulties can be resolved with a tiny bit of practice.

When you get a new guitar, you sometimes feel like you’re capable of anything. I know I felt like that. I even had a crack at Clapton’s Tears in Heaven. But don’t be tricked into thinking the confidence boosts that come with a new guitar come ONLY with a new guitar, as I once thought. They come in all shapes and sizes, like learning a new trick/technique, mastering a song you consider to be difficult, and yes, getting a new effects pedal. As much as I hate to admit it, buying new equipment is good for us – it inspires to play more, and with that comes new ideas and techniques. But there’s many, many more ways to get a confidence boost that is not only much better than getting a new pedal, but it’s completely free.

I hope that this article has been of some benefit to you. If you’re shopping for your second guitar right now, keep the questions that you think are relevant to you in mind. More importantly, go in with an open mind – forget everything you think you know.

Best of luck and happy hunting!

Background

I have always loved the feel of my Ibanez 540S solid-body electric guitar. Its neck and fingerboard radius is super flat, super thin, and of medium width – in short; it’s built for speed. The body shape is very comfortable, very lightweight, and also extremely thin. It is truly nothing short of a joy to play. Equally it’s no slouch in the looks department with its cherry sunburst finish over a nicely figured, flamed maple top. Its only shortcoming has been its sound (granted, this is a major shortcoming for a musical instrument). The palette of tones that my guitar produces has served me reasonably well – other players have even complimented me on my tone – but there has always been something missing. The tones that I ‘hear’ in my head are more nuanced, subtle, and ultimately, more expressive than the ones that I have been able to coax from this guitar.

In attempts to improve this condition, I have done all the relatively easy, inexpensive, and reversible things. I have tweaked endlessly with the settings on my rack-mounted pre-amp. I have changed string gauge (from 0.09-0.42 to 0.10- 0.46 to 0.11-48) and string type (nickel, steel, ‘coated’). I have tried different styles and gauges of picks, to include trying a thumb pick and my fingers. While these experiments have added to my arsenal of tone producing weaponry, none of them have achieved all the tonal qualities I have hoped for. So I decided once and for all that I would endeavor to remove the stock pickups from my guitar and replace them with aftermarket upgrade pickups.

This two-part series will describe the journey and the discoveries made along the way. In the first part, we’ll have a beginner’s look at exactly what a pickup does and how it does it. We’ll also have a brief overview of the tones made famous by some of the best sounding electric guitar players of the last thirty years. We’ll also review some of the web’s sources of information available to those who want to embark on a quest for tone. In the second part, I’ll describe the steps I took on my quest and reveal my results.

Pickup Primer

Pickups have the relatively simple job of turning the musical vibrations of guitar strings into an electrical signal that feeds an amplifier which somehow turns it into limousines, supermodel girlfriends, rehab, a ‘behind the music’ special, a reunion tour, and if you’re lucky immortalization in Cleveland, or at least your local Hard Rock Café. As far as the physics is concerned, electric guitar pickups are relatively simple devices (Well, up to the limousine part. Everything after that is left to the reader as an exercise).

Electric guitar pickups (1) are nothing more than a length of wire wrapped in a coil (usually around a plastic bobbin that gives the pickup its elongated oval shape) with a magnet (usually Ceramic, or an alloy of Aluminum, Nickel, and Cobalt called Alnico) in the center of the coil. Pole pieces (either adjustable screws or fixed metal slugs) poke up out of the coil towards the strings and ‘focus’ the pickup under the vibrating string. Basic principles of electro magnetism tell us that a coil of wire around a magnet creates an electro-magnetic field. The vibrations of the guitar strings create a disturbance in this field that, in turn, induces a current onto the coil of wire that becomes the output signal of the guitar (i.e. the coil ‘picks up’ the vibrations and turns it into electricity – hence the name). The output power (i.e. volume) of a pickup is related to the number of turns in the coil (the more, the louder) and the strength of the magnet (the stronger, the louder).

A single coil pickup will produce a noticeable ‘hum’ at a frequency of 60 Hz corresponding to the frequency of AC power lines that interfere with the pickups electromagnetic field. A double coil pickup (frequently called a ‘humbucker’) has two single coils that are installed in opposing orientations. When the signals from these two coils are added, the 60 Hz signals ‘cancel’ each other out, thereby ‘bucking’ the ‘hum’ and leaving a relatively noiseless signal.

Despite the simplicity of the theory behind the operation of pickups, there is a vast body of practical knowledge to be uncovered in the artistry surrounding pickup design. Design facets include the selection of the type and length of wire, the type and strength of magnet selected, and physical assembly considerations (such as potting the pickup in wax, or proper placement of the pickup in relation to the strings). By varying these parameters, different pickups can be made to produce vastly differing tonal characteristics.

All other things being equal, a single coil pickup will have a lower output level than a double coil pickup simply because it has half as much wire and half as much magnet strength. A single coil pickup historically has a brighter, cleaner sound whereas a double coil pickup will be louder, with more harmonic content. Single coils are noisy due to their picking up the 60-cycle hum, while humbucker’s increased magnetism can physically dampen the vibrations of the strings, leading to a loss of sustain. Sometimes, humbuckers can have just one of the two coils selected for output (either the ‘upper’ or ‘lower’ coil), this allows an approximation of a single coil sound.

Another aspect to consider regarding pickups is the different ways of combining more than one pickup. They can be combined ‘in phase’ or ‘out of phase’. In phase combinations are typically louder while out of phase combinations can produce interesting ‘notches’ due to the cancellation of some frequencies. Pickups can also be combined in series or in parallel for an entirely different kind of alteration to the resulting sound. Note, by careful selection of direction of pickup windings and polarity of magnets, two single coil pickups can be combined in such a way as to cancel the hum, much like a double coil pickup.

A Journey of One Thousand Miles Begins with the Very First Step.

With this bit of practical knowledge under our belts, we can consider the options ahead. With all due apologies to Steven Covey, the first habit of the highly effective tone seeker is to “begin with the end in mind”. So I suppose that it might be useful for us to describe both the tones we might want, and how these differ from the tones we get.

As most readers will no doubt understand, a truly useful electric guitar must be able to do more than one thing well. It has to be able to produce a nicely balanced ‘chime-y’ tone when playing chords without being ‘muddy’ or ‘tinny’ (2). The bass must remain present, but always taut, never sponge-y. The modern electric guitar also has to be able to voice a range of distorted tones – from the gritty bite of slightly overdriven rock rhythm to the full bodied ‘crunch’ of power chords – without its mid range frequencies being out of balance, it’s bass getting too soggy, or its treble fuzzing out. It must be able to sparkle a twang-y, jingle-jangle when appropriate, and add a touch of ‘quack’ when needed. And last but not least, it must remain articulate with warm sustain (without ever being shrill) when singing in an overdriven lead voice.

It might be useful to point out the tones of famous players in order to illustrate these qualities (3):

For distorted hard rock rhythm guitar parts, Eddie Van Halen captured the sound of a generation with the opening strains of the remake of the Kinks You Really Got Me from the first Van Halen release. Known as ‘the brown sound’, EVH’s rhythm tone (especially that used on the first four VH albums) is produced in equal parts from his hands, the guitar (with its single humbucker pickup in the bridge position), his use of effects, and an intentionally underpowered (4) Marshall tube amplifier. While we are noting his rhythm tone here, EVH’s soloing tone is equally amazing and distinctive. Another Hard Rock / Heavy Metal players with notable tone is George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob) and inimitable Brian May of Queen.

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has a very distinctive rock rhythm tone that is the product of a vintage Fender Telecaster tuned to open-G tuning with only 5 strings (he omits the low E string). Bruce Springsteen, Tom Campbell (of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fame), and others have similarly banged out a distinctive rhythm tone on the Tele’s famous swamp ash plank.

Mark Knopfler’s guitar sound on the first few Dire Straits albums was particularly admired for its chime-y quality. He combined the single coil pickups on his custom-built, Strat-style guitars in such a way as to produce a unique ‘out of phase’ tone that ‘quacked’ when his finger attack was especially aggressive. Check out the fills and solos from ‘Sultans of Swing’ for an example.

Taking Knopfler’s tone and kicking in the overdrive will bring you close to some of David Gilmour’s signature Strat tones from Pink Floyd. Check out Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here, and Another Brick in The Wall.

Stevie Ray Vaughn did things with a Strat that can only be described as otherworldly. From lush, clean chords, to warm jazzy single note and octave runs, to gritty blues riffs or explosive solos that alternately sting or sing, SRV had among the very broadest pallets of sound of the last 25 years. Eric Johnson uses a similarly spectacular arsenal of sonic possibility, not only with a Strat, but also with semi-hollow Gibsons (ES-335) and others. Both of these Texans have used combinations of vintage Marshall Amplifiers and Fender amplifiers in the creation of their tones.

Neil Schon, best known from the 80’s arena-filling band, Journey, had some of the most versatile tones in music of that era for both his chording and single note sounds. Any Way You Want It, Walks Like a Lady, Lights, Faithfully, Separate Ways, and a dozen others show the variety of tones he produces from a variety of guitars, mostly customized Strats and Les Pauls.

Carlos Santana has perhaps the most distinctive solo tone in rock music with his Neck-Position Humbucker-driven PRS guitar through a Mesa-Boogie amp. Warm and singing, this guitar seems to say “ooooo”, while almost everyone else’s is saying “eeeee”. (Sing these two sounds out loud to hear the difference in tonal quality. Even though you don’t change the pitch of the note you are singing, the tonal quality is quite different)

Taking Santana’s tone and de-emphasizing the bass and lower midrange frequencies while punching the upper mids and keeping the highs in check will give you the building blocks of an impressive overdriven solo voice typical of electric fusion players such as Al DiMeola and Frank Gambale. Whether DiMeola’s alternate picking or Gambale’s sweep picking, an assertive picking-hand attack, tightly synchronized with nimble left-hand note selection, combine with high output humbucker pickups for this singing solo voice that retains articulate note differentiation amidst the harmonic-rich warmth. If you de-emphasize the bass even further and crank the treble, throw in the liberal use of effects units (such as pitch harmonization and multi-tapped digital delay lines) and add more radical use of the vibrato bridge (most frequently called (incorrectly) a tremolo bridge), you arrive at the modern instrumental rock tones of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

Pat Metheny and Mike Stern, elite Jazz guitarists, each have a readily identifiable tone that is influenced by their choice of guitars (Metheny, a variety of hollow ‘jazz boxes’ with associated ‘rolled off’ treble tonality, and Stern, a custom-made ‘Tele-styled’ solid body with its crisp articulation), their use of reverb, chorus, and delay effects, and their formidable fingerboard skills (Metheny with his ’slippery’ phrasing and syncopated rhythmic timing and Stern with his ‘chops of doom’ speed and melodic composition). See Also Allan Holdsworth, or John Scofield in this genre.

So, with such a comprehensive understanding of the ultimate tone objectives firmly in hand, how hard could it be to get my guitar to be able to pull off a reasonable approximation of all these tones?

Investigating the Transformation Possibilities

Fortunately, there is essentially no excuse for crummy tone these days with the number and variety of replacement pickups on the market. Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio are the two largest makers of replacement pickups for electric guitar, with Joe Barden, Carvin, EMG, Fender, Lindy Fralin, Gibson, Bill Lawrence (5), Lace, PRS, and others rounding out the field. Pickups range in street price anywhere from about $50 US to well over $100 US. The hard part is not finding pickups, but rather deciding which ones to try. Words can only do so much to give you an idea of what a pickup can do. As I described at the outset, tone is such a composite quality that listening to records with the pickups identified provides only a rough guideline. With enough technical skills, time and money, one could purchase an assortment of pickups and ‘road test’ them, but given the impracticality and inefficiency of this approach, those on a tone quest must do their best to find their own path forward.

A fun tool for those embarking on a ‘Quest for Tone’ is the Internet. Manufacturers’ websites describe their pickups with many of the same adjectives used in this article to convey a sense of the pickups intended uses. Some are described as ‘neck’ pickups or ‘bridge’ pickups. Some are described as ‘vintage’ (suggesting that a pickup closely reproduces the much sought-after tones of Fender or Gibson guitars from the 1950’s or 1960’s), or modern (usually suggesting a higher output device, or one that uses advances in technology to reduce noise, string pull, etc). Seymour Duncan’s website has an interesting feature called the ‘tone wizard’. After entering the type of guitar you have, the type of wood its body and fingerboard are made from, and the style of music you play, the wizard lists some suggested pickups for your consideration. With several dozen pickups in the product line, this is a very helpful starting point.

What I was not prepared for was the amount of confusion that I experienced when reading manufacturers websites. For example, one pickup, labeled a ‘neck’ pickup would be described in terms that indicated that it might be suitable to my purposes, but upon reading further in the description, I would see that the manufacturer also suggested using it in the bridge position. The converse was also true for pickups labeled initially as bridge pickups. I still cannot fathom how a pickup can be the same in either position. I understand that some, even many, would find the pickup to exhibit pleasing (albeit different) characteristics in either position, but I seriously doubt that it will have the same characteristics in either position. By failing to describe the changes in characteristics, I suspected that I was getting a ’sell job’, that the pickup being pushed is a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. Instead of convincing me, the manufacturer simply left me doubting that such a pickup is right for me.

Another distraction encountered during pickup selection is the names of the pickups. A pickup called ‘Screaming Demon’, or ‘Full Shred’ might have tonal characteristics desirable to a broad segment of the pickup buying public, but the connotation that these are intended primarily (exclusively?) for the heavy metal crowd is quite strong. Likewise, the tones produced by a pickup called ‘Jazz’ or ‘Bluesbucker’ might actually appeal to a greater number of players than the name might imply. I know that a ‘rose by any other name would smell as sweet’, but when you have several dozen pickups to consider, you need something to start narrowing it down. Manufacturers need to realize that their products do not have a readily identifiable physical characteristic to distinguish themselves by (e.g. when I go to an auto showroom, I know what differences exist between minivans and sports cars). When all we have is words to go by, it’s best if the words really mean something.

The websites often have sound clips of pickups. These range from snippets of commercial recordings by artists who use a given pickup (not very informative given the amount of additional production present) to simple clips of a guitarist playing guitar solo licks. These too are fairly limited examples, but they are better than nothing. There is typically not enough variety in the types of guitars used or in the playing styles demonstrated in these clips to allow the user to determine the suitability of the pickup to their individual needs. A hard rock / heavy metal shredder won’t be able to assess a pickup’s suitability if the sound clip features a clean tone playing a chicken-pickin’ lick. Likewise, a jazz cat won’t learn much from a high-gain robo-riff sample. One pickup might sound a certain way for cleanly strumming open chords, but different when playing crunchy power chords. Cleanly playing single notes on the wound strings might not yield the same tonal properties as bending notes on the plain strings high on the neck with long sustain. Further, no site that I have found has sound samples of pickups in combination with other pickups, or even what humbuckers sound like when their coils are tapped individually. So, as cool as it is to get a hint of a pickup’s sound, and to compare it head-to-head with other pickups, web-based sound samples have not reached full potential as an informative device.

Manufacturers websites also often have technical specifications of their pickups that give a pickup’s DC resistance (measured in K ohms) or resonant frequency (measured in KHz). DC Resistance loosely corresponds to the pickup’s output, with a higher DC resistance indicating a ‘hotter’, or higher, output device. Given that a pickup has to work in an AC environment, it’s DC resistance cannot provide information about it’s overall sound. Similarly, the resonant frequency of a pickup doesn’t provide much insight into the pickup’s tonal characteristics across the entire frequency range from bass, through lower and upper midrange, to treble. Some manufacturers try to give a quantitative comparison value of a pickup’s frequency response by rating the highs, mids, and lows of a pickup on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being most prominent. Again, this is a qualitative assessment more than a quantitative measurement, despite the use of numbers.

