Guitarophile.com

Author: JON

How to Get the Best Bang for Your Buck When Buying a Guitar
My friends are always amazed at my wife’s and my ability to find deals.

One of our favorite activities is to drive over to Value Village and look for deals. Then later, something will come up in a conversation and we’ll say, “Oh, yeah, I got [that thing worth $50 new] from the thrift store for $5.”

People think we’re just lucky. It is true that luck may play a part in our ability to find bargains, but I would argue the truth is we put ourselves in a position to take advantage of luck when it happens.

The same goes for my ability to score deals on guitars. Today, I’d like to share with you some of my secrets, in the hopes that one or more of these tips can save you a little extra cash the next time you are in the market for more gear.

Research, research, research

There is simply no substitute for research.

Only once in my life have I gone to a guitar store with the intent to make a purchase without having a good idea of what I was looking for. That was special — it was my fortieth birthday. (I ended up with a very nice Ibanez semi-hollow body, by the way.)

In every other instance, I spend a lot of time researching before getting serious about buying. What kind of guitars are out there? Which type of guitars would complement my collection, rather than duplicating an instrument I already own? What are the quality brands that fly under the radar?

I spend a lot of time researching before getting serious about buying.

When I bought my SX earlier in the year, I knew exactly what I was looking for: a Strat-style guitar with a natural finish and a maple fretboard. I’d been on the lookout for months, and so when I stumbled across the SX — a brand I knew was good despite the low price — that matched my specs exactly, it was an absolute no-brainer.

Understand the law of diminishing returns

Based on years of experience, I am firmly convinced that you can buy an incredible electric guitar without breaking the bank.

In fact, I’ve found over the years that the sweet spot is between $400–600. Up to that amount, you are generally paying for higher quality as the price goes up in a nice, linear fashion. In other words, it’s reasonable to assume my $400 used Epiphone SG is “twice as good” as my Epiphone Les Paul Special — and this bears out in playing the instruments.

I am firmly convinced that you can buy an incredible electric guitar without breaking the bank.

Once you start inching your way towards four figures, however, the relationship between quality and price significantly diminishes. I recently tried out a US-made PRS Custom 24 at a guitar shop. To my fingers, it felt and played identically to my import SE Custom 24. It was in no way “worth” paying an extra grand — or more — from a quality standpoint. (That’s not to say it isn’t worth the extra money for other reasons, by the way. But I personally don’t value those reasons as much as the quality factor.)

Look for “new” used guitars

In my current collection of around a dozen instruments, I only purchased two of them brand-new. The rest were used. In almost every instance, however, those “used” guitars had almost no wear and tear. Several of them, in fact, still had the clear plastic protective wrap on the pickguard. And for the last two guitars I purchased, I had to double-check with a store employee that they were in fact used — because they were flawless.

For the last two guitars I purchased, I had to double-check with a store employee that they were in fact used — because they were flawless.

The fact is, people buy guitars with the intent to learn to play all the time, but instead they end up leaving the instruments in their closet for years. Eventually, those guitars end up in a place like Guitar Center, which legally must sell them as “used” even though it’s likely they’ve never encountered so much as a guitar pick.

And, of course, being used, they are cheaper. It’s these kinds of deals where you can get a whole lot of guitar for $500 or less.

Be patient

Once you’ve dialed in the kind of guitar you want and your price range, and you have the mindset of buying a “new” used instrument, it’s time to wait.

Being patient is by far the most important aspect of finding any deal.

Ultimately, being patient is by far the most important aspect of finding any deal. You’ve lived your entire life without whichever guitar it is you’re dreaming about at the moment— you can wait a few more months (or a decade, in my case). If you patiently search online sites and local guitar stores, one of two things will happen:
- You will find a deal on the guitar you are looking for.
- You will realize you didn’t want the guitar as much as you think you did.
In the first case, you’ll be happy because you scored a good deal on something you wanted. In the second instance, you’ll be happy because you didn’t spend a bunch of money on a guitar that wasn’t right for you.

Either way, you’ve won.

I hope these four tips will help you the next time you are in the market for a new guitar. What additional tips would you give someone looking for gear? Let us know in the comments!
August 9, 2022
How to Use a Compression Pedal — and Why You Might Want To

The first rule of Guitar Club is there are no rules.

Okay, that might be a bit melodramatic, but there is an element of truth to it. When you play an instrument like the electric guitar, there is a bit of rebellion and innovation baked in.

Rebellion and innovation don’t preclude a good foundation — they require one

Yes, there are “rules” to follow, but often they are more like guidelines. And that’s the beauty of the guitar, and rock music in general: you can try anything.

That being said, it takes a special person to start with nothing and make something magical. Most of us have to have a baseline understanding of things like music theory, how the neck is laid out, and how pedals and amps work before we try to get our inner Eddie Van Halen on.

So today that I want to help you understand — without being dogmatic about it — how a compressor pedal works, why you may want one, and how to use it.

The mystery of compression demystified

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought that compressor pedals were a bit mysterious. They “compress” the sound — okay, what does that really mean? And why do so many people use them?

