Category Archives: News

About a year back, I found myself in the enviable position of being able to build my dream guitar. While looking for the proper pickups I ran across some pretty amazing and seemingly underwhelming parts that would eventually make it into that rig. Before I committed to using the new (unproven to me) technology for…

When Jody Porter of Fountains of Wayne wanted a Tele that could get humbucker and single-coil sounds he went with Old School Guitar Repair Restoration and Lutherie, a company that literally works from an old school.

There’s one thing I don’t want when I switch over to a neck pickup, and that’s mud. I want my bridge pickups to have a tight low end, and enough mids and treble to cut through the mix, without getting fizzy, and be able drive an amplifier hard enough to get some good chunky tones. My neck pickup on the other hand needs to have a cleaner sound to it, and retain some smoothness even under a lot of dirt.

Seymour Duncan artist Joshua Ray is a young up and coming blues guitarist from San Diego, California. At 20 years of age, Josh has done more than many could hope to achieve. A finalist in the Guitar Center 2009 “King of the Blues” contest, he’s gone on to work with artists and producers such as Johnny Sandlin…

“Guitarists love new things and innovative design, as long as everything remains the same.” That’s a remark one of my friends once made. It may be slightly tongue in cheek, but it is true to some extent. New technologies aren’t greeted by guitarists as enthusiastically as in other fields. But every once in a while…

Pickups come in all kinds of flavors and styles. Some are tailored to do one specific style or tone while others are more versatile. To broaden the palate of choice, some 30-odd years ago active pickups hit the market. The tonal characteristics of active pickups make them a great choice for the more heavy music…

Drop tuning involves dropping the strings down pitches to explore a whole different tonal shape and be able to do things like easily fret across strings with a single finger. This also includes alternate tunings which may in part or completely involve lowering the pitch of the strings from standard tuning (EADGBE). Playing in drop-tunings…

The Fender Custom Shop has announced a new Gold Top Limited Edition Dusty Hill Bass, modelled after the instrument Dusty is currently using on the road with ZZ Top. And like pretty much everything to do with ZZ Top, from their vehicles to their clothes, Dusty’s bass is not just any off-the-shelfer: it’s packed with…

One of the worst noises known to the ears of a guitarist and fans is to hear the high-pitched scream of feedback emanating from the amplifier’s driver – unexpectedly and undesirable.

Jeff Schroeder has been a member of the Smashing Pumpkins since replacing longtime guitarist James Iha in 2007. Prior to that he one of the founding members of the Lassie Foundation, who’ve released four albums and six EPs. He’s also been involved in a side project called The Beat Concerto. Jeff is using three main…