Another useful source for finding information on the Internet is message boards where guitarists share their knowledge, experience, and opinions and ask questions for others to comment on. I used the Seymour Duncan message forum extensively during my search and found the participants to be friendly, honest, and helpful. Other message forums include a Fender forum, Les Paul forum, PRS Forum, and a Carvin forum. Some participants in these forums have their own websites featuring additional samples of pickups in their guitars. Not only can some of these folks play very well (!), but also many are meticulous about describing exactly how the clip was recorded so as to give the critical listener enough information to gauge the context of the tones produced. I found this to be the most unexpected, but among the most helpful sources of info as I researched my choices. Check some out for yourself, you might be as surprised as I was what some gifted amateurs can accomplish.

A moment to catch our breath

So, there you have it. A little intro describing how pickups work, a review of some sweet sounding tones, and a few clues on where to find out more than you ever might’ve expected about pickups.

Next time, we’ll finish our journey and find out how close we can come to the promised land of tone, sweet tone.

2. It is important to note that guitar tone-o-philes yield no ground to wine aficionados in their liberal adaptation of adjectives to describe sonic qualities.

3. There are lots of famous players with excellent tone and highly skilled chops. Those described here are included to illustrate the point.

4. By under-powering the amplifier (i.e. providing less than 120volts of AC power), the amplifier’s tubes become saturated or distorted in a unique way. However, this can damage an amp if done improperly and is not advised for the amateur hobbyist to try at home.

5. I already own two Bill Lawrence humbucker pickups and am thrilled with them. They are X500-Ls from the mid ’80s and are probably the most articulate, balanced, powerful, noiseless, and versatile pickups I have ever played. I decided not to include them on my current replacement quest simply for the sake of variety.

Many beginning guitarists write in to ask “What guitar should I buy – acoustic or electric?” There is an endless debate about which kind of guitar is best to learn to play on. For those of you who want to cut to the chase, you can predict my answer; buy both! You never have too many guitars. Or you can read Ryan Spencer’s What Kind of Guitar Should I Buy? But for those who want to debate the finer points of guitar type, read on!

I must confess that my first guitar was acoustic. I’d heard that it is harder to learn to play a steel stringed acoustic than an electric, because it takes more finger strength to hold down the strings to form chords. So I figured that if I could master (ha!) the acoustic first, the electric would be easier. Plus there was the advantage of not having to buy an amplifier and a cord. The guitar was infinitely portable on its own and did not require any power source other than my arm muscles.

I find that I love the vibration that you feel when you strum an acoustic. You can feel it all the way up your arm and through the body of the guitar to your body. This is the resonance an acoustic makes. You’ll notice that it is different for different guitars. Naturally, my dreadnaught sized, beloved red Guild has amazing resonance (you’ve heard me wax eloquent about that guitar in other articles). Every time I pick it up, the instrument sings to me with its own voice, clear and distinct from other guitars. With an acoustic, you can hear rich sounds and harmonies from plucking a single string. As a beginner, that was quite encouraging. Without knowing how to play a single chord, I was able to elicit a gorgeous sound from the guitar. Finding the right acoustic for you is important. It should be comfortable to play, and when played, should sound good to you. I find the choice of a guitar to be quite personal. Different people are drawn to different sounds. If you sing, and you find the right guitar, the tones and harmonies of that guitar can complement your voice.

Well, after playing the acoustic for a while, and loving it, I was given an electric guitar for my birthday – a cherry red Fender Strat, gorgeous looking thing. I eagerly anticipated sounding like a wailing lead guitar player (pick one) just by looking at it. It’s like a red race car. Just looking at it makes you contemplate breaking the speed limit. After pulling the Strat out of its case, and holding it in my hands and strumming a few notes, I had a realization. The electric is useless without an amplifier. There is no noise unless it is plugged in. I did have an amplifier, purchased a while ago in order to have my acoustic heard over the brass and electric players in my house. So I pulled out the cord, plugged it in and started to play. My Strat had much easier action, and hence was kinder on my calluses, than the Guild. But the more I played it the more I realized I didn’t have any resonance from my guitar. Electric aficionados will tell you that you can get the resonance, or vibration, from your amplifier, but that means turning up your amp. That may or may not be popular with your neighbors. I missed the vibration from playing the Guild. I found that I took out the acoustic more often when playing by myself, or when I played just to accompany my singing. Of course, if you play with others, in a casual situation or in a band that you’re part of, you will quickly realize that drummers, saxophones, and other electric guitars can be loud. Amplifying your acoustic guitar is a good way to ensure that your guitar’s voice will be heard. It is also a great way to really hear what exactly you are playing, and by listening, you can improve the quality of your playing.

As I mentioned, when playing the electric, I really missed the feeling of resonance, so the Strat ended up left in the case more than it was out. Then I was asked to play a few gigs with our kids for school. I was sensitized to the fact that my Guild could be knocked over by a careless middle schooler (or adult rushing around the stage). My guitar teacher had his Guild knocked over, with a resulting crack in the body. He sent it back for repair, but he sadly claimed that it has never sounded the same since. I was horrified, as I was quite enamored of my Guild’s mellow sound, and sensitive to its higher cost. So in order to protect it, I only played it at home and took the Strat any time I played elsewhere. Since I was playing the electric more, I learned to appreciate the different tones that you could achieve, with the three pickups on my Strat. My family had thoughtfully provided me with an effects pedal, so then I discovered the delicious dirty sound you could achieve with just the push of your foot. I also found that beautiful silky riffs are so much easier to achieve on an electric. Well, you still have to practice, practice, practice those riffs. After all the work I put in practicing, I realized that the electric is built to make those transitions and riffs easier to play than on the acoustic.

The electric guitar is a voice unto itself, in a distinctly different way than the acoustic. While it might not have the resonance, and does require a power source, an electric has its own seductive siren call. It has many voices, courtesy of electronics. With a MIDI adapter, it can sound like a piano, a saxophone, a different kind of electric guitar, or just about anything you want, if you have the electronics for it.

There are also ‘hybrid’ guitars, like the Ovation, which are not made entirely of wood , but are of a composite material. They do need amplification to sound their best, but are adequate for practicing alone or for bringing to the beach. I think their sound is closer to an acoustic amplified, but you can modify their voice with electronics. Of course, there are many acoustic-electrics, which are basically acoustic guitars with inset electronics that allow you to amplify their sound. They are, at heart, acoustic guitars. You can get resonance playing these hybrid acoustic- electrics, and you have amplification as well.

My flip advice in the first paragraph was to ignore the whole debate of acoustic vs. electric and exhort every guitar player to get both. Of course, most of us can’t afford to do that when we are starting out, but I think most of us that stick with playing guitar do end up with more than one guitar, acoustic or electric. Hence, the initial quote from Randy Bachman. Remember that you don’t have to buy a new guitar to play. A used one can be less expensive and meet your needs. In addition, when making your initial choice, consider how you wish to play guitar. If you sing, you may opt for an acoustic that complements your voice. Consider the acoustic-electrics, which give you the option of amplifying your sound. This is great if you think you may perform or play with others in a casual jam, or in a performance/gig situation. If your vocal cords protest at the thought of singing, you should consider buying an electric to be the voice which can sing for you.

Whatever you decide on, playing your instrument as often as possible will let you become familiar with all of the wonderful sounds it is capable of producing. Playing any guitar is an endlessly challenging, occasionally frustrating, often soothing and always satisfying experience. Pick one up, acoustic or electric and partake in the magic of music!

n.b. This column continues in a series dedicated to the female musician. Of course, male musicians are welcome to read and comment on the topics discussed as well, as many have (thank you!). We have our own forum in the forum section. As always, I would love suggestions on topics you would like to see covered. Please email me and tell me your story. I enjoy hearing each and every one.

Then, there are also the famous companies, and there are many to take a look at. Of course you should be the one determining which brand and model is best for your next purchase, but we understand that you might need some guidance. We will list some of the major brands to look for; this will include all major brands, and all types of guitars.

• Gibson
• Epiphone
• Squier
• Fender
• Ibanez
• Jackson
• Seagull
• Ovation
• Martin
• Taylor
• Guild
• Larrivee
• Washburn
• Breedlove
• Gretsch
• Alveraz
• B.C Rich
• Briane Moore
• Carvin
• Danalectro
• ESP
• Fernandes
• G&L
• Godin
• Hamer
• Heritage
• Parker
• Schecter
• Steinberger

Of course, this list may seem quite long, but heading to a store and checking what guitars they have in these brands might give you some guidance. However, it is important to play as many guitars as you can or that are in your budget. That way you get to play everything that may be the best for you.

There is a lot of information on Guitar Noise regarding this topic. An entire section on how to buy equipment has more than a months worth of articles. You should definitely browse through those articles if you are not sure about what to buy.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Choosing a brand and select edit to make improvements.

The second choice, if you have the extra money to spend, is to start off with a mid-range ($400 to $500 or so) guitar. This way you won’t have to spend more money for a nicer guitar later on. The drawback to this choice is that you are going to have to buy all those little things mentioned above.

You’ll have to choose between electric and acoustic guitars. I’ll explain some of the differences here and leave the final decision up to you.

Electric

Electrics have a lower action – action is the space between the fret board and strings – meaning that you don’t have to press the strings down as hard. For this fact, electrics also enable you to learn songs at a faster rate, giving you a taste of success faster than an acoustic might allow you to. Although they may not be as strict a tool as an acoustic when it comes to learning they allow you to taste success earlier. They also have more frets, meaning you can solo easier. They also require an amplifier, which will raise the cost around $50 to start off cheaply.

Acoustic

Acoustics allow you to play without the use of an amplifier, meaning you can play anywhere. However, acoustics have a higher action and so you have to press down harder on the strings. Acoustics usually have larger bodies, though not all the time. Some may feel engulfed by the size of their guitars.

Classical

A classical guitar is essentially an acoustic, but it has a wider neck, smaller body, and nylon strings. Due to the nylon strings, classical’s are easier to fret notes with but their larger necks can still be a hindering to some. Those with larger hands might prefer classical because of the greater fret spacing and neck width.

If you are starting off or just looking to buy your next guitar, you should always find a way to play it. Internet services can be slow and a hassle to deal with sometimes. So the store is the first and best thing. When you play the guitars of your choice, ask yourself these questions.

• Can I reach all the frets?
• Is the body too large for me?
• Is the body too small for me?
• Overall is it comfortable for me?
• Can I easily press down on the strings?
• Can I reach my hand around the neck?

And other questions like these.

There is a lot of information on Guitar Noise regarding this topic. An entire section on how to buy equipment has more than a months worth of articles. You should definitely browse through those articles if you are not sure about what to buy.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Choosing a guitar and select edit to make improvements.

Introduction

Although the brands that are available to our American brethren do exist here in England, they are often prohibitively expensive, and can often suffer from dubious service and supply. Anyway, as it says on beef, Buy British. I couldn’t agree more.

Here, I shall discuss the relative merits of some of the more famous British amplifier manufacturers. I will not bore you with the technical details of everything, as I believe that Dan has done a sterling job in his article How to Buy a Bass Amp. For each amp, I will try to supply a few users of the equipment as a guide to listening for the tone of the given brand.

Trace Elliot (http://www.trace-elliot.co.uk/)

For many years, Trace Elliot was THE bass amplification manufacturer, heard on many recordings of every genre. The typical Trace tone is a rather nasal, clipped sound, slightly light on the bass, but full of good cutting tone to ensure that you are always heard in the mix. The TE sound is definitely love-hate, but also one of the cornerstones of British bass tone, just like Ampeg to the Americans.

The trace Elliot range spans from £90, 15W practice combos right up to kilowatt 12 band equalised heads, and even the V-type, a full valve amplified system, a rare beast in the modern market. The staple Trace Elliot equipment seen generally consists of 200-300W combos, often fitted with 1 x 15″ driver, and also the very cost effective and competitive AH150-7 and AH300-7 heads

The current limiting factor in the viability of Trace Elliot products is the financial state of the company. Having been recently bought by Gibson USA, the company is now in a somewhat vague state of being. Of course, this is a double edged sword for you, the customer. Shops will be wanting to move these amps quickly, but what if it goes wrong? Can you fix it yourself? If so, these amps could be the steal of the century right now. If not, you have a very big, green doorstop…

Notable Users

• Asian Dub Foundation
• Nicky Wire- Manic Street Preachers
• Steve Harris- Iron Maiden
• Tony Levin

Ashdown (http://www.ashdownmusic.co.uk/)

Formed as a break away project from Trace Elliot by former Production Director, Mark Gooday, Ashdown are rapidly developing a name for themselves in both the British and International markets. The amplifier feature a very distinctive look, the centre piece of which is the backlit VU input level meter used on the more expensive models. Many think the look to be kitsch and somewhat 50’s inspired, others believe them to be works of art.

The specification behind the Ashdown range is ‘True Bass Amplification’, exhibited most strongly in use of Sub Harmonisers in the higher end equipment. The effect is the same as that seen in an effects pedal- the signal is halved and blended back with the dry bass signal in whatever proportion is required. This adds grunt to low end work, and a full, rich tone to pieces played higher up the neck.

This all adds up to a thick, deep tone which is certain to shake the room. Care is required on the sub harmonics though- the amplifiers actually have such capacious low end that it is easy to get carried away and end up with nothing but squelchy, undefined rumble, especially on 5 and 6 string basses. The amplifiers are possibly not the best suited to fretless work either- they can lack subtlety in certain applications. Think of them as the TVR of amplification- big, British, ballsy and with distinctive styling, although grace is sometimes lacking.

The Ashdown range covers all pockets- from small 150W 12″ and 15″ combos, up to 900W heads, or even a separate pre-amp and power amp arrangement. A small practice amp range is in the pipeline. The equipment at first glance appears to be expensive, (a 300W, 1 x 10″ ABM series combo costs in the region of £6-700), but these are not just any old amp- they are designed to be truly unique. Customer service also second to none

Notable Users

• Nick Fyffe- Jamiroquai
• Adam Clayton- U2
• Mark King
• John Entwhistle
• Pino Palladino
• Damon Minchella- Ocean Colour Scene/ Paul Weller

Laney (http://www.laney.co.uk/)

Touting themselves as ‘Classic British Amplification’, Laney have been a player in the UK amp scene for as long as many can remember. There is a reason for this. Their products are good, solid performing units that will not the break the bank of a beginning player or someone looking for an amp to use at home. Hardware is subtle but good quality- for example, the majority of the range sports genuine Celestion speakers.

Admittedly, the equipment is not boutique. It is, however, reliable and serviceable. We would all like a Ferrari, but at the end of the day a Ford or a Vauxhall is the sensible option that does the job efficiently and with the minimum of fuss. Having owned a Laney many years ago, I can attest to this being the ethos that Laney amps are built to. And believe me, there is nothing more embarrassing than having your amp drop it’s output stage mid gig…

The Laney range spans from the ‘Hardcore’ series, featuring 15W practice amp right up to 120W combo amps with all the feature necessary to make a solid gigging amp, through to the ‘Richter’ series of heads, cabs and combos of up to 800W. This equipment is well suited to all styles, the tone being very neutral and versatile- playing a Laney is not like cranking up an SVT, where everyone with any idea about bass will know, but on the other side of the coin, this means that you are not shackled to one particular tone – the perfect workhorse amp for those on a budget.

Hughes and Kettner (http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com)

A relatively little known player in the market, German made Hughes and Kettner amps often do not command the respect that I believe they deserve. Their BassBase equipment provides a serious alternative to the big players- SWR, Ampeg, Trace Elliot etc, in a classy looking all round package. The BassForce series provides a range of smaller amps for those on a budget or who don’t feel the need to own a stack as big as they are, although a head and cab set up is available.

In all honesty, I do not have a lot of time on these amps- I have played a Bass Force XL in a shop, so it would be wrong of me to comment on longevity of the products. However, on the sound side they are bright and punchy, maybe slightly lacking in their own defining character, like the Laney, but remember, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Think of them as a blank canvas rather than the same old same old of SWR tone or Ampeg tone etc.

