We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Effects for bass aren’t as easily identified on recordings or in performance as they are for guitar. That’s mostly because effects pedals are used far less frequently on bass. Distortion or overdrive are probably the most popular and most frequently used. “All Around the World” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a popular song […]
Dean Zelinsky Since he first launched Dean Guitars in 1976, Dean Zelinsky has been a go-to guitar guru for some of the biggest names in rock—Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Nancy Wilson (Heart) and Def Leppard to name but a few. Known as the rock star of guitar manufacturers for his innovative use of Playboy models […]
The mandolin can be either plucked or strummed and its soundboard (the top) comes in many shapes and sizes. It may have a carved or flat top, an f-hole (F-Style), or a round or an oval-shaped sound hole (A-Style). As for the musical application of each, Eric Aceto, a luthier who builds (and sometimes plays) […]
Instrument collecting is tricky business. How is the novice to know if she is buying a real collector’s item or getting ripped off? Dealer George Gruhn of Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee, is probably one of the most knowledgeable collectors in the US, if not the world. He got his start dealing in string instruments […]
Six years ago, when Mike Orr made his first cigar box guitar, he wasn’t thinking about beginning a second career. He came across cigar box guitars while surfing the Internet one day, and decided to make one as a Christmas gift for his son. He studied the design and made it his own. Then, he […]
Young or old, pro or amateur, it doesn’t matter: in a drum circle, no one is better than anyone else. There is no first chair or ranking system, and the performance aspect is centralized within the circle. No wonder drum circles are one of the most popular community groups, a place where beginners and professionals […]
Before the industrial revolution, acoustic guitars were strung with gut strings. In that same tradition, classical and flamenco guitars use nylon strings today, and are most commonly fingerpicked. Typically used for classical music, as well as Latin styles, nylon strings provide a warm, gentle sound, and beginners gravitate toward them because they are easier on […]
If you’re thinking about getting into digital recording, you’ll need more than just a microphone, a computer, and recording software. This article is an introduction to two necessary and closely related pieces of gear–microphone preamps and interfaces. These are often the missing links in people’s understanding of digital audio. So, what do they do and […]
Simple flutes sound beautiful and are easy to make from bamboo, wood, clay, metal, plastic, or almost any material that can form a tube. Mark Shepard, author of Simple Flutes: A Guide to Flute Making and Playing suggests a good “first” flute is one with six holes that can play a major scale in tune for […]
Stomp boxes have been giving electric instrumentalists a sonic edge for many years. Three very popular effects used to paint shimmering aural landscapes are phase shifters, chorus pedals, and flangers. These three pedals are also commonly confused because they sound very similar. To learn the differences between them, it helps to have a basic knowledge […]