Welcome to 6String Minutes. In this segment, we’ll uncover the truth about Japanese “lawsuit” guitars imported to the United States from the mid-1970s on. Gear hunters and enthusiasts around the world all claim to have seen them, but the true story may shock you.* (* If you happen to be plugged into an ungrounded amplifier and […]
“I got my first real six-string. Bought it at the five and dime. Played it ’til my fingers bled. Was the summer of ’69.” – Bryan Adams Whether you’re thinking about hunkering down and buying your first guitar or looking to upgrade from the $199 Strat pack that your grandma gave you for Christmas to […]
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our latest free course series, “Alternate Tunings for the Creative Guitarist”! The first installment, new this week, explores the nearly endless creative possibilities of the Open D tuning. If you’ve ever played a guitar, you’re probably familiar with standard tuning. The six strings of the instrument are commonly tuned […]
If you ever find yourself with a surplus of money and an itch to buy a massive ranch, boy have I got a story for you. Such were the circumstances in which Neil Young found himself in 1970, flush with cash from the recent success of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As destiny would have it, […]
Today we’re going to take a look at the guitar lead in on “Send My Love (To Your New Lover),” the third single off of Adele’s spectacular 2015 album, 25 (we also broke down her first single “Hello” on piano here). This is a great song and a fantastic riff, and it is a total blast […]
We’ve covered so many bases in this guitar breakdown series, I don’t even know if we can keep calling it baseball! But to round back to home, let’s take a look at two more important factors in the overall sound we hear from our instruments — from all the way back in the accessories department at the music […]
Brushy One-String is a Jamaican singer who has become somewhat of a YouTube superstar in the past few years; his songs are inspiring, his energy is magnetic and grand, and he plays a guitar with, you guessed it, only one string. He’s currently touring North America, and in past few years has been able to […]
Welcome back to Fundamentals of Guitar Anatomy, my multi-part series examining the ins and outs of your electric guitar. In the last lecture, we talked about body styles, and that knowledge will help you to grasp this one, as we’re going to be talking about the different types of wood used for guitars and their effect. The […]
Welcome to the Fundamentals of Guitar Anatomy. This is a four-part lecture, so take your seats, bust out your axe and grab a magnifying glass, because we’re going to examine all the ways your guitar’s sound can take shape through design and hardware (if you’re ready for next-level sound sculpting, try adding some pedals). First, I’d […]
If you’ve ever wondered how to cross the line from being a good to a great guitarist, you’ve probably already identified some key factors to focus on — mastery of technique, the quality of your gear, and learning to adopt different performative styles. But I wouldn’t start with any of those — I would start with organization. I have studied the […]
