A guitar that makes little noise acoustically, employs electromagnetic pickups, and requires electric amplification
5
votes
1answer
71 views
positioning of neck pickup on guitars
Is there a particular reason why neck pickups on guitars are often placed exactly where an open string harmonic is found ? Years ago I suffered from 'lost harmonics' till I realised that the one ...
2
votes
1answer
74 views
How do I fix a stripped pickguard screw?
I have a Gibson Faded Flying V (Mahogany) and recently the guitar cable was yanked, pulling and stripping a screw from the pickguard. Is there a good way for me to fix this?
8
votes
5answers
3k views
What factors affect a guitar's ability to sustain a note?
There are effects and gadgets that can create a long sustained note, but what about the guitar itself?
I have a squier standard strat which I can't help but feel could be letting notes ring longer, ...
5
votes
3answers
3k views
Getting started with an electric guitar and Rocksmith as an absolute beginner
I am an extreme beginner to the guitar and music and just picked up Rocksmith and an electric guitar. Some reviews of the Rocksmith game suggest its a good learning aid for those who know a certain ...
3
votes
1answer
44 views
Humbucker pickup wrapping wire role (The one that wraps the four wires together)
I was wondering if this wrapping can be removed as it is very hard to stack all the wires so that the pickguard will be easily placed inside the guitar. Does it shield noises for the four wires coming ...
6
votes
3answers
4k views
guitar cabinet: why not just use a PA speaker cabinet?
I've been thinking about building myself a rackmount rig to replace an old 12" combo amp, and was wondering if it really makes any difference to use a something that's marketed as a "guitar" speaker ...
8
votes
6answers
3k views
Useful tuning for 7 or 8 string guitars
So, I'm looking to add an Ibanez 7 or 8 string to my guitar zoo, but although I have looked into various standard tunings I am trying to figure out practical tunings so I can rapidly add the new ...
10
votes
1answer
93 views
Effect of nickel cover on Telecaster bridge pickup?
Traditionally telecaster guitars have the neck pick-up covered in a nickel/chrome cover, and the bridge pickup left with exposed pole pieces.
What is the origin/logic of the nickel cover?
What ...
5
votes
3answers
787 views
Guitar Fetish Pickups - Can anyone describe their tone and quality?
OK. I have seen Guitar Fetish pickups at prices that seem insane compared to what most pickups cost - and they have things like humbucker sized P90s that are hard to find in any case. Their stuff ...
1
vote
0answers
17 views
What is a good first electric guitar for a newbie for $400? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What to check when buying a new guitar?
I have been playing acoustic guitar, but need now an electric one, since I cannot practice with it during late evenings.
I have ...
3
votes
2answers
102 views
Guitar Hum disturbances
When I connect my Yamaha Pacifica guitar to Vox DA 5 amp and connect the amp
to the M audio 2496 sound card input by taking the output from the Vox phones
output, I get a hum while playing the bass ...
4
votes
4answers
7k views
Guitar for super-small hands?
I've been playing piano for past 5-6 years and I can't reach further than an octave (Even some chords within the octave are not reachable, or it's hard/borderline impossible to play them with ...
17
votes
4answers
9k views
How does scale length affect my playing?
This one's a bit rudimentary, but scale length is a bit of a mystery to me. I understand what it is, but I don't understand what it does. I own guitars with different scale lengths (Telecaster vs ...
2
votes
4answers
721 views
Recording electric guitar with pc - suggestions to get a great metal sound
I'm trying to connect my electric guitar to the pc and record some great distortion sound, what I have in mind is something that sounds really really good in fast metal solos
I've been struggling to ...
3
votes
1answer
93 views
Guitar Action for practicing and learning
I know for certain that a lower action on a guitar makes playing easier, but does having a high action makes you more skilled by overcoming the extra difficulty or is it just an inconvenience?
2
votes
1answer
67 views
Leaving guitar body without the neck
I have a guitar with a tremolo bridge (Ibanez GRG140 to be exact) and my question is if I remove the strings and neck leaving only the body will it degrade the state of the guitar (I intend to install ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
How many drop tunings can I use with one set of strings?
