Prewired replacement electronics provide access to many popular wiring mods, minus the soldering. Larry Santellan of Santellan Sounds, maker of the Elec-Trix tone modules, sent me some samples to check out. These pre-wired circuits offer quick access to some of the “greatest hits” of alternate wiring, with an emphasis on Strats and Teles. […] 
“They call me mad, but I’m actually a HAPPY scientist!” There’s an interesting thread over on the Forum, started by reader Double D, who asked: “Do you have a central core concept or inspiration that drives your playing? Are you squirrelled away with obscure harmony texts, or practising modes till your fingers bleed? […] 
This photo was digitally altered to make the guitar look even dirtier than it was — but not by much. Sometimes only the threat of public exposure can inspire a proper clean-up job. Case in point: I hadn’t groomed my battered ’63 Strat in years, and when I pupped it from the wall […] 
A sad, desolate place — but not for long! One cool thing about going indie with tonefiend is that fact that I can finally host my own geek forum! It’s already up and running — but it’s a sad, vacant space that desperately needs to be populated by cool people and cool ideas. […] 
Now with more secrets — and less secrecy. Last winter I tried an odd experiment: a website where players were encouraged to post their best tone secrets — the kinds of tricks and techniques that are almost too good to share. But in order to get, you had to give: The site was […] 
“I always forget — which end gets hot?” Somewhat embarrassingly, I never got around to changing one of my own pickups until I was knocking on senility’s door recently. I owe part of the inspiration to that fabulous DIY Fest known as the Maker Fair, where each year hundreds of little kids learn […] 
Can we all agree that it’s a good thing when guitarists and bassists cultivate their own style? Even a jaded old cuss experienced music journalist like me still gets a thrill upon discovering a new player with a startlingly original voice. I am not any of these people —but I pretended to be […] 
“Why is everything upside-down?” You know the origin of the word “sinister,” don’t you? It’s the Latin word for “left,” which, according to etymologists, became associated with evil, thanks to the medieval belief that left-handed people were deceitful and probably possessed. Meanwhile, “dexterous,” which means adept with your hands or brain, is from […] 
UPDATE: I’ve added a page listing all the “How To” posts on this site. Just click the cleverly titled How-To Posts Are Here! box at upper-right of each page. There’s got to be a better way! Several readers asked for more specific tech advice on how to wire up battery-powered effects inside a […] 
Borders went bankrupt. Now what the heck am I supposed to do with this pretty red card? Behold my latest gizmo acquisition: the mighty Pick Punch! It may look like a humble office stapler, but it stamps out standard-sized guitar picks from any compatible material. I made picks from an old credit card, […] |
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