Guitar Picks - Plectrums

Not all picks are created equal. Though I often play guitar with my fingers as this was the way I was taught since childhood, I do use picks and in some circumstances could not live without one. For example; playing rock of any type and there is shred, classic the techniques often require a pick. Playing Bebop jazz I tend to use both and keep the pick tucked in my hand during performance. Nevertheless, I have my favorites and I'd like to share which type I use and why.

I really like Wegen picks because the material gives me a bright tone and it is hard enough to allow for quick picking.



The picks are also grooved and this groove prevents the pick from slipping out of my hand at the worst possible time. I also like Redbear picks, I was told about these from a certain player who now plays a lot of Zappa tunes. The Redbear is probably the closest thing to real turtle shell. The tone of the Redbear is also very good.

Finally, I like the Jim Dunlop picks as my all time favorite. Jim Dunlop has the Jazz picks and rock picks at substantial savings compared to the Wegen and Redbear which will set you back upwards of $25.00 a pick depending on the model. However, the Wegens and Redbears are worth it if you are recording. If I lose one - I cry! Another brand I like is the Steve Clayton picks.

Picks are fun and generally cheap additions that can really help your playing and also if you find the right one for you - Make playing more enjoyable. Anything that increases your time on the instrument is good for you and your playing. Go buy a few picks and see which particular models suit your needs. Have fun!

Acoustic Guitar - String ends chewin up your wood?

Horror of horrors! Imagine your favorite Acoustic guitar with a failing top! If you own an acoustic guitar then you should know or will know soon that they are temperamental as a weasel in a blender. Humidity, heat, food, drink, children, friends will all conspire to ruin your baby. If that ain't enough, your strings will attack the underside of the guitar top. The ball ends of the string will wear against the wood and your top, lord forbid, could look like this picture below. Granted, this is a top view but you can imagine what the bottom side might look like as well. A torn up bottom can lead to problems with the top as well. Given the humidity, temperature and unknown problems - Your guitar could look like this! Gawd say it ain't so!!!
Therefore, I propose a solution if you wish to avoid this problem. Now, this proposal is not without strings as usual. The suggested preventive measures could color your tone in a manner that you find to be too obtrusive. Hello Platemate! The Plate Mate guards against the eventual wear of ball-end strings on the bridge plate holes beneath the soundboard. It helps prevent costly bridge plate replacement. This simple .032" brass plate is held in place by the strings and the supplied adhesive backing. Players have also noted enhanced tone and improved tuning stability after installation. See the example of a PLATEMATE.
For under $25.00 you can save yourself some issues down the road and depending on your ear, maybe improve your tone along with the added protection. See your local luthier and ask them to install the Platemate from Stewart MacDonald.

Laser/Smoke Microphone

American digital audio pioneer David Schwartz, who invented the MP3 sound format, has come up with a novel new type of microphone. Sound reproduction can be used for many applications including military, security, recording industry, entertainment and smoking (checking to see if you are still awake). Traditional microphones have used diaphragms. The diaphragm reacts to sound and the measured results of deflection is what we know as sound reproduction. The problem with this method is that the accuracy of the reproduction is reliant on the diaphragms ability to react. Since diaphragms are made of various substrates the reaction will be different for each substrate. Each substrate will have it's own inertia, resistance, and mass. These variations ultimately color the sound reproduction with their unique attributes. Enter the Laser/smoke microphone. The lack of mechanical interference virtually eliminates the microphones effect on reproduction of sound.

The laser/smoke microphone is the lucky combination of technology that is now commonplace. We use lasers daily in our lives at the grocery store checking out, during workplace presentations, in our CD players and even in surgery. How does this new technology work? A laser beam is passed through a column of smoke to detect the deflections that sound waves cause in the smoke particles. As each smoke particle is virtually weightless, the theory is that they will deflect in ways that much more closely follow the contours of the original sound wave. The microphone is currently in a very early prototype stage, but Schwartz is already able to take a low-quality signal from it. See below:

The use of light in sound transduction isn't new - in fact, it can be traced at least as far back as Leon Theremin's

infrared remote eavesdropping system in 1947, which used an infrared beam to detect the sonic vibrations in glass windows. More modern surveillance laser mics work by measuring the vibrations in any surface that is free to vibrate with the sound waves.
Audio engineering is an arena which leaves a vast crevice for exploration. In my former life I used light and chemical synthesis for nanometer size etch patterns. Sound might be the solution for light in this circumstance as light uses chemicals in a fiduciary manner while sound can physically move particles. I digress....

It's not about the Guitar

Carl Verheyen, Chad Wackerman, and Doug Lunn

Musicians Institute | MySpace Video

It's about music................

Intonation problems: might be something to fret about!!

Have you played a chord near the head stock of the guitar then play the same chord in a position further down the neck? We all do as this is part of playing. Are the two similar frequency chords in tune with each other? NO? Well, this could be due to a number of issues due to normal play wear or simply an intonation adjustment. The first five frets usually have the greatest amount of wear but wear is not limited to this region alone. This example is a guitar that is in decent condition.




To conclude if the guitar frets are worn and eroded; pull your strings to the side and look for fret wear. Fret erosion usually look like this.


These indentations are a result of the string vibrating on the frets and thus eroding the fret wire. Strings are generally made of a harder material than the frets (except for Stainless Steel frets) and these marks will inevitably appear on your frets over a period time dependant on usage and technique. Here is a closer look at the fret erosion.

The effect the indentation has on the note being fretted is not welcome. The worn fret will allow the string to move closer to the fret board thus increasing the tension and making the note sharper than a note fretted on a unworn fret. These indentations or string erosion patterns can wreak havoc on intonation. In fact, setting string intonation on a guitar with worn frets is ineffective.

