Articles

If you find the strings on your new Martin guitar are losing your shine, but you really want the sound and feel of the guitar when it was new, we help you find the right strings.

The worst thing that can happen for a guitarist at a gig is breaking a string. We go through 8 reasons this happens, and how to avoid them.

The battle of the chromatic tuners – or should I sell my TU2 and get a TU3? We weigh up the pros and cons.

Fans of Derek Trucks, the Allman Bros and of course Keith Richards will tell you all about open E tuning – probably one of the easiest open tunings there is. We dive in.

The one thing every guitarist has in common is we all use strings – but they’re also one of those areas that people often know very little about. We attempt to run you through some of the finer points of guitar strings, in order to help you find the best strings for you

What makes an Ibanez a shred machine? For many, it’s the legendary Wizard neck. We take a look.

Jatoba wood saw increased use in guitars after CITES regulations had a huge impact on the availability of rosewood. We take a look at this lesser known guitar wood.

Open D tuning is super popular with slide and blues players. If you know Street Fightin Man, you know open D tuning. Let’s take a look.

For blues and rock fans, open G tuning is a great opportunity to open up new sounds on the fretboard, and if you’re playing slide, it’s a real playground. We walk you through everything you need to know.

PLEK machines have been the talk of the town for the last few years, but few people have actual hands on experience with them. We walk you through what they do and whether they’re right for you.

Sometimes you have to clean your guitar’s electronics but don’t have any specific cleaners to hand. Here’s how you can go about it with a few household items.

When people think of fingerpicking, they typically think of an acoustic guitar. However, for beginners, learning to fingerpick on an electric can actually make for a much easier path. We go through some of the considerations.

Depending on what you’re trying to do with your guitar, you might find the extra price of flatwound strings is justified. We walk through some of the reasons they might be right for you.

With an instrument as old and as versatile as the guitar, it’s no wonder that there are a half a dozen major types, and then dozens of subtypes under those – which can prove a minefield for a new player. Fear not – we walk you through everything you need to know about all of the different types of guitars.

If you’re looking to get a good natural look and feel on a guitar neck, you’re probably trying to choose between tru oil, tung oil and lacquer. We walk you through the key characteristics of each.

Understanding scale length and how it effects a guitar’s playability can be a key component of buying the right guitar for your playing style – you probably don’t want a baritone for country, or a short scale guitar for djent. We walk you through scale length and how it effects you.

KGR’s prediction is that, once the world reopens, everyone who’s so much as looked at a guitar is going to be itching to get out there and play to a crowd. If that comes to pass, you better make sure your setlist is memorable so you can get the gigs that everyone wants. Here’s our list of more modern acoustic cover songs for bars!

Putting aside internet rumour, we reached out to the folks at Epiphone directly to find out exactly what strings come on an Epiphone Les Paul – and we have some suggestions for replacements too!

While many of us throw our used strings right in the trash, there might be a more environmentally friendly option for them. We walk you through your options.

Agathis wood is the web’s least popular wood. Some say it’s a step up from plywood, but only barely. We look closer at why it’s so hated, and reveal some instances where having an agathis wood guitar is just fine.

World Musical Instruments Korea have been the manufacturer of choice for budget models of a huge number of brands over the years. While giving an exact list of who exactly those brands are is a slippery eel, we provide the best list of these brands available in 2021.

One of the most iconic guitarists of all time, David Gilmour has made delay a key part of his sound over the years, going from some old school echo delays to modern rack units. We walk through the three units he’s most associated with.

As much as you might think you can just reverse the order of strings on your guitar to make it suitable for a left handed player, that’s not always the case. We walk through some of the key differences between a regular right handed guitar and a dedicated left handed version.

If you’re a left handed writer thinking about picking up a guitar, you might be wondering if you should try a right or left handed guitar. While there are no left handed pianos, there are many guitars for lefties. Let’s walk through your options.

While any guitar provides a wealth of tuning opportunities, adding on a seventh string opens up a ton of doors. Few bands playing 7 strings stick to any one standard tuning, so why should you? We’ve pulled out some of our favorites to get you going on the road to 7-string domination!

If you’ve been in an online guitar community for more than five minutes, you’ve probably seen someone sneer the phrase Blues Lawyer in someone’s direction at least few times. But what does it mean, and why can’t I stop listening to Joe Bonamassa as I approach 50? Let’s discuss.

While there doesn’t seem to have been an official announcement anywhere online, it appears Matt Hornby left his postion as one of three directors of Chapman Guitars in July of this year, leaving the company in the hands of Captain Lee Anderton and The Monkey Lord himself Rob Chapman.

What happens when a gifted guitarist’s promising career is brought to its knees by an incurable degenerative disease? Does he succumb to his vegetative fate of confinement to a wheelchair? Or does he go on to write music that becomes a beacon of hope for a new generation?

There’s a point where music is loud enough to blow your hair back, but there’s also a point where an amp is loud enough to blow your eardrums to shreds. We walk through the mechanics of loudness, and talk about the volume of some classic amps.

Many players look to change the characteristics of their amps by swapping out tubes to get a different warmth, or in some cases more headroom – or even less. We walk you through the differences between two of the more popular tubes on the market, the 6L6 and the 6V6.

OHSC is a common term in guitar listings – especially when you’re looking at mid four figures and up – but for newbies it can be confusing. We walk you through what OHSC means, and why it’s important.

Gibson’s VOS line represents the custom shop’s passionate tribute to the golden era of Gibson guitars. We walk you through all of the aspects of the VOS line that make it so special.

Remember Guitar Center’s String Club? We go over the history of the offer, and place it in time within GC’s long financial struggles.