A guitar that makes little noise acoustically, employs electromagnetic pickups, and requires electric amplification
20
votes
3answers
12k views
What Does a Compressor Pedal Do?
Quite often, when I see a pedalboard of guitarists I admire, there is a compressor pedal in the chain. How exactly does this pedal affect the sound?
19
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is the bridge pickup on a Stratocaster angled?
I've always wondered why the bridge pickup of a Stratocaster was angled. Is it cosmetic, or does it make a difference in the sound?
18
votes
13answers
619 views
Glossary of Guitar Effects
There are numerous effects options available to the guitarist, especially the electric guitarist. This question is intended to gather and cultivate a set of answers to questions in the form of:
...
17
votes
4answers
8k 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 ...
16
votes
13answers
3k views
How can I practice in an apartment without annoying the neighbours?
I live in an apartment and I find my current amp (a 15W solid-state) to be poorly suited to that. I can't turn it up without upsetting the neighbours, but at low volume it sounds horrible with any ...
14
votes
7answers
1k views
What to check when buying a new guitar?
I have been playing acoustic guitar for quite some time now. I'm not a beginner but neither am I pro. I'm now looking into buying an electric guitar.
My questions are -
What do I need to ...
13
votes
4answers
3k views
In phase, out of phase pickups
What is the purpose of having guitar pickups out of phase with each other?
12
votes
6answers
9k views
How can I create a long sustained note on an electric guitar?
I've seen such effects on Santana, Robert Fripp and Steve Hackett. They produce a clean sustained sound and I don't know how to create it.
12
votes
5answers
721 views
What to look out for when buying a super-cheap used guitar
I found a red Yamaha Pacifica fat strat at a local pawn shop.
Most of their guitars are $60 and up, but this one has a $25 sticker on it.
I'm considering buying, cleaning, and restringing it but I'd ...
11
votes
5answers
2k views
How to accurately intonate a 3 saddle telecaster?
I have a traditional 3 saddle telecaster bridge. With two strings on each saddle my intonation is always a slight compromise. This is OK on the first four strings, but the bass strings are noticeably ...
11
votes
5answers
3k views
How can I minimize going out of tune when using the whammy bar?
Perhaps my selection of musicians is biased, but usually when I see a whammy bar used, it's usually with a locking tremolo bridge like a Floyd Rose. Everybody else seems to take the whammy bar out and ...
11
votes
3answers
590 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 ...
10
votes
9answers
254 views
Should I worry about painful fingertips?
I just started to learn playing the (electric only for now) guitar, and I love it! I've read on a few pages that it was normal for my fingertips (those that I use on the fret board) to hurt in the ...
10
votes
5answers
542 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 ...
10
votes
6answers
708 views
Acoustic/Electric Guitars
So I was going to get a new acoustic. I really want to start getting into acoustics but I don't want to lose the ability to jam with friends who are on drums/bass, and have their own electrics plugged ...
10
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 ...
10
votes
1answer
84 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 ...
9
votes
4answers
4k views
Difference between “hi” and “low” on amps?
What is the difference between "hi" and "low" input jacks on guitar / bass amps? Usually bigger amps have both of them (didn't see them on smaller ones really)..
9
votes
2answers
1k views
How should I tune a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo?
A number of my guitars have a Floyd Rose tremolo system with the locking nuts near the headstock.
How can I effectively tune a guitar that has a Floyd Rose locking tremolo?
9
votes
5answers
178 views
What electric guitar string set should I use to go down to B?
me and my band are planing to play some slipknot and maybe korn (A) but we don't want to get 7-s guitars so what string should we use?
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, ...
8
votes
5answers
839 views
Building an electric guitar from scratch
I want to make an electric guitar by myself from scratch. How can I do this?
8
votes
5answers
2k views
How can I stop my electric guitar strings from rusting so quickly?
I suffer from hyperhyrdosis which means my hands sweat quite a lot. The problem is that because of this my electric guitar strings seem to rust quite quickly because of this. Is there anything I can ...
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 ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
Can one play acoustic/classical music with an electric guitar?
I've once got a very cheap acoustic guitar when I was very young, I later replaced it by an electrical guitar because I disliked it's quality and I don't know what I was doing when I was young.