I want to know how many drop tunings I can reasonably use with one set of strings.
Ex. can I go from E standard to drop C on 11s?
For a given size string, how many tunings will be useable, given that ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
My high E string broke after one week of replacing my guitar strings. Could that be an installation issue?
I'm not sure if it's even possible for the string to break based on how it was installed. The only reason I can think of is that it was installed on a loose tuning peg, which it wasn't (I made sure to ...
1
vote
3answers
241 views
18-note groupings across 4 beats in this Yngwie Malmsteen inspired lick
I have a few questions regarding the following lick:
...
7
votes
4answers
153 views
What should I look for when determining the quality of guitar and pedal cables?
I've read many postings about how important quality cables are for eliminating noise and preserving tone. What should I look for to make sure I'm buying a quality cable? I have a very good 10' main ...
12
votes
3answers
624 views
How do I set up an electric guitar?
How do I set up the pickups, neck, etc. in an electric guitar? I'm not concerned with producing a particular sound as I am with keeping the neck from warping, prevent string buzz, improving ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Rhythm guitar techniques for a great Blues/Blues Rock player
Firstly, let me say that I've been playing guitar for a couple of years now. I know a few scales (Major, Minor, Blues, Harmonic Minor) and the basic chords with it's different shapes. I've also ...
14
votes
4answers
4k views
In phase, out of phase pickups
What is the purpose of having guitar pickups out of phase with each other?
1
vote
1answer
99 views
What are good applications of the ZVex Fuzz Factory
I have recently come into the possession of a ZVex Fuzz Factory. I hear that this fuzz pedal has a ton of applications beyond using it as a standard fuzz effect.
What are some of its normal uses?
...
6
votes
5answers
445 views
What are the Five Most Important Things to Learn?
I'm reading "Practice Perfect" and the author recommends using the 80/20 approach in planning one's practice. For example, if 20% of "techniques" yield 80% of the results, what would be the 20% of ...
1
vote
1answer
223 views
Comparing aspects of the Boss GT-10 and the POD HD500
Both of them are pretty stellar for an amateur like me. I don't intend on playing in large venues and probably will not record much. Both of them have pretty good effects; although, the HD500, I've ...
1
vote
4answers
140 views
Validating pickup wiring
I want to replace the pickups on my guitar with another set.
Is there a way of knowing if I wired the pickups correctly before putting on the strings ?
5
votes
2answers
2k views
What are the differences between an American and Mexican Fender Stratocaster?
Many Mexican Fenders have the same or similar price as the American-made versions. Some of the parts are also the same. Generally what's the difference?
5
votes
3answers
215 views
Replacing a single guitar note with a chord
I am teaching myself to play the electric guitar and I have printed out various tabs to practice with. On one there is a 14 single note introduction but, I have heard versions played where some notes ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Adding a new pot to my guitar
I am willing to add another tone potentiometer to my guitar and I wanted to know what is the best way to add a hole in the pickguard for the new pot.
Is there a dedicated tool for this task? What is ...
11
votes
8answers
3k views
Cleaning the fretboard of an electric guitar
I have had my electric guitar for several years and I noticed that there is some "sweat dirt" on the fretboard of the guitar, so the inlay is less shiny.
I'd like to clean that without taking the ...
1
vote
1answer
149 views
Guitar volume/tone pots
Looking at this wiring diagram I see there are two 500k-w pots and one 500k-d pot.
My question is what is the difference between the two pots (500k-w and 500k-d) and what should I ask for when I go to ...
6
votes
8answers
414 views
What are the advantages of point to point (PTP) wiring?
What are the advantages of having a pedal or amp that is point to point wired as opposed to one that is built on top of a printed circuit board? Are there any disadvantages of PTP?
7
votes
2answers
328 views
Right way of resting a guitar
While not using or after using, what is the right way of resting a guitar. If I lean it towards a wall, is it right to lean it with the strings facing the walls or otherwise? Is it fine to hang the ...
