UpFront Guitars

Hear your guitar better when playing live

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Here is a very typical situation: You’re playing in a club, and as with most places there is not a lot of room. You’re standing close to your amp and one of two things is happening (or both); 1) You can’t hear your guitar very well, or 2) You’re told that you’re too loud.

Sound familiar? This happens all the time, and if you crank the amp up to the point where you can hear it, the audience gets pummeled. This is especially problematic with solos, as increased gain means increased signal compression, which can make it even harder to hear distinctly.

Here is the solution: In-ear monitors, preferably wireless.

Why would any club band need to resort to in-ear monitoring, especially for guitar? Because it’s the most effective monitoring method, takes up the least amount of space, is easy to carry, never feeds back, and cuts down on stage volume.

Quick aside: I common response is, “yeah but I’d rather tip my amp back, put it on a chair or use and amp stand. Yes, and you typically lose most of your low-end response and whatever tone you’ve been working is completely altered.

Whether or not you currently put the guitars through the monitors, your band has some type of mixer, and at least the vocalist has a monitor. So now all you need is an ear-monitoring setup, and a way to feed your guitar signal into the mixer.

A decent ear-monitoring system is not cheap, and a new one with earpieces will run close to $500. But there is always eBay, and I’ve scored a couple used transmitters and receivers at decent prices. But simply put, with ear monitoring you’ll hear the vocals better, hear your guitar better than you ever have, plus have a better idea of how it actually sounds. Ear monitors also cure the habit of over-playing and over-singing in order to hear yourself. Once you go this route, people might even ask you to turn up (a first for most guitarists).

My own setup is a Shure PSM200 with Shure SE315 ear monitors that have the form-fitting foam earpieces. The foam earpieces fit very snuggly and effectively “noise cancel” the ambient stage volume. I use only one earpiece, in the ear towards the drummer. This cuts the perceived drum volume way down, and with my open ear I get a feel for the general overall mix, but at a comfortable level.

It’s easy enough to mic the guitar amplifier, but my preference is to use a direct line. Radial Engineering makes a direct box called the JDX, which is a reactive speaker load box that goes between the head and cab (or speaker line in a combo). The JDX feeds a direct XLR line right to the mixer. The signal to the speaker is unaffected, and the line to the mixer sounds great, typically much better than what you can get with a mic. And you don’t have to deal with the mic getting jostled, or other resonances coming up through the mic stand. It also helps take room acoustics out of the picture, so if your amp is jammed in some little corner it will help it sound less like crap.

For all but the smallest clubs, the ideal setup is using the guitar amp to get the right tone, and using the PA to help create a balanced mix. But to do this you actually have to know what you sound like, and ear monitors are the best way to accomplish this. I use them everywhere, even in small clubs where I’m often only inches from my amp.

Because you’ll no longer be cranking a floor monitor (or your amp), you’re less likely to damage your hearing, have headaches or ringing ears. And if you’re also the sound guy (like me) it’s one less monitor to haul, there’s more space on the stage, and monitor-induced feedback is eliminated. One successful local band essentially required that any member have in-ears. If not, the player was responsible for bringing his or her own floor monitor and cables. That’s a little militant, but for logistics, setup and sound quality it made sense. Talk to a player that uses ear monitors on a regular basis, and you’ll find a convert for life.

Ear monitoring is not just for pros; the quality of the systems has gone up, and the prices have come down. Most bands that don’t use them have not tried them, or already have a significant investment in their floor monitors . But if you are planning to spend several hundred dollars apiece on good floor monitors, think about putting that money towards in-ears.

 

 

Alnico magnets and guitar pickups – How to choose?

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The heart of any electric guitar is the pickup, and pickups play a huge role in the overall sound of any guitar. So it only makes sense that when players look to improve their sound, the pickup is the most common modification. There are dozens of reputable pickup makers to choose from; from large volume producers like Seymour Duncan – who virtually invented the aftermarket pickup market – to boutique winders making vintage style pickups with OCD-like fervor. And to a great degree they are all working with the same basic materials: Wire, magnets, screws, and various methods to hold it all together.

Arcane Strat Special Pickup

For an item of such critical sonic importance, there are not many ways to quantify their design. Besides the typical specification of DC resistance, which is a function of wire gauge and number of turns of wire, magnet type is the other most commonly specified feature of a pickup. The choices are typically a ceramic magnet or some type of Alnico, which stands for Aluminum, Nickel and Cobalt. Alnico magnet materials have been around for decades, and are the material of choice for the majority of high quality pickups. The benefits of Alnico material is that it’s efficient (think in terms of power-to-weight ratio) and it’s also very stable and holds its power well over time.