But rather than go into a technical, “sciencey” explanation, it’s much easier to think of it as if there were a very tiny person living inside of your compression pedal. This little guy — let’s call him Carl — is pretty finicky about music. He doesn’t like things too loud (it gives him a headache) or too soft (he’s had some hearing loss over the years). Thankfully, Carl is sitting next to a big volume knob.

Whenever you play your guitar, Carl listens. If you play a little too loud, Carl reaches up and turns the volume down. And if you play a little too soft, he turns the volume up.

This is essentially what a compressor pedal does. It evens out the dynamics, or volume, of your playing.

What can I do with a compression pedal?

A compression pedal can help you out in a couple of different ways. For one, it can add a little bit of a “professional” feel to your playing if, like me, you occasionally mess up and play a string or chord a bit too loudly (or softly). Or it can boost your clean tone to help you stand out in the mix without having to crank your amp. (But let’s be honest, who among us has ever been concerned we were playing too loud?)

It can also help to add sustain to lead guitar parts. Since compression pedals adjust volume, it makes sense that they can increase sustain by dialing up the volume of a note as it begins to die, thus prolonging the sound to our ears.

This kind of pedal can also help ramp up your high end, which means you can use one to give you a more funky or country-western tone.

How do I dial in a compression pedal?

Most compression pedals have the same or similar controls.

The Attack dial focuses on the start of the notes you play. The more you turn this knob up, the more you will hear the pluck of the strings.

The Sustain or Release dial is going to control the end of the notes you play. This is the dial to crank if you want that epic bend to ring out long enough for you to go have a bite to eat.

The Level knob, as is the case with most pedals, just controls the overall volume of the pedal. Usually, you would want to find the setting that matches the same volume as when the pedal is off.

It’s hard to say how you ought to set the dials on your pedal because there are too many variables to consider. You have a different guitar than I do, with different pickups, playing into a different signal chain and amp. You also no doubt have different sonic preferences than I do.

Your best bet is to just set all the dials at noon and adjust them one by one, using the guidance above, until you get something you are happy with. And if you’re looking for a specific sound or effect, it’s very likely there’s a YouTube video dedicated to your exact scenario.

Where should I put the pedal in my signal chain?

Signal chains (i.e., what order you put your pedals in on your pedal board) are great fodder for internet arguments, and experimentation is usually encouraged. Generally speaking, however, the compressor is going to be among the first pedal in your chain — before overdrives, delays, or reverbs. On my pedal board, it’s first in line.

You don’t usually want to compress effects, because it can change the sound in ways you may not like. But then again, you might find a combination that gives you a unique sound you love!

Do I need a compression pedal to sound good?

In the end, I’ve played plenty with a compression pedal and plenty without one. I think it made the biggest difference in sound when I was playing a cheap guitar into a cheap solid-state amp. It really did make the whole setup sound more professional.

As I upgraded guitars and amps, I started to use my compression pedal less and less. I just no longer needed it for the reason I initially did (to compensate for crappy gear). But I did just put it back on my board after several years, and I’m excited to see how it responds to my latest rig.

So, no — I don’t believe anyone needs a compression pedal to sound good, but it is a tool that may help you achieve a certain sound more easily, and it’s been my experience that it can help low-end gear sound better.

So how about you — do you have experience with compressor pedals? What advice would you give your fellow guitarists on them? Let us know in the comments!

August 3, 2022
Learn These 4 Roman Numerals to Unlock Rock and Pop Music Forever
I — IV — V — vi.

That’s it.

These four Roman numerals represent 75 percent of the music we listen to today. Learn how to apply them and you can almost instantly play thousands of songs.

And it’s simpler than you think.

The Way-Too-Short Explanation of Western Music

Western music is based on a 12-note scale. If you ever took piano lessons or played in a junior-high band, you might remember that each note is assigned a letter between A and G and sometimes includes symbols like # or b. Furthermore, each note is one half-step from the next.

The full 12-note scale is called a chromatic scale, but a majority of the music we listen to actually narrows it down to just seven of those notes: the major scale. If we started at the note “G,” for example, we can write out the major scale as:

G — A — B — C — D — E — F#

These are the notes of the G major scale, but they also represent the chords that can be played in the key of G major. It’s simply a matter of remembering that the first, fourth, and fifth chords in the progression are major chords; the second, third, and sixth are minor chords; and the seventh is a diminished chord (which we can safely ignore almost all of the time!). This gives us the following chords:

G — Am — Bm — C — D — Em — F#dim

So now we can talk about Roman numerals. To make it easier for musicians to play songs in different keys, sometimes Roman numerals are used. All they do is indicate the relationships between chords in a song. You simply start at I and work your way up chord by chord to VII. And to indicate a minor (as opposed to major) chord, just use lowercase numerals.

In our example key of G major, then, you can write out all of the chords like so:

I — ii — iii — IV — V — vi — vii°

So let’s go back to the beginning of the article: I — IV — V — vi. We can now determine that this sequence refers to the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth chords of a key, with the sixth chord being a minor. So if you stick with our example key, G major, I — IV — V — vi lines up with G — C — D — Em.

