The number one online source for Guitar Tabs and Chords is Ultimate Guitar, but I often prefer leadsheets, as they offer a single-page overview of songs. You could create a simple leadsheet with e.g. PowerPoint or Excel, but I also like having the ability to add music notation and tablature, […]
How many guitars does a guitarist need? The common joke among guitarists is n+1, with n being the number of guitars currently owned. I’d say four: Maple and rosewood fretboard Stratocasters, a Telecaster, and a Les Paul. But the minimum is certainly two: one with single coils and one with […]
In late 2020, Fender introduced the American Professional II Stratocaster as successor to the American Professional, the mid-range US model. As usual, the changes are evolutionary. There are new pickups (V-Mod II), a new cold-rolled steel vibrato block, and a sculpted neck heel (like the Deluxe/Elite/Ultra). Also new is the […]
Beginners usually start learning chords with open strings, i.e. at the first couple of frets, and covering all strings. Most important of these are the E and A chord forms, as they can be played as barré chords and thus moved up the neck to get other chords. The first […]
Usually, new product announcements are made around either the Summer or Winter NAMM show, but Fender chose early November to release the Ultra range of guitars. The Ultra replaces the Elite as top-of-the-line regular (i.e. non-Custom Shop) range. Models available are the Stratocaster (SSS and HSS), Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Precision, and […]
How I arrived at this amp is described here. When Marshall introduced the Origin at the 2018 winter NAMM show, there was much rejoicing: Marshall seemed to finally deliver what many people had been waiting for: an affordable Plexi-style amp. When the specifications became known and the first videos turned […]
There’s a multitude of guitar FX pedals out there, but many of them are quite expensive. For those with some technical skill and a soldering iron, there’s an alternative: building your own pedals from a kit. A large selection of kits is sold by Musikding, and I recently ordered the […]