There are several different grades of Alnico, and the different grades are based on their metallurgical makeup. The most popular for guitar pickups are Alnico 2, 3, and 5; oftentimes referred to as II, III and V. Generally speaking the grades are not in order of “goodness” and the numbers simply denote a particular material composition. Besides what magnet grade is being used, the pickup maker can also vary the amount of magnetic charge (Gauss) the magnet has. Magnets bought in bulk are usually shipped un-charged, and the pickup maker energizes the magnet as part of the build process.

There has been a lot written on the qualities of the various Alnico grades, and the how a magnet material affects the sound of a pickup. So while I’m not blazing any new trails, here are my general opinions on the impact of Alnico grades, gained from my own personal experience and experimentation.

Disclaimer: There are so many other factors in making a pickup – wire gauge, winding tension, winding pattern, potting – that attributing the tonal characteristics solely to magnet material is somewhat folly. Also, some magnet grades are closely tied to pickup style, so you’re unlikely to see a high output metal pickup using Alnico 2 material.

Alnico 2 – Alnico 2 is used most often as a bar magnet material in humbucking pickups. This was the grade used in the early “PAF” pickups, and as a result is commonly employed in vintage-flavored designs. Examples of pickups using Alnico 2 material are the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover, Alnico II Pro, and the Arcane ’57 Experience. Pickups using Alnico 2 material tend to have a slightly soft attack, generally warm tonal characteristics and a slightly loose, bouncy feel. Wound strings have a somewhat woody tone and for some may lack enough definition. While pickups of this sort are generally not wound for high output, when pushed they develop a nice singing quality and make a pretty nice pickup for leads. Players who like to work their amps hard versus using pedals will dig Alnico 2.

Alnico 3 – Alnico 3 magnet material is used in both Gibson humbucker type designs and Fender Telecaster style pickups. Common in early Telecaster bridge pickups, Alnico 3 has good attack qualities, and a clear high end that some would describe as “grainy” and complex. In humbucker pickups, they create a nice balance of warmth, bite and clarity. This is the material used in the Arcane Triple Clone, which is modeled after the 1960 Gibson PAF. Tighter sounding than Alnico 2 pickups, lead tones are crunchy and pleasantly tight, and don’t get overly mushy in the neck position. A nice pick for both rich complex cleans and medium gain rock.

Alnico 4 – Not as common as the other more traditional materials, Alnico 4 is used by few pickup winders such as David Allen, Bare Knuckles, and Mojotone. The opinion is that Alnico 4 combines the warm feel of  Alnico 2 but with better attack and note definition. We really like the tone and pick response of the David Allen P-51 humbucker, which is an Alnico 4 pickup.

Alnico 5 – Likely the most popular magnet material, Alnico 5 shows up in both humbucking and single coils designs; Strats, Teles, and P-90’s. Alnico 5 pickups are characterized by strong output, clear tone, and punchy attack. This all sounds pretty good, and just about every conventionally constructed Stratocaster pickup uses Alnico 5. Some of most popular humbuckers use Alnico 5 including many Seymour Duncan models including the SH-1, JB,  and just about every Rio Grande pickup. Compared to Alnico 3 they may lack a little sonic complexity, but for those about to rock, Alnico 5 is a very good choice.

The Wrap – As they like to say in commercials, “your results may vary.” Your own experience with your own guitar will be the best teacher. Fortunately, pickups are neither very expensive, or hard to install. So do a little testing of your own and see you what you think. You can always drop me a line at sales@upfrontguitars.com.

 

Guitar Amplifiers – How Many Watts Are Enough?

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If you’re an active guitar player, you’ve certainly noticed the continuing trend towards smaller, lower powered amplifiers. This has occurred for a number of reasons: Popularity of boutique clones of early amplifier designs, older players downsizing to focus on playing at home rather than performing, and the advent of very good affordable sound reinforcement systems.

Historically, the first guitar amplifiers were pretty small because the guitar was not necessarily the lead instrument of the band, and in many cases the band itself was not amplified. Plus the technology of the time – tubes – dictated smaller low power systems.

As rock music and the electric guitar became more popular, both the volume levels and the size of the venues increased. But true high quality “house” sound systems like today did not exist. So the guitar amplifier was not for “tone”, but was also the primary vehicle for what the audience heard. Amplifiers also did double or triple duty: Check out the input panel of many early amplifiers and you’ll see input jacks for multiple guitars and microphones. Adjusted for today’s dollars, pro gear back in the day was vastly more expensive than now, and sharing was a practical necessity.