Orange (http://www.orange-amps.com/)

Orange are a founding rock of the British amp scene, having been started back in the 60’s out of the back of a shop in Denmark Street, London. Their amps were immediately revered for the tone that they delivered, and of course, the ‘groovy’ orange Tolex didn’t go amiss in the swinging 60’s… Their recent revival is due, in part, to their extensive use by the new wave of guitar bands- Oasis being one of the most visible proponents of their products.

Until recently, the range did not contain specific bass amps, rather the design amplifiers meant that they proved to be serviceable alternatives for both guitar bass players. These original models, notably the AD120 and the AD80, are now highly prized amplifiers, commanding large sums of money on the second hand market.

The new range of Orange products recreates the older units, but in a more robust, modern package. The bass unit is the AD200B, 200 watts of British valve power. Cost is prohibitive, but this is a purists amp- the kind of amp that it’s a shame to use effects on, believe me, these things sound sweet, even better than the AD80 that I owned for a (very) short time.

Of course, with this tone comes drawbacks. To achieve this smooth tone, Orange use 6 valves in the AD200B- 2 pre amp valves and 4 output stage valves. With this comes the mass of the extra transformer and the associated electronics, resulting in an all up weight of 24kg (quoted on the Orange web site). This means that if you lug equipment around a lot, this may not be the choice for you. Along with this, valves do not take kindly to being thrown into the back of a Transit van at 2am…

A further consideration that must always be considered in the purchase of a valve amp is the price of a re-valve. Power tubes do not last forever, so expect to be changing them every 2 years or so. Retubing a 4 valve output section, like the one in the AD200B, will stretch to approximately £200 with labour.

Notable Users/ Recommended Listening

• Oasis

Marshall (http://www.marshallamps.com/)

Last but not least, the big M: Marshall. The name that anyone recognises- watch any music programme and you can be guaranteed that half of the guitar amps will have that all too familiar lettering style across them. Marshall, although being a manufacturer of both guitar and bass amps, have never seemed to command the same position in the bass amplification market as they do in the 6 string world.

The Marshall range begins with the low end BassState equipment- the bass equivalent of their Valve State guitar amps. The range includes 30W, 65W and 150W combo amps. The higher end B150 contains a blendable valve in the input stage for a smother tone.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I play a Marshall JTM60 guitar amp, which I LOVE, but the BassState bass amps just don’t cut it as far as I am concerned. The tone lacks grunt compared to other manufacturers, and I believe that in the price to features stakes, Marshall are resting on their laurels, or on that aforementioned typeface. The amps are good, true enough, but others are better. I would swap a Marshall for an equivalently priced Trace Elliot any time.

For those of you with roadies (and the kind of money to pay them…) Marshall also make the VBA range, a full valve bass system consisting of a 400W head and matching cabinets. I’ve never even seen one in the flesh, as such,- due to their cost most shops will not stock them. Remember also, the VBA sports 12 (yes, 12!) valves, 8 of which are in the power stage. This is big bucks to retube…

What do I use?

So, at the end of this very brief overview of manufacturers that we Europeans have at favourable price to the Americans, what is my verdict? Well, I’ve played amps from all of these manufacturers, but the one that got my money (all £1k+ of it) was the Ashdown. An ABM500RC with a BP1510 cab in fact. This, of course, doesn’t mean that this is correct for everyone- as I said, the Ashdown is the big hitter of the bunch, but it can lack in subtlety.

I have a friend who plays a 1980 American Jazz into an AD120 and Marshall 4 x 10″ cab, compared to my Hotrodded Jazz into the Ashdown. The tone is incredibly different, polar opposites in fact, in rigs of approximately the same theoretical value. There is no way I would swap with him, and I think he’d rather die than play my brash, modern amp.

Choice of the amp many also depend on what bass you personally play. I play fretless occasionally (I like the E-Z rollers), but I find the tone of my Ashdown swamps the natural sound of a fretless. My amp of choice for this is a 1971 Selmer Reverb 100 all valve PA head into a Trace Elliot 1048 4 x 10″ cab. No balls, but a beautiful, sweet, singing tone.

In short, get out there and try some. What I consider to be a bad tone may be your sonic Nirvana. You’ve got to live with it, not me. Unless you live next door to me, that is…

About the Author

Steve Smith has been playing bass and guitar for 10 years now, his current band being the Sheffield based group “Fineline”. Previous projects include ‘Hasselhoff’, a fairly ridiculous Derby based 3 piece playing music inspired by that aging lothario and general Knightrider stud, David Hasselhoff., and some small session work pieces for local universities. If you would like to get in touch with me, head for www.activebass.com, and look for the most pointless, banal conversation you can find. I will be there.

The distance between frets is calculated by some logarithmic formula that I have absolutely no clue about. Luckily, it’s not really important unless you’re building your own neck from scratch. In a nutshell, the shorter the scale length, the closer the frets are together.

This is a good thing if you have small hands or are a young beginner. Also, many rhythm guitarists, like Elvis Costello, John Lennon and Kurt Cobain, prefer (or preferred) shorter scales when comping or chording. On the other hand, a longer scale length comes in handy when shredding and playing leads in some styles (like those of Malmsteen, Vaughn and Atkins) because it keeps you from “tripping” over your own fat fingers when getting all acrobatic.

Scale lengths can vary as much as three inches from the shortest to the longest, and that doesn’t even count basses. So you can see how that variation can affect a guitar’s “feel.” A guitar’s feel is also affected by the tension of the strings. A guitar with a shorter scale length (like the Gibson Les Paul) requires less tension to reach concert pitch than a guitar with a longer scale (like the Fender Strat). This is true, as long as both are strung with the same gauge strings. One advantage of less string tension is a “looser” feel, making bending and vibrato more fluid.

So, then, why aren’t all guitars built with a shorter scale? Obviously we’d all benefit from that slinky feel, right? Well, guitars with greater tension benefit from a “tighter” sound due to better clarity in their higher overtones. This is often referred to as “twang.” Shorter scale guitars also have trouble accepting heavier gauged strings because the slackened tension causes wider vibration and fret buzz.

All this falls into the category of “tone.” Why doesn’t a PRS Custom 22 sound exactly like a Les Paul? They both incorporate dual humbuckers and a solid body, so they should sound the same, right? However, the PRS has a longer scale length and, therefore, a tighter, somewhat brighter, sound. Shorter scale guitars, though, tout that beautiful buttery tone which make Les Pauls and Jazz boxes such invaluable tools.

Now that you have a bit of neck length knowledge, get out and play some different model guitars to get a feel for what all of this means.

Here’s a chart of some common models and their scale lengths to help you along. Good luck on finding that next “special friend.” And, when playing guitar, remember that, just like in life, it’s always best to stick your neck out, no matter what the length.

About the author:

Tony Nuccio is the founder of LeftyGuitar.com and the author of two articles on Guitar Noise. Email him at tony@leftyguitar.com.

Tony is also author of the article: When You Are Left Handed – Right Just Feels Wrong.

Remembering the lessons learned in the first article (Beginning The Quest For Tone Part 1), the intermediate player will now know roughly what is desired in his/ her quest for tone. Forming, joining, or already being in a band may be a consideration, so power becomes more of a concern. Your budget has probably increased, too, so a hole may be burning in your wallet (or purse, we have to be Politically Correct here). Do I really need a good clean sound? Do i want alot of switches to play around with? The list can go on and on. These are all hard decisions to make amd time must be taken so you spend your money wisely.

With the intermediate amplifier, things can start to get expensive. It can be very easy to get to $1000 in the your quest. I don’t recommend a half or full stack. A stack is 1 or 2 cabinets with 4 12 inch speakers and a head (this is an amplifier without speakers). Too hard to lug around. A more powerful, chock-full-o-tone 1×12 combo or even a 2×12, are my suggestions. They are much easier to transport, and can get as loud as a half stack in some cases.

How much power do i really need? In my experience, 50 or 60 watts of tube power is all you really need. With solid state amplifiers, 100 watts should be sufficient for anything that may come up. If more volume is desired or needed, a second speaker cabinet can be added or miking of the amp can be done, for playing in large halls.

To tube or not to tube? This is a very relevant question at this point. And a very tough decision. Tube amplifiers can and will show the mistakes and bad habits that have been picked up, especially the lower gain (distorted) models. But they will usually make you a better, more rounded player. If a tube amp is purchased, maintenance will become a factor because the tubes will age and burn out. Responsibility will have to increase.

What kind of power tubes? 6L6, 5881, EL34, 6550, EL84, 6V6? What kind of preamp tubes? Only one type, the 12AX7, is used in most currrent, mass produced guitar amplifiers. Others types are sometimes used by the more expensive, boutique amplifier manufacturers. The reason for the lack of diversity in preamp tube types is purely economical. Back when 12AX7’s were first starting to be used, they were cheap, plentiful, and didn’t sound too horrible. The same goes for today.

So, what power tube do i want? Personal tastes are key here, but I can give you an idea of what to expect from each of the power tube types. I highly recommend more reading about the specific type tubes listed here. More detail can be found elsewhere on the web.

• 6L6-This is a hard vacuum tube and be described as “hard hitting”. They have decent harmonic content and are great for guitar amps. They also last for a while. Mesa uses these for the Rectifier series of amplifiers. Expect 40 to 60 watts out of a pair.
• 5881-A variant of the 6L6, slightly lower output.
• EL34-These tubes have a soft vacuum. This is the sound of countless recordings. Think AC/DC, Van Halen, Hendrix. Marshall uses these tubes, for the most part. Expect 20 to 40 watts out of a pair.
• 6550-These tubes can be found in quite a few Marshalls. A bit harder hitting than 6L6 types. These can last a long time, especially the N.O.S. (New Old Stock). Expect 40 to 70 watts out of a pair. Not used much in guitar amps.
• EL84-These are a 9 pin miniauture type power tube. Very similar in sound to an EL34. If run hard, they can be short lived. These are used in quite a few of the lower wattage combo amps. Expect 10 to 25watts out of a pair.
• 6V6-These can be found in some of the Fenders. Similar to the EL84, but have a cleaner sound. Could be described as “bluesy”. Expect around the same power from a pair as EL84’s.

For the preamp tubes, I wouldn’t worry about it. They rarely need to be changed and today’s amplifiers are designed around currently manufactured tubes. There are more factors in deciding which tube amp, such as tube rectifiers, effects loops type, etc.

Tube rectifiers? These are found in some of the higher end amplifiers, such as the Rectifier series by Mesa, Marshall Jtm-45 and the Fender Prosonic. They have a different sound than the silicon diode (solid state) rectifiers used by the majority of amplifier manufacturers. It can be described as “sag”. Refer here http://www.svetlana.com/docs/tubeworks.html and here http://www.triodeel.com/ptnotes.htm, for a better description of what the rectifier does and what the differences between tube and solid state rectifiers are. For a definition of the different type of effects loops, go here http://www.soldano.com/mharticle.htm.

If you don’t want to deal with tubes just yet, there are many solid state amplifiers available. They can sound great, and you don’t have to worry about maintenance. Digital effects such as delay, echo, flange, chorus. phaser, etc., are commonly found on today’s intermediate amplifiers. Some even digitally model tube tone. I have used them, and they are not bad for the money, especially with the effects that they have. Some even have wah available with the addition of a dedicated floor controller. Great for gigging.

Here a few suggestions and places to look for Your tone:

• Marshall DSL 401-Great for that classic marshall tone.
• Peavey Classic, Delta Blues and Ultra-Excellent bargains.
• Peavey Bandit-My fave for solid state.
• Line 6-Great for the gigging guitarist that needs a range of tone.
• Johnson-Digitech’s modeling amps. Again, great for the gigging player.
• Fender Hot Rod series-excellent choice for the more mellow player.
• Waller-This is a new amplifier company. All solid state designs, but have a very nice feel and tone to them.

I’m sure I have left quite a few amplifiers out. But the rules are the same: power, tone, and features are the things you need to consider.

At the moment, I am running a Peavey VTM-60 head into an Electro-Voice loaded 4×12 speaker cabinet (heavy!!). This is for my normal distortion sound. I heard one a few years back and just had to have one. It is a one trick pony, though, so I have to use other amps for different sounds. For my clean tones and a super heavy sound, I use an Ampeg SS-140C. This was the second amplifier I ever owned (not this particular one, however). Great clean tone, and a brutal distortion when set up right. I run this into the power amp of the VTM. This is quite a bit of stuff to haul around and it isn’t easy to switch them back and forth without alot of noise. My next amplifier purchase will probably be one of the modeling amplifiers. I need a greater range of tones that are easily accessible, especially for gig type situations.

Decisions and compromises will also have to be made with how you achieve your tone. One amplifier will usually not do it all (the modeling amps can come close). What is more important to your sound? Distortion or clean type tones? Would your rather purchase an amp with a great clean tone and use a pedal for distortion effects? Accept the fact that your amp doesn’t have a good clean channel and deal with it? This all comes down to the specific uses your amplifier will have to address. It is a case by case scenario.

Choosing an intermediate amplifier, be it your 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th one, can be difficult. Greater playing diversity, maturing ear, tube or solid state, more power, etc. all become factors. Take your time and remember, purchase what you want and listen to your ears!!!

About the author

Jeremy Ledford has been playing guitar for 14 years. After just joining his first band recently he is also learning how to build tube amplifiers. Jeremy intends to market a line of boutique amplifiers that will hopefully compete with the major manufacturers.

Jeremy Ledford has also written Beginning the Quest for Tone Part 1 – How To Buy A Guitar Amp

Combo vs Separate Head and Cabinet

Every speaker needs an amplifier to drive it. You can not plug your guitar cable into the back of a speaker cabinet and expect any sound to come out. So every guitar amp (or PA!) must have a pre-amp with signal processing, a power amplifier, and one or more speakers.

The truth is that there is very little difference between a combo amp and a separate head and speaker cabinet. The “head” is the electronic part that has the pre-amp, signal processing (effects and EQ), and the power amp (Watts!). A combo amp is just the two pieces bolted together in a common box. Combos tend to be a little bit cheaper than buying the items separately, and

some combo units have fewer ins and outs, but it has very little to do with the sound quality.

Speaker Cabinets

The main attribute of a bass speaker cabinet is that it needs to move a lot of air. This means that the speaker diameter needs to be very large, and it needs to move in and out a long way. One problem when you do this with a standard guitar speaker is that it builds up enough momentum that it actually wants to jump out of itself. This is one of the reasons behind why a bass cabinet must be sealed or ported. At the lowest frequencies, the speaker needs to have the air inside the box push back a little to keep it under control. The size and length of the port tube helps the speaker stay under control at even lower frequencies.

This is why you do not want to play your bass loudly through a guitar amp. Most guitar cabinets are open in the back – part of their tone comes from allowing the speaker to move freely.

Big Speakers vs Little Speakers

Since we need to move a lot of air, you would think that bigger is better. But there is a problem: even the bass guitar creates higher frequencies. All those good harmonics from a warm J-bass, or from slapping and picking, need to go through the speaker as well. And for a large speaker to create high frequencies, it needs to be flexible. It’s just not mechanically possible to move the entire 15″ speaker at 1KHz, only the central few inches can move that fast. This is OK, but it creates a dilemma for the designers. For good tight low frequencies, you want a stiff speaker, but to get higher frequencies, you need a flexible speaker cone. In addition, in order to make a big speaker rigid, it becomes heavier, which makes it harder to move quickly. They are more expensive to build too, because it takes more power to move those huge cones, requiring bigger coils, frames, and magnets.

One solution is to use several speakers. Two 10″ speakers have about the same area as one 15″ cone. By designing the speaker to be able to move in and out more (a longer throw), it is possible to use these 10″ speakers for the bass. But because the area and radius is smaller, it is easier to make it both light and rigid, and thus able to produce the higher frequencies as well.

Here is a table of areas for different types of speaker cabinets:

In most cases, you will find that a 2X12 or 4X10 is more than enough, and it will sound much better than a 1X15 or 1X18. Note that the different manufacturers have become very adept at getting the most from their speakers. SWR is very good at getting a very clean low sound from a single 12″ speaker.

