Guitar Workbench 51
Double-Tracking Electric Guitars
Ever since digital recording surpassed analog as the norm, musicians have been exploiting the format to its fullest capabilities, not only to streamline workflows, but to also create new and interesting sounds. The ability to copy and paste regions in your DAW has really helped producers and mixers push creative boundaries in the last few […]
A Guide to ’65 Reissue Fender Amps
Arguably the most popular amps that Fender released came at the end of the ever-so-talked-about “pre-CBS” era. The most revolutionary thing about these amps is that they had reverb on-board instead of having to put an out-board reverb unit between the guitar’s output and the amplifier’s input. You see these “Blackface” amps, (named for the […]
Five Factors That Make a Good Guitar Nut
A mentor who I came to trust very much, once told me that when it comes to having a nut made, make sure to go with the luthier who is looking to charge you the most. This flies in the face of convention when coming from the perspective of a struggling artist, and a college […]
Analog vs. Digital Delay
The analog vs. digital delay war has been raging for several years now. Those in the analog camp love the lush repeats and rounded character of the trails. Digital delay folks know that those razor sharp repeats will continue to cut through any mix and keep the true sound of your guitar intact. While volleys […]
Experimenting With Pickup Wirings
The Fender Stratocaster has been my main guitar for years now, and despite the trademark five pickup positions that come stock on these guitars, I have always ended up using only one of them. While there are so many tones to explore on this instrument, I always end up falling back on position one, the […]
Maintaining Guitar Humidity
For the longest time, humidity never crossed my mind when it came to my guitars. I mainly play solid body Jaguars in a band and only ever pick up my low-end acoustic when I’m at home strumming on the couch. It wasn’t until I moved from a basement rehearsal space to a main floor space […]
Using a Boost Pedal with Overdrive
Overdrives and boosts, considered by some (me) to be a rock guitarist’s most used effects, help establish the foundation for tasty, clipped tone. While we all know and love the effect overdrive pedals create, boosts have somewhat of a mysterious air about them. Clearly, it’s easier to hear how an overdrive affects your overall tone […]
Two Mods to Make Your Stratocaster Sound Like a Telecaster
Since its release in 1954, the Fender Stratocaster has proved to be a tried-and-true instrument. Loved by many for its tone and versatility, it featured a number of innovations that separated it from other guitars of the era, including a three-pickup system which was controllable with a 5-way blade switch. While the new middle pickup gave […]
Why Don’t Guitar Manufacturers Make More Left-Handed Models?
When I was 12 I decided that playing guitar was rad, and I wanted to do it. My parents weren’t too excited to get me something I could make endless amounts of noise with, but eventually they caved and my dad drove me down to the local music store. I grabbed a guitar off the […]