And it just so happens that much of rock and pop music is based on using these four chords — and only these four chords.

How to Use I — IV — V — vi to Make Music

That means learning just four chords on a guitar — G, C, D, and Em — opens up a vast library of tunes you can quickly and easily learn to play. And if you want to learn a song in a different key, then all you have to do is repeat the exercise. So if you wanted to play songs in C major, then I — IV — V — vi becomes C — F — G — Am. Or for the key of E major, it’s E — A — B — C#m. And this approach works for any major key.

The list of songs you can play using some combination of I, IV, V, and vi chords is long and varied. And the great thing is, these chords work together in any progression, meaning you can play them in any order and they still sound good together.

For example, here are just a few examples of songs that use some or all of these chords in varying orders:
- “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry: I — IV — V
- “Sweet Home Chicago” by Robert Johnson: I — IV — V
- “With or Without You” by U2: I — V — vi — IV
- “Demons” by Imagine Dragons: I — V — vi — IV
- “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver: I — V — vi — IV
- “Save Tonight” by Eagle Eye Cherry: vi — IV — I — V
- “Glycerine” by Bush: I — V — vi — IV
Even though these songs are not all in the same key, they have the same basic chord progressions, and using the Roman numeral system makes them easy to learn and transpose to any key you want quickly.

How Music Theory Helps You Become Better at Guitar

Even learning a little bit of music theory — like I — IV — V — vi chords — can unlock all kinds of musical possibilities. If you’ve never seen this before, I’d encourage you to play around with these chords and see what songs you can figure out by ear. You might be surprised at just how many you’ll be able to play with very little effort.

And if you still doubt me, then allow me to remind you of one of the earliest viral YouTube videos that proves the point:

Every song in this video uses just the I — IV — V — vi chords.
July 26, 2022
How My Favorite Pedal Can Make You a Better Guitarist

I admit it: I have more guitars than I need.

I’ve got a bit of a hobby — perhaps an obsession — with collecting them. I’m holding steady at about a dozen instruments these days, which seems to be enough to keep me from wanting any more…for now.

But strangely enough, my GAS (that’s Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) doesn’t extend to amps or pedals. I am actually quite minimalistic in this regard.

I have one amp, for example — a cheap Chinese clone of a Fender Blues Jr. It sounds fantastic, so I don’t need anything else.

And when it comes to my pedal board, I only have the bare minimum: overdrive, chorus, and delay.

Actually, I have one more pedal on my board, too, and it’s my favorite one — because it’s the one that helps me become a better musician.

Enter the looping pedal

I’m talking about my looper.

I have the most basic of loopers on the market: the TC Electronics Ditto Looper. With one footswitch and one knob, it’s extremely simple, but it does the job.

If you’re not familiar with looping pedals, they allow you to record yourself playing for a period of time and then replay the recording on a loop. Once you’ve laid down the basic loop, you can add on new layers to form the backdrop of a song.

In essence, a looper allows you to accompany yourself.

Looping stations can get quite complicated, and some musicians can do amazing things with them. If you want to see an example of this, go no further than the great Phil Keaggy.

Geez, Phil! Leave some talent for the rest of us!

I’m not Phil Keaggy. My playing is not even in the same universe as his. I don’t craft intricate songs with my pedal or bring in egg shakers.

I use my looping pedal to help me practice and grow as a musician.

But I do use my looping pedal to help me practice and grow as a musician. In fact, here are three ways that help me and hopefully can help you too.

Be your own metronome

I have a bad practice habit. I hardly ever use a metronome. (Don’t be like me, kids!)

But with my looper, I can lay down my own tracks to practice things like scales or solos. And in order to lay down a good backing track, I have to have the tempo and the beat dialed in. Otherwise, the track will be off and I won’t be able to play over it.

I have to practice playing at a consistent tempo and getting the timing down pat in order to lay down a usable loop.

Thus I have to practice playing at a consistent tempo and getting the timing down pat in order to lay down a usable loop, and I can then use that loop as a makeshift metronome to work on other aspects of my playing.

Learn to think like a composer

When you want to lay down a more complicated track with multiple layers, you have to think like a composer.

I usually start with thinking about what chord progression I want and then I have to come up with a “bass” line on my guitar that has the tempo, style, and feel that I’m going for. Once I’ve recorded that, I have to add in a suitable rhythm guitar part (or two). Next, I might have to think about how to mimic a keyboard or perhaps come up with some short guitar riffs to add a little more flavor.

So for each part, not only do I have to find an idea that works well with the rest of the tracks, but I have to consider sonic textures as well. How can I switch effects or pickups — or occasionally even guitars — to get a different enough sound for each part? Where on the neck does each line need to be played? Can I make use of harmonics or muted strumming for a percussive effect? The possibilities are endless.

All of these decisions help you to better understand how all the layers of a song should work together.

All of these decisions help you to learn how to break down or build up a song and better understand how all the layers of a song should work together, because you are actually composing and arranging in that moment.

