Doing a setup on a guitar or other stringed instrument requires many measurements where a small distance, for example, 1/64th of an inch, can have a large effect on how well the guitar plays. This post shares some of the tricks I use to overcome my vision problems when setting…
I replaced the saddles that came on my Squier Classic Vibe 60s Thinline Telecaster with Wilkinson compensated saddles. Then, I replaced those with Gotoh compensated saddles. Along the way I purchased and returned a Bensonite set of saddles which look very nice, but required modifications to my guitar I did…
Although I love the new Squire Classic Vibe 60s Telecaster Thinline guitar I recently purchased, it’s my first Telecaster. Owning it has introduced me to the conundrum of Telecaster saddles. I’ve owned Stratocasters and ES-335 style guitars, both of which allow the intonation of individual strings to be adjusted. I…
So far I’ve discussed improving the tone from a guitar cabinet and swapping a pickup in my arch top from Eastman Guitars. The third tonal change is strings. I’ve been using Flat wound strings on all my humbucker-equipped guitars for over thirty years. I’ll try a round wound string set…
I had been thinking of swapping out the Eastman pickup for some time. Before I made any decisions, I measured the impedance of my pickups with a new auto-ranging digital VOM I recently acquired. The analog meter I’ve been using for over 30 years still works just fine, but the…
So much goes into the sound you get playing guitar. If you want a different sound, where to start? Back when I owned three single-coil pickup guitars and, one or more humbucker guitars, everything sounded good to me. My primary amp was a mid-1970s Princeton Reverb. Everything has changed. I…
Phillip McKnight has a guitar Youtube channel I’ve been watching during Covid-19 times. In a recent podcast, he said he knows many guitarists who have bought up to three new guitars during the lockdown. That seems believable because it is the number of new guitars I’ve purchased since this all…
I’ve recently become fascinated with the Fender Telecaster, a guitar design I’ve neither owned nor even played. Why the fascination with a guitar I’ve never owned? Well one reason might be the following Julian Lage video. Sometime during the past five years, I saw Julian Lage play a concert. I…
First, by you, I mean me. Some of you are doing exactly the right things to become a better player. However, I am not alone in doing less than I should to improve my chops. Second, feel free to replace guitarist with musician or whatever you call someone who plays…
I recently got hooked on the controversy over the PRS Silver Sky guitar. The guitar was designed for John Mayer by Paul Reed Smith. Mayer wanted to improve upon the best features of his favorite 60’s Strats and had lost faith in Fender to meet his needs. Since its introduction…
