guitars

So, I had this amp lying around in my father's basement for a while now. 13 years to be precise: It was my first practice amp back when I bought my first electric guitar. The circuit wasn't half bad, had a cool gritty marshally sound with an analogical spring reverb, but unfortunately the speaker was trash.
30 watts RMS are hard to handle for an 8 inches cheap speaker, so one morning, after an intense early '00s punk rock rehersal it simply went BZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz..... and it was gone.
And finding a new speaker that wouldn't blow up again, expecially one with such required specifications, was something I couldn't achieve 13 years ago. So eventually I gave up searching for spares and I bought a new amp.

Fast forward to a couple months ago, I need a small practice amp to carry around, now that I have a new band after a log time.
I remembered the existence of this relic from the past, went to my dad's house and I was surprised he didn't throw it away after all of this time.
I started to look for spares immediately and thanks to the power of today's internet, I was able to find that the Celestion TF0818, even tho it's not a speaker intended for guitar amps in the first place, had all the specifications I needed: 8 inches, 8 ohms, able to withstand up to 100 watts of power.
The delivery took a while to get to my house (I ordered it via a local website) but once it arrived I put it straight in.

With new guts, my old friend is back in action: the 0818 has a good response to mid-low frequencies which gives a lovely round and dark tone to the gain channel, while still being able to work with high frequencies due the small sizes.
I'm always happy to bring new life to old music equipment, it reminds us that we don't need the latest gizmos (and create unnecessary waste) if we take care of our stuff. Also, the swap was super easy, no joke I just needed a scewdriver and 10 minutes, so if you have and old amp lying around you could totally give it a shot, the results might surprise you.

I have been working on a dual humbucker (HH) Strat clone and have been researching 5-way switching options. Remarkably, this information is ridiculously difficult to find. Most dual humbucker (HH) guitars appear to be wired with standard Les Paul style wiring (3 positions only) or use other fancy switching options like push-pull posts. There is very sparse information on using 5 way switches you would find on a Strat. I thought I would archive some of my findings here.

(edit: you can use a 5-way superswitch to get tons of 5-way switching options. in my case, the superswitch does not fit into my control cavity, also, there is a ton of documentation on superswitches on the internet. what has very sparse info is the 2502n "Ibanez" switch, which is what I focus on here.)

First: know the difference between a standard 5 way switch and an Ibanez switch (also known as an Alpha 2502n switch).

A standard 5-way switch may be produced by a variety of different companies, such as Alpha, CTS, Oaks-Grisby, etc. they are used in Strats and Strat-styled guitars. They are an evolution of 3 way switches first used in vintage Teles and Strats. Strat players discovered that you could jam a 3-way switch into an "in-between" position so that the neck and middle (or middle and bridge) pickups could be in together in parallel, giving us the famous Strat quack. The standard 5-way switch simply added "stops" for the in-between positions so that they would be easier for the player to click into. 5-way switches are extremely common and you can buy them everywhere online, and they are pretty cheap. Standard 5-way switches are symmetrical, meaning that it doesn't matter which way the switch is installed into the guitar - either way the lugs will work the same. With a 5 way switch, your options for wiring HH guitars are somewhat limited. The easiest wiring option is to simply treat it as a 3 way switch. Position 5 = neck, position 3 = both, position 1 = bridge. I'm actually not entirely sure what positions 2 and 4 would do - if I understand things correctly, position 4 will just be the same as position 5, and position 2 would be the same as position 1.

I had to really dig deep into the internet to find something - ANYTHING - that would give some more variation with HH wiring using a standard 5-way switch. One such diagram I found is from Caliguitar.com. In this wiring diagram, assuming you have 4-lead humbuckers, you can get single coil split as well as a Tele-like single coils from each pickup in parallel. If you're familiar with standard Strat wiring you will be staring at this diagram for a LONG TIME wondering just how the fuck it works lol but trust me I wired it up and it works. You will need to be careful with the color coding of the wires in the diagram - I believe they are non-standard. Their color coding is black = N start, white = N end, green = S start, red = S end.

Which leads me to Ibanez switching. Actually the way I discovered this was because I bought a pair of DiMarzio humbuckers and went to their website to look for wiring diagrams. When you go to their support page, under "RG" style, they list "standard HH wiring for Ibanez". This wiring diagram on paper looks great! It gives a bunch of interesting options, including having the neck humbucker coils in parallel instead of in series. On the diagram, they show "Ibanez OEM switch" with no further explanation. It winds up that the Ibanez OEM switch is the same thing as an Alpha 2502n switch and is NOT the same as a standard 5-way switch.

