In the 30-plus years I’ve been playing music, I’ve owned dozens of guitars. Sometimes a new guitar is something you’ve been dreaming of for years, sometimes it’s a guitar that scratches an itch, and sometimes it’s a deal that’s too good to pass up. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever owned more than eight […]
Making Music Mag visited with Christopher Ames at Guitar Center where he shares practical insights about distortion with the help of and Orange amplifier, a Marshall amplifier and a Les Paul.
When assembling your amplified setup, there are a lot of options. The best thing you can do is assess your needs and see which products best fit them. A lot of companies offer fully integrated systems, from pickups to preamps.
Need to amplify your acoustic guitar? There are so many models currently available the choice can be overwhelming. This guide will inform you on how to choose the pickups and other gear to amplify your guitar that serves your sound, best.
For wood shedding at home, practice amps are a quieter, smaller, and less expensive alternative to loud, heavy gigging amps.
Understanding Tube Amplifiers and Getting Great Sounds The Guitar Amp Handbook: Understanding Tube Amplifiers and Getting Great Sounds, Updated Edition, by Dave Hunter, brings fresh information to the table to help guitarists understand everything about what makes their amps tick and how to use them to sound better than ever. It builds on the popular […]
Bluegrass traces its roots to British folk music and African American gospel and blues…
The ability to play at speed (at least some/relative speed) is an important part of guitar playing. Even if you don’t want to be a modern-rock-virtuoso-shredder playing a million notes per click at an ungodly BPM, continuously improving your playing speed is essential for other reasons. So often a guitarist who isn’t considered “a fast […]
Alternative tunings are a fantastic way to reinvigorate your guitar playing, songwriting, and creativity. The instantly altered sound naturally gives your mind different creative ideas, and makes you play a different way as a result. And of course, many great songs are written in different tunings, meaning sooner or later you’ll encounter material you need […]
Chuck Schiele takes you through the beginning steps on how to record an acoustic guitar in stereo. Part one is a general overview for beginners on the basic thinking and process of recording, what a signal chain is, and a thing or two about microphones and mic’ing technique.