So like the Space Race, the power race was on, and by the end of the 50’s the larger guitar amplifiers were pushing 50 watts or more. Fender’s introduction of the blackface amps in the early 60’s addressed the need for louder, cleaner sound. The blackface amps differed from their tweed predecessors in a number of ways, but features such as fixed bias design, higher plate voltages, and solid-state rectification had more to do with volume and headroom than tone. The largest amps topped out at 100 watts, which is really the practical limit of four 6L6 or EL-34 power tubes. This is pretty much true today for tube amps, and anything more than that gets very heavy and hot (bass players had it tough then). Today a bass player can get a 500-watt Class D solid-state amplifier that’s the size of a phone book.

But back then if you were going to play an arena, you needed stacks of amplifiers because they were doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Plus it’s kind a macho thing and looks really cool too. Today, you can play an arena with a 15-watt amplifier, and some performers do. While there is a certain visceral sensation to the sound of a 4×12, the need for a row of Marshall stacks is essentially visual. And unless you’re Yngwie Malmsteen, many of those cabs on stage aren’t even on.

So how much power do you actually need? Unless you require extremely high levels of clean volume without the assist of a PA, 50 watts is the most you’ll ever need. How much volume an amplifier produces is a function of its design: Fixed versus cathode bias, amount of negative feedback, plate voltage, rectifier type, etc. It’s hard to generalize, but a 15-watt amplifier with no negative feedback and a solid-state rectifier can be very loud and clean. My main amp head has (4) 6V6 tubes, solid state rectifier and a 20/40-watt switch. The only time it’s on 40 watts is when the band is playing outside.

If you are playing clubs and typically put the guitars through the PA, 15-30 watts will likely do it. While early amplifier designs were guided by power output, choosing an amplifier today is more about how you want it to sound, rather than how loud it will go. If you play mostly at home or jam with friends, 10-30 watts is where a lot of the amplifier market is targeted these days. Finding the right amount clean headroom – which is important if you use pedals – is an important selection criteria. If you regularly jam with a drummer, 30 watts is probably a better choice than 10. Five-watt amplifiers can be fun, if all you want is loose, old school grind. But with a humbucker-equipped guitar, there will be little in the way of decent clean volume.

Many modern amp designs have the ability to vary total amplifier output. Some do this by actually dropping out power tubes (4-to-2 for example) while others vary the amount of voltage to the power tubes or phase inverter. These features cut volume as well as headroom, allowing the ability to clip the power tubes at reasonable volumes. The Traynor Ironhorse amplifier has a fixed/cathode bias switch that changes the output of the amp from 37 to 17 watts, respectively. This not only affects total volume and headroom, but also the feel (I like the softer nature of cathode bias).

If you have a large amp that you don’t want to part with, there are of course power attenuators, which are available as an add-on accessory. These work by absorbing some of the energy that would normally go to your speakers. In effect, you can crank the amplifier but the attenuator “soaks up” some of the energy (volume). Attenuators work by placing some type of resistance/inductance network in the signal path to the speakers. Without getting technical, even the best ones mess with the feel of the amp, and how the guitar interacts with the amplifier. It’s hard to explain but it’s a disconnected feeling. They sound good on YouTube, but so does everything. My suggestion is to buy a smaller amplifier.

The trend towards lower stage volumes, and the affordability of good sound reinforcement and monitoring systems has been a boon to amateur and pro players alike. Using a guitar amp as the sole amplification source is very rare, and your band will actually sound better if you turn down and let the PA and the monitors do their job. And your band mates will appreciate it. Which brings us to the guitar player’s favorite lament of “I can’t hear myself.” Which is a topic we’ll address shortly.

 

Humbucking Pickups – Less is more

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For single coil loyalists, the humbucking — or dual coil — pickup has always been a conundrum. The extra power and fatter lead tone is attractive, but not at the expense of clarity and attack.

The humbucking pickup was originally developed as the name implies to fight hum. In this case the enemy was 60-cycle hum and noise induced by lighting, appliances, and grounding issues. The late 50’s Gibson PAF gets the credit as the first humbucking pickup, but Gretsch and others companies were producing similar designs during the same period.

While elimination of hum was the goal of the PAF and other pickups, the phase cancellation of high frequencies provided a warmer tone, and the series resistance of the two coils produced greater output and more midrange content. Almost by accident, the humbucker pickup was not only quieter, but more powerful and less shrill than the single coil pickups from Fender.