2
votes
3answers
248 views
Annoying hot humbucker pick harmonics
I have a weird "problem" I recently bought an ESP ltd les paul style guitar with a Duncan JB pickup on bridge. Yesterday while i was practising with my headphones and with full hi gain distortion i ...
3
votes
1answer
272 views
Tube screamer 808 with an ENGL Screamer 50W amp
As an Andy Timmon's huge fan I try to get my guitar tone to sound similar to his. In one of his videos I saw that he uses the Ibanez ts808 tube screamer pedal.
I own an ENGL 50W screamer amp which ...
0
votes
1answer
742 views
Is the B. C. Rich Beast NJ Series with the Floyd Rose Speedloader tremolo rare?
I've been googling around for articles or anything that mentions the B. C. Rich Beast with the Floyd Rose Speedloader tremolo, but all I can find is obscure forum postings, reviews and old-looking ...
10
votes
5answers
562 views
How do I improve my picking and fretting speed?
I've seen people like John Petrucci playing incredibly fast with their right and left hands, but I can't seem to get any faster than I am now (which is speedy, but not near as fast as John).
Is there ...
1
vote
1answer
128 views
How can I reproduce the effects on this riff in Iron Maiden - Afraid to Shoot Strangers?
Listen to this Iron Maiden song called "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" at about 2:43 (Iron Maiden fans will probably recognize the riff). This sounds very simple to me, but I don't know how they did it. I ...
1
vote
1answer
202 views
Will changing the colour of my Stratocaster reduce its value?
I have a Highway One Fender Strat (American), which I'm told has a poor quality satin finish. This has started to "melt" on the bottom of the guitar.
I paid about £800 for it in 2005/2006. It has a ...
0
votes
2answers
316 views
What are the major types of effect pedals for electric guitar? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Glossary of Guitar Effects
What are the major types of effect pedals for electric guitar?
I.e., as a novice, what effect pedal types should I be aware of, that ...
2
votes
1answer
136 views
F-Spaced pickups
I want to buy a Dimarzio DP224 pickup which comes in two types : F-Spaced and regular.
I heard that the difference is in the distance between the poles in the pickup.
I have an Ibanez GRG140 guitar ...
7
votes
3answers
198 views
How to develop soloing vocabulary
Background:
My first guitar teacher used to show me small licks or note patterns that had that special quality of arousing interest during a solo improvisation. They were essentially "tools" in my ...
4
votes
1answer
204 views
How should I connect my compressor effect to my amplifier?
Just bought an ENGL screamer 50W amplifier and the only thing I miss right now is a decent compressor for the clean channel.
I also have a Zoom g9.2tt effects device and I was thinking of connecting ...
0
votes
1answer
159 views
Strumming Pattern for Oasis Masterplan issue
I am new to guitar (2 months) and have managed to find the strumming pattern for Oasis Masterplan which I believe is DDD/UDD/UD, however towards the end of the verse the chord progression happens at ...
5
votes
2answers
636 views
How to Calibrate / Setup an Electric Guitar?
Even with new strings, my guitar makes some sort of buzzing noise on higher strings. I was told it needs to be set up. What are the steps or where can I find a good guide to do this?
6
votes
2answers
2k views
What are the benefits of guitars with fanned frets?
I've seen fanned frets on some extended-ranged classical and electric guitars. What are the benefits of guitars with fanned frets? Are there any drawbacks?
2
votes
1answer
89 views
Andy Timmons Carpe Diem fast vibration
This is a tough one :)
When I listen to this amazing track (track 14 from "That was then, This is now" album) I notice at 0:36 and 0:42 a very fast vibration on the G string (5th fret) which I doubt ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
What's the difference between a junior guitar and a normal guitar?
I was planning to buy an electric guitar and amazon.com is offering Epiphone Les Paul Junior Guitars at a seemingly reasonable deals. The related question that I have is: what's a junior guitar?
...
1
vote
3answers
191 views
Recording hard rock guitar riffs with a mic
Are DAWs good enough these days that we can totally get away with capturing hard rock/metal guitar riffs using mics?