Be your own personal practice buddy

I don’t exactly have a lot of other guitarists living with me at my house.

My teenage son is just starting to learn the instrument (which is pretty cool!) but he’s not much help yet if I need to practice a song for church or something.

My looping pedal allows me to practice whatever riff, fill, or solo I need without having to wait until band practice.

So when I need to work on a lead riff or something similar, the looper yet again comes to the rescue. For this, it’s usually good enough to just lay down a basic chord progression, but it allows me to practice whatever riff, fill, or solo I need without having to wait until band practice.

A fun and useful tool

All of these benefits (and more) of a looping pedal make it a fun and useful tool. Even a simple looper like the Ditto can expand your musical horizons and abilities if you know how to use it.

If you don’t own a looper — or maybe you do and are afraid or don’t know how to use it — I’d encourage you to jump in and start. It doesn’t take long to figure out the basics, and once you do you’ll find that there are a lot of potential applications like the three I mentioned above.

If you use a looper, I’d love to hear the cool things you’ve discovered it can do.

July 19, 2022
How to Get Over Your Fear of Playing Guitar in Front of Other People
Let’s face it: playing guitar in front of other people can be intimidating.

Especially if you are fairly new to the instrument or have never been on stage before. It’s incredibly easy and natural to let the nerves get to you. What if I mess up? What if I play the wrong note? What if I sound awful?

Jerry Seinfeld had a famous standup bit about how public speaking was most people’s worst fear — and death was only second. He made the observation that for most of us, then, we’d rather be in the coffin than doing the eulogy.

But playing the guitar in front of a crowd can be just as scary as giving a speech. So how can you overcome that fear and get out there on stage? How can you address the negative voices in your head that cause anxiety and fear?

As someone who has played live more times than I can count, I have a few different tips and methods to help you take a step of faith and perform for others. Or if you already do play to audiences but still struggle with stage anxiety, hopefully these tips can help you be a little less nervous next time.

Remember that people think you’re amazing

My main venue for playing in front of people is when I’m on the worship team at church. This is something I’ve been doing regularly since I was in high school.

When I first started, and for a long time afterward, I would be just fine in practice. But then when Sunday morning came around, I would get nervous and make mistakes. Sometimes I would overplay, strum too hard, or just flat-out bomb (or at least I thought I did) and leave church with my proverbial head hung low. (One time I even played an entire song in the wrong key — that takes some doing.)

But then six or seven years ago, I began to realize something: almost no one notices — or cares — when you make a mistake.

I began to realize something: almost no one notices — or cares — when you make a mistake.

Once I internalized this truth, I began to ease up on myself and enjoy playing live more. I didn’t worry so much about mistakes when I made them. I still sometimes get a little frustrated when I mess up, but I don’t let it ruin my day anymore.

And I definitely still flub something up literally every time I’m on stage. Yet people still think I’m some amazing guitarist (I’m really average at best). Even when I ask, “Did you hear me mess up in [that song]?” nine times out of ten, the answer is, “No. I thought you sounded great!”

Remember, most people in the audience don’t play your instrument and are just impressed that you are on the stage making music!

Remember that most musicians are incredibly supportive

Yes, there are music snobs out there. And there are also people who want to turn playing the guitar into a pissing contest. Whether you play on the worship team at church or at a club with your band, it’s possible one of these people might hear your playing and judge you and all of your flaws, presumably in a misguided attempt to feel better about themselves.

But honestly, this is an extremely rare scenario — one I’ve never experienced, in fact.

Every single musician I have ever met and played with has been extremely supportive. We are all part of a fraternity of people who love making music, and it’s been my experience that there’s a bit of an unspoken rule that we’ve got each others’ backs.

Every single musician I have ever met and played with has been extremely supportive.

And here’s another little secret — every musician I’ve played with is also just a little neurotic (including me). We all suffer from the spotlight effect and have the tendency to dissect and dwell on our own perceived mistakes way more than others’. The end result is most of the post-performance conversations I have with my bandmates involve me complimenting the other person while I talk about all the times I messed up — with my bandmates doing the same thing!

Remember, musicians know what it’s like to perform in front of others and the self-criticism that can entail, so they generally go out of their way to try to be supportive to everyone else — especially those new to live playing.

Use the “jump in the deep end” method

Once you realize that no one cares if you make a mistake and most people will be extremely supportive of you even when you do, there’s only one thing left to do.

The best way to get over the fear of playing in front of other people is to just get out and do it: Give it your best shot, mess up a bunch, and learn.

It’s what I did, and it’s what every single musician you’ve ever seen on stage did, from the local guy playing at the farmer’s market to bands who sell out stadiums. They all had to step out in faith (and probably fear) that first time.

Give it your best shot, mess up a bunch, and learn.

And when you do step out and take that risk, you will find out a few things, like:
- You can make a mistake and not die or anything.
- Everyone in the crowd will still have fun even if you don’t nail every last chord change or solo.
- People will still be impressed with you, even if you aren’t the living embodiment of perfection.
Making music is about having fun

In the end, music is about having fun. And getting the chance to be the one making the music for your friends, family, or fans is fun — so you might as well treat it as such.

