Local Music Gear Feature Story
Written By: Jac Harrison
Written By: Jac Harrison
To
start, change your strings! One of the easiest ways to
alter the tone of your guitar is by switching your style of strings.
When
shopping for traditional acoustic guitar strings you can choose between
80/20, phosphor/bronze, copper/bronze, steel, coated, and uncoated.
Besides the
metal composition and the coating processes of the strings, the gauge is
important as well. Most electrics come from the factory setup with 10's
(high E
string is .010) and acoustics come with 11's (high E sting is .011). The
higher
the gauge number the more bottom end and "roundness' the tone will have,
but it will be more difficult to play. You should also note that the
guitar's
nut may need to be gauged to fit a new gauge of string to insure that
your
intonation is correct. If you are unsure how to do this, ask the luthier
at
your local music store to setup your guitar for the gauge you want.
There is a wide variety of string manufactures that put
their own twist on things so finding the right strings can keep you busy for a
while. I use Kerley Brand 50's pure nickle 11's on my electrics, Cleartone
phosphor bronze coated 12's on my acoustic for live play, and Red Brand copper
bronze 13's on my acoustic in the studio just to name a few. Don't be afraid to
ask your salesperson at your local music store for help when picking out strings, this way you will get the sound you want.
Now that you have your strings the second most important
parts of your guitar are the points where the strings touch the body. These are
known as the nut and saddle. The nut is the material that sits up at the top on
the fingerboard where the strings rest before going to the tuners. There are a
ton of different materials you can use as a nut that will give you a variety of
different tones from plastic, wood, animal bone or horn, glass, graphite,
stone, brass etc. Many luthiers favor bone; my favorite is a product called
Tusq. This is a synthetic animal bone that allows you to have the same
proprieties as bone but without the inconsistencies, and you also do not need
to kill anything to get it -- and I think that's a good thing. Gray Bramwell
from GrapTech, the manufacturer of Tusq, simply says, "using a Tusq nut
will improve the overall tone, sustain and function of the instrument,"
and I have to agree as I use this product on every guitar I own.
According to Dave Lewis of WD Music Products, some reasons
that you would consider changing the guitar's nut aside from it being damaged
is if you use a tremolo bridge and are having issues returning to proper tuning
due to “string hang-up” (high friction), if you desire a brighter or darker
tone, and/or if the original nut is not cut properly for the gauge strings you
use.
The saddle is the material that sits under the strings by
the bridge on the guitar's body. This is normally made from the same material
as the nut on most acoustic guitars but materials used can include titanium and
nickel or brass. On most electrics from the factory the bridge is typically
nickel or brass. In my opinion the saddle is the single biggest tone robbing
culprit there is. Most people forget that when playing your finger becomes the
nut unless you are playing an open string, leaving the saddle as
the only points on the guitar where the strings touch. Most guitar manufactures
use a soft brass saddle that absorbs your tone like a sponge. I have always
found that harder saddle materials give a louder sound with longer sustain and
a fuller frequency response from the string, giving you the best tone
regardless of your saddle setup from tremolo to fixed to Floyd Rose. Adam
Reiver, CEO and founder of Floyd Upgrades and the manufacturer of the "FU BIG BLOCK" adds, "my concept is based on using tone friendly
materials such as bell brass, copper and supreme titanium replacing the weak
link in your tremolo. Doubling the mass of the block adds sustain for days."
With a client list that ranges from Slash to Eddie Van Halen -- I think he is
on to something.
Now that you have done what you can by using the best
materials to insure your tone, sustain and guitar's voicing from her string
vibration, it's time to take a look at her 'vocal chords' -- her pickups. Pickups are one of the trickiest upgrades you
can do. Not only will a pickups change the sound of your guitar, but the look
as well. To start lets break pickups into two categories; acoustic and
electric
Acoustic pickups are a little easier to understand then
electric. There are a few excellent manufacturers of acoustic pickups; my
favorite is Fishman. You will find Fishman under-saddle pickups installed by
the factory on most acoustic guitars from Fender to Martin, so when you are
doing an upgrade or a first time install on an acoustic they are a name you can
trust.
There are three different types of acoustic guitar pickups.