Amplifiers

For most practice or rehearsal rigs, you can get by with 100W or less, but for your new amp, you should be thinking about 200-400W. Low frequencies suck up a lot of power, moving those big heavy speakers back and forth. In this power range, you should be able to get a good range of features including dual-channels and several patch points.

Dual channels are nice because you can set up two different EQ and effects chains – say one for ballads and the other for hard rock – and easily switch between them. Having two gain controls are helpful if the internal overdrive is desired, so you can turn up the distortion and turn down the volume with these two controls. Usually the EQ will be either a simple 3 knob version, or a more sophisticated parametric or graphic EQ may be available.

As noted above, this applies the same whether your amp in part of a combo, or it’s a separate head.

Monster Rigs

If you have determined that you need the biggest and loudest setup available, you can get a 4X10 with a 1X15 under it, or even a 8X10, but these are huge, and heavy, and expensive. And you can drive this with 600-1200W. If you go with the split 4X10 and 1X15, I recommend using a crossover and two amps (300W each), because you don’t want to send the high frequencies to the 15″. Many people drive both speakers with the same amp, but I think the mid-highs will not be as clear as you’d like. This is the type of rig you might consider if you’re playing on a large stage and you have to compete with several guitarists and a manic drummer. As noted in my Sound Engineering columns, I am not a fan of extremely loud stage levels, but if you want it, you can get it.

Brands

Oh my, there are so many different brands of bass amps, and they all look exactly the same, and yet they sound different. And the cost range is incredible. A Carvin 4X10 cabinet is $399, and the same thing from SWR is $799. Most people agree that the SWR sounds better, but TWICE as good? And there are many 1X12 and 1X15 combos made by Fender and Ashdown that sound pretty good. So it’s really a personal choice.

There are only two things I will warn you away from. First, don’t get a folded horn cabinet. The sound doesn’t properly form until about 10 feet in front of the cabinet, so you can’t hear yourself on stage. And second, be very careful with Hartke speakers. The cones are made from aluminum, and while some people like them, I have heard several reliability concerns about that brand.

Recommendation

My personal preference would be for a 4X10 with a 300W head, made by Carvin or Peavey or Ampeg. This is going to be loud enough to cut through when I need to, have a wide range of features, and still be cost effective. If size in a problem, I think that SWR gets the most sound out of a small package.

And as always, I’d buy it used!

Let me know what kind of bass amp you own, and what you like about it. I look forward to hearing from you.

List of brands:

• Ampeg
• Ashdown
• Carvin
• Bag End
• Crate
• Eden
• Fender
• Gallien-Krueger
• Hartke
• Marshall
• Mesa-Boogie
• Peavey
• Sunn
• SWR
• Trace Elliot
• Yorkville

And several other smaller brands…

Because that’s what you’re looking to find – the right tone. Tone is the combination of your guitar, your amp, and your fingers. The amp is crucial because it provides the means for self expression.

This is the first installment of two articles that will try to help you choose an amplifier. I will focus on beginning players today and intermediate players in the next installment. First, what style of music do you play? There aren’t as many amp choices as for guitars, but they are more or less designed for specific groups of players and/or genres of music. This doesn’t mean one amp won’t do most things in the world of tone, but they usually shine in only a few areas. Last, but definitely not least, PRICE!! Some of us can go out a buy whatever our hearts desire, but for the majority of us, price plays a major role in the search for tone.

Although I know you want to, as a beginning guitar player, you don’t need to go out and buy that massive Mesa or Marshall stack or even a 2×12 combo amp. Start with something basic. A small practice amp with an 8″, 10″, or 12″ speaker should be sufficient. Channel switching is very nice to have. Channel switching allows you to go from dirty to clean with push of a button on the front panel or with a switch on the floor. Reverb, as well as chorus, is a nice option to have. (Don’t hold your breath for chorus, though.) These features make playing much more fun.

I wouldn’t spend more than $300 on an entry-level amp, and that figure should probably end up somewhere between $100 and $200. I don’t recommend buying below $100 dollars. I don’t think they sound all that good. At the sub-$300 price level, pro tone hasn’t entered the building, and tubes are hard to find (there are a few, but we won’t go into that here). Decent noise can be had, though. For most tones, the entry level amps of the major manufacturers are great buys. I would stay away from tube amps, because they tend to show more mistakes. This can be very frustrating when just starting out. All that is needed is an amplifier that sounds relatively decent and will keep you playing.

As a beginning guitar player, you don’t have to play in the store. Have the sales guy take a particular amplifier through its paces. Listen closely to the amplifier. Is the sound clear? If applicable, how does the reverb sound? Lush and warm or “Boingy”? We want as close to lush and warm as possible. Channel switching? Does it pop when changing the channels? What kind of range do the knobs produce? A large margin of frequency cutting is what we want here, for the purpose of getting as many sounds as possible. (Cheaper amps only have passive tone controls, i.e , they only cut frequencies. The more expensive amplifiers can sometimes have active tone controls, i.e., cutting and boosting of frequencies is possible. The Peavey 5150 II is like this.) Remember that the sales dude has most likely been playing with all these amps for 4 hours a day for several years, and he may sound a lot better than you do, but he also knows the amps.

If you do feel up to playing in the store, we need to define some of the terms that you will find labeled on the amplifiers and what some of the jacks on the front do. (Some of the amps in the higher end of this category may have jacks/controls on the back, too.) On the front the amplifier, you will find one or two 1/4″ input jacks labeled input. With two jacks, they are either labeled high and low or 0db and -6db. The high/0db input is for guitars with passive pickups, and the low/-6db is for guitars with active pickups, which have a higher output signal compared to passive pickups. The one, lower input is padded to help control input distortion, which can sound pretty bad. I have found that the only difference is in volume with transistor amps, but your experiences may differ.

Next are the controls. The number of controls can vary from one to about twelve, and more have been seen. Generally, you will find a volume control, a bass control, a middle control, and a high control. These are pretty explanatory. Sometimes, the volume control will be labeled post gain. On amps with channel switching, a pre gain control is usually present. This controls the amount of dirt or distortion. If you are lucky enough to get an amplifier that has reverb, there will be a control to adjust the amount of “echo” that you hear, from none to full saturation. With amps that have more than this minimum number of controls and channel switching, a separate set of tone controls are usually added for the clean channel, so that you don’t have to use the same settings on your clean channel that you use for your distortion channel. With chorus, the controls are rate and depth. Rate is the speed of the effect and depth is the amount of the effect you hear.

For power, ten to thirty watts is all that is really needed. Anything more, and hearing loss (what? what did you say?), parents, siblings, and neighbors become a problem. If the amp does have channel switching, I strongly recommend purchasing the footswitch that goes with it. You will thank me. Specific manufacturers to look at are Peavey, Fender, Marshall, Randall, and Waller (this is a new manufacturer that puts out some great sounding amplifiers). If you do have the budget to get an effects box along with the amp, I don’t recommend getting a distortion pedal. Let the amp do the work. Besides, noise problems will usually pop up, especially with transistor amps.

In closing, choosing a starter amplifier is more about getting a decent sound that will keep you playing than stroking your ego or looking good in front of your friends with the latest and greatest amplifier on the market. Imitating the tone of your favorite guitar player isn’t necessary, and can even be foolish. If you spend alot of money and don’t keep with it, you have bought your self a very expensive door stop. Remember, purchase what you want and listen to your ears!!!

About the author

Jeremy Ledford has been playing guitar for 14 years. After just joining his first band recently he is also learning how to build tube amplifiers. Jeremy intends to market a line of boutique amplifiers that will hopefully compete with the major manufacturers.

Jeremy Ledford has also written Beginning the Quest for Tone Part 2 – How To Buy A Guitar Amp

What do we basically need to play guitar? One guitar, one amp, a guitar cord, and a pick.

Now when I look around my house – and I’m pretty sure I’m not the exception – I see a lot more than that. Do I really need all the gear I have? How do I justify buying even more?

I can think of a number of reasons for this behavior.

1. I sound bad, I suck! Remedy? A new amp/guitar/effect will help me get the sound I’m hearing in my head!
2. I want to sound like Santana, so I’ll buy a PRS Santana, a Mesa Boogie amp, a Fender amp and a couple of effects. One year later, my Santana days are over and now Steve Vai is my hero. That means, I’ll get an Ibanez Universe guitar, the Carvin Steve Vai amp and an Eventine harmonizer.
3. I want to be as versatile and flexible as I can, I want a huge variety of different sounds because I play/enjoy a lot of different styles, play in a Top 40 band, or I’m a studio musician. Thus, I need a Telecaster and a Fender Twin for playing country, a Les Paul and a Marshall for rock and a Gibson ES335 and a Roland Jazz chorus for jazz.
4. I just like guitars and gear – I collect them.

I don’t know about you, but #s 3 and 4 definitely apply to me and I had a time when # 1 was also an important reason. Maybe there are some points above where you nodded your head and said “Yes, I can relate to that, I had the same experience” and maybe you shook your head after some points and thought “This is stupid.”

Here are some of my thoughts concerning these points:

A good guitar player still sounds good even with a crappy guitar and a cheap amp. A number of years ago, I went to a guitar workshop and as I had to go by train, I took a cheap Squier Strat with me. All the people at the workshop plugged their guitars into Marshall combos. The guy in charge of the workshop was a Canadian studio musician – sorry I forgot his name.

To make the story short: he made a point of playing every guitar that people brought to the workshop and he sounded great with each one, even playing my cheap Squier I always had thought unable to produce a great sound (this was the last in a row of experiences that cured me from thinking along the lines of #1). He did this to show exactly that: the sound is first and foremost in your hands, not in the gear.

So … if you think you sound bad, do some self-evaluation before you run out and buy new gear. Get the opinion of other people, have a friend play through your gear. Is it really a new amp you need or more practice (no doubt, new gear can motivate one to practice more …)?

Of course, a good amp and guitar supports the player, but the basics are in one’s hands.

I’d go as far and say that 80 to 90 % of a player’s sound comes basically from his hands and not the gear he’s using. Case in point, a couple of years ago, Eddie Van Halen and Ted Nugent met backstage. Both were interested in the other’s gear and so they switched guitars and amps. Eddie took Ted’s Gibson semi-acoustic and Ted plugged Eddie’s Kramer Strat into Eddie’s Marshall. Both were surprised that Eddie still sounded like Eddie and Ted still like Ted – of course there was a small difference to their usual sound but everybody could tell who was who.

It boils down to the fact that you can buy the same gear your hero uses and still not sound like him or her. If you don’t play similar licks and phrases, the same gear won’t help you. Furthermore, you might copy the sound, but you can’t copy tone. Tone is the sum of the equipment, the licks and phrases and the playing technique of the player (his vibrato, the way he bends, slides, picks, where he picks, with how much strength and so on).

Another thought is – do you really want to copy somebody else? Sound like somebody else? Or would you rather be you?

So when somebody asks me, how he can sound like Nirvana, I of course can ramble on about the equipment Cobain used, but would it help? Could you afford all the stuff Kurt had (or Steve Vai has)? Is your technique the same as Kurt’s? Chances are, you won’t sound like him.

I can give you some advice on what to buy to sound close to a famous guitarist, maybe even without spending thousands, but keep the above in mind.

Ok, if the gear is only a small part of the sound, why then do some players change guitars so often? Why do studio musicians come to some jobs with a whole van filled with gear?

Their basic tone is the same, no matter the gear. But of course, different gear provides some variations in the sound of an artist (the 10 to 20% missing from above) – for obvious and not so obvious reasons.

Listen to Cream and Eric Clapton. He plays Gibson guitars (sometimes an SG, sometimes an ES335). Then listen to a 70s recording of Clapton or Derek and the Dominos, a Fender Stratocaster is used here. You can still tell it’s Clapton, but the sound is (slightly) different.

The blues can be played with a Stratocaster (SRV), a Telecaster (Albert Collins), a Gibson Les Paul (Gary Moore), a Gibson semi-acoustic (BB King) or any other guitar, but the sound will be different.

On the other hand, there is certain gear that lends itself better to certain styles – a Marshall amp has a lot of “bite” and is ideal for rock, but because of this “bite”, it’s not very suitable for jazz.

But don’t forget to experiment. The most unlikely combination of gear (people tell you “You can’t play country on a Les Paul, you won’t sound country”) might be exactly YOUR sound, a sound that distinguishes you from the masses.

Players also experiment and find that they are more comfortable with a certain guitar when playing a certain style. This brings us to another point.

Different gear might make you feel different. You might feel more comfortable with a certain amp/guitar, you might feel more “country” and unconsciously use more typical country phrases when playing a Telecaster as your subconscious associates this instrument with country. It affects your playing and the way you sound.

Another aspect is the discussion solid state amps vs tube amps. Solid state amps have come a long way and there are some good enough that the listener would be hard pressed to notice the difference to a tube amp. But those amps feel different for the player, they don’t respond as well as tube amps (more on this in a later column).

So, different guitars and amps might mean more difference to the player in a certain situation (“Guitar XY feels better when I play the blues, but guitar Z feels better for rock” – or as Laura and Lee would say: “The Blue guitar sounds better for Blues, and the Red guitar is better for Rock’) than to the listener, who might not even perceive a big change in your sound/playing.

Therefore, #3 might be a valid point. Just ask yourself if you really need all the stuff you have or plan to buy in order to get all the variety you need.

What can I say concerning #4 – there’s no hope for a cure. If one likes collecting gear, how can you argue against that? He even admits that he doesn’t need it all.

Ok, that’s it for this time – I guess next time I’ll ramble a bit about effects generally before starting to write about the different effects and what they do. And I plan to write about how to choose the right amp for you … hmm, don’t know yet, maybe you will tell me. I hope you give me some feedback, and if you want to comment on what I wrote or argue some points, please feel free to do so.

In a world with anorexic supermodels and guys with “six-pack” abs flashed before us, the answer might be “Yes, duh!…” Or the answer might be “it all depends”. Depends on what, you ask? That woman on the cover of the fashion magazine might have a great personality, or one to rival a dead fish. The buff guy in the gym might be able to amaze you with his knowledge of history, or might be more interested in his biceps measurement. In reality, many of us realize that looks are not everything, but they DO matter, sometimes. We like looking.

When selecting a guitar, the most obvious advice will be to select one with the sound you like best. But on walking into the mega guitar store, you are confronted with hundreds of guitars, and sound is not the thing that makes you take one off the rack to try. Face it – you probably won’t pick up a guitar that does not interest you in some aesthetic fashion, unless you are super-experienced and know what is in the packaging. This should not make you feel bad – you are not shallow for selecting something to try based on looks, although hopefully it will not limit your final choice of guitar.

There are many things that will make you walk up to the first guitar to try. Maybe you are only looking at acoustics, or electrics. Perhaps you researched brands on line, so you know about Gibsons or Martins, but have never heard of Takamines. You wanted to try an Ibanez but the store has Epiphones. Your friend plays a Fender Stratocaster, and claims that is THE way to go… Maybe you have a budget you must stick to, so you won’t even touch a guitar out of that range. You may look at the wall o’ guitars, and have no clue where to start, even though you have read many articles and thought yourself well prepared. Finally, though, you will see a guitar that just looks good (it’s RED!), and you want to try it.

Go ahead! There is nothing wrong with taking down and trying the expensive candy apple red Strat, or the blue quilted maple top Gibson, or the light natural wood Yamaha bass, just because they are attractive. Maybe the prettiest guitar (in your eye) is also the most expensive one there, and you can’t afford it – so what??? There is nothing against trying it – you may fall in love, or you may discover that the packaging is a disguise for something that sounds miserable. There is little chance that you will convince yourself to buy a guitar that looks good but sounds bad. Guitar manufacturers do build for looks too – they take great care in the appearance, knowing that they are building for different audiences – what appeals to a 15-year old grunge rocker may not appeal to a 35-year old classic rocker, or maybe it will!

