When thinking about taking up a musical instrument many people overlook everything that is involved. Some instruments you can just buy and get started straightaway. But others, like the electric guitar, require some extra accessories and bits and pieces before you can properly begin playing. So exactly what do you need for an electric guitar? …
When you’re new to the guitar your hand and finger size/length is a real concern. As someone with very small hands and short fingers I was convinced it would mean I could never play well. So, do you need long fingers to play guitar? No, absolutely not. There are thousands of great guitarists with normal …
Guitars come in lots of different shapes, sizes and types. From dreadnaughts and flying V’s to offsets and thinline’s there is a huge variety. But what is a thinline guitar? Well it’s a hollow or semi-hollow guitar that has a thinner body than usual. Thinline guitars are often associated with Fender Telecasters but many different …
When playing your guitar you probably have to return it fairly frequently. But have you ever wondered if you’re having to do it too often? Or more than the average? So, how long should a guitar stay in tune? It depends on quite a few factors but generally a good quality guitar should stay in …
There has long been attitude that rock music and guitars are for men (and boys). And frankly it’s outdated and just plain wrong. Women and girls love the guitar just as much as anyone else and are just as capable of learning to become amazing players. In fact you only have to look at the …
You may have noticed that guitars have colored bits of plastic attached to their bodies. They tend to be below the strings and can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These are pickguards. And they are designed to do as their name says: guard the guitar from picks. When you strum with a …
Guitar bridges are often talked about as being really important to how a guitar works and sounds. But what is a guitar bridge? You might be able to identify one but do you know exactly what it does? Or why? If not then you’re probably interested to know more about the bridge on a guitar. …
Most guitars come with volume and tone controls. But even experienced guitarists can be a bit confused by what the guitar controls do. You’ll have seen and probably used the knobs on your guitar. But are you absolutely sure you know how to use them properly. Do you fully understand what the tone controls do? …
Guitars have a habit of breaking, unfortunately. And it’s often the headstock that is the place where the break occurs. It may be because they’re the most fragile parts of the guitar or take the most impact when we inevitably drop them. Whatever it is headstocks get cracked, snapped and broken all the time. So …
The guitar headstock (or just “head”) is a vital part of the guitar. It’s also one of the most noticeable parts and gives different guitars their own unique character. Each different type of guitar and brand has an identifiable headstock and decal. And as the headstock houses the machine heads, tuning posts, string trees and …