As distortion became a greater part of the musical landscape, players realized than the humbucker pickup could push the front end of their amp much harder, making it easier to distort. Mind you, this was before the huge explosion of pedals — and master volume amps were in also their infancy — and having a pickup that could help produce distortion was pretty handy. Play a humbucker through any small Fender tweed amp and you’ll get the picture.

But given human nature, if a little of something is good, too much will certainly be wonderful. In order to drive amplifiers into a frenzy, pickup makers started to build pickups with more windings and stronger magnets. The grandaddy of them all is the Dimarzio Super Distortion; one of the first if not the first hot humbucker. Favorites of hard rockers and metal players, nearly every established pickup manufacturer offers at least one type of  high output humbucker.

But while human nature is predictable, so is physics. Pickups are inductors, and adding more windings to a pickup increases it’s output, but also it’s DC resistance and inductance. In general, increased DC resistance tends to increase midrange and reduce high end response. While how a pickup sounds is a result of many factors and the manufacturing process itself, as pickup output increases clarity tends to diminish and the sound gets darker. This is true of any pickup including single coils, and a “hot” single coil Strat pickup will generally be less glassy and clean than it’s vintage equivalent (not a bad thing at all if used in the bridge).

Tonally, the sound of a hot humbucker is a matter of taste, but to players used to the clean, transparent nature of a good single coil they sound dark, stiff, and dull. While they can create some pretty good crunch tones, their clean tones sometimes border on useless.

It doesn’t have to be that way though, and today there is a cottage industry of small builders trying to nail the sound of a “true” PAF pickup. Partly this is the dubious mojo of anything old and vintage, and partly because there is a realization that the original pickups sounded darn good. But while there “could” be some magic to a pickup wound in 1957 in Kalamazoo, the majority of the magic is magnet strength and DC resistance. And technically neither of those two things are magic, just physics.

With today’s cascading gain amplifiers and vast array of pedals, a really hot pickup is not necessary. Lower output pickups by their very nature will have a more even frequency response, more clarity, and better note definition. Even if you rarely play clean, the improvement in sound quality is noticeable even with pedals. Plenty of hard rock players known for their fiery licks use relatively mild pickups. The Duncan Alinco II Pro is one such pickup, and Seymour Duncan even now has a Slash signature version of the Alinco II. One of my favorites is the Duncan SH-1, which is used by Knaggs in their Kenai. This is also a fairly low resistance pickup (8K bridge) but I like the attack of the Alnico V magnet versus the Alnico II. The Arcane ’57 Experience is similar in nature to Alinco II Pro, and uses Alnico II magnets and moderate DC resistance. The result is good clarity, open midrange, and a balanced round low end.

How you wire up your pickups is important too. For humbucker pickups, 500K pots are the way to go, and a 1 Meg pot for the tone control can help improve the brightness of the pickup. For tone capacitors, .022mf is the general rule, but I like using a .015mf for the neck pickup. It does not roll high frequencies as aggressively, which is handy at the neck. If you are using “modern” wiring, a treble bleed capacitor/resistor is also a nice modification, but less so for “vintage” wiring. Wiring is a hole ‘nother blog post, and Premier Guitar Magazine has run a series of great articles on guitar wiring.

If your guitar is not loud enough, turn the amp up! Using a pickup purely to increase volume has detrimental sonic effects. You paid for all those watts, use them.

 

The G&L ASAT Classic Solamente: One pickup is enough

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In 2013, G&L surprised some ofsolamente us by coming out with the ASAT Classic Solamente. Solamente means “only” in Spanish, meaning that G&L had finally come out with their own version of a Fender Esquire type guitar. For quite a while I had been quietly pulling for a single pickup version of the ASAT Special, but this was close enough.

Historically, the Fender Esquire has been part of the Fender lineup almost as long as the Telecaster itself. The Esquire was mostly a way to sell a guitar a lower price point, and less so a recognition that many players never used the neck pickup. The original concept of the Tele neck pickup was to emulate a bass guitar, and the “true” tone of a Tele neck pickup was dark, and murky. I remember getting my first Tele in the 70’s and wondering what the heck was going on with the neck pickup. I quickly swapped it out for a Velvet Hammer Strat pickup and was much happier.

Over the years Tele neck pickups got more “normal” as players expected that a two pickup guitar should have two useable pickups. A modern Telecaster neck pickup is much more versatile than the vintage stuff, although they are still somewhat a mixed bag. The G&L MFD ASAT Classic neck pickup overcomes nearly all the shortcomings, and is a good blend of clarity, traditional tones when you need them, and more punch when you don’t.