Although there are some websites (such as DiMarzio or Ibanez) that tell you how to wire things up, it was very hard to find information about how the switch actually works. The Harley Benton website sells this switch in Europe (US folks, don't buy this switch here, shipping is $80 for a $3 switch lol) and has a schematic, which I have duplicated here (see attached image). I have verified how this switch works with a multimeter. the first four lugs are a "group" and lugs 5-8 are a second "group". For 1-4, 4 is the common, so you would use this lug as the hot going to the volume pot. there are no connections in the switch between 1-4 and 5-8 (you need to have a jumper somewhere so that 5-8 can somehow go to hot). for 5-8, 8 is the common, but in position 5, lugs 5-8 are not connected to anything. This also means (and this is important!) that the 2502n switch is not symmetrical, unlike a standard 5-way switch. This means that for it to work the switch can only be installed in one direction.

It also winds up that it is difficult to buy a 2502n switch in the USA. Lots of folks sell it for very exhorbitant prices (up to $25 USD, shipping extra). Compare this to a typical standard alpha switch or Fender OEM switch (~$10 USD on amazon, shipped). You can get a 5-way "superswitch" (for a different post, lol) for under $20. The best place to get a cheap 2502n switch is aliexpress. I got mine delivered for $5 USD. the only drawback is that the aliexpress website is difficult to navigate. I wound up ordering the wrong part before I figured out how their shopping system works.

[Premier Guitar]

"Our columnist asks his favorite acoustic players how their hometowns, new and old, have changed the music they make.

As musicians, we tend to put most of our mental energy into the “next thing”: that next song, show, tour, or piece of gear. The beauty of music-making is that there is always somewhere new to go, but it’s also important to remember that we all came from somewhere. In this column, I connect with some excellent acoustic players about the places that shaped their playing and their craft, where they started and where their music has taken them."

Featured Artists: Micah Blue Smaldone, Charlie Rauh, Rosali, James Elkington, and Nathan Salsburg

I know this isn't strictly about guitar, but I figured that the main theme was close enough and that the video fits the vibe of this community.

Recently I built a Tele-partscaster with some spare parts I had lying around. I had some cheap Chinese-made Gotoh styled tuners from many years ago (probably bought from Guitar Fetish but I don't remember for sure). I put in those cheap tuners onto my new build just to have something there, but also hoping that they would be good enough to do the job. Unfortunately, the posts were really wobbly and several of the tuners "chattered" when I turned them (probably gunk in the gear mechanism). Since I had always been curious about the Wilkinson EZ Lok tuners, and since they are only around $30 shipped from Amazon, I decided to give them a try.

First of all, these are just licensed tuners from Trevor Wilkinson and are made in Korea. They fit the typical 10 mm holes of import necks, and are drop in replacements for standard Gotoh/Schaller styled tuning machines, so if you are replacing that kind of tuner no need to plug and redrill mounting screw holes, which is a big plus. They have a 19:1 gear ratio, which is fantastic for the price. I figured that if I didn't like the "gimmick" of the EZ Lok tuners, I would just use them as regular tuners.

The "gimmick" of these tuners is that the string post has 2 holes perpendicular to each other, one slightly higher than the other. You are supposed to pull the new string though one hole first, pull it taut, wrap it manually around the post once, then thread the string through the second hole. The theory is that this creates two "kinks" in the string and locks it in place without needing multiple winds around the post. Presumably this means increased tuning stability. The official party line appears to be that for the wound strings you are supposed to use the bottom hole first, and the unwound strings you are supposed to use the top hole first. I just used the bottom hole for all strings, since you're not supposed to have a bunch of wraps around the post anyway so I didn't think it made a huge difference. The two holes are also fairly closely spaced, which is another reason I think it probably doesn't really matter.

In case this description does not make sense, here is an old video showing how it is supposed to work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3C7hrjXqgk

It's important to note that even though the product has "Lok" in its name, it is NOT a locking tuner in the traditional sense. These will generally not have the benefit of quick string changes that typical locking tuners provide. OTOH, they are not as heavy as locking tuners since there is no locking screw mechanism. And without a locking screw mechanism, it's one less thing to potentially break.

I will say that the quality of the tuners themselves are quite good. If you are looking to replace cheap tuners, then even without the EZ Lok gimmick these are a great value at $30. After stringing up a guitar using the EZ Lok method, I did find that it seemed to take significantly less time to get the strings settled in after stretching the strings. However, the wraps on the post are kind of ugly - they look like a rookie trying to put strings on a guitar for the first time where the wraps are uneven.

Pros: inexpensive yet good quality tuners, high gear ratio of 19:1, drop-in replacement for modern Gotoh-styled tuners with 10 mm holes. after installing new strings, strings can be tuned to pitch and "broken in" by stretching quickly. no additional mechanical parts - it's just a standard tuner with two holes instead of one. Can be strung normally if EZ Lok method not desired.

Cons: can be somewhat more complex to do string changes using EZ Lok method, so slower than typical locking tuners. string wraps around post look ugly even when done right. Not true "locking" mechanism.

overall rating: 8/10. I will be looking at using these to replace another set of cheap Chinese tuners that have poor tuning action.

Love reading the manuals:

New to me 2003/4 Godin Kingpin I cleaned it up a bit and put new strings on. Really happy with it.