If you discover worn frets then you need to take your guitar to a Luthier. As long as the frets are not deeply eroded then your local luthier can file and level all the frets at a small cost that is usually approximately $100.00 US dollars. Do not try to simply level the frets in question. Doing so will only remove the erosion but the guitar will still not play in tune with itself. The guitar is a beast of burden and the more it is used the more maintenance it will require. If you play with this aforementioned situation you will find that the guitar will not play "in tune" throughout a scale and will not maintain "tune" through multiple chord positions.

If the guitar does not have string erosion but still will not play scales or multi-position chords in tune, then it may simply need an intonation adjustment. An intonation adjustment is where single string saddles are moved to increase or decrease the effective string length to make the given note play sharp or flat as required. Bring the guitar to a shop for repair. This is a non invasive repair that dependent on the shop work backlog can be repaired in usually an hour.

Lastly, changing the guitar string gauge, raising, or lowering the string height will create intonation problems. Unless you have great repair book, mechanical aptitude, and common sense then it is best to leave these adjustments to the pros. If you screw it up then the pro's will realize this quickly and you will probably receive an increased fee to untangle the mess created on the instrument.

The only work around for fret wear is not acceptable because it requires that you stop playing the guitar!! Besides, fret wear is a badge of honor as only those who practice and play receive fret wear. Stay home and practice or stay home!!!

Gibson Sonex 180 Custom

In the early 1980's Gibson was going through an R &D experimental phase. They made the Marauder and the Sonex models. Taking a Que from Fender Guitars, Gibson decided to make some bolt on Les Paul style guitars. I can only guess as to why they decided to do the bolt on style neck but usually when things change drastically the primary motivation is evil, err or money. They also used what they called resonwood. The resonwood had a solid core and resin casting around the core. This made for a lighter guitar and frankly a very durable guitar. These guitars had excellent string sustain and if you are a metal, thrash, shredder, then these are attributes that mean money baby.The colors were primarily black or white and the finish had a satin patina. The cool thing about these guitars is that everybody wanted a Les Paul and for a lot less than a Les Paul Standard you could own a guitar that arguably had the same tone if not better tone. They offered these guitar with complex wiring schemes so one could run the pickups in or out of phase or simulate a single coil pickup sound. The 80's necks had the funky heel piece behind the nut where the owner based on my consensus, love or hate the contour. Nevertheless, these guitars played well and have withstood the test of time and if you have one - It's a keeper! These guitars with the Fender like necks ultimately do NOT play like a Fender guitar. I find them to be Gibson-ish through and though. These guitars a capable of playing all styles and you can get them at a bargain base price on Ebay.

If you are dying for a Les Paul but you have yet to inherit a fortune for that vintage Les Paul Standard from 1959, then you might just want to try one of these guitars out. Don't pass it up based on looks. Some of the nicest guitars 'ain't the prettiest so get your own diamond in the rough! Sonex 180 Custom and the The Marauder.

Guitar Signal Cables- If you can't hear the difference.......

Hey now! I saw an ad that remarks rather arrogantly, "If you can't hear the difference, you probably don't need one." They are implying that if you can't tell the difference in their guitar cords then maybe you are simply lame... One thing is certainly the truth, the longer your cord the more your signal will be challenged. A good quality new cord will sound better than some cheap cord or an old cord. The question is - HOW GOOD? Once again this is a question where the answer could bore you to death as raw data is subjective to the desired results. Do you want low noise, accents on high frequency, accents on low frequency, low signal drop over length, clarity, color, or just that minty green taste?

There are many manufacturers of guitar signal cables. Even Radio Shack has guitar cables! I would say that if you are playing metal and using a solid state low powered amp (under 50 watts) then you shouldn't spend too much money on a cable. Depending on your tube amp which tend to make more noise and induce 60 cycle noise, you should at least buy a medium priced cable. If you are have tube amps and you are recording in a studio then you need a good cable and that means even the cabling between your effects pedals. The cliche' about the chain only being as strong as it's weakest link applies when recording.

Most cables just don't hold up to decades of abuse. Stepping on your cable will toast it. Over time, the cable will induce noise that sounds like finger nails on the chalk board or a scratching sound. This is due to the millions of times the cable has been bent, abused and thus after a while the wire starts to break down inside even though the cable looks fine on the outside. If you play daily then you will probably find yourself needing a new cable once a year. You can take a voltmeter and check the continuity while moving the cable around and bending it. If the meter spikes then you have issues and the problem might only require that you install new jacks or re-solder the connections. I almost always try the re-solder as after a while the solder joints fail. It is best to cut the cables and strip the wires with good tools. Tin the wire ends and then solder the proper wires to a new jack piece. Be certain to solder in a well ventilated area and use safety glasses for eye protection.
Cable suppliers:

• George L's
• Evidence Audio
• Monster Cables
• Planet Waves
• Lava
• Analysis Plus

Cable induced noise will elicit the scourge of your band mates, friends, family, and dog. BEWARE - cables have produced more marks on guitar surfaces than any other human produced devise! Never swing your cable around or pull it like a whip unless you plan on dinging up your beautiful new guitar.
See pictures of dings for the evidence! Ouch!!



Finally, will good chords make a difference. Yes! The caveat is it will make a difference if you are doing recording but if you are just practicing and playing with friends then I think a medium priced cable will do just fine. If you have a lot of effects in line and a long cable then I certainly suggest that since you have spent a great deal of money on fine guitar effects (opinion warning) then it is only natural that you spend the extra money and purchase good linking cable and guitar lead cable. Also, as an added bit of trivia, many European's refer to guitar cables or cords as - LEADS. FYI :) Besides; unless you have decided to take up this vocation, hobby, career for only a short time then I find that buying quality products will reduce headaches.