I was at a local chain music store, and spent time observing a father-daughter pair shopping for a guitar for the daughter. She appeared to be 8-10 years in age. There were no daisy guitars there! At one point, she spent quite a bit of time dragging around a purple electric guitar (I forget the brand). They had been trying out guitars – plugging in and everything. I got distracted for a little while. The next thing I knew, she had a different guitar, in BLACK, clutched in her small hands. I overheard her tell her dad that it SOUNDED better than the purple one! They walked out with the black one – I don’t know what they knew or did about amps, or if they knew how to change the sound, but she had made her decision.

When I was having difficulty playing a guitar my grandfather built (classical), I decided I needed a guitar that fit me better. I knew I wanted a steel-string acoustic guitar – something I could take around and play for others to sing along. I needed a neck/fingerboard that was not too wide for my short fingers. I was looking for something with a rich mellow sound, not twangy or sharp, yet not built so large that I could not reach my arms around it. The action needed to be lower than grandpa’s guitar. I had a stretchable budget. I did research, read articles, and went to several stores. I just could not find the one guitar for me, and kept walking out.

I realized that I had other things to think about. There are a variety of tone woods, which helped me understand the different sounds I got out of a variety of guitars. I was interested in Koa, but had heard that it did not produce a good sound. I soon learned otherwise. Amy White has a Koa Takamine (I had never before been impressed with a Takamine) that sounded wonderful! I could not always identify the wood of guitars I tried, however, and Koa was rare and expensive. So, I would just keep listening first, and learning about the woods as I went.

I did notice something disturbing (to me) about the guitars I pulled from the racks. I kept being drawn to blue guitars (my favorite color), though I was cautioned against “fad” colors that I might be tired of in a few years. I did not realize how much “looks” were going to affect my choice of guitars to try. The guitars with bright colors were often acoustic/ electric, an option I had not considered but was now thinking about. It seemed that would expand my options for playing, if I could find one that was loud enough unplugged.

Finally, we ended up at that same large local chain where the young girl had been. We walked into the acoustic room and bam! – a guitar that practically called to me. I am from Hawaii, so when I saw the electric/acoustic Yamaha that was royal blue (burst), with gold hardware, mother-of-pearl dolphins on the fingerboard, and palm trees carved from different woods around the sound hole, well, I was hooked, and scared. You don’t choose a guitar on looks, I told myself. Plus, I did not know much about Yamaha guitars, and it cost more than I had expected to spend. I did not even pick it up. I dutifully went through many other “appropriate” name guitars. I tried guitars from different makers, in different price ranges, and even had other people play them so I could discern differences.

Finally, I could not resist – I kept going back to look at the beautiful blue guitar. With an apologetic look at my husband, I took it down. The body was not as large as a straight acoustic – I could hold it and play it comfortably without constantly readjusting it against my body. The neck was fairly slender, and the action felt perfect, making my fingerings more fluid.

There were some additional features that demonstrated how much thought Yamaha had put into this guitar. All the bindings and joinings looked smooth and tight – turns out it was a handcrafted guitar, and very well built. The input jack was at the bottom of the guitar, where you attach a strap, instead of in a separate place. Also, you don’t need to go through the soundhole to change the battery – it is directly accessible outside the guitar, to the left of the neck – very convenient.

And sound? The Yamaha sounded really good, to me. Each note was clear, the overall sound fairly rich with good lows and fairly bright but not brassy highs. It was not quite as loud as an acoustic, but close enough, whether I strummed or tried fingerpicking. Then I plugged in to some acoustic amps – and fell in love – it sounded amazing with chorus! I learned that the pick-ups, L.R. Baggs, were actually a combination of a piezo and mic, which could be adjusted to whatever blend you wanted, providing additional sound choices.

I was afraid I was not being objective (like this process could be!). I had others play it (they also liked it), asked questions about it, and kept asking my poor husband what he thought. He said the key phrase “it’s what YOU think that matters!” I was afraid to buy it because maybe I let outer beauty blind me to sound. After 3 hours, and having given myself a stomachache, we bought it. As it turns out, while I was drawn to the guitar for its looks, it also met my requirements (except price), had some extras that enhanced its overall playability, and sounded great! It was overall an excellent choice – I have no regrets. Laura Lasley of OLGC also told me that looks first drew her to a guitar: “I definitely picked my red Guild for looks, and discovered the great sound after it caught my eye. Flash is good in a guitar.”

As to why I put myself through “guilt” due to my guitar’s looks, I can only say was due to a misplaced belief that looks should not influence my choice. Well, looks did influence my choice, but I let sound confirm it. So don’t feel guilty when you try the “pretty” guitars – there may be a good reason why they are calling to you with a visual siren’s song!

About the author:

Lee Budar-Danoff has also written: Music at Mary’s and Another Approach.

A few years ago I found this beautiful B.C. Rich L.A. Series guitar in a pawn shop. What I didn’t know at the time is that, technically, this guitar was not sold here in Canada. In reality, at least two of them were sold in a particular store (for people in Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto: Steve’s). I remembered seeing two of them, of which I now own one, in the Ottawa store. I didn’t remember the price tag, but knew it was somewhat above $1,000 Canadian (around $750 US: it’s made in the US).

The sales tag asked $450. I knew that for that price they had no idea of what they had. I tested this notion. I didn’t just say “OK, here you go, thank you very much”, I negotiated. I asked them for their best price. They looked in the catalogue and couldn’t find it. Obviously, it’s a limited edition, made in 86. The year was early 1999. So they asked me to make an offer. This is something you must remember, don’t seem too anxious. I offered $400, no taxes and a case to put it in. Take it or leave it. Of course, they also had a nice NJ Series at $900. Not quite the L.A. Series, but a nice guitar, nonetheless.

So the girl at the counter (very cute) said OK. What I didn’t mention was that while they were looking at the catalogue, another customer, some young kid who happened to see it from behind, asked “is that a B.C. Rich?” After I said “yes”, he asked how much they were asking. When I told him how much, he started blabbing about how much of steal it was. I ended it up telling him to shut the %$&* up. Never let them know you know what you’re talking about.

I brought it to a shop to get the bridge adjusted (it’s a Floyd Rose). And the neck was off by about 1/16 of an inch. The guy tried to dissuade me from getting it adjusted, but I knew just how much I could get out of a B.C. Rich. He told me it would take a week. It took him just a day. The rest of the time was just to have it in the showroom where someone offered $1000 cash to leave with it.

I had it appraised for insurance purposes. I can’t speak for other countries, but check out your insurance policy. Here, all musical instruments (including amps, cables, pedals, etc) are covered for a maximum of $2,500. Buy the extra insurance, it’s worth it if something happens. It came up to $2,300. You see, guitars, good guitars that is, don’t lose value. Before they are 20 years old, they keep up with the times, they adjust to the market value of an equivalent model (if there is anything equivalent available. If not, figure several hundred dollars above the best model). After 20 years, they become vintage models: You fix the price.

Basically, in the case of guitars and basses, look for something that is made in the US, Canada or Europe. Many smaller companies, such as Godin and Fernandes are popping up. They don’t seem impressive to look at, but they rate up there with the best. Certain Japanese models will also be top quality. However, these are pretty much limited to anything Ibanez make and most Yamahas. Although Yamaha have been losing in quality as far as acoustics are concerned.

As far as Fenders are concerned, don’t forget that Leo Fender (the guy who founded the company) left it in the early seventies. When he came back, about 10 years later, he didn’t like what he saw so he left again.

A great guitar, made in Mexico will not be worth even half of the price of its US-made counterpart.

Most pawn shop owners wouldn’t know a great guitar if it hit them in the face. They think that only Gibson and Martin make good guitars. Don’t forget that!

As far as amplifiers are concerned, though, pawn shops are not really the place to go. Most people wouldn’t sell anything more than a practice amp there. The main reason being that a pawn shop won’t know what to do with an amp.

For those, ask around. Look at places that rent practice rooms for bands. My band uses one of these rooms. Much less trouble. We don’t have to carry around our amps and the drummer doesn’t even have to carry around his drum set: They already have one set up. Where I practice, they also supply the Montreal Jazz festival. Which means that every year they have a few Roland Jazz Chorus amps to let go for cheap. I love the Jazz Chorus 120 as it’s a combo tube and chip. Also, it’s basically two 60-watt amps with a speaker each that work in synch. My B.C. Rich was mainly designed as a Heavy Metal guitar, the amp was designed as a Jazz amp. Mixing the two gives you an awesome sound. Well, I love it anyway.

If you can get a place like this for amps, do it, you’ll get the best deal anywhere. Always remember that musical instruments are made to last. If you don’t beat them, they’ll go on for years and years. No need to dish out the big bucks for something brand new.

In the old days, they would let the wood dry up for three years before starting to carve it. Nowadays, most Luthiers use a technique called kiln-dry. This consists is placing the wood in huge vats filled with chemicals that treat the wood in three weeks.

Purists will tell you this method is no good, but you shouldn’t be able to see the difference.

Now let’s look at the various parts of the instrument you wish to purchase.

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The Bridge Unit

This is probably the most important part of the guitar. Most people, and many guitarists among them, tend to believe that the way the sound is produced from an acoustic is that the vibration of the strings is sent into the soundhole, amplified inside the sound chamber and sent out again through the soundhole.

Part of this myth is due to the fact that removable pick-ups for acoustic guitars are placed inside the soundhole. If you’re going to use a pick-up like this on an acoustic, you might as well use an electric as the sound will be just about the same.

Now this is not the way an acoustic works at all. If it were, you couldn’t get any sound out of a violin or a cello-or many guitars, for that matter-as the soundholes are “f” shaped on the sides of the strings.

What actually happens is that the vibration is picked up by the bridge (not the whole unit, but the part where the strings touch) and is transmitted, through the bridge unit, into the sound chamber. The vibration is then amplified using the chamber arrangement, bounced through the struts (usually fan-shaped for classicals and box-shaped for acoustics), then pushed out from the soundhole.

Thus, the importance of having a good bridge unit. This should be the first thing you look at, even before taking the guitar off the rack.

In an attempt to save money, many manufacturers will use plastic for the bridge. If this is so, on the guitar you’re looking at, don’t even pick it up. Plastic will never give you a satisfying sound. And, due to the tension produced by the strings (the lower “E” string produces around 62lb of tension with light gauge strings), the strings will bite into the plastic unit and produced grooves, eventually making the whole unit worthless.

The bridge unit, on acoustic (electric’s are a whole different story) should be made out of wood. Specifically, Ebony. Ebony is a very dense, solid wood, but very rare and expensive. Other alternatives which are just about equally as good are Rosewood and Ash.

The white piece, the bridge itself, should also be made of a dense wood. Here, though, many alternatives will do and are usually to the manufacturer’s preference.

The whole unit is then firmly glued on to the top of the guitar, the soundboard.

Body

A variety of woods can be used to produce the body. Often these are due to manufacturer’s preferences, but quite often to economics. You’ll occasionally see plywood being used. If that’s the case, a simple rule applies: don’t touch! A guitar is a precision instrument which must be made out of top-quality products.

Also, the front piece and the back piece should be made of two different kinds of wood. You’re looking for a denser piece for the back and a lighter one for the front. Maple will often be used for the front piece.

Each panel is made from two different pieces of wood which are mirror images of each other. You should check this point. Just look at the grain of the wood starting at the middle and see if both sides (top and bottom) are mirror images of each other. If they’re not, then you’re looking at shoddy craftsmanship. Also, there shouldn’t be any knots in the wood. Sometimes you’ll find them, this indicates that the manufacturer is using a cheaper quality of wood.

The sides should be made from a third kind of wood. Again, different manufacturers will have different opinions on which particular woods to use. What it comes down to, at this point, is what you like.

An interesting concept I’ve seen, particularly from Yamaha, is to have a body that is unvarnished. The sound will not be extraordinary at first, but it will get better over time. The idea is that the wood is reshaped over time, according to the way you play and the specific sounds you produce.

I’ve never owned one myself because I can’t see myself playing this thing for two years waiting for the sound to improve. But I’ve known people who have owned these types of guitars and swear by them.

The rosette, the decorated part that runs around the soundhole serves partly to reinforce the sides of the soundhole. Not much is needed and it shouldn’t be an issue. Mostly, though it serves to decorate the guitar. This is a tradition that started off with instruments other than the guitar, thousands of years ago. It’s decorative, so you like it or you don’t.

End Blocks

As the sides of the guitar are made from two different pieces of wood (the end result being that it’s much more solid than if it were made from a single piece), these must be joined. Just putting them together and gluing them to the front and back of the guitar is not good enough, the whole thing would fall apart.

There is always an end block at the back of the guitar. You don’t even have to look for it. Again, this should be made of a dense wood. Where some manufacturers will attempt to save money is to not use one at the front. They figure that since the neck joins there, it should hold the whole thing together. Think again.

By holding the guitar with the neck pointing to the ground, you should be able to see whether or not an end block exists at the front. If you’re still not sure, loosen the string and place your hand into the soundhole and feel around, delicately. A good guitar is precision made so you don’t want break anything. Also, make sure your hands are clean so as not to leave any residue in the sound chamber.

If the salesperson tells you not to do that, then give them back the guitar and go somewhere else. You’re about to spend several hundred dollars on an instrument that will last you decades. You’re allowed to know what you’re buying and to not get taken for a ride.

The Neck

On an acoustic, a neck must be glued on the body. If there is no end block at the front of the guitar, that usually means that the neck is assembled on to the body at the same time as the body is assembled. This might be quicker for the manufacturer, but is not to your advantage.

The body should be assembled separately and the glue should be left to dry for several months before the neck is installed.

Like on an electric, a variety of woods can be used on the neck. The neck should be in two parts: the neck itself and the fingerboard. Sometimes the headstock is a separate piece which is glued on; this shouldn’t effect the sound or quality in any way.

The fingerboard is usually made out of varnished Maple or Rosewood. Some people prefer Maple, others Rosewood. Essentially, Maple is cheaper, but will give you a fingerboard which will last forever. The Rosewood will change over time. If you feel the Rosewood fingerboard of a guitar that’s 15 to 20 years old (or more), you’ll notice the wood isn’t quite even anymore. Constant pressure on it, with your particular style of playing, will change it’s form and make it more suitable for yourself. But sometimes this will result in a fingerboard that’s too crooked and must be replaced after 10 year or more.

Finally, the butt of the neck (the part that goes down and joins with the body), should go all the way down to the back for stronger support.

In Conclusion

All in all, when looking to buy an instrument which will last you most of your life, you should take the time to make sure you’re buying something good and something that you will enjoy in the long run.

Don’t get taken in by salespeople who don’t know what they’re talking about. If you’re not comfortable with the instrument straight-away, don’t buy it. Always remember this when you walk into a store: they want to sell, you don’t have to buy.

Consider: as you all know, I am a left handed guitar player. What does that mean, exactly? Well, for starters, it means that should you (assuming you are right handed) and I walk into a music store together, you will have the opportunity to play hundreds of guitars while I may be lucky to try out three or four. That’s a total of three or four. Acoustic, electrics, basses, you name it. Seems a little sad, n’est-ce pas?

Now consider: I log onto my computer and get on the eBay page titled “Musical Instruments.” I type the words “left handed” into the search field and hit enter and what to my wondering eyes should appear but no less than 60 – 120 left handed guitars!

Even for someone such as myself, who much prefers dealing with a real person, and preferably a real local person that I can come to with questions and problems, the lure of the Internet is a siren’s call. And I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to someone who is thinking about getting his or her first guitar. Let’s put it this way – if the internet had been around when I first started playing I might be able to have all my guitars paid off before the year 2036. “Might” being the operative word.

So what I’d like to do is offer up some observations and advice to those of you who are thinking about exploring the idea of getting your next guitar online. As always, please remember that these are my own opinions (right!! like someone else would take credit for them!) based upon my own experiences and those of the people who have been kind enough to share their experiences with me. There will always be better stories and there will be worse ones.

