Like this royalty-free clip-art illustration, the Alternative 8 manages to be both aggressive and round. I was talking to some of the Seymour Duncan dudes the other day about pickups models deserving greater public awareness. One of the first names on everyone’s lips was the Alternative 8, a a high-output humbucker that uses […] 
Sounds like MONEY! I’ve said it so many times, I feel like the parrot of pickups, but here goes again: These days the weakest links on inexpensive Asian and Mexican guitars are invariably the pickups. Upgrading them often yields a princely axe at a pauperly price. A perfect example is the Ibanez Art […] 
“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 […] 
Aggressive on the bass side, sweet on the top. I was talking to Seymour the other day about the types of magnets used in vintage Fender pickups. I knew that Fender used strong, punchy alnico V magnets in most of their models, but I didn’t know that the earliest Teles used softer-sounding alnico […] 
Africa’s finest: The eternal Dr. Nico. Looking for some cool new stuff to listen to? Or some cool old stuff that just happens to be new to you? Me too! This thread’s goal is to share some personal guitar or bass favorites that aren’t as well known as they should be. You know […] 
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 […] 
Kitty power!!! Okay, as promised: One more quick video featuring the Hello Kitty Strat, this time with one of those new Duncan Synyster Gates Invader pickups. I’m told the ceramic-magnet Invader is literally the hottest possible non-active pickup. I’m inclined to believe it. Take this one with a grain of salt. As much […] 
Would this be anything less than awesome? I think not. As I gloated last week, Jane Wiedlin gave me her Hello Kitty Stratocaster — the most bitchin’ $99 guitar ever conceived! I finally had a chance to destroy/customize it yesterday, in what will no doubt be the first of many desecrations/enhancements. I’d ordered […] 
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, […] 
Which sounds better: modern or vintage wiring? The experts disagree! There’s a wealth of information online about the relative merits of “vintage” vs. “modern” wiring in Les Pauls. And after reading page after page on the topic, I was more confused than when I started. So here’s an attempt to pinpoint the sonic […] |
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