If you are holding back in fear from playing in front of other people, I’d encourage you to step out and do it anyway. It may be intimidating at first, but if you can remember these tips, you can get to the place where you will really enjoy playing live music.

If you’re an experienced musician, what are your tips for overcoming the fear of playing live? Let us know in the comments!
July 15, 2022
How to Buy a Guitar When You Are a New Player

My friend Anthony recently started playing the bass guitar.

He had been wanting to learn for some time, and he finally asked me to go down to the local Guitar Center to help him decide what to buy.

Although I am primarily a guitarist, I can play passable bass (and banjo), and I’m familiar enough with basses to help a brother out, which is what I did.

With my help, he was able to pick out a shockingly nice bass/amp combo for not a ton of money.

It’s great fun to be able to help a friend out like this, but unfortunately, if you’re reading this and looking to get into playing guitar, you’re probably not anywhere near me, so I can’t meet you at your local guitar shop and help (as awesome as that would be).

So while I can’t coach you through your first guitar purchase in person, what I can do is lay out some broad concepts that can help you narrow down your options and make a good choice you will be happy with for the long term.

Looks matter

Although I don’t consider myself a vain or shallow person, this is one area where looks definitely matter. I can’t stress this enough: you must love how your guitar looks.

If your guitar doesn’t catch your eye — if it doesn’t make you want to pick it up every time you walk by — then you aren’t going to practice on it as much as you should. It’s just how it is.

I can’t stress this enough: you must love how your guitar looks.

Take the time to look at a bunch of different guitars online. What styles do you like? Which guitar makes you stop and drool a little? Which ones can you see yourself playing and it just feels right?

I remember walking into a guitar store several years ago and seeing a PRS Vela on display. My heart immediately skipped a beat and I almost bought the thing right then and there without even playing it, but at the last minute my sensible self reminded me that I didn’t have a spare $1,200 to spend. (It’s still my dream guitar, though.)

This is the kind of weak-in-the-knees connection that you would ideally like to find, although admittedly for me that’s rare. But at the very least you need to narrow down your search to instruments you find sexy, beautiful, or eye-catching.

Feel matters

Once you’ve narrowed down the list to aesthetically pleasing guitars, you need to find one that feels right.

Guitars are funny, though. Two identical Fenders may feel worlds apart. One might feel inspiring in your hands, while the other feels flat. It’s extremely difficult to quantify feel, of course, but you’re looking for a connection with your instrument.

And the best-feeling guitars I own aren’t necessarily the highest-quality or most expensive ones. I have a cheap Seagull S6 Folk acoustic and a cheap SX Strat copy (both of which cost under $200) that won’t win any beauty contests, but they just have something special about them. I like to say that they have “the mojo.” I can’t explain it, but I can feel it.

The best-feeling guitars I own aren’t necessarily the highest-quality or most expensive ones.

If you’re a complete beginner, you would do well to befriend a player you trust and have them help you with this. But to the extent that you can, try to put your hands on as many instruments as possible and just see which ones you connect with and leave you wanting more. And if a guitar doesn’t resonate with you, put it down and move on.

Price matters

We are conditioned as consumers to expect more from a more expensive item than from a less expensive one. But with guitars, the law of diminishing returns is a real phenomenon.

It’s true that, in general, a $2,000 guitar will be better than a $200 guitar, but it will not ever be ten times better. Likewise, a $4,000 guitar might only be 5% better than one costing half as much. And, there are $200 diamonds in the rough as well as $2,000 duds.

Over the years, I have noticed a few truths about guitar prices. First, you can expect more value for your money for guitars priced up to around $500–600. After this, the differences in quality really start to get minimized, and you begin paying for “upgrades” that may or may not enhance your playing experience. (And oftentimes you’re simply paying for the logo or name on the headstock.)

Second, lower-priced and entry-level guitars have seen drastic improvements in quality in the last 20 years. With the mass adoption of the CNC machine and the rise of quality factories in Indonesia, Korea, and even China, there are some absolutely killer $200 guitars on the market today — so good that I’m not sure how these companies are making a profit.

When it comes to budgeting for your first purchase, just know that you can get a very good guitar that will last you up to a lifetime for $500 or less. Of course, if you’ve always wanted a real Gibson ES-335 and you have the money, then by all means, go for it! But otherwise, $500 seems to me to be the sweet spot — the biggest bang for your buck — with plenty of even lower-cost guitars that have tremendous quality and playability.

With the mass adoption of the CNC machine and the rise of quality factories in Indonesia, Korea, and even China, there are some absolutely killer $200 guitars on the market today.

At the end of the day, if you are looking to get into playing the guitar, you need to take into consideration how the guitar looks, how it feels, and how much it costs. If you are willing to do a little research, try out some guitars, and know your budget ahead of time, you can find a guitar that will bring you tremendous joy and fun in your journey.

Good luck and happy hunting!

June 10, 2022
How Many Guitars Does One Player Need? Not As Many As You’d Think

Hi, my name is Jon, and I’ve got GAS.