And, truly needless to say, most of this is pure common sense. But you never know when you might say the one thing that strikes a chord (no pun intended) with the one person out of the hundreds of thousands that visit Guitar Noise each month. And I guess that could be a good or a bad thing, actually…

Learning The Rules

All websites have “house rules.” In general, I have always found that it’s a good idea to sit back and watch for a while and try to understand what exactly is going on. In the simplest terms, sellers come to eBay to try to find someone that will buy their wares. Buyers come to either try to buy (or not buy) something. When an item is listed on eBay, the seller determines the starting price, whether or not there will be a “reserve” price (or a “buy it now” option) and how long the auction will last.

On eBay, as on most sites, you have to register if you want to take part. Registering is free (but not on all sites, be certain before you register!) and takes but a moment. If you want to ask the buyer a question before you bid on an item, you will need to register. You will also get to look at all the legal stuff, which may or may not interest you, but is certainly important. And, you will have access to all sorts of FAQs pages, which will help you a lot more than I can!

A “reserve price” means that the buyer has the option of not selling his or her item if the bidding does not at least match the reserve price. This guarantees that the buyer will make at least as much money as he or she feels entitled to.

Say I decide to sell my Yamaha acoustic guitar. I know that it’s not going bring in a lot of cash (especially since I’m going to be honest about the gashes in it!) but, hey, it’s MY guitar and who wouldn’t want a guitar once owned by the dumpy bald guy who writes for Guitar Noise? It’s a rare collector’s piece (aren’t they all?)! So I set a reserve price on it of, say, fifty dollars and start the bidding ten. Why? Because of a lot of reasons, which we’ll explore in a moment. I don’t have to say what my reserve price is and I choose not to.

Now Paul sees that my guitar is up on eBay and puts a bid of $10.00 on it. eBay registers his bid and puts it up on my page along with the notation that the “reserve is not yet met.” This lets Paul and whoever else that may be watching the action to know that I’d like to make more on my guitar. A-J outbids Paul and then Dan outbids A-J and before I know it the going price on my guitar has climbed to $47.00. Now should the auction end at that price, I have some choices. I could just sell the guitar to the high bidder or decide to put it up again. But now that I realize I may not get my $50.00, I might decide to either lower the reserve or give up on the idea of selling it at all.

Or I may decide to let whatever happen, happen and offer my prized guitar up for auction with “no reserve.” This means that whoever has the highest bid wins. And what do you know? Because everyone realizes I’m definitely parting with my Yamaha, they end up pushing the price up to a final bid of $53.25. I’ll take it.

And here’s the cynical realist in me coming through – I wouldn’t put it past some people to be putting things out on eBay with impossibly high reserves simply to see what they might be able to get on the open market. Remember, skepticism can be healthy. But also remember, most people are not really interested in playing a game of hidden agendas. It takes way too much energy. And if you go into a situation solely for the sake of looking for one, you will find it. After all, that’s why you’re there, no?

But I could have avoided the whole reserve price question by putting up a “buy it now” option on my item. This means that if you open up the bidding at my price, I will take it off auction and sell it directly to you. If the bidding starts below my “buy it now” price, though, then I retract my “buy it now” offer and things go on as normal.

Bidding on eBay is done by what is known as “proxy” bidding. When you register your bid, you are actually registering the high limit of your bid. Say that you see my guitar is up for sale and you’d like to bid on it. You see that Paul has a bid on it of $15.00 and you figure maybe you can pick it up for $20.00. So you put $20.00 down as your bid and hit the enter key and low and behold you are now the high bidder but your bid is $15.50! What happened?

This is proxy bidding at work. eBay raises the bid in certain increments (depending on how high things have gotten, I expect) and since, for the sake of an example, your bid is higher than Paul’s proxy bid, it has only raised your bid so that it is one predetermined increment higher than Paul’s. Should you win the auction at this point, you would only pay $15.50, not $20.00.

But suppose Paul’s proxy bid was higher than $15.00. Let’s say it was $18.00. Well, when you put in your bid for $20.00, your bid would still be higher than Paul’s but eBay would show that the bidding had risen to $18.50 with your bid as the high one to beat. Now if Paul’s proxy bid had been, say $25.00, then eBay would inform you that your bid was not high enough to claim the high bid. Not only that, it would also show that Paul’s bid was now $20.50. Now you could continue to bid, if for no other reason than to find out what (approximately) Paul’s proxy is or you could simply retire from the field.

One other thing to note here is that if you have outbid someone, eBay has automatically sent an email informing the last high bidder that he or she is no longer first on the list. Likewise, should someone outbid your proxy, you will get a notification fairly quickly.

If your bid is the highest when the auction is over, then you will be informed by eBay that you have indeed won and will be given instructions as to how to best proceed to claim your prize.

Faith And Sweat

Okay, you know the rules. But now comes the really hard part. No lie. You have to know exactly what you’re biding on. And this is where everything about buying over the internet becomes, more than anything else, a matter of faith and detective work.

Again, I can only iterate that my experiences, and I’ve only had a few, have been very positive. But I know people who can testify to the opposite. Buying anything over the internet will be perceived as somewhat of a risk until such time it becomes more and more the norm. But you could also argue that that’s when it will be even riper for fraud…

Most auction places have managed to allay the fears of sellers by providing forums where you can find out about your seller. You get to read comments from people who have purchased from a particular seller before. Anyone can also read comments about your history as a buyer as well.

But there are a lot of other things to consider. Ultimately, and obviously, the product you are hoping to buy has to be a big priority. Remember that your seller may not know a lot about guitars. He or she may (honestly) think it is one model and not know that it is another. Or may not know that the neck is warped. If someone is selling something that he or she picked up at a garage sale thinking that he or she could make a fast buck or two.

Like it or not, the onus of figuring out what you’re bidding on is up to you. This is one good reason why I highly discourage people from picking up their first guitar online through an auction. Your first guitar is way too important an investment to leave to chance. Unless a very knowledgeable friend is helping you, I’ve really got to tell you to reconsider your stance.

If you’re set on buying online, then you have to do yourself a favor and become an expert on guitars as quickly as possible. Read up on reviews (remembering, of course, that most reviews are going to be positive if for no other reason than no one wants to admit he made a bad purchase) and try to track pricing. Just because an item has no reserve price doesn’t mean that it is a bargain. For instance, I saw an item that intrigued me and I thought the asking price was reasonable until I saw that I could actually buy it for less money direct from the factory. And then I saw that the same make and model guitar was selling for even less at one of my local shops! Something being sold on eBay (or anywhere) is not a guarantee that you will be getting a good deal.

Feel free to ask the seller any and all questions that are important to you. Sometimes getting to know the person better will help you with the deal as well. Anything you can do to make things more personal (usually) helps a lot.

Remember that a “guitar” is just that. Cases are often extra. And don’t forget to figure in the shipping and insurance to your costs. Instruments are bulky and not the easiest thing to move from one part of the country (or hemisphere) to another.

Set Your Limits

I find that it really helps to watch the ebb and flow of auctions for a bit before jumping in. It’s kind of like a preseason, if you will. Unless, of course, there is some bargain that is just too good to pass up. Pick a couple of items that you might be interested in, go through the motions of the auction (on paper only!) and see what happens. Do a lot of people bid on it? Does the price shoot up a lot in the last day? Is there an identical item being offered by the same seller? Sometimes people acquire a shipment of items and simply unload them one by one. Again, the more you know what’s going on , the easier it is to plan.

And perhaps the most important thing to plan on is how much you intend to spend. Budgeting is vital. Set yourself a limit (and, if you’re like me, a fallback limit) and stick to it. Again, I cannot tell you how many people have told me how they get so caught up in things that they end up paying much more for something than they could have gotten it regularly. And, worse, the next week they see someone else get the same thing, or something close enough to be considered the same for considerably less.

Like the music store, eBay can be a valuable source. But like anything, it should never become your only source. It is a great way to find bargains that you might not be able to find because of you being in one part of the country while a great guitar is being sold in another part of the country.

And you can make some interesting contacts, too, that may prove helpful somewhere down the road. In some ways, not buying things can still lead to getting good deals.

Next time out, we’ll look at a very sadly overlooked aspect of buying gear – word of mouth.

As always, please feel free to write in with any questions, comments, concerns or topics you’d like to see covered in future columns. You can either drop off a note at the Guitar Noise Forums or email me directly at dhodgeguitar@aol.com.

Until next week…

Peace

Bass Player magazine has put together an excellent glossary and diagram of bass guitar parts, and I recommend you check it out.

The Reference

The Fender Precision Bass is the grand-daddy reference bass guitar for all time. Check this link History of the Bass to learn more about it. Predictably, some people consider the Fender Bass in the same class as AOL, Chevrolet, or MicroSoft; an enormous number of people use them, but people complain about them anyway.

The Fender Precision has a single set of pickups located mid-way between the bottom of the neck and the bridge. It has two simple controls for volume and tone. The neck is fairly thick. The body is solid, medium weight, and has symmetric “hips”. With flat-wound strings, this guitar produces the classic “thump” sound that was so common in early rock and Motown music. With the advent of brighter round-wound strings, it remains popular for many types of music.

The Fender Jazz Bass is very similar to the Precision, with the following changes: it has two pickups with 3 controls, the neck is thinner, and the body has asymmetric “hips”. The extra pickup allows a greater range of tones, from a warmer “jazzy” sound to a rounder “folky” sound. Read Tone Loco for more about pick-ups and tone.

Most bass guitar manufacturers have a variation of the P-bass and/or the J-bass. Lets review the various parts of the bass and how they can affect the sound and playability.

The Neck

The neck is very important for how well you can play the bass. The thickness, string spacing, total string length, and finish all combine to give you speed and flexibility you need to play well. And smaller is not necessarily better. Players with large hands may find a bigger neck more comfortable. Narrow string spacing is good for small hands, but it can make slapping and popping more difficult.

Necks are usually bolt-on, which means that they are connected to the body by 3 or 4 screws. A “through-neck” uses a single piece of wood (or a set of laminated pieces) that continues all the way through the body. Thus the bridge mounts to the bottom of the neck, instead of to the body. This method is usually more expensive and harder to maintain, but it can be argued that it should sound better without the bolt-on joint between the two ends of the string.

The standard bass guitar neck is 34″ long, from bridge to nut. Longer scale necks are available, as well as smaller size basses for students. Note that the ¾-size double-bass cello is about 34″.

How Many Strings

The standard bass has 4 strings, tuned E-A-D-G. Recently, the 5 and 6-string bass have become more popular, as some of the current music has very low basslines, and more bassists contribute to the melodies on the higher end of the scale. The standard 5-string is tuned B-E-A-D-G, and the standard 6-string is tuned B-E-A-D-G-C. Some 6-strings are tuned E-A-D-G-C-F (don’t tune it like a 6-string guitar E-A-D-G-B-e, or you will get a lot of criticism from other bassists).

With each additional string, the neck gets wider, which makes it more difficult to reach across the neck.

As with anything, higher string counts can be taken to the extreme, and you can find semi-custom basses with 7, 8, or even 9 strings (and probably more out there somewhere).

Unless you know that you are going to be playing “grunge” or other punk music that goes very low, I don’t recommend getting more than 4 strings for your primary bass.

Frets vs Fretless

The original double-bass cello was of course fretless. The Fender Precision got it’s name because it has frets for “precise” fingering. Frets also provide a hard termination for the string, which allows the highest harmonics to sing undampened. Playing fretless produces a warm tone without being overly bright, and it’s fun to slide up and down the neck. It does help to have a good ear so that you know when you’re in the right place.

Personally, I have a fretted P-bass and a fretless J-style bass, and I use them both about equally.

The Body

In a perfect world, the body of a bass guitar is infinitely rigid, so that all of the energy remains within the strings, thus providing maximum sustain and the broadest range of harmonics. In reality, the weight and type of materials used to make the body will have some impact on the tone. This effect is more noticeable with the bass than the electric 6-string, as the lower frequencies need more body mass to work against. The real question is whether you can hear it. If you were to rank the contribution of the various parts of the bass guitar to the resulting tone, the body would come in dead last.

Most solid-body guitars are made of wood, usually a strong hardwood such as maple, ash, or alder. Other exotic woods are sometimes used for their beauty and strength. Cheap guitars can be made from plywood.

Since the invention of epoxy, there have been attempts to make guitar bodies out of various rigid polymers, with generally poor results. Recently, the material “luthite” was developed specifically for electric guitars. Traditionalists tend to frown on these materials, but I assure you that no one can tell if it sounds different in front of 100 (or 100,000) screaming/drunk fans.

One of the advantages of the solid body guitar is that the shape of the body contributes (almost) nothing to the sound. This allows people to get very (overly?) creative with body shapes. And back in the late 70s, the Steinberger designers decided that the body was superfluous, and reduced it to almost nothing.

As you are shopping, you should check the weight and balance of the body. Do the “waist” and “hips” fit naturally against your body? Does the neck tend to pitch downward when you let go of it? Do you like the way it looks, the color and finish?

Pick-ups

As discussed in Tone Loco, an electric guitar works by converting the movement of a steel string over a magnetic rod into an electrical signal – this is done by the pick-up. A pick-up is essentially a coil of wire wrapped around several magnetic rods. As you might imagine, the shape of the magnetic rods and the style of the winding can affect the efficiency and tone of the coupling with the wire.

The most obvious difference in coil design is “single-coil” vs “humbucker”. A single-coil pick-up can also detect the 60-cycle noise generated by stage lights and amplifiers, but the tone is generally bright and the noise is not usually a problem. A humbucker is made with two separate coils that are wound in opposite directions, which cancels out the 60-cycle “hum”. In general, a humbucker is wider than a single-coil pick-up, and it has a slightly warmer tone, but this varies with manufacturers.

Active Electronics

Recently, musicians have been demanding newer and bolder sounds from their guitars. To achieve this, manufacturers have employed on-board electronics to act as the pre-amp and tone controls. Usually, there is an improvement in sound quality, and a reduction of noise (no long cable between the pick-up and the pre-amp). These active electronics are usually more expensive (and don’t forget the battery!). As with everything, some people prefer the sound of passive pick-ups.

Hardware

There are two important mechanical parts on a guitar. The tuners (or machine heads), and the bridge. Unless the bass is extremely poorly made, the tuner shouldn’t be a problem. They are designed mostly for cosmetics.

The bridge on the other hand, is very important. It sets the height of the string, and improper design will affect the tone and reduce the sustain. Many Fender owners will replace the bridge immediately after purchase. Other manufacturers will create sophisticated pieces of machinery, with lots of screws and other moving parts. There are a few brands of after-market bridges, and sometimes it’s a good thing to do. You can ask your guitar shop if they recommend replacing the bridge on your particular bass.

Where to Shop

My personal preference is to find a guitar shop that you really like and go there often. The big stores like Sam Ash and Guitar Center can be difficult for beginners, but they often have a much broader variety of guitars and amps, and generally better prices for new equipment. If you can find a medium size store (we have the East Coast Music Mall in Danbury CT), you may find they are more willing to help you out. If you are in a band, try and get everyone to agree on one or two stores to patronize. You may be able to save a little money by shopping around and searching the internet, but you still need a guitar tech (we all do) and someone to rescue you when you have an emergency – like a big gig tomorrow! Support your local merchants.

In the real world, some stores are really pretty bad. Don’t shop at a store where you do not get a reasonable amount of product selection, quality service, and respect for your ability and situation. While I am not a fan of shopping for major items on the internet, it’s better than giving good money to a bad store.

How to Shop

Before you go shopping, think about what type of bass you are looking for. How many strings? What style of pick-ups? Do you want low and dirty or warm and jazzy? Frets? What color (seriously)? Search the internet for various guitars (see the list below) and read all the words. You should have a general idea of what you like and don’t like, but do try not to go in with preconceptions. You may find yourself missing out on a great deal for the silliest of reasons.

And try to figure out how much money you can spend.

I recommend the “two trip” approach. On the first trip, you are there to learn, and that’s what you tell the salesman – don’t tease the salespeople! You are not adversaries, you both want you to buy the best bass you can afford. Music stores (all stores – except maybe car dealers) survive because of repeat business. They need you to succeed as a musician and as a band, so you can come back and buy more stuff!

