Category Archives: News

In this article I want to talk about the physics behind pickups in order to explain why using the DC resistance as a measure of output is not the best way of viewing the output of a pickup. But first, what is DC in the first place? Why is it relevant at all when it comes to pickups? When those questions are answered we have to take a look at the origin of the signal itself: where does the signal come from? Why are magnets and coils so crucial?

I’m sure we’ve all glared at our keyboardist friends with envy at the sheer volume of sounds they’re able to call up at will while we’re happily stuck within the confines of what a guitar, effect and amp setup can naturally do. And not to get all ‘infomercial’ about it, but synth/MIDI guitar can be pretty expensive to implement. You need a guitar with a suitable pickup for capturing the basic information from each individual string, and this can take the form of a special hex pickup or piezo elements linked into an electronic brain. You need an interface to turn that information into MIDI data. And then you need a MIDI sound module to turn that data into music again.

Ever since musical instruments were crafted of wood they had to be protected. Whether it’s protection from the player (sweat can be quite aggressive; just take a look at the gold plating of your (friend’s) vintage Les Paul Custom) or from the elements, wood has to be safeguarded from hazardous,external influences. This is because the…

If there is one effect out there than seems to cause guitarists the most confusion, it’s definitely the compressor. I read plenty of people on the Seymour Duncan Forums asking about them. What do they do? Do I need one? What do the controls do? Is it even working?

When you walk around in a nice guitar shop it’s hard to not drool over the lovely finishes some manufacturers seem to produce. Incredibly glossy with a flame or quilt top that almost looks 3D. The first time I stepped in a guitar shop that carried Paul Reed Smith guitars I could hardly believe that these figures were Mother Nature’s handywork!

I always wished to own a Telecaster, but after having tried over 20 guitars I still was without a Tele! So, I decided to build me one. I started out with Allparts parts though, since I don’t have the time (nor capabilities) to really build from scratch. I have the theory that you want a thick maple neck and medium heavy, medium dense ash for a body. The maple will give the bite, and the thickness will give you some lows.

Promising to be a definitive documentary about the history and the rise of the electric guitar, “Turn it Up!” gives guitar lovers and fans alike a reminder why guitar players love the instrument so much. Starting with the history of the instrument with Charlie Christian and the Rickenbacker Frying Pan, it then interweaves interviews with famous artists such as Slash, Jerry Cantrell, B.B. King, Robby Krieger, Steve Lukather and more, exploring why the electric guitar was invented but also why it grips guitar players and has defined multiple generations of musicians.

For over 40 years ZZ Top has been defining their version of Texas rock and have always done it in an unmistakable way, with a tone that is as signature as the long beards and sunglasses. Having produced 15 albums, tons of hits and circled the globe many times over rocking out concert halls, ZZ Top has earned their place in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Not only has ZZ Top managed to stay together while many rock bands from the era have broken apart, but Billy, Frank and Dusty continue to crank out great music and tour like a Texas tornado.

In Tinkering with Pickups 102 we looked at swapping magnets in humbuckers to change some of the tonal characteristics of a pickup. In this entry we are going to look at what I’ll call a “vintage” modification for humbucker pickups. As per the warning the previous entry, the following modification also carries some risk of damage to your pickup if you are not careful.

If you’ve read the other two articles in the series, hopefully by now you’ve got a good understanding of the different ways we can wire P-Rails pickups. Let’s take a look at some of the more common configurations.