But we are really talking about one pickup guitars, specifically the Solamente.  It’s an odd move to emulate a fairly unpopular guitar, and through the years there have not been many Guitar Heroes wielding an Esquire. Brad Paisley and Bruce Springsteen are the only ones that come to mind, and The Boss is not really a Guitar Hero. But G&L did it anyway, and should we be glad they did? Yes.

Guitar pickups by the very nature of their design create a magnetic field. In order for them to create a signal, strings need to have some proportion of iron in them to disturb the magnetic field. This also means that pickups have some amount of damping effect on the strings. This is precisely why setting your pickups lower tends to improve tone and sustain, while having them close to the strings makes them louder but can create some odd sonic artifacts (and even make them sound out of tune).

Single pickup guitars – especially those without neck pickups – dampen the strings less, and they just ring out better with a cleaner, bigger tone and more sustain. The Les Paul Junior is a great example of this, and players like Keith Urban get a huge range of tones out a little mahogany plank and a single P-90 (and he has some interesting single pickup custom Fenders). The Solamente has that same open chime, and there is more richness to the notes. It’s bright like a bridge pickup, but with more character and dimension.

You’ll also notice that there is still a pickup selector switch. There are a myriad of “Esquire” switch wiring schemes, and Fender has used a few variations over the years. The Solamente uses a fairly traditional version in which the “neck” position uses a resistor/capacitor network to emulate a neck pickup. It’s a darker treble tone and is reminiscent is a bridge humbucker. The middle position is a normal volume/tone circuit, and the bridge position bypasses the tone control. In effect, even though there is just one pickup, you can preset three different tones. Recently, Premier Guitar magazine devoted several articles to variations on Esquire wiring, and they are available online.

The Solamente is also available with either the G&L MFD design bridge pickup, or their traditionally designed Alnico pickup. In our opinion the MFD is the only way to go. Simply put you can just do more with it. It’s got the output, midrange punch, and upper end complexity to be a country pickup, a rhythm pickup, and a rock and rock pickup. It drives pedals really well, and in the “neck” position with some gain does a great rendition of a P-90 or Humbucker. I play an ASAT Classic S (modded with two large MFD’s in the neck and middle) in a cover band. When I think of it, there are about three songs all night when I’m not of the bridge pickup. With a Solamente and a little tweaking, I go could probably go all night.

There are not many players who will own just a one-pickup guitar. But I know very few players who own just own guitar. Single pickup guitars have a magic all their own, and part of their charm is their simplicity and their tone. Sometimes having less to work with makes you more creative, and you rely more on yourself than on the guitar to be creative. I’ve owned a Les Paul Junior for several years; it still surprises me on how versatile and massive it sounds. The G&L Solamente is very much the same, but with a G&L flavor. It’s a worthy addition to your collection for home or stage.

For more information on the ASAT Solamente:  www.upfrontguitars.com

 

 

 

UpFront Guitars Big 2014 NAMM Adventure

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After a couple years’ hiatus, the brain trust of UpFront guitars made to the trip out to the 2014 NAMM show in Anaheim, California. We had several goals in mind: 1) Meet with many of our biggest suppliers 2) Scout out some new opportunities to bring to UpFront Guitars 3) Meet up with old friends, and 4) Soak up a little SoCal weather.

If you’ve ever been to a trade show of any type, you know they can be crowded, noisy affairs. The NAMM show shatters all preconceptions of crowded, noisy affairs. I suppose that the CES (Consumer Electronics) and SEMA (Car accessories) shows probably rival NAMM for calamity factor, but just imagine 35,000 visitors a day, and four floors of musical instruments. Visiting the show is tiring, and it’s hard to imagine working a booth for four days. Here are some of the high points, observations, and cheap advice to consider if you plan on visiting NAMM:

G&L – After working with G&L for almost four years, finally meeting the crew – Jim, Natalie, Rob, and Larry – was like catching up long lost relatives. These folks are awesome, and it’s wonderful to have such a great working relationship with people who really put their heart and soul into a company. It’s companies like this that make the music business fun.

Godin – Godin gets their own room upstairs at the convention center, so it’s a little less chaotic. But as usual they are rolling out a lot of new products, and it’s a good place to hear an impromptu performance, often Latin in nature involving their Multiac line.  New items that we took a shine to include a P-90 version of their Montreal Premiere line (with Bigsby), gloss white versions of the Nylon ACS, and some cool affordable guitars from their Richmond line.

