DIY Club Update (and Meeting!)

UPDATE, Sunday, October 2nd: We had a nice little online meeting Friday eve. I’ll be posting a PDF with step-by-step instructions for Project 1 on Monday, the 3rd. Check back here!

Now that people have had a few days to assemble tools and parts, we’ll be diving into our first project after the weekend. Again, […]

To Pot—Or Not?

Can you hear me now?

Most modern guitar pickups are potted. That means they’re dipped in wax to prevent their components from vibrating against each other in high-volume situations, which can produce unwanted feedback.

The process also prevents pickups from becoming microphonic, amplifying sounds traveling through air along with the magnetic information generated […]

Soldering 101

Check out this short article from Beavis Audio Research. Great advice on choosing a soldering iron, and a nice introduction to some of the basic moves, plus a few good jokes. Many other fine tutorials at this superb DIY site.

A Great Producer Talks Great Guitar

Chicarrelli on Jack White: "He has an attack unlike anyone else. The concussion of his playing is just unbelievable."

Joe Chiccarelli is one of music’s most respected producers and engineers—and one of the most versatile. After making his mark as Frank Zappa’s studio right-hand, he went on to work with such artists as […]

Hey, Future DIYers!
Three-Minute Soldering Lesson

My fave of many youtube soldering tutorials.

He should have added: Don’t touch the hot end of the iron. Work in a ventilated space. Wash your hands afterwards. Don’t eat the solder. Sheesh! What’s wrong with kids these days? 😉

When Jazz Guitars Go Bad

"Let me teach you a thing or two about CHUNK, sonny!"

The other day I posted a few audio clips I’d recorded using a Guild Archtop fitted with a Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Dynasonic® pickup. Going with the ’50s theme, I strung the guitar with flatwounds and coughed up a few Eisenhower-era licks.

[…]

Amp vs. Models Contest: The Winners!

WARNING! This post contains the answers to the quiz! If you still want to take the test, stop reading now and challenge your ear here.

Don't worry, it's only Photoshop. We would never inflict anything this hideous on one of our winners.

It was only two weeks, but it feels so […]

Tonefiend DIY Club:
Join and or Die!

I hereby call to order the first meeting of the Tonefiend DIY Club!

Our mission: To attain tonal mastery over our guitars, amps, and effects with the least possible damage to our gear, bodies, homes, and pets. When the smoke has cleared (and all the smoke alarms have been reset) you’ll be able to install […]

Pretty, Pretty Pickup

The Dynasonic: one pretty pickup!

Take my advice: When MJ says she has something cool to show you, drop everything and investigate.

MJ, of course, is Maricela Juarez, the longtime manager of the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop. And the item in question was a clone of the DeArmond 200 pickup, also known as […]

Cruel Finger Exercises [Part 2]

In Part 1 of this series, I introduced 24 fingering patterns that can be jumping-off points to any number of warmup and dexterity-development exercises. As threatened, this installment introduces additional technical hurdles guaranteed to challenge even advanced players. Try these out—but only after you can play the everything in Part 1 comfortably and consistently […]