Play Guitar Through Your DAW
If you’re a beginning guitarist, you’ll quickly find that playing through a real amp is exhilarating, but can also be frustrating, especially if you have neighbors close by. There’s almost nothing like the sound of a real guitar amp, but digital options have come a long way in the last decade. Playing guitar through a […]
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 […]
Roland Announces SH-01A and TR-08 for 808 Day
August 8th isn’t an official holiday per say, but for synthesizer fans it’s one of the best days of the year — 808 day! Roland (the company who released the groundbreaking TR-808 Rhythm Composer in 1980) has marked August 8th in recent years with big announcements and events, and 2017’s edition is no exception. This […]
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 […]
Studio Take: Fender American Elite Telecaster
With the American Elite series, Fender took it upon themselves to create a modern take on their classic models that would fit in with the ever-changing “pro-level” tier of guitars. The Fender American Elite Telecaster is the latest incarnation of a true American classic, updating virtually all of its components, starting from the pickups and ending […]
Perfect Pairings: Hagstrom Retroscape H8 Bass & Supro Thunderbolt Plus
In this edition of Perfect Pairings, we’re introducing the funky 8-string Hagstrom Retroscape bass with the 15″ speaker-loaded Supro Thunderbolt S6420+ for earth-shaking, yet harmonically rich low-end grooves. Check it out in the video above, and learn more about the gear below! Hagstrom Retroscape H8 Bass An instrument as unique as the Hagstrom Retroscape H8 […]
Brad Paisley Interview at Summer NAMM 2017
This year’s Summer NAMM show was packed with incredible gear, but the highlight of our time in Nashville had to be meeting country and guitar superstar Brad Paisley. We were lucky enough to get to talk with him about his side gig in comedy, love of the Fender Telecaster, and of course, his new signature […]
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 […]
