Once upon a time, there was this guy who bought a thing. He raved about this thing to anyone who would listen. It was the best thing ever. Superior in every measurable quality to everything else possessing qualities which could be measured. Of all things, this one thing reigned supreme; ultimate champion among the elite echelon of awesome things.
And it was his. And he would never part with it. Ever.
Continue reading “Tales of Love and Loss and Gear”

I recently installed two P-Rails pickups as well as two Triple Shot mounting rings in my guitar. The particular axe I chose for this install is an odd choice, but it is sonically ‘neutral’-  a maple and graphite Steinberger ZT3. I chose it for this because I know that in this particular guitar, the pickups have a much broader influence because it isn’t made out of traditional tonewoods.
Continue reading “Installing P-Rails and Triple Shot Mounting Rings”

Born and raised in the rural Victorian town of Warrnambool, Airbourne vocalist Joel O’Keeffe first realized his love of rock ‘n’ roll at the tender age of nine. He devoured the Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, The Angels, Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs and Cold Chisel albums that he stole from his uncle, while others got drunk and played sport.
Joel’s younger brother Ryan soon also fell under the spell of his older brothers “borrowed” record collection. Ryan bought his first drum kit by the age of 11 and he and Joel spent their weekends rehearsing – much to the dismay of their neighbors. Continue reading “Rockin’ Down Under With Airbourne’s Joel O’Keeffe”

Breaking strings can be stressful at the best of times. But in the middle of a concert, in front of an audience of critical eyes? Forget it. It’s enough to reduce grown men to tears. What on earth do you do if you pop a string mid-gig without a backup? Call for a drum solo while you duck off to the side and change it? What if you don’t have a spare for some reason? What do you do?
Continue reading “Floyd Rose Emergency Restringing”

Congratulations to Aaron Williams winner of the fall 2012 Seymour Duncan Bass Scholarship at Musicians Institut”

Aaron, from Durango, Colorado, says: “Thank you very much for the opportunity and the reward. Bass playing is my passion, and I am very excited to see my dreams unfold right in front of my eyes.”

Continue reading “Aaron Williams Wins MI Seymour Duncan Bass Scholarship”

We guitar players are strange creatures, aren’t we? We exhibit a lot of habits, behaviors, and superstitions that other people – even other musicians – find odd. We use weird descriptive terms like “woody,” “dry,” and “icepicky” to describe sounds. We say to each other “tone is in the hands” while spending fortunes on equipment. We believe in mojo. Continue reading “Hearing is Believing: Getting a Better Tone From Your Rig”

One of my Les Pauls was in need of new pickups, and I decided to step out of my comfort zone. I usually get PAF-style pickups and I occasionally go a bit hotter, but I decided to try the Seymour Duncan PATB-1 and PATB-2 pickups. I asked Seymour Duncan to change the magnets though. Instead of the Alnico 5 for the PATB-1 and the ceramic for the PATB-2, I chose Alnico 8 magnet bars for both. I just like Alnico 8: it gives me a lot of power but a bit less than ceramic. The tone is very organic and, dare I say, pure, with huge mids, tight lows and soft highs (compared with Alnico 5 anyway!). The results? Amazing!

Continue reading “Parallel Axis Trembucker: My Experiences”

Kids have an amazing ability to absorb and learn at a speed that’s nearly unheard of for adults. Some kids are just pure naturals at playing guitar and at a young age they can make seasoned guitarists’ jaws drop against the floor. In this article we look at some kids who had exceptional playing ability well beyond their years. Continue reading “That Kid Could Put Us All To Shame”

In the last article we got our first look at a five-throw switch with two poles. This allowed us to create some different wiring schemes for a Stratocaster, rather than just the standard one. This time we’re going to go a step further and look at a true “superswitch.”
Continue reading “Guitar Wiring Explored – Introducing the Super Switch, Part 2”

Size does matter.

There are two types of Telecaster lover. The first insists on vintage twangy purity all the way, and won’t put anything in their Tele other than the pickups Leo intended. The second type demands more from their beloved Tele: more output, more harmonics, more mids and lows, and more of that raunchy attitude that only a hot-rodded Tele can deliver. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Tele purists, but I am definitely in the second camp. That’s why I recently put a Seymour Duncan STL-3 Quarter Pound for Tele Lead (tapped) in my Tele.

Continue reading “The Mighty Quarter Pound for Tele Lead”