Articles

Plugging bass into a guitar amp seems harmless until the speaker starts farting out. Here's the actual physics of why it struggles, and what to do about it.

Why clean archtop and jazz tones often translate better through amp-sims than high-gain does, and how to set levels so your DI tone sits in a mix properly.

Multiscale necks aren't a gimmick for drop-tuned players. Here's what fan frets actually fix, and when a straight scale is still the smarter buy.

Your comping hand controls voicing clarity, dynamics and tone more than any pedal or amp setting. Here's how I actually practise it.

Watts on a bass amp don't mean what they mean on a guitar amp. Here's why headroom, speaker size and valve vs solid-state design matter more than the number.

Most fuzz pedals were voiced for guitar and strip your bass of fundamental. Here's how to pick, blend and EQ fuzz so the low end survives.

A fingerstyle player's real-world approach to delay and reverb settings on acoustic guitar, without washing out the wood and string detail that made you plug in.

Your pedals react to how you pick, not just how you set the knobs. Here's how picking dynamics shape fuzz, delay and reverb response.

Daz explains why even a drop-tuned, high-gain player benefits from one decent acoustic, and what actually matters when picking one.

Alnico and ceramic pickups push a valve amp's front end differently. Here's how magnet type shapes breakup, feel and sag, from a former amp tech.

Good bass tone starts with what you stop ringing, not what you play. Here's how left-hand muting shapes the pocket more than any pedal or EQ setting.

A jazz player's guide to the three core fuzz circuit families, what separates their voicings, and why the labels on the pedal matter less than the topology inside.

Pickup height is usually set for volume or tone balance, but it also shapes string pull and touch response — here's what to listen for.

Silicon, germanium, LED or asymmetrical — the clipping diodes in your overdrive decide how it feels under your fingers, not just how it sounds.

Why ambient pedal chains that sound gorgeous on electric often turn an acoustic-electric to mush, and the signal-chain fixes that actually work.

Most fuzz control happens on your guitar, not the pedal face. Here's how rolling the volume knob shapes gain, gate and voicing in real time.

Daz breaks down how pickup output and string gauge actually interact on high-gain rigs, and why chasing bigger output isn't the fix for a flabby low string.

Doug breaks down how often an acoustic actually needs a professional setup, and the signs your guitar is asking for one sooner.

A bass player's take on why dreadnoughts, jumbos and smaller-bodied acoustics throw the fundamental differently, and what that means when you're picking one.

Why single coils choke a fuzz pedal differently to humbuckers, and how output, impedance and pick attack shape that gated, sputtering edge.

Overdrive and distortion pedals aren't just marketing labels. Here's the plain-English difference and how to pick the right one for your amp.

Dreadnought or OM? Jez breaks down how body shape actually changes feel, volume and tone, and which one suits your playing style.

Swapping to heavier bass strings without checking pickup output leaves you fighting your own tone. Here's how gauge, pole spacing and output actually interact.

Tap tempo looks simple until you're doing it live. Here's how to actually land your delay in time, from foot placement to subdivision traps.

Most fuzz turns jazz voicings to mud. Here's which circuits, settings and chord shapes keep extended chords intelligible under gain.

Undersaddle, soundhole, and body-sensor pickups all colour an acoustic differently. Here's what each one actually does to your tone, from a builder's bench.

A plain-English guide to your first delay and reverb pedal settings, so you get lush ambience instead of a muddy mess on stage or at home.

Fuzz pedal order isn't fixed like your other drives. Here's why it moves depending on your rig, and how to find the spot that actually works.

Flatwound strings reshape an archtop's whole voice, not just its feel under the fingers. Here's what actually changes, and why I put them back on every time.

Big right-hand motion feels expressive but costs you accuracy. Here's why trimming travel in your picking or plucking hand changes your tone and timing.

Solid top or laminate acoustic? Here's what genuinely changes for a beginner, and what's just marketing you can safely ignore.

Germanium and silicon fuzz behave completely differently through a valve amp. Here's how to pick the right one for your rig, not just your ears in a shop.

Trails and freeze modes can build huge ambient textures on a high-gain rig without turning your chug into soup. Here's how I actually use them.

New strings aren't always the tone fix you think they are. Here's why a fresh set can clash with a cranked valve amp, and how to get both dialled in together.

Where and how you store your acoustic between sessions matters more than most beginners realise. Here's what actually protects it, in plain English.

On a hollowbody, the tone control shapes far more than treble roll-off. Here's why archtop players lean on it harder than solid-body players ever do.

Analog or digital delay and reverb for a high-gain rig? Here's how each behaves under gain, and how to set them so the chug survives.

Nut slots cut too high cause tuning and intonation problems that a bridge adjustment can't fix. Here's how to spot it and what to do about it.

A workshop-tested two-mic setup for recording acoustic guitar at home, without a treated room or expensive gear.

Struggling to keep drop tunings tight and in-tune? Scale length changes string tension more than gauge does. Here's what actually works.

Two overdrives on a bass board can thicken your tone or bury your pocket. Here's how to stack them so the low end stays intact.

Acoustic guitars crack from dry winter air, not summer heat. Here's why, and how to actually protect the top without overthinking it.

Piezo pickups sound thin and quacky straight into a DI. Here's how I get a full, room-like acoustic tone without a microphone.

Why your pickup selector switch matters more than your amp settings for tight, djenty high-gain tone, and what actually changes between positions.

Same riff, same gear, different chug every time? Palm mute pressure is the variable most high-gain players never actually control.

Why your acoustic plays differently in winter and summer, what truss rod relief actually does, and when to leave it alone.

Fuzz sounding thin, gated or wrong on a good amp? The culprit is often input impedance, buffers and what's sitting in front of the fuzz — not the pedal itself.

Most overdrive pedals are designed for guitar and eat your fundamental. Here's how bass overdrive actually works, and how to keep the pocket while adding grit.

Your string-skipping riffs sound tight at home but collapse live. Here's why gain amplifies picking errors and how to actually fix it.

Why dreadnoughts, jumbos and small-bodied acoustics respond so differently in the bass, and how to pick the shape that actually suits your playing.

Split-coil, single-coil J, or humbucker: how each bass pickup shapes your pocket, and which one actually suits the gig you play.

How to run ambient delay and reverb on a high-gain or djent rig without turning your palm mutes into mud.

Chord-melody playing exposes weak voicings fast. Here's why the fix is in your left hand, not your amp or pedalboard.

Fuzz pedals interact with your guitar's volume knob more than any other effect. Here's why that matters, and how to set your amp so fuzz actually behaves.

Heavier strings and hotter pickups don't automatically work together. Here's how to actually match output and gauge for drop tunings without losing clarity.

Where you put your overdrive relative to delay and reverb changes everything. Here's why gain almost always wants to go first, and when it doesn't.

Reverb and delay behave differently on an acoustic-electric than on your electric board. Here's what actually holds up, and what falls apart, piezo to pedal.

Why your pedalboard sounds different through an amp-sim than a real amp, and how to reorder your chain so it actually translates when recording direct.

A proper setup changes how an electric guitar feels and sounds, even for players who only ever plug in at home.