There is the under the saddle element, body sensor/microphone, and soundhole pickup
that are normally magnetic. They all sound very different and have many
different configurations. I personally use all three. I have a Fishman Ellipse Matrix blend and a Fishman Rare Earth soundhole pickup installed in my
acoustics. I blend them to get my sound, and the blend changes depending on
where I am playing. Under the saddle elements and sensor/microphone pickups can
feedback depending on the room you are playing in -- so the more challenging
the acoustics are in the room the more sound bleed you may have. Since the
soundhole pickups I use are magnetic, they do not feedback from bad acoustics
at a venue. Another great feature about
a soundhole pickup is that you do not need to do a permanent install on your
guitar. This is great for non-electric acoustic guitars and vintage beauties
that you would not want to alter.
When it comes to electric guitar pickups there are a ton of
options. They can be split into two main categories of single coil and
humbucker, but there are many different takes on each. For example a P 90 is
the Gibson guitar company's take on a single coil but sounds nothing like a
typical single coil pickup, and you can get a four conductor humbucker and run
a coil tap to get it to sound like a single coil when you want to. In my
opinion the Seymour Duncan company & Kent Armstrong offer the highest
quality standard size humbucker with a four conductor coil tap feature.
Zexcoil, a newcomer to the pickup scene, offers a single coil sized
silent-split, zero-hum humbucker. Up untill recently you needed a guitar that
was setup to receive the style of pickup you wanted, as they were physically
different in size. This is not the case now; you can get whatever sound you
want out of any guitar. As Dr. Scott Lawing, CEO and founder of Zexcoil pickups
puts it, "There are more pickups available now than at anytime in the
past, so while you're almost guaranteed to find something you like if you
choose wisely, it can be confusing," and I have to agree with the good
doctor.
A great way to find the style of pickup you want is to pick
a guitarist that has the sound you want and find out what their setup is. Dave
Lewis of WD Music Products says, "(pickup choice) is really a preference
of the player and in most cases is not genre specific. Usually it has more to
do with musical influences or tones someone is trying to emulate." Once
you have determined if you are looking for a single coil or humbucker, you have
over 100 different manufactures that make pickups to choose from -- just like when
shopping for strings, it's all about the tone.
By following these words of advice, you can make your guitar
even better than it was when you started out. And now that you have pieced
together your components and you are happy with your dream guitar again, you're
ready to rock.
Recommendations from professionals:
"Dry-fit all parts to make sure they will fit as
intended without making extra work. Measure twice, cut once. Always read
instructions as well as look for tips on the web to assist you. If you have
questions, contact the manufacturer before making any modifications which may
void a warranty, void a return or permanently alter your instrument. If you are
not confident you can perform the modification, take it to someone who has
experience making the type of modifications you are looking for." - Dave Lewis
of WD Music Products - www.wdmusic.com
"Don't be afraid to get in and do it. Get a decent
soldering iron (at least 40 w, it's easier to get solder to stick to the pots
with a higher power iron) or even better, a station. You can find all of the
information you need online, so research what you're trying to do first, then
roll up your sleeves and do it. You'll learn a lot, and in the long run get a
lot of satisfaction and save a ton of money." - Dr. Scott Lawing CEO and
founder of Zexcoil Pickups - www.zexcoil.com
"Take your time – learn the in's and out's of your
guitar. Making your guitar easy to play and sounding good off the bat will make
it more enjoyable for you to play, thus giving you the confidence to strive
forward. Learn a song that you love! Do it one note at a time if you have to. Have
fun!!!! People forget that. Playing is like therapy for me! You can do it! I
have several instructional videos on the FU site and YouTube channel that will
walk you through the process. Stop overpaying for installs and basic setups.
Give it a try – you really can do this!" - Adam Reiver CEO and founder of
Floyd Upgrades - www.floydupgrades.com
"The biggest thing is to read up on how to remove a nut
and a saddle. Sometimes there could be some lacquer stuck to the nut, etc, and
it's easy to take a little chip of lacquer out. It's also easy to avoid this
and other little mistakes. There is a lot of info on our website on how to do
this safely and easily. There is a ton of great information on the web by a lot
of enthusiastic builders and hobbyists.
When installing (a bridge or nut), its better to not take enough off the
height than too much, so take your time, you will probably only be doing this
once or twice ever on your guitar... and if you do make a mistake and screw up
a nut or a saddle, its not the end of the world, 15 bucks and you're back in
business." -Dave Dunwoodie President of GraphTech Labs - www.graphtech.com
Read Part one of this four part editorial series
"Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star", Step One Buy A Guitar …
Read Part two of this four part editorial series
"Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star", Step Two - Learn How To Play Guitar ...
Posted 07/2012
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