How-To Guides 5
How to Install a Pre-Wired Pickguard
Perhaps the most drastic way to change your guitar’s tone is by installing a new set of pickups. And whether you’re making a big change in the type of pickup — like going from a single-coil pickup to a humbucker, or installing active pickups where you had passive pickups — or just installing a different […]
Passive vs. Active Pickups
Even though both passive and active pickups have now been around for decades, some players still don’t know the true differences between the two types. Pickups happen to be one of the most — if not the most — fundamental tone-shaping parts on your electric guitar. Knowing how they work and the different tones they […]
Beat Production Tool: Ableton Sampler
Welcome to Beat Connection, a series dedicated to promoting modern and vintage dance styles the only way we know how…by providing you a musical starting point to help you create that beat. In our previous post, we outlined a very important concept to think about when composing music: musical pitch. Today, we take another step […]
Four Ways to Rein in Your Powerful Tube Amp
Don’t get me wrong — I love loud amps as much as the next guy. I’ve got two tube heads at home that clip at about 120W each and more cabs than my back can handle carrying, but even I can admit that sometimes less is more. While you may be head-over-heels with the tone […]
Get to Know Pitch
Welcome to Beat Connection, a series dedicated to promoting modern and vintage dance styles the only way we know how…by providing you a musical starting point to help you create that beat. In our previous post, we outlined a very important concept to think about when composing music: musical meter. Today, we take another step […]
Understanding Peak, Continuous, RMS, and Program Power Ratings for Speakers
When you’re shopping for loudspeakers, you’ll see manufacturers using many different terms and numbers to describe their power handling, or wattage. Read on for help demystifying peak, continuous, RMS and program power ratings! Peak Power Ratings A speaker’s peak power rating is the maximum wattage that its voice coil can handle in very short, occasional […]
Setting the Action on Your Acoustic Guitar
While changing the action on an acoustic guitar is not as simple as turning a screw like on an electric, it is no more difficult than adding or subtracting a little material. The trick is knowing how to measure ahead of time to save time and avoid any further complications later in the process. In […]
Mixing Stereo Guitar Tracks
If you’re a solo artist looking for more bite on guitar tracks for your studio album, or in a multi-guitarist band trying to figure out a good balance when tracking, here are a few basic tips for hitting the studio to record and mix your stereo guitar tracks. Start at Tracking Arguably, the biggest mistake […]
The Story Behind Fret Sprout
You pick up your guitar that you’ve had sitting in the stand for a few weeks and suddenly you feel it: the “sharp” frets are sticking out from the fretboard! Or worse yet, you pull a brand-new guitar you just ordered out of the box and the setup is all off and you feel the […]