Vox – Interesting that their display was over in the Pro Audio section with Korg, while sister company Marshall was smack dab in Metal-Land. But Vox has done a nice job blending traditional amplifiers with technology, modeling, and their own line of unique guitars.

Percussion – Unless you are a drummer, you really want to stay away from their section. Think about it.

The Biggies: Taylor, Martin, Fender, Peavey, Gibson, PRS, etc – They mostly have their own rooms, and these tend to be very crowded affairs and are as much branding/culture exercises as they are selling to their dealers. The crowds were so heavy, that we had just walk by some of them and move on. Taylor knows brand building better than just about anyone, and their room was heavily focused on live performances and an almost museum-like approach to their displays.  They topped everyone on Saturday with an unannounced performance by Jason Mraz, which we missed getting into by mere minutes. You can see it on their website, and as usual Jason exhales more talent than most people ever have in a lifetime. In contrast, the PRS room was very low key, and basically just a room full of guitars with mood lighting. For a brand with such a fervent following, they didn’t bring the story like Taylor and others.

Breedlove – Way more impressive than was I expecting, and they have some beautiful guitars, and interesting design features that are both functional and attractive. They cover all the price points with USA, Korea and China-made models, and we may to have to take a closer look at these guys, specifically their USA line.

Metal is Not Dead – It’s in Anaheim. It’s grayer, older, several pounds heavier, but there was a whole heap of leather, tattoos, fishnet, and piercings walking the show. They must have all driven there, because there is no way they got through airport security. The artist signings were also heavily tilted towards hard rock, and any long line of black leather was typically waiting for autographs. But God Bless’em they love rock and roll and were out in force. Be nice to them.

Pedals and Effects – To paraphrase Chandler from Friends, “Can there possibly be anymore pedals?” There was just an unfathomable number of pedals on display, from the big names to the tiny cottage makers lurking in the far back corners of the hall. I have no idea when the bubble will burst, but it’s got to someday.

Band and Orchestra – We guitar heads forget how big the B&O segment is to the overall industry. Quite likely lessons, sheet music and rentals are keeping your local music store alive. If you can figure out how to start a guitar orchestra and rent them instruments, you will be very rich indeed.

Technology – In many ways, the Pro Audio and software exhibitors were some of the most fascinating. And that fact that a good deal of the stuff is right over my head is a real wake-up call. There will always (I hope) be a need for real guitars, amps and performers, but you owe it to yourself to stay abreast of even rudimentary recording and production technology. Record labels and radio stations don’t have the power they used to, and the ability to self-produce at a high level of quality has never been better. You still need talent, but you don’t need a big dollar studio to get heard. For around $500 you can get a pretty good mic-preamp/USB/Firewire interface, recording software, and an SM-57. You can do it.

Have a plan for the show – Just going to NAMM to “walk around” is like saying you left your glasses at Disneyworld and you need to go find them. It’s too big, too noisy, and too crowded to saunter. Many booths are so packed that unless you have an appointment you won’t even be able to talk to anybody. Make a plan of attack, make appointments, download the phone app, and get organized. Wandering is fruitless and unproductive. It’s great for people watching, but you can do that while outside in the nice weather, and sitting down.

Attend seminars and workshops – NAMM is after all a trade organization, and there are literally dozens of opportunities to learn about business, technology, finance, marketing…you name it. It’s free information, often taught by independent businessmen with a lot of personal experience to share. If you are in the business, or are just curious, these are well worth your time. We took a lot of notes and got some great ideas for UpFront Guitars.

China, the country and the brand – We all know that China makes about 75% of all this stuff, maybe more. But they are not just the factory anymore, and there is an emerging number of China-based brands looking to make their own name at NAMM. Much of the productive derivative and often blatant copies, but that was Japan fifty years ago.

Food – Hands down, the best food of any trade show I’ve been to. Nice weather means Food Trucks, and while the lines were long, we actually got something really good at a reasonable price.

Go early, leave early – Get your business done early in the day. Go back to your hotel, take a nap, and go back for the live performances that run late into the night. We at UpFront Guitars didn’t do that. Next time.

For more information about UpFront Guitars:  www.upfrontguitars.com

Should your next G&L guitar be Pine?

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Sometime in 2012, G&L obtained some nice figured pine and started offering guitars – mostly ASAT’s I recall – in pine. This was over and above their Pine Launch Edition of their new ASAT Alnico product. Always liking to have the latest and greatest G&L models at UpFront Guitars, we ordered a few of these for the shop.