That’s Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, for the uninitiated.

I like guitars. It’s my hobby. It’s how I de-stress and one of the things I do for fun.

For a very long time, I only had a couple of guitars. I’d hover between owning two and four instruments at any one time. And that made sense, given my income level and the frequency with which my wife and I moved (six times in the first nine years of our marriage).

But then we settled in a neighborhood, bought a house, and I started making a little more money — enough to have fun money for the first time.

I spent much of my fun money starting a guitar collection (I blame Phil McKnight). I didn’t buy anything too expensive or fancy — I never spent over $600 on any one purchase — but over the next several years, I ended up with over a dozen guitars.

My story is typical — guitarists just love gear. It seems inevitable over time that we end up buying way too many guitars. (And yeah, I admit, a dozen is probably too many.)

But if you’re just starting out, you’re probably looking at your guitar buddies, seeing their massive collections, and wondering, how many guitars do I really need?

The answer, of course, is none.

Playing the guitar is not a necessity — it is a luxury. People can and do live fulfilling, rich lives without ever picking up and strumming a guitar (I know, it’s hard to believe).

You don’t need a guitar unless you want to play, in which case you need one.

That’s right, you really only need one guitar to be a guitarist. Tab Benoit, for instance, is an amazing blues musician from Louisiana who’s been playing the same Fender Telecaster for 30 years (okay, so he actually has an identical backup in case a string breaks during a show). He gets everything he needs from just that one guitar. The man doesn’t even use pedals.

Tab Benoit. Holy crap.

Brian May from the band Queen also used one guitar — his homemade Red Special — for decades until it became too fragile to take on tour. (He then commissioned replicas, which he still plays today.)

So that’s the minimalistic approach. But many of us aren’t minimalists. We may want to experiment with different tones or play songs using a similar guitar as the original artist. How should we go about determining what to add to our arsenal?

Thankfully, you don’t need to own a dozen guitars or more, like I do. And in any case, even though I own a bunch of them, I really only gravitate toward a few of them. Most of the rest don’t get played very often, if at all.

And this fact gets us closer to what I think is a reasonable solution. In all honesty, you can get just a handful of guitars and be able to play almost anything:

A Stratocaster-style guitar

The quintessential electric guitar. Countless artists use a Strat (or a Strat copy). Wanna play some Hendrix or Clapton? You’ll want a Strat. The same goes for Buddy Guy, John Mayer, EVH, SRV, and a thousand other players. It seems that everyone uses a Strat at some point in their career, and the infamous “quacky” tones are only available via a single-coil Stratocaster.

A Telecaster-style guitar

If you’re into country music, the twang of a Tele is what you are hearing more often than not. But Telecasters find their way into almost every genre of music, from jazz to blues, and they have a unique tone that’s hard to duplicate with any other guitar. Brad Paisley rocks a Tele, as does Chris Shiflett of Foo Fighters, and the aforementioned Tab Benoit.

A Les Paul-style guitar

For a more full-bodied sound, the humbuckers on a Les Paul style guitar are key. It’s hard to imagine playing along with Slash on “Sweet Child O’ Mine” with anything besides a Gibson-esque solid body. So many musicians play Les Pauls it’s crazy. From Jimmy Page to Duane Allman to Pete Townshend, many great classic rock guitarists made their mark playing Les Pauls.

An acoustic guitar

If you want to get into bluegrass or flat-picking, or if you’re going camping or just want a chiller, unplugged vibe, you will want to have a trusty acoustic by your side. Plus, there are tons of acoustic-based songs that you will probably want to play. One of my favorites is “Drive” by Incubus. And if you are a Christian like I am, an acoustic is indispensable if you ever want to lead a worship set.

A killer acoustic song.

If you want to have a versatile collection of instruments on which you can play the widest range of music, then this is the combination to get you there with as little spending (not to mention space) as possible. These four guitars will enable you to cover all of the bases.

From there, you can always get further specialized, of course, but these four instrument types are the heart and soul of modern guitar-based music.

However, if you suffer from GAS like I do, the only thing I can say is good luck and godspeed!

June 8, 2022
Why There Is No Such Thing As the Best Guitarist of All Time

Stevie Ray Vaughan is the best guitarist of all time.

Don’t believe me? Check out his performance of “Texas Flood” from the Live at the El Mocambo DVD:

I have watched this video dozens of times, and every time I watch it, I get goosebumps. I shake my head in disbelief. I utter profanities in my head as I watch in awe.

No other guitarist plays with as much feel as SRV. No one else can get the tone he got. No one else can play with every fiber of their being like Stevie.

SRV is quite simply the best to ever pick up a guitar.

Who is the best guitarist?

Of course, what I really mean to say is, “I personally find Stevie Ray Vaughan to be the best guitar player ever.” Or to be even more accurate, “SRV is my favorite guitarist.” Because really, let’s be clear — there is no “best” guitarist, and there never will be.

