How To

One of the first tasks when analyzing a new song is working out the key – we show you the theory behind this, as well as a quick trick to get you there fast

If you’re planning on cranking the amp for your next practice session, or you’re finding passing cars showing up on your acoustic recordings, we have some tips to help you soundproof your space.

Having your pickups at the right height can have a marked effect on how your guitar sounds and plays. Let’s walk through it.

Songwriting is an art, but for many people, it starts and ends with a riff they love but don’t know what to do with. We walk you through a lot of the ways you can flesh out that riff into a full song of it’s own.

The Gibson Les Paul is easily the most counterfeited guitar on the used market, but by keeping an eye on these 11 telltale signs, you can avoid picking up a fake.

Most people will tell you only Gibsons get faked, but that fiction is exactly why it’s so easy to sell fake Epiphones! We talk you through what to look for.

Learning to read guitar tab opens a million doors, allowing you to learn just about any song you can think of, both from books and from any number of online tab sources. We walk you through everything you need to know.

We run you through the process of getting your acoustic looking clean as a whistle, from fretboard to strings to body.

A guitar’s action is crucial to it’s playability, but a lot of guitarists are unaware of it’s effect on sound. We walk you through everything you need to know about action, including how to adjust for most bridge types.

Intonation is key to a guitar’s playability, and understanding how it effects your guitar is key in getting the guitar out of the way of playing. We go over everything you need to know about intonation for a guitar.

One of the most daunting steps for guitarists who want to start doing their own maintenance is dealing with the truss rod, but really you’ve got to go out of your way to mess it up badly. We go over what a truss rod is, and how to use it to fix what’s bothering you.

Keeping your guitar’s body clean doesn’t have to be some labor of love. With a few simple items you can keep your guitar shining as it sings.

Neck dive is quite common in many popular guitar shapes, and can be a huge pain in the butt, or a simple fix depending on your approach. We go over the causes and some popular solutions to this issue.

With so many guitars for sale theses days, it can be hard to know where to start. We walk you through some of the basics as far as choosing which type of guitar to start with.

Buying a guitar for a child can be tricky – trying to get the right size guitar, one that plays well, and one ultimately that will help them discover a love for guitar. We walk you through some of the key considerations when getting your child into music.

The list of things Eric Clapton gave to music is long and comprehensive, but one that probably fascinates players more than any is the fabled “woman tone”. When everyone else was going for bright and cutting, Clapton went the other way.

One of the mistakes beginners make is letting their guitar strings get dirty with finger gunk and sweat, and then wonder why their guitar sounds dull. We walk you through the factors in how often you should change strings.

Selling a guitar can be a pain, and often it’s tempting to just say whatever and take it in to trade it towards your new purchase. However, Guitar Center has a reputation for not paying a whole lot for used gear. We take a look at their rates and what the process pays in practice.