In Search of Primitive Bass

Compare the honkin' magnets on the installed Quarter Pound to those of the factory pickup.

The original P-Bass is a fascinating instrument. It’s wasn’t the first electric bass guitar—inventor and owner Paul Tutmarc claimed that title with the instruments he created and sold through his Seattle, Washington, music shop in the 1930s and […]

Cruel Finger Exercises [Part 1]

Here’s a deceptively simple finger exercise that can serve as a basic warm-up, an overall strength-builder, and, if you take it far enough, the cruelest torture regimen this side of 16th-ventury Spain a great way to expand both your technique and your melodic imagination.

The basic idea is simple, something appropriate for a very first […]

Strap Lock: Free with Beer!

Your guitar won't fall down. You might.

A lot of you know this trick already, but it bears repeating:

The rubber caps on Grolsch and some other Euro craft beers are the perfect size for strap locks.

Don’t get me wrong—proper strap locks are great, but the beer-bottle variety are actually quite reliable, […]