The debate over the best guitarist is good for discussion. It sells a lot of magazines, and it gets a lot of keyboard warriors up in arms on the internet. And I’m a sucker just like the rest of you — I read the lists and get sucked into the conversation too.

But at its core, who is the best guitarist? is an unanswerable question.

The best in which genre?

The first reason this question cannot be answered is because there is no agreement on which genre “the best” refers to. Most people who argue about such things are really limiting the conversation to rock and roll, which often includes blues.

But what about jazz? Surely Django Reinhart belongs on the list. The man was the major force in jazz in his lifetime and could absolutely tear up a guitar solo — and don’t forget, his hands were a mangled mess due to injuries he sustained in a fire. He could literally only play guitar with two fingers.

Django Reinhardt revolutionized jazz guitar with only two working fingers on his fretting hand.

But then that would still leave out classical guitarists, many of whom are phenomenal musicians. Segovia is the most famous, but Raphaella Smits is outstanding in her own right. Surely the intricacies of the classical guitar are much more difficult than most standard rock tunes, so players like Smits must be better than their rock contemporaries, right?

The best at which techniques?

But it gets more complicated. Which techniques matter when deciding on “the best?” As far as I know, SRV never learned finger tapping, so if that’s the criterion, then Eddie Van Halen would have to be the best guitarist. But as much as I love Eddie, he couldn’t capture the emotion that SRV did (in fairness to Eddie, no one can).

Of course, tapping is just one technique. What about legato, sweep picking, bending, and slide guitar? If we’re talking slide guitar, then surely Duane Allman or Derek Trucks would have to be in the conversation (although Eric Johnson is quite good too).

If we are limiting our decision to precision picking or speed, probably some metalhead in a basement in Ohio would be the winner; however, as far as noteworthy guitarists go, I’d have to give the nod to Tim Henson from Polyphia.

On the other hand, if we define “the best” as overall mastery of the most techniques, then the hands-down winner is Guthrie Govan, and I seriously don’t know how this fact could be argued.

Hey, Guthrie, I don’t suppose you could leave a little talent for the rest of us?

And of course, that’s just scratching the surface. We could go on to talk about the best acoustic players (Phil Keaggy, Tommy Emmanuel), the most influential players (Joe Satriani, anyone?), or the most innovative (surely this award goes to Jimi).

The best according to whom?

This is really where the idea of “the best” guitarist breaks down.

The issue here is, who gets to decide who “the best” is? There is no International Guitar Committee or ISO standard on guitar-playing with which to make some objective decision. There is no checklist or law to help us, either.

And with no objective criteria to guide us, polls and surveys don’t offer much help; all they can do is tell us who people like the most.

The only way to truly give someone the award for “best guitarist” would be to appoint a regulatory body in some arbitrary fashion to decree a musician “the best” in some arbitrary manner, which of course would be a ridiculous and pointless thing to do, and even then we would all still argue about their decision.

Music is not a contest

At the end of the day, debates about who “the best” guitarist is will continue until Jesus comes back, and probably even after that. There is just no way to define what “best” means and who would rise to the top even if we could define the criteria.

And for me, that’s just as well. Music isn’t — or at least shouldn’t be — about competition. I understand we all want to progress in our guitar playing and be the best musicians we can be, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who is better than whom.

Music is collaborative. Music is a journey. Music is a good time on a Friday night. But music should not ever pit one person against another in some ridiculous game of comparison.

When I play music with others, I care about making music and having fun, not who’s the better musician.

That’s not to say it’s not fun to talk about subjects like “the best guitarist of all time.” It is, so long as we understand that we’re really talking about our own biases and preferences. And for God’s sake, we have enough to divide us already.

Besides, as I established earlier, Stevie Ray Vaughan is the best guitarist of all time.

June 3, 2022
What Are Locking Tuners, and Why Should You Care?

Fun fact: I played guitar for several decades before I got serious about learning the intricacies of the instrument.

A good case in point is locking tuners. I was oblivious to them for many, many years until a friend gifted me a set for doing some work on his guitar.

If you are a normal guitarist like I was, you may not exactly know what locking tuners are either. If so, don’t fear! We’re going to talk about them today, explain what they are, and discuss why you might choose to use them (or not).

What are locking tuners?

Locking tuners are pretty much exactly what they sound like: tuning machines on the headstock of your guitar that lock the string into place. This is in contrast to traditional tuning machines, which require you to wrap the guitar string around the post to create enough friction to keep the strings from slipping.

An example of locking tuners. Note the dials used to screw down the posts. (Photo by Freebird from Madrid, Spain, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

It seems like every manufacturer has their own “special” type of locking tuner, but they all basically rely on a post or clamp to bite into and secure the string. The mechanism usually moves into place via turning a screw.

The benefit of locking tuners is really one of efficiency and speed. In fact, they were first used in live settings because guitar techs needed a way to change out broken strings quickly during shows.

The only benefit of locking tuners is efficiency and speed.

But that’s not only the main benefit — I would go so far as to say it’s the only benefit. And that’s not a dig; it is a nice upgrade. Switching from traditional to locking tuners makes string changes an absolute breeze. The set I got even clips off the excess string length for you, which is super cool.

