Oh man, if there’s one phrase that’s quickly become the “buzz” on forums over the past year or so, it’s ‘balanced-tension string sets.’ And there are people on both sides of the camp; those that say that balanced tension has revolutionized their playing, and others that say that the packaged set at the local music store is the best. We’ll talk a bit about the difference between the two, and hopefully let you figure out what one is right for you.
Continue reading “Cage Match Bass Edition: Traditional vs. Balanced Tension”

Whether you have been naughty or nice you have equal chances of winning this Mayfield Legacy. We’ve teamed up with Framus to give you a chance to put this Vintage Sunburst under the tree and make some great music. The Legacy is a semi hollowbody with laminated Mahogany top and back, solid Mahogany sides, a Mahogany neck with Rosewood fingerboard, and 22 frets featuring IFT (Invisible Fretwork Technology), and PLEK fretwork. It features a pair of Seymour Duncan Vintage Soapbar SP90 pickups, faithful recreations of the original P90, wound with plain enamel wire on the same Leesona winder that wound the 1950s versions for Continue reading “Framus Mayfield Giveaway”

We learned in a previous article about the benefits of substituting one chord for another. For one, it makes playing rhythm (what guitarists play most of the time) non-repetitive and exciting. Eventually, as we learn more and more chord forms, it makes rhythm playing as thrilling as soloing.  As our groovy new harmonic sophistication reaches the same level as those 3 octave arpeggios played at 200bpm, you will never be bored while you float like a butterfly above the rest of the rhythm section.
In this article, we will continue our discussion and dissection of the V chord. As we remember, the V chord’s job is one of tension- we set up this tension to resolve to the I. The good news is that there are more ‘tense’ or ‘dissonant’ chords out there than ‘consonant’ or ‘at rest’ chords. Continue reading “Chord Substitutions: More Fun with the V Chord”

Nine Inch Nails recently released their long awaited album Hesitation Marks, and are currently touring North America with their Tension 2013 show. After this they will be teaming up with Queens Of The Stone Age in 2014 for a double assault on Australia and New Zealand. With the tour in full swing I thought it would be good to ask Seymour Duncan artist and longtime Nine Inch Nails collaborator Robin Finck a few questions about him, his gear, touring with Nine Inch Nails, and of course pickups! Continue reading “Five Questions with Nine Inch Nails’ Robin Finck”

While I went on and on in one of my previous articles about the Custom Custom bridge pickup, I’d love to introduce one of its fraternal twins, the Custom 5.

I think of it like this: The Custom Custom is like a bowl of clam chowder: rich, and creamy. The Custom 5, while the same pickup in every respect except the magnet, is more like a fine red wine: some body, and a taste that stings a bit going down.

Continue reading “The Seymour Duncan Custom 5 Pickup”

The Seymour Duncan ’59 is a classic. It’s an idealized representation of THE classic, a Gibson PAF — built to the actual specifications of the original design rather than copying one example of a production original which was built with wide tolerances, not all of which were stellar. These days it’s still the first suggestion when somebody is looking for a classic sounding pickup for their Les Paul. However, it’s not always the first suggestion when somebody is looking for a F-spaced bridge pickup for their hot-rodded SuperStrat. Boy am I glad that this pickup ended up in my hot rod by accident.

Continue reading “The Seymour Duncan ’59 Trembucker”

Aristides Instruments from The Netherlands have just previewed the 070, a 7-string guitar that will be officially launched at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show in January. Made from a single piece of Arium, it’s a 26.5” scale instrument available with passive or active electronics – including your choice of our passive Pegasus bridge and Sentient neck pickups, or active Blackouts. There’s a five-way switch combined with a single push/pull volume control and single tone control for a wide variety of pickup configurations. And all components, for both passive and active models, are MEC Electronics.

Continue reading “Aristides Unveils The 070 7-String”

We had the chance to catch up with Warbringer to chat about the experience of making their fourth album, IV: Empires Collapse, and some of the creative decisions with composition, gear selection and the process of making a studio album – Hope you enjoy and definitely check out the album – it definitely evokes a grin as your head is bouncing up and down…
Thrashers from Warbringer, thanks for taking this opportunity to talk about your upcoming album IV: Empires Collapse as well as sharing some of your experiences from the studio with the Seymour Duncan readers – the first question I’d like to ask is how the five of you got on with the creative process.  What was the experience like with the new lineup? Continue reading “Warbringer On Making ‘IV: Empires Collapse’”

The Gotoh licensed Floyd Rose is an example of a bridge built with steel components and a brass sustain block.

Guitars are complicated things. Different woods, different construction methods and the type of bridge all have an effect on tone, as do the the obvious things such as pickups and pots. What some people may not realise is that the type of metal your bridge, saddles, baseplate and sustain block are made of also have quite a large impact on your guitar’s overall tone. I’ve had experience swapping components on Floyd Rose type bridges and vintage-style six-hole Fender Stratocaster type bridges. For this article we’ll focus on Floyd Rose-type bridges and the effects of different metals like steel, brass and titanium on the sound of a guitar – both stock parts and upgrade components. Continue reading “The Impact of Metal on a Floyd Rose-Equipped Guitar”

Skeletonwitch has been making a name for themselves on stages from Ozzfest to the Jägermeister Presents Tour and all points in between since their formation in Ohio in 2003. That was when guitarist Scott Hedrick met his future bandmate and fellow guitarist Nate Garnette at Ohio University. They released their first album in 2004 and have toured and recorded steadily ever since. Their music is aggressive, intense and intricate, with neck-snapping tempo shifts ranging from near full-galloping speed to pounding palm muted chording, all topped by (Nate’s brother) Chance Garnette’s  growling vocals. They stand apart from the pack sonically, though – for a few reasons. Continue reading “Talking Tone With Skeletonwitch”