To be charitable, the pine guitars were very slow sellers, and hung around for quite while. Anybody who bought one seemed to be very happy with their choice, but it took months and months to find customers willing to take the plunge on a pine bodied guitar.

Around Christmas time, I had a dialog with a buyer interesting in one of the remaining two Pine ASAT Classic (MFD) guitars in stock. Lacking sound clips – yes, another thing on the to-do list – he asked me to evaluate both guitars and give my honest opinion.

One was Tobacco Sunburst with a glossy maple neck, and the other a Butterscotch Blonde with tinted satin maple neck. Through this process, I became enamored with the sound of both guitars, and was on the verge of trying to figure out how keep the Butterscotch guitar. But honesty is the best policy and the Butterscotch guitar found a happy home in Nashville.  Right in time for Christmas no less.

But pine guitars continue to languish on the shelves, and we’ve got two Alnico S Launch Editions to prove it. But why?

Pine is not as dense as most other tone woods, and most pine guitars are going to be lighter in weight. If you want an ASAT that is less than eight pounds, pine is one of the most reliable ways to achieve that goal. As I’ve continuously proclaimed, weight is not synonymous with tone, but most would agree that all other things being equal, lighter is not a bad thing.

The grain of pine is not particularly exotic or bold. Like most alder, it’s straight-grained wood, and unless it’s full of knots there is not a whole lot going on. But its straight uniform grain has a pleasing, crisp symmetry. Besides, a knotty pine guitar would look more like a Middle School Woodshop project than a fine instrument. Applied to pine, the G&L transparent finishes take on a very liquid appearance, and the lack of a bold grain pattern gives them a smooth creamy look, as if the finish never quite dried. Finishes that look particularly good on pine include Butterscotch, Honey and traditional Sunburst.

Tonally, pine gives the player a lot of control. Pine has a degree of natural compression that allows the player to manipulate the attack. There is a little sag and swell – almost like a tube rectifier – that allows the tone to develop rather than just blast out of the speaker. If you want tone that is immediate and in-your-face, pine is probably not the answer. Pine probably won’t please a shredder, but much like a vintage tweed amp, it has a slightly softer, looser feel.

Pair this up with the G&L MFD pickups, and there is nice synergy between the wide- ranging, sensitive nature of these pickups and the soothing effects of pine. MFD pickups have plenty of attack and output, and the pine body allows an extra measure of control. Overdriven tones take on a slightly creamier nature, with a nice “push” after the initial attack, and a complex lingering decay.

So in many ways pine has a bad rap. Probably because it is just “pine,” a domestic wood more associated with Early American furniture and rustic wall art than fine instruments. Pine comes in many grades, and there is clear-grained high quality pine, and there are 2×4’s; and pine should not be dismissed as some sort of cheap substitute for something else. And the fact that we don’t have to clear-cut a rainforest to obtain it is a bonus. Attractive in a way that is clean and elegant, and with a tone that rewards mining deeper more complex timbres, pine is fully deserving of a place on the mantle of fine tone woods (how’s that for hyperbole?)

Sales be damned, we’ve doubled down and ordered four more pine ASAT’s, three in Butterscotch. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing.

For more information on the G&L Pine guitars:  www.upfrontguitars.com

 

Sounds Clips of Andrews A-22 Amp using our Dan Neafsey DGN Tele

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Here are some quick sound clips of the Andrews A-22 20 watt EL-34 amplifier. We demo’d this amp using our DGN (Dan Neafsey) Tele. Dan’s Tele has his own hand-wound P-90 and a Rio Grande 60’s Tallboy bridge pickup. Both the amp and Tele are really nice pieces.

Recording details. Nothing real fancy here:

  • Apple Pro Logic
  • Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 firewire interface
  • Andrews A-22 amplifier
  • DGN Tele
  • Shure SM-57
  • Evidence Audio guitar cable
  • Apple plug-in for a little reverb
  • Waves V-Comp plug-in for compression and EQ

DGN Clean Neck

DGN Dirty Neck

DGN Clean Bridge

DGN Dirty Bridge

For more sound options from Upfront Guitars:  www.upfrontguitars.com

 

What should your G&L guitar weigh?

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Of all the questions I get asked from prospective G&L buyers, “what does the guitar weigh?” is one of the most frequent. Besides reminding me that I should just weigh every guitar as soon as it arrives, guitar weight and its purported benefits is a hotly debated topic.