Busting some myths about locking tuners

There is a pervasive myth on the internet, however, that locking tuners actually contribute to your guitar staying in tune. The claim is that the locking feature prevents string slippage, thus keeping the string at the right tension at all times — unlike regular tuning machines.

But the reality is this argument is highly suspect. First of all, there are ways to string a guitar with traditional tuners such that the strings don’t slip. Second, no quality tuning machine will slip, traditional or otherwise. I personally think that what often happens is a player replaces a subpar set of tuners with a locking set and notices a difference. But so far as I know, there are no low-end locking tuners on the market, so it becomes a difference in quality rather than design.

In other words, locking tuners function equally well as, but no better than, other tuners of similar quality. And from my own personal experience, that holds true.

Locking tuners are not a cure-all for tuning issues!

It’s also worth noting that your guitar can go out of tune for a whole host of reasons, and tuners are only one piece of the puzzle. An incorrectly cut nut, poor-quality strings, and even heat and humidity changes can all affect tuning stability. Locking tuners are not a cure-all for tuning issues!

Should you upgrade your guitar to locking tuners?

Locking tuners can be a nice upgrade to your guitar if you are comfortable dropping 60 to several hundred dollars on a new set. They do make string changes easy. And if you are replacing a lower-quality set, they will probably help with overall tuning stability.

But they are by no means the only legitimate option, as some guitarists make them seem. Any good-quality tuning machine will work just as well, especially if you know how to use them properly.

In the end, like so many guitar decisions, there is no one “right” answer. So evaluate the pros and cons, check your budget, and make the best decision for yourself. Good luck!

June 1, 2022
How Paul Reed Smith’s Mom Had an Obsession that Led to an Iconic Guitar Look
I have a confession to make: I love the birds.

This can be a bit of a polarizing statement, I realize. Some people absolutely love the birds, while others hate them. But I think I’m in good company. John Mayer seems to be in the former camp, as does Mark Tremonti. Even Carlos Santana has jumped on the “birds” bandwagon.

But whoever designed my “unicorn” guitar, the Vela, seems to prefer dots.

I’m talking, of course, about the now-famous birds on PRS guitars — specifically, the bird inlays that are found on many of the guitars they sell.

A brief recap of fretboard inlays

I’ve written about guitar inlays before, but the gist of it is these are the markers on the guitar’s neck that help orient the player to where he or she is on the fretboard. To put it simply, inlay markers tell you what note you’re playing.

Historically, while there have been ornate fretboard inlays for decoration purposes for centuries, functional markers have almost always been simple dots, rectangles, or trapezoids, with very few exceptions.

But then a guitar maker named Paul Reed Smith came along and shook things up.

Paul Reed Smith, luthier and…bird watcher?

Paul Reed Smith was much more successful at 20 years old than I was. (For that matter, he was more successful at 20 than I am now.) The young luthier had built a number of guitars but now, in 1976, he had just managed to secure one of his first major contracts: building a guitar for Peter Frampton.

“When it came time to put inlays on the fretboard,” Paul said, “I didn’t even have to think about it, I just went down to the store, bought a bird guide, and started designing inlays.”

A close-up of a PRS guitar’s bird inlays.

If you’ve ever seen an interview of Paul, you know that he’s a bit of a weird guy. (I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, by the way.) He can be very picky and esoteric about the methods, designs, and materials he uses for his guitars, having amassed a vast amount of knowledge and experience after decades in the business.

But why were birds an obvious choice for Paul for inlay markers, right from the start?

The answer is that Paul’s mom was an avid bird watcher. In fact, she would often take young Paul and his siblings out with her to bird watch. Being somewhat close to Washington, D.C., she would even take the family to the Smithsonian from time to time to view bird exhibits.

Birds and bird watching were a regular part of Paul’s family’s life, so when it came time to design inlays for his guitars, using an avian theme was a natural choice. And he worked with a small team to come up with a bird theme that really worked well artistically on the fretboard.

My PRS SE Custom 24 with bird inlays.

Paul continued to utilize his bird inlays after Frampton’s guitar but assumed they would not be a popular feature. He expected about 25 percent of his customers to prefer the birds, but that isn’t what ended up happening. Instead, the bird inlays became an iconic part of PRS’s look and have been featured on a majority of the models over the years.

What kind of birds are they, anyway?

And by the way, in case you were wondering, the inlays on PRS guitars are illustrations of actual birds. Starting from the top of the neck, they are (with fret number in parentheses):
- A Peregrin Falcon (3)
- A Marsh Hawk (5)
- A Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (7)
- A Common Tern (9)
- A Cooper’s Hawk (12)
- A Kite (15)
- A Sparrow (17)
- A Storm Petrel (19)
- A Hawk (21)
- A Screech Owl sitting on a branch (24)
Love them or hate them, it’s hard to imagine PRS guitars without thinking about birds. I’m a big fan, as I think they add class and grace, making the brand’s guitars look even better.

You can learn more about the backstory of the bird inlay on PRS’s website.
May 30, 2022