If you can, try to avoid the really busy periods (after school, Saturdays), and set aside a block of time to really talk and listen and learn from the store keepers. You should let the salesman play the instruments first, don’t play them yourself. The salesman should show you the various tones, and explain the features of each guitar. He should always play through the same amplifier, and without effects. Later, you should “try them on” for weight and balance, but don’t spend a lot of time playing them. You need to decide whether you can hear the different tones, and which ones you like best.

Before you leave, ask to see any used basses that are similar to what you have been looking at. Don’t be nervous about this – they need to sell the used stuff too, they just don’t get quite as much profit from them.

Try and come away from the first trip with the names of 2 or 3 basses that you could be happy with. Get the model numbers and prices, and any literature.

Go home and check the internet for reviews. Post a question on our Forum, or search the archives over at ActiveBass. Check eBay! for the current auction prices for used models. Remember that the prices you see on the Internet may be 10-20% lower than in the store, but don’t forget the absence of professional service, and the shipping charges.

Armed with all this information, plan another trip to the store – this time with the intention of buying a bass. Try and find the same salesman (if you liked him), and tell him which 2 basses you are most interested in. Have him pick out the best of the used basses as well, if there is one. Make it clear that the question is not “if” you’re going to buy, but “which one”. After he shows you the features of each guitar (including the bridge), you should play them yourself. Don’t try to get fancy – you’re not there to audition. You should have some songs or riffs in your head that are easy to play. Play them casually, listening to the tone, noting how the neck feels. Play standing up, so you can compare the weight and balance. Play the same songs on all the guitars you are considering.

It is helpful to bring a friend to help you evaluate the various characteristics if each bass, but the final decision should be yours.

When you have selected your bass, let the salesman know, and tell him that you need a case, and a new set of strings (you have no idea how old the existing ones are) and whatever else you want. The more stuff you put into this purchase, the easier it is for them to discount the total price. (Note: some salesmen do the opposite; they discount the bass, and charge list price for the accessories – pay attention) If the price for the bass is a lot more than you found online, mention it to the salesman. A 10-20% difference is typical; much more is probably too much.

Be sure that your purchase includes one free set-up. Ask if they recommend that the set-up be done right away, or after a couple of weeks. I know it’s tough to buy a guitar and then leave it in the store, but it’s worse to bring home your new axe and get frustrated by fret buzz or high strings.

Enjoy your new bass!

Next time, I’ll talk about buying a bass amp (hint, I’ll recommend used stuff).

Imagine my delight when the faculty of this esteemed Online Guitar College, in an effort to coordinate our teaching, decided to try “themes of the month” and then picked Shopping for July!! Well, OK, it wasn’t exactly shopping, per se, but it was about how to buy guitars, or equipment or other stuff. To me, that’s Shopping! And as a red blooded American Female, I Love to Shop! I know, I know, that’s such a typically feminine response. But hey, this is the Other Side. I don’t want to completely stereotype girls; I know plenty of women who hate to shop. But I’m not one of them. And one thing that I’ve found in guitar lovers from beginner to expert is a love of buying anything and everything to do with their passion! If you’re looking for good advice on how to shop for guitars or equipment, be sure to check out the other July articles.

I find that shopping for a guitar is much like shopping for anything else. The available information can be overwhelming, especially on the internet. There are a million web sites about every kind of guitar and every style. I have a few simple shopping rules that I like to follow which apply to clothing, TV’s, cameras, cars, houses and yes, guitars and guitar accessories.

Do I really need a new outfit, or am I just completely taken in by the picture of the model wearing the outfit?

First, decide what you want the item for. This is a good step into deciding if you really need it. Obviously a budding guitar player without a guitar has a good reason to buy one. Of course, if you already have several, then figure out if a new guitar is going to add some dimension to your playing. Ask yourself if you really will play it before you commit your hard-earned dollars. Then do the research on the guitar. Check web sites, talk to friends, talk to musicians. Decide how much of a budget you have and do your best to stick to it. Remember, the guitar only needs to be new to you. It doesn’t have to be a brand new one. Used instruments can work very nicely.

Hmm, should I get a short dress or long?

Many of us have been asked what kind of guitar to start with, acoustic or electric? The conventional wisdom is that acoustic is somewhat harder to play, so if you start with that, you’ll be able to play anything. However, you will then have to figure out how to amplify the sound if you do end up playing with anyone else (especially brass players; they are loud!). My first guitar was an acoustic and an electric ended up in my lap as a birthday present when it became obvious that I was serious about playing. There are acoustic-electric guitars on the market as well. These can work well for many.

The most important thing you have to do, though, when looking for a new guitar, is try them on. Just like a good outfit, you have to try it on, make sure it is comfortable and it never hurts if it looks good. I went to the local music store (OK, it was a rather large store, the East Coast Music Mall www.eastcoastmusic.com ) I walked into their acoustic room and being someone who’d never strummed a guitar, I basically picked one that looked and sounded good to me. As I’d mentioned in the first Other Side article (The Other Side), even if I strummed just one note, it sounded and looked great! As I got used to playing it more and more, the big dreadnaught size became somewhat of a challenge to play. I’m a rather, um, vertically challenged person, and my hands are not the largest. Let’s just say my glove size is small. However I can hit an octave and 1 on the piano, so I knew my dexterity would be alright. I’ve since gone back to the acoustic room to try and find a guitar that fits better, and while I have found a few, I’ve yet to find one that I like better than my first. Playing the electric, with the skinnier body, has been fun to learn as well. I can do different things with that guitar than I can with the acoustic.

A neat website that takes into account the smaller female shape, especially for girls, is www.daisyrock.com . They advertise for younger girls, but this 40-something girl wouldn’t mind one…

Earrings, or maybe a belt to match…

And let’s not forget to accessorize! A good-looking guitar strap, an adjustable one, is invaluable in making the playing experience a more pleasant and comfortable one. The joy in buying one is that you can find one that shows your style. I’ve a plain red leather one to go with my beloved deep red Guild and I’ve one with geckos (or iguanas?) in reds and blacks to go with my Red Fender Strat. I like lizards!

A barrette, or some kind of hair thing…

There are also many kinds of picks to choose from. A friend of mine who is a mean lead guitar player prefers the fat picks over the paper thin kind. He feels it gives him better control. I’m still at the stage where anything that reduces blisters on the right hand from strumming is a good thing. I showed up at a rehearsal for a gig one night with no picks. Since I was playing with a lot of brass musicians, a bass player (who doesn’t use picks) and only one other guitarist (who uses those finger picks (picks that are fitted to each finger instead of the ones you hold)) I had no one to borrow from. As it was my turn to bring the take out for dinner that night, I turned a plastic knife (the blade part) into a pick. It worked surprisingly well.

Shoes, gotta have shoes that work with the outfit!

Speaking of accessories, amplifiers are a necessity if you have an electric guitar and a treat if you have an acoustic. There are little ones and big ones and opinions on each. I’ve a small one, portable by car, but awkward for planes. There are little ones that pack well for flight as well, if you plan to be a traveling minstrel. Of course, if you have an acoustic and an amp, you now need a pickup. I have a terrific Seymour Duncan that I bought online via Sam Ash Music (www.samash.com) that fits nicely and relatively unobtrusively into my Guild. Now when I play with those loud lead guitar types, I can actually be heard strumming. Amazing what technology can do for us.

Can’t forget a matching purse!

Tuners are another item that I feel are a good accessory. While it is important to learn how to tune your guitar by ear, it’s essential to tune correctly if you want to play with others and sound like you’re playing the same song. Chromatic tuners are more reliable than quartz tuners. Chromatic tuners are also helpful for alternate tuners. They may be a bit more expensive than quartz, but are worth it in the long run.

The outfit that looks killer on one person just doesn’t work on another.

Again, you can shop online or in person for one, depending on what’s easier. Our webmaster (and college dean) often puts links on our Home page. The web makes comparison shopping for accessories so easy, and you can supplement that with an experienced musician’s opinion. But remember that opinions are exactly that. Do the research and then come up with your own opinion before you spend your hard earned (or begged) cash. Majority opinion is helpful, but ultimately it’s your guitar and gear.

Lest you think this is an incredibly sexist article, let me point out that while women are often known for their flair in dressing, or in accessorizing, no one has more flair than a lead guitar player. That is, after all, What They Do, musically speaking. So you can’t tell me that the fun in shopping for this stuff is just for girls; it’s for everyone who loves guitars. So get on out there and shop ’til you drop!!

n.b. This column continues in a series dedicated to the female musician. As always, I would love suggestions on topics you would like to see covered. Please email me and tell me your story. I enjoy hearing each and every one. Shopping stories are always welcome!

Friends of Guitarists! Families of Guitarists! Don’t you hate the holiday seasons? You want to buy your loved one something special that he or she will appreciate but you’re afraid of buying the “wrong” thing. So, come Christmas morning, your beloved Guitar Player unwraps the present only to find, yet again, that he or she will indeed having plenty of socks to keep his or her feet warm this winter!!

That’s enough silliness, I think. With all due apologies to R.L. Burnside, it can really get bad, you know.

Last year I wrote a piece for the holidays entitled, On Gifts and Giving, in which I tried to explain a bit about how I felt about music being a gift that should be continually given. At the time, it led to a lot of interesting (and occasionally lengthy) conversations among some of my friends who don’t play any instrument. And I was actually quite surprised at the unexpected direction those conversions took.

You should know something: most of my friends and I share a fundamental belief when it comes to giving someone a gift, whether it be for the holidays, one’s birthday or simply “just because.” A gift should convey several messages – that you care about a person, that you want to share in that person’s life and interests and also that you want that person to share in yours as well. A gift, ideally, tells not only a story of the receiver, but of the giver as well.

But many of my non-musician friends, I found, were very uncomfortable giving someone a gift of music (other than a CD, but sometimes even then) to someone. The main reason for this was the fear of buying “the wrong thing,” something the other person would not want. I’ve talked with other people about this as well and discovered that this fear is more common than I would ever have realized.

So, as a bit of a “public service,” if you will, I’d like to offer some shopping guidelines for musicians and non-musicians alike. Just in time for the holidays, too. You’d think that I might have planned it this way on purpose or something…

First off, let me ease your mind a bit – I will not tell you to buy someone a guitar! You should never do this unless you’re getting someone his or her first guitar (and only knowing full well that this gift will undoubtedly be replaced or, better yet, passed on somewhere down the road).

Also, I will tell you that if your intended recipient is someone of a, oh, how to put it politely? “singular” mindset – you know, only listens to one type of music, has to have everything just so (whether music or life), is leery of changes in his or her life – then don’t even bother. Nothing will please this sort of person and it has absolutely nothing to do with you or your gift, regardless of how he or she may make you feel about it. This is strictly a personality thing; you could give this person a million dollar guitar and he will fixate on the fact that it doesn’t come with the strings he “always” uses.

Fortunately for you, the majority of true musicians have a wonderful sense of curiosity and the need to experiment. This is why you should never really worry about getting the “wrong” thing. There are no wrong things!

But you do have to know something about the guitarist you are buying for. Does he or she own more than one guitar? Acoustic? Electric? Classical? More than one of a couple of kinds? Does he or she perform a lot or is your guitarist more likely to be found at home writing and recording music? If you’ve got a performer, you must have seen a show or two. Does he or she stand or sit while playing? What styles of music do they play, aspire to play? What music does your friend listen to on his/her own time?

You may not know this, but there are a lot of things that guitarists always need, but rarely purchase, usually because they are obsessing over their next “big” buy. Guitar players go through stuff that needs to be replaced fairly often.

Strings and picks come immediately to mind. Anyone who doesn’t need strings never plays. And unless your guitarist is a classical player or one of the “fingers only” school of style (or one of my friends who still has the same picks he bought twenty years ago!), he or she will always need picks.

“But there are so many different kinds of strings and picks,” you might say. “Which one do I choose?”

Well, not to give away any big secrets or anything, but unless you’re buying for one of those aforementioned personality types, anything will do. On my last birthday, a friend of mine got me a brand of guitar strings I’d never even seen before. They turned out to be the best I’d played in a long time. I was truly amazed.

And even if it’s not “the brand I always use,” hey, a person is always breaking string and you can never have enough spares in any gauge. The same goes for picks. Personally, I’m always trying out new types simply for the joy of a new sound.

If you’ve got a regular performer on your hands, a “pick holder,” which is a device that allows you to have an array of picks at your disposal (no pun intended) right there on the mike stand is always a nice idea. And it is much classier looking than two-sided tape.

Speaking of stands, a guitarist can never have too many of those, either. Guitar stands, I’m talking of here. Or music stands, for that matter. On the day I finally have more guitar stands than guitars, then I will be able to offer stands to my guests who have not brought (or do not have) one of their own.

Same goes for guitar straps. You wouldn’t think that these would wear out as quickly as they do sometimes. And this is an item that is easily “personalized.” Think of it in the same terms as buying a tie. It can make a great statement.

Other “little things” that guitarists often need include guitar polish and cloths (usually sold in kits but available separately), power cords (connect the guitar to the amp or whatever) (and nowadays people have so many effects that they can’t have enough cords, either) and capos. Yes, capos do wear out. Most people never give this a second thought, but it is good to replace them, especially if you use them a lot, every few years. You should definitely know what type of guitar your friend plays if you intend to purchase one. The easiest way is to simply ask – “Hey, what’s that thing do?” and listen (again) to the explanation while making mental notes about the capo’s size and style.

If your guitarist is either just starting out, or simply doesn’t have one, I would recommend getting him or her a tuner. Or a metronome (especially a metronome). Or both (someone must make one that does both, surely?). There are all sorts and you don’t have to spend a fortune on these items. A pitch pipe will not only work as well as an $80.00 tuner, it has no battery to replace!

If you live with an electric guitarist, then a nice gift for both of you would be a “headphone amp.” This does exactly what you think it does – instead of plugging into an amp, the guitarist plugs the headphones into the guitar and voila, a personal amplifier. No longer will you have to ask him or her to “turn it down” while you’re on the phone! I will warn you that this can lead to all sorts of other problems but again, that’s more to do with the guitarist than the gift itself!

Conversely, if you know an acoustic guitarist who plays with a lot of other guitarists, then a nice pick-up is another thoughtful and relatively inexpensive gift.

If you want to get something to help stimulate an interest in a different direction, a slide is a great choice.

As you might imagine, my two favorite gifts are books and “toys.” By “toys,” I mean an instrument that I might not ever get for myself but is nonetheless a lot of fun to play. And I really shouldn’t call them “toys” because this is not to say that I don’t take them seriously. Au contraire! It can be something as simple as a little percussion piece. A coworker gave me an “egg” for our Christmas grab bag last year. It’s a piece of wood that is, big surprise, shaped like an egg. It’s been hollowed out and filled with something so that you can shake it like a maracas. For me it’s great because it’s small enough to palm when I play so I can go from guitar to percussion-back up and back to guitar in an instant. Harmonicas, kazoos, little drums or tambourines, there is no end to the things you can find. In fact, my friends and I have this unspoken pact that we tend to pick up interesting percussion items on any of our travels.

And books are always great. If you shop around at any guitar store you are bound to see something that your guitarist can benefit from, whether it is an all-purpose “owner’s manual type thing (The Guitar Book by Tom Wheeler and The Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer being two good examples) or one of the many that exemplifies a particular style or examines an artist or album. And it doesn’t have to be an album or an artist that your guitar player likes, it could easily be one that you like. After all, he or she should be happy to play something especially for you.

Most guitarists start playing on an inexpensive acoustic for obvious reasons: you don’t want to invest too much until you see whether you can really manage to learn playing the guitar. Or you start learning classical guitar on a nylon-string acoustic. Whichever the case, sooner or later you’ll face problems, which lie in the instrument itself. Simple, cheap acoustics have wide, thick necks, short fretboards, the high frets are unreachable, and extremely high action. (In case you wonder: the action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard.) These features can render playing really difficult. And the solution? Well, the possibilities range from some little DIY (“do it yourself”) to buying a new instrument.