Can ...
8
votes
2answers
554 views
Does a covering on a humbucker pickup make a difference?
I have seen a number of different pickup designs, like the ones in the image:
Notice how some humbuckers have a covering, and what look like screw heads.
Is this just style or do these different ...
8
votes
2answers
3k views
Guitar produces hum due to poor soldering
Is it possible that a guitar could produce a low hum after replacing a pickup? I own a guitar that I (poorly) replaced a pickup on when I first started playing, and I was wondering if there was some ...
7
votes
5answers
510 views
We got together with another guitarist. What can we play together?
Recently I met a great guy who also plays guitar. We became friends and decided to get together once in a while to jam. When the time came, we realized that we do not know what to do musically at our ...
7
votes
6answers
2k views
How important is it to have an EQ pedal in your chain?
I have a Digitech Bad Monkey, which in my experience, is a very transparent pedal. I use it to mainly to boost my volumes during solos etc.
But I've ...
7
votes
5answers
844 views
humbucker vs two single-coils
I have a Squire Strat that I've been fiddling with off and on for a while. My coil selector has two positions of particular interest: neck+middle, middle+bridge. Now, if I use any one of the three ...
7
votes
3answers
191 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 ...
7
votes
5answers
6k views
How can I prevent the noise my guitar pick makes?
When I play the guitar (electric with steel strings), I can hear the noise of the pick clashing against the steel strings.
When I play a chord, after my pick triggers one string it then falls against ...
7
votes
2answers
300 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
167 views
Is anyone able to outline the purpose of these controls?
I have an Aria MAC57/7 (7 string).
Excuse the dust (the flash on the camera shows it up...)
It has a dual humbucker setup and a set of controls that I never fully got to grips with.
I assume the ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
What changes in the amp when I adjust its presence?
The tone controls on a guitar amp are pretty obvious, but what does the presence knob affect?
It's a subtle effect but can sure make or break a sound. It doesn't seem to be treble or midrange boost, ...
7
votes
1answer
612 views
What kind of effects make this Korn sound?
Korn is my favorite band, but trying to replicate their effects drives me up the wall... Does anyone know what effects could be used to produce the kind of distortion heard in the song "Pretty" around ...
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 ...
7
votes
2answers
196 views
What is this guitar?
A few years back, I came across a guitar in the staging area of a pawn shop. I saw it, played it briefly, and bought it immediately after. I know nothing about it, but I'm hoping to gain some more ...
6
votes
8answers
400 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?
6
votes
3answers
3k 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 ...
6
votes
3answers
636 views
Using an electric guitar with GarageBand
To use an electric guitar with GarageBand, is a USB cable necessary?
6
votes
5answers
412 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 ...
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 ...
6
votes
3answers
4k views
Should a Floyd Rose bridge be parallel to the body of the guitar?
I've read before that a Floyd Rose bridge should be parallel to the body of the guitar.
This is an image of the bridge on my guitar:
You can see that the left side of the appears to be a little ...
6
votes
8answers
176 views
Can I wind my own pickups?
I want to know this to see if I can do some modifications to my guitar tone but I don't want to screw the pickups...
is there any guide arround?
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?
6
votes
3answers
399 views
What is the technique Adrian Belew utilizes through-out : “Elephant Talk” by King Crimson?
Adrian Belew has some incredible sounds coming out of his Strat - one of them is the quasi-Elephant sound on Elephant Talk - King Crimson - "Discipline". I've watched him do it live but apart from ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
What does the distance between a pickup and strings do for the sound?
What does the distance between a pickup and strings do for the sound? Should active and passive pickups be treated differently?
6
votes
2answers
100 views
Why is the whammy bar sometimes called a “Tremolo” arm?
Who coined or mis-used the term Tremolo for the pitch-bending mechanism often found on electric guitars?
Tremolo cannot actually be effected by using the 'whammy bar'.
6
votes
5answers
3k views
How to bend and release without flicking the other strings?
I'm trying to bend up then back down on the G string (so it plays both notes, I'm not muting the bend back down to G) but I always catch my fingernail on the D string. So when I let the bend back ...