It probably needs a professional setup, as the action is a bit high, but I was able to set the intonation by nudging the floating bridge.

I'm getting back into playing guitar, but I want to skip on constantly changing tunings and strings for them, also I would like some octaver effect or something like that.

The PRS SE NF3 is a distinct guitar in the PRS lineup. The heart of this guitar is a trio of PRS Narrowfield pickups, a first for the SE Series. Supporting these pickups is a poplar body, 22-fret bolt-on maple neck, and the choice of either a rosewood or maple fretboard. The SE NF3 is a versatile workhorse guitar that is fun to play and hard to put down. The Narrowfield DD (Deep Dish) “S” pickups are made with taller bobbins to fit more winds and extra metal pieces in between the magnets for a more focused, powerful tone.

I got this Harley Benton DC Junior a few years ago and it's been my main axe since.

Only issue is it has the worse tuning stability of any guitar I've owned, Not only going out of tune but getting it to correct pitch can be spotty in the first place.

Any ideas for replacement tuning machines? I've already replaced the nut with a graphtech one a while back and it only slightly helped when tuning up. I also don't mind drilling new screw holes if need be.

I mostly play and enjoy the sound of "classic" metal. 1980s Judas Priest. Metallica. Maiden. Etc.

What's a good amp/fx setup to reproduce this sound at modest volumes?

I have a friend with a Marshall stack, which sounds amazing but I have neither the budget or the space for something like this. I currently have a Fender amp with a Boss GT-1 effects pedal, which is quite good but no matter what I do I never quite get this to reproduce the tone I'm looking for.

Will a small Marshall combo amp like a MG30GFX work for me? Does it make sense to go for low-wattage tube amps over solid state? Thoughts?

This is not the first partscaster I've built but it is the first Telecaster-styled partscaster I've attempted. I have learned the following lessons:

• Neck was bought from a no-name brand on Amazon for about $50 bucks - it's actually quite nice. 14 inch radius, two-way truss rod adjusted from the heel. looks like Indian rosewood. if you are willing to put in the fret work and want to save money, a cheap neck with a two way truss rod is the way to go. you can fix almost any kind of neck with a two way truss rod and get it dead straight.
• Body was bought from aeguitars.com. Allegedly it's alder but it seems a bit too light and soft for alder. I suspect it's poplar? The body shipped quickly to me but had a lot of off-gassing smell for a few days. The finish looks nice but the neck pocket is NOT tight.
• pickups are the EMG-T set. the neck pickup did not fit into the pickguard (also a cheap no-name brand from amazon, I picked it for the pattern). Cheap parts are nice but be prepared to get work with a file or Dremel.
• A telecaster is (counterintuitively) harder to build than a Strat. It's a very nerve wracking process to position the bridge.
• If you're used to building Strats, don't forget the a Telecaster has a SINGLE cutaway body. Don't drill the strap button hole on the horn... ask me how I know.

Edit: it's been found. Apparently it was misplaced during a busy day and they were afraid it was stolen.

Keep an eye out, I guess ☹️

Hi, I'm a beginner who just started learning the F barre chord.

I can't get string 1 and 2 to ring clearly without applying insane force. Hmm I guess I have to just keep practicing until I can make it ring clearly without much effort.

How was your F barre chord journey? I'm sure experienced players here can enlighten my path.

I'm trying to find the optimal setup for me but I'm struggling with it, I'd love to hear your suggestions.

• I wanted something that I can have a lyrics data bank for me to use offline if I need to.
• I wanted to be able to tap and flip the page... not scroll. Scroll requires me to be precise on the move during a song... can't do it. A pedal would work but this is for me to play at campfires and stuff, I don't want to carry a Bluetooth pedal around.

I downloaded Ultimate Guitar and it's good in the sense that it has a lot of songs... but the autoscroll sucks because sometimes there's a section in the middle with details of a riff and I don't want to do that so I have to stop and move the song forwards. I guess if there's an app that would download the lyrics/chords and keep it on the phone and another that simply reads files and I can tap and turn a page, that would work as well.. How do you guys do it?

Facebook and Youtube pages appear to be completely rebranded.

I hope that Colin isn't selling off or stepping away from the channel. He has produced great content for years. His pragmatic approach to gear selection and maintenance combined with simple and easy-to-understand explanations made him a valuable asset to the community. I know that I've learned a lot about how my gear works and how to best select and modifier gear to get the effect that I want thanks directly to CSGuitars.

https://www.youtube.com/@ScienceofLoud

https://www.facebook.com/scienceofloud

Last year I bought an Harley Benton Telecaster and I loved it right away. Today I'm going to make it even better by upgrading its weak spots like the tuners, the electronics and the plastic nut. I'm also going to mod the wiring with a 4-way switch and adding a "pickup in series" mode.
Wish me luck.

I really enjoy this site, it has helped me learn a lot. There's a lot of useful tools, I especially like the chord analyzer.