When you say your guitar goes out of tune, what to you mean? Does the tuning slip over time as you play or does it sound out of tune in different places? How we attempt to solve things means we have to get to the bottom of what’s really wrong.
Read MoreAdvances in piezo materials paved the way for an evolution in under-saddle transducer pickup design. Let’s see the main types available now…
Read MoreFirst time you encounter a Takamine Palathetic pickup, you’re all, like, “Woah! Dude!? What gives?”
Yeah, it’s a bit weird-looking compared to most other under-saddle transducer pickups but there’s method behind Takamine’s madness.
Check it out… (Dude)…
Read MoreNormally, Id recommend a bone saddle as a good upgrade for an acoustic instrument. However, here’s a rare instance where I’d advise against bone. Takamine-style integrated pickups don’t always play nicely with bone saddles.
Find out more…
Read MoreLowering the action on an acoustic guitar is generally a (relatively) straightforward task.
Unless, of course, your guitar has a Takamine-style ‘integrated pickup’. Then you need to regroup.
Get the low-down…
Read MoreElectric guitar pickups turn string vibrations into electricity. So do the piezo pickups often used in acoustic. The only difference is the way they do it.
We’ll talk more about the properties and problems of different acoustic pickups over the next few weeks so, for now, a piezo primer…
Read MoreSometimes, it seems like elves visit your music room every night and loosen some of the screws on your guitar — usually the saddle screws. Why do these screws keep getting loose and rattling about?
And more importantly, how can you prevent it…
Read MoreWe’ve dealt with Gibson nuts. Now let’s look at getting a Fender-style guitar or bass nut safely out.
Check it out…
Read MoreRemoving a nut from a Gibson guitar or bass isn’t hugely difficult but there are a couple of things that can trip you up and cause problems.
Find out how to do it safely…
Read MoreMore stuck stuff. A slightly unusual one, this week.
If you work on (or if you have) an older Gibson you’ll occasionally come across a guitar with a curious output jack…
Read MoreMore stuck stuff. We’ve dealt with tailpiece bushings and now we’re moving up to tun-o-matic bridge posts. The vintage-style bridge posts can be tricky to remove.
But no longer — Check it out…
Read More