Let’s see…

Wide, thick neck:

This cannot be repaired or adjusted, but read on anyway…

High action:

On most guitars – including acoustics – the action is adjustable at the instrument’s bridge (where the strings are attached to the body). I won’t go into details here – consult your favorite guitar shop. Most shop people are more than happy to do simple repairs like this for a reasonable cost. While they’re at it, you can also get them to check for other things they might be able to do to smooth out your instrument. The ultimate goal is to set the action as low as possible without any irritating fret buzz. This should help considerably.

Strings:

Nylon strings are easy to fret and bend, but most rock/blues/country players prefer steel strings. Electric guitars always have steel strings, except for the new “classical/electric” guitars that some manufacturers are producing lately. Note: you shouldn’t put steel strings on your nylon-string guitar – chances are that the neck will break because of the added strain. I learned this the hard way, but that’s another story…:-) Anyway the thing to look for in our case is lighter gauge (thinner) strings. Thin strings are easier to play on although they won’t sound as majestic as thick ones. If you don’t have a clue about your current string gauge, just take the old high e string to the guitar shop and they will tell you the gauge; buy a lighter set of strings. Another solution is mixing string sets. Most rhythm guitarists tend to concentrate on the lower strings (4th, 5th and 6th). One idea would be to buy two sets of strings one light (or extra light) and one medium (or heavy) and just use the appropriate three strings of each set. Of course, you can also buy strings individually or buy special sets optimized for this kind of use.

Picks:

Okay, the guitar pick is not part of the instrument, but using an appropriate pick should help, too. Just experiment with thinner and thicker picks. If you just strum chords all the time you should go for a flexible one (e.g. 0.50mm thick). More rigid picks give you more control during the solos.

Buying a new guitar:

Now, you don’t have to literally buy a brand new instrument: just try a friend’s or an expensive one in the shop. In a few minutes you will get the feel of the better guitar and how it would affect your playing. Or try an electric if you never played one – there’s a huge difference. Remember that as you upgrade your skills you might want to consider upgrading your equipment.

Just one last thought: don’t blame the guitar if you don’t practice enough. But bear in mind that the best guitarists get to play the best guitars available – it’s not just talent and practicing.

About the author:

Abel Petneki lives in Budapest, Hungary. He started playing the guitar around two years ago and loves it. Abel plays rhythm guitar in a garage band called Zuzmo. His current guitar is an Ibanez electric/acoustic. If he could play with any guitarist, Abel would definitely choose Kurt Cobain or Lou Reed. Or with any singer? Then he’d opt for Liam Gallagher. You can email him at petneki@mail.datanet.hu.

Abel has also co-written a lesson with David Hodge entitled Sustained Tones: An Animated Discussion

And, music being my love, I go visit her everywhere – in the coffee shops,at the Sunday gospel brunches, at the fondue restaurant with the live classical guitar. I even manage to somehow summon up enough courage to seek her out at the dreaded big-name guitar store.

Don’t laugh. While I have no trouble whatsoever meeting people (although by nature I am fairly shy and reserved), or writing very personal things that complete strangers will read and critique, or even playing solo in front of thousands of people, I get the absolute willies each time I walk through the door of a music shop. These “music store jitters” get exponentially worse as the size of the store increases.

Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s the five-year old over at the Fender wall playing a note-for-note perfect Stevie Ray Vaughn lead. Maybe it’s seven thousand different effects boxes (all priced differently) that all seem to do the same exact thing. Maybe it’s the two guys my age hovering over the amplifiers trying to figure out where the “on” switch might be located.

Maybe it’s all in my head. I mean, in spite of all my trepidation, I do enjoy going to guitar stores. A lot.

But the truth is that quite a few musicians (and worse, would-be musicians) get turned off going to music stores. Somewhere that should be a place of knowledge and refuge instead becomes a major annoyance.

Well, you know how we’ve managed to tackle major problems by looking at them and breaking them down into smaller, easier-to-solve pieces? You can do the same thing here.

After all, how can you hope to get better if you don’t keep up with all the wild wonderful new things that keep cropping up in our ever-changing world?

Getting To Know You

Buying a new (or used) guitar can be an emotional ordeal, especially if you haven’t the faintest idea of what you’re looking for. This is why it’s important to do a bit of thinking and investigating before even setting foot inside a music shop. It doesn’t matter if it’s going to be your first or fortieth guitar, take a moment to gather your thoughts. Ask yourself some questions:

Why am I buying a guitar? … This is serious. If you’re buying your first guitar, do you truly intend to invest the time it will take to learn? Have you considered borrowing one to make sure? Do you want one that you know you will upgrade later or do you want to buy one that will last years? If it’s your fortieth guitar, the questions obviously get harder. Like, what’s the point of this guitar? Is it significantly different then the ones you already have? Is it a stunt guitar? Is candy apple red really your color? When I was in Athens two years ago I decided to buy a bouzouki and the first question the woman behind the counter asked me was “Are you going to play it or hang it on your wall?” When I assured her that I wanted to play it (I even asked about restringing it left-handed and about whether I’d be able to find strings for it in the United States), she turned out to be incredibly helpful. She even took a good deal of time to go over the construction of the instruments and how to pick out a good one from a “display” piece.

What type of guitar do you want? … I am a firm proponent of learning on an acoustic before even thinking about playing an electric. Years ago it was a matter of cost but nowadays you can get whole “starter kits” (guitar, amp, cord, etc.) for the comparable price of a good acoustic. But there are so many different makes and models these days. If it’s your first guitar, I would also recommend you checking out a classical or two. If it’s for a child, you’ll also want to scope out the half and three-quarter size guitars. If you have decided you want an electric, you still have a lot of choices to deal with. Solid body? Strat style? Les Paul? Maybe a hollow body? Hey, how about an electric/acoustic? You may have to go back to the first question. If your answer to “why?” is to have a “performance” guitar, then you’ve opened up a whole new can of worms.

When and where am I likely to play/carry/keep/store this guitar? … This may not seem important until you find yourself lugging your prized possession around in the rain or snow of a beautiful spring evening. Is it better to get something that will be a “beater” or to pay more money for protection? If you travel a lot via public transportation, as I do, you’re actually better off than someone whose guitar is earning lots of air miles. It’s a good idea to think about these things ahead of time. Also about the humidity (or lack thereof) in your home. This affects different guitars (and guitar owners) in many different ways (from not at all to way too much). A knowledgeable salesperson can certainly help answer your questions in this matter.

And, of course, how much do you want to spend? … Does this budget include the cost of a case? How about an amp? Strap? Cords? Picks? Strings? Books? Tipping someone to help you carry it all out the door?

Other things to do before you go to the store should include talking with your friends that play guitar. What was their first guitar? What makes and models have they played and what did they think about them? What can they recommend? Do they know a good salesperson with whom to talk?

And don’t forget how much detective work you can do online! A glance at the Guitar Forums will tell you that people just like yourself are always asking for and receiving information concerning this type of acoustic guitar or that of electric. Do remember that any opinions you solicit are just that … opinions. While I might recommend a brand that’s been especially good for me someone else might have had such a bad experience with it that he or she can’t begin to understand why anyone in his/her right mind would ever want to buy one.

Getting To Know Them

Here in Chicago, we are blessed with many types of music stores. There are small repair shops that will sell the odd instrument or two, the “Mom and Pop” places that have been around forever and, of course, the huge chain stores that bombard the air waves with commercials that sound like ads for monster truck rallies (“THIS WEEKEND ONLY… MISS THIS SALE AND DIE!”). If you look hard enough, you can even find places that will build a guitar for you, or can teach you how to build one for yourself. Instruments can occasionally also be found in antiques shops and always in the classified ads and on the internet. And no matter how diverse all these places may seem, they all share the same goal: they want you to spend your money at their place.

Now, while it’s true that I tend to be a tad cynical about these things, it is important to remember why these places are in business in the first place. And this is why it is necessary to shop around not only to check out the guitars but also to find yourself a trustworthy “partner” in your endeavors. Every serious guitarist I know is on a first name basis with several music store owners/sales people in his or her locality. It’s extremely helpful to have a friendly inside source these days, someone who knows you and your needs and who can point you in the right direction.

This is why I make it a point to visit my “favorite” shops every now and then, even when I am not necessarily buying anything (although, there’s almost always something to get … a string, a set of strings, a book, picks (!)). And while I’m there I always have a question about something. Just as every guitarist has her or his own personal style, each sales person usually has a field of expertise. One person may be really up on the construction of guitars; another may know everything there is to know about amplifiers. And, usually, they are all more than happy to share the knowledge and experience they have. This is a great source of learning that many people overlook. It’s especially hard for people my age (early forties) to go into a store where all the sales people are half our age (twelve years old). Our first instinct is to dismiss the sales staff as too young to shave, let alone be helpful, and it is really a shame to find oneself thinking in this fashion. More often than not even the “kids” have had invaluable information that I would not have gotten otherwise.

Above all, you have to know that you can talk frankly with your sales person. Tell him or her your concerns as to a particular guitar or accessory. If you know you can tell this person “no” without the fear of offending her or him, then you’ve got someone good to work with. You see, you not only go to the music store to buy things but you also go to cultivate relationships that will help you down the road. You should take advantage of the knowledge and expertise that is available to you. In the smaller shops, you will make valuable friendships. In the larger establishments, you will soon find out which sales people can actually assist you and which ones will probably not be there the next time you drop in for a visit.

Getting To Know It

If you’re truly serious about getting a new guitar then there’s something you should know up front … it should take some time for you to make a decision. We’re not talking months or years or even the amount of time it takes to get in or out of downtown Chicago on a Friday evening (plate tectonics is rumored to be a tad faster). But we are talking about making an informed decision, and that involves a bit of work.

Ideally you want to try out a guitar or a piece of equipment in a controlled environment. I can hear you laughing right now. “Controlled environment? We’re talking about a music store!” True. But you can control it more than you might imagine. First off, let’s talk acoustic or classical guitars. This is easier than you think, especially since larger stores usually have a room for these guitars sealed off from the rest of the store. There are usually fewer people there (it’s a lot harder for a show off to show off on an acoustic for some reason. Go figure…). And speaking of fewer people, try to find a time to go when things are relatively quiet. If you pick your day (and time of day) well, you can usually have the whole place to yourself.

And do yourself a favor. Take notes. Even if you’re worried that it will make you look like a complete idiot, write things down. Believe me, you will never remember all the things you will want to remember the moment you set a guitar down, let alone the moment you walk out the door. Try a guitar. How does it feel? Comfort should be the number one consideration in your book. A lot of things about a guitar, from the action to the color, can be changed. But how it feels in your hands will rarely change no matter how much you think it can. How’s the sound? Try a different brand, size or shape. Try one that is constructed from a different type of wood. Ask about the strings. How old are they? What brand or gauge are they? You’ll be amazed at how you once thought that they all sounded the same. Even if it’s out of your price range, try out an expensive model and see what you think of it. Remember it’s how it sounds to you that should be important. There’s a brand of guitar out there (and I’m not naming names) that I’ll never buy … they are quality guitars (and the price reflects it) but I have yet to find one whose sound I really like. It’s just me. Someone could give me one; I would still play my twenty-year old acoustic, bashed in
and all.

Do yourself another favor … avoid burning yourself out. If it does all start sounding the same, call it a day. Go over your notes. Narrow down your choices and go back when you’ve rebooted.

If you’re buying your first guitar, take along a friend who does play and listen to him or her. You check out the feel, but since you have no idea how to play, it makes more sense to have your friend play. Don’t have the salesperson play for you unless you cannot get anyone to accompany you. And make sure your friend plays fairly simply … mostly strumming chords and maybe a little lead or fill work. After all you want to hear what you’re going to be learning, not what you can hopefully do a year or two down the road.

And a big bit of advice for you if you’re buying a new (but not first) guitar, whether acoustic, electric, classical, bass, whatever: PLAY WHAT YOU NORMALLY PLAY. If you’re a rhythm guitarist, strum a rhythm. If you play leads, then play a typical lead. Play a song you know well. If you’re checking out a new electric guitar, try to test it out on the same kind of amplifier that you use. So many people buy a guitar and then complain that it doesn’t sound anything like it did in the store. That’s because you didn’t sound at all like yourself at the store, either. Leave the showing off to the people who believe that everyone else comes to the guitar store to hear them play.

And if you are trying out an electric guitar, please play it at a reasonable volume. After all, you’re buying the guitar, not the amp. If you are buying the amp, then play it at a level that you expect to be playing at. Most people sink a lot of money into amps that they are never going to really use. They could easily have put an extra two or three hundred into their guitar instead. Sad, really, but hey, image is everything, right? If you’re buying an amp to really crank it out, then you really owe it to yourself to test one out in a performance setting, at a club or on a stage. You will never be able to accurately translate from what it sounds like in a store to what it might sound like in “real life.”

Likewise with effects … experiment as much as you want but be smart enough to play it on your guitar and amp. Or at least as close as you can get.

And be kind to the sales staff. I mean if you’ve taken all the trouble to findsomeone you like and can work with, don’t reward him or her by playing Smoke on the Water with the amp and guitar both set on eleven. Imagine what it must be like for these folks – to come into work each day knowing that the best they can hope for is to not have one of their favorite songs butchered in front of their ears can’t be all that much fun. One of my favorite stores used to have a list of riffs/songs posted on the wall. Anyone caught playing anything on the list was subject to removal from the premises. Multiple violations could result in a ban from the store. There’s just so much Iron Man that a
person should be asked to listen to in his or her lifetime.

Getting To Know The Rest Of Them

All joking aside, the guitar store is a great place to meet and learn from other musicians. It’s like going to a party where everyone has something in common. There are bound to be people that you won’t get along with and there will also be people who could become your best friends. But you’ll never know unless you mingle.

Besides making the acquaintance of the people who inhabit the store (whether they be sales staff or habitual customers), it’s not a bad idea to check out the bulletin boards from time to time. It’s a good way to hook up with a teacher (you might even get reviews from members of the staff), meet potential band members or even find some good used stuff.

And there are other benefits to making friends at the music store. Many smaller stores nowadays hold “preferred customers” or “closed door sales.” Basically it’s the same idea as the “great weekend giveaways” the big stores have, but it’s just for their “good clients.” Often the store will be closed to the public and you’ll need an invitation in order to walk through the door. The store will normally inform you of this event ahead of time so you will have the chance to check out the equipment and then some in on the day of the event to see what prices they have. Usually it’s a good event to plan for in your yearly budget.

Bigger stores will occasionally host special seminars, almost always sponsors by a guitar manufacturer. These are hosted by very talented players (although you may not have heard of them); they come in and talk about a particular subject, play a little and often field questions from the audience. It’s all in the hopes that you will buy some of the manufacturer’s wares, but you can usually learn a thing or two and you get to hear some good guitar work, so it’s not a bad deal.

One of the big stores in the Chicago area (and I’ve heard from some of you that this idea is spreading) offer a “build a band” service. It’s kind of like those “blind date lunch” deals. They’ll put you in contact with other people with similar musical tastes and styles and give you rehearsal space and even throw a “battle of the bands” night for the people who participate. Yes, it is just another way to get you to spend money but you’ve got to admit it’s an interesting idea.

Personally, I prefer to throw a “music and munchies” session at my house. It’s pretty easy … you invite your friends that can play as well as friends that like to listen or sing or sit in on the percussion and you just see what happens. In the past we would normally do this once every three or four months but so far this year (knock on wood) we’ve had one each month. As word spreads you get more and more participants and more input in the selection of music that gets played. It’s a great way to learn new things, develop your skills and have some fun at the same time.

So go out and celebrate the season! Visit some old friends and investigate the new kids in town. Whether we’re talking about people, guitars or guitar stores, the philosophy should be the same. As corny as it sounds, life is beautiful. Especially for those of us who truly believe that there is no life without music.