Jul 29, 2017

A bit of jazz improv / Lightswitch Strat demo


Some mediocre (but perhaps slowly improving?) jazz improv, focusing on the tension of flatted fifths and major sevenths, and demo-ing the sights and sounds of the fabulous Sparky.

Jul 22, 2017

Making a simple wood guitar rack


A fun little weekend project recently was building a guitar rack out of a plywood board and a dowel rod.  It's not difficult, saves money, and the end product is something that you can customize and be proud of building yourself.


Jul 20, 2017

How to roll guitar fretboard edges


The difference in feel between a $200 guitar and a $2,000 guitar is largely the sum of small tweaks that just take the feel to the next level.  Rolling the fretboard edges is one such tweak that can take the comfort and playability of any guitar one notch higher.


Jul 18, 2017

What Kind of Guitar Pick to Use?


If you're a beginning guitarist, or if you just always gave more thought to which riff you were going to learn next than to what you were going to play it with, you might not know much about picking your plectrum.  

No problem, it's far from complicated, I'm just here to offer some tips that might help you along the way.

Jul 16, 2017

Different color wires exist for reasons


         At the end of the Lightswitch Strat build, I described the unusual wiring schematic and the incessant ground hum problem it faced - a noisy ground that became unbearably noisy when you make contact with any of the metal parts.  Why could it be so bad?


Jul 13, 2017

Stedman "Pro" Flying V Review (Spoiler - it's pretty rubbish)


What kind of guitar can you get on Craigslist for $10, an old airsoft scope, and some magic beans?  Well... quite possibly the worst guitar I've ever seen, and I build instruments out of garbage like it's an extreme sport.


Jul 12, 2017

Best Picks for Bass Guitar?

"Best?" I hear you ask with a raised eyebrow, lifting a finger to prepare an objection. 

"Well, I mean, I haven't really tried all that many different picks and I'm not even a great bass player to begin with, plus I'm restricting the search to affordable picks because paying $20 for a hand-shaped glass pick that I'll lose in five minutes just doesn't strike me as sensible, but these heavy Clayton acetyl picks work pretty well compared to the couple of other things I've tried in my day."

Your raised finger lowers, signaling that you've decided a counter-argument isn't really worth the effort of raising after all, and accept the lukewarm, unsolicited product recommendation with a small pile of salt.

Jul 10, 2017

Micro-Guitaronomics


          When you combine two niche hobbies, the odds of anyone else understanding exponentially decrease.

Jul 8, 2017

Jul 4, 2017

Moonlight Sonata Cover


My cover from a couple months back of Dr. Viossy's cover of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.  A little sloppy, but it ain't an easy song.