How much a guitar weighs has obvious implications such as playing comfort, but it has also been ascribed with many other qualities such as tone, resonance, and sustain. There are various theories and schools of thought: Some feel that lighter guitars are more resonant, other believe that heavy guitars have better low end, and so forth. My own experience — and this will seem like a cop-out to some — is that all guitars are “different” and that the tonal qualities of any guitar is the sum of its parts. Personally, having a lighter weight guitar is nice from the viewpoint of playing a 3-hour gig, but a guitar that weighs 8.5 pounds is not onerous either. After all, bass players survive often playing instruments that weigh upwards of 9-10 pounds. And let’s not forgot the Les Paul players out there, and very few of those guitars weigh under 8.5 pounds.

After working on a couple hundred G&L guitars, I’ve got a pretty good feel as to what they are going to typically weigh. So depending on the particular model of guitar, here is a rundown of what you can expect for guitar weights.

ASAT – The ASAT (Telecaster) body style is pretty good chunk of wood, and you can expect an Alder ASAT to weigh around 7.8 to 8.4 pounds. In terms of weight Alder is quite consistent, and these guitars do not vary that much. Guitars with premium transparent finishes are usually Swamp Ash, and this can run anywhere from 7.6 to 9.0 pounds. There is quite a bit more variability in Swamp Ash, and most guitars are in the 8 – 8.4 range, with fewer of them coming in under 8 pounds. There are examples of very light Swamp Ash guitars out there, but it’s difficult to source consistently lightweight material, and a medium-volume builder like G&L does not have the luxury of being that selective. While G&L does not advertise it, you can opt to get a transparent premium finish on Alder. The grain is not as striking, but they can look very nice in their own way, and will generally weigh less.

One way to trim a little heft from your ASAT is to get the optional top and rear body contours (like the Legacy/Strat contours). These contours can increase playing comfort plus shave a few tenths off the guitar weight. The consistently lightest ASAT’s are of course the semi-hollow models. These ASAT Classic and Special semi-hollows are always swamp ash — so there is a little more variability — but they never exceed 8 pounds, and are usually in the 7 – 7.5 range. A customer recently ordered a semi hollow ASAT Special, and was quite unhappy when it turned out to weigh 8 pounds (it’s the heaviest semi-hollow I’ve come across). Chalk this up to two factors: The variability of swamp ash, and that he ordered the vibrato bridge option, also a first for me on an ASAT. Steel weighs more than wood, and weight gain of the bridge is not compensated for by the extra routing of the body.

The Mahogany Body/Maple Top ASAT Deluxe models generally tip the scales at about the same weight as an alder model. The ASAT Deluxe semi-hollow is one of their lightest ASAT models, and ranges from 6.8 to 7.5 pounds.

The limited edition chambered Savannah series are real feathers. Made from Okoume with a Korina top, they rarely exceed 7 pounds. The solid body Korina series from 2012 were quite hefty, but that sure did not hurt how they sounded.

OLS Body Option – In 2015 G&L started offering the “Original Leo Spec” body thickness as a no-cost option for the ASAT. This body is about 1/8″ thinner and can shave off about 1/3 of a pound. It’s kind of a no-brainer in terms of comfort and weight.

Legacy/S-500/Comanche – Being slightly thinner and more contoured than the ASAT, an Alder Legacy with a vibrato bridge is consistently in the 7.6 to 8.0 pound range. As with the ASAT, Swamp Ash guitars will weigh a little more, sometimes in the low 8’s. Hardtail guitars are usually a tad lighter, and we have a hardtail Legacy Special in swamp ash that tips the scales at 7.2 pounds. As we’ve said, you can get lucky with swamp ash and get a really light guitar, but there is no way to predict it. We’ve never had a semi-hollow Legacy in the shop, but you can likely expect those guitars to come in around 7 pounds. There are other Legacy permutations such as the Legacy Deluxe and Invaders, both which have mahogany bodies and maple tops. Generally speaking, these guitars tend to weigh around eight pounds, but we have not handled enough of them to have a feel for the typical weight range.

SC-2 – Those who like the ASAT but are really concerned about weight will find the SC-2 easy on the back. Although it has the same pickups as the ASAT Special, the thinner body and slightly narrower waist is just naturally lighter, and the heaviest SC-2 the we’ve seen was a 7.8 pound swamp ash guitar. We’ve also seen them as light as 6.6 pounds. The new Fallout guitar is the same body as the SC-2.

Wrap Up

Light weight is often a desirable quality, but tends to get overemphasized in the buying process. It’s generally not a highly accurate indicator of tone, although like a lot of things with guitars, the intangible “feel” of an instrument is in the hands of the beholder. How much weight matters is related to how you plan to use the guitar. If you play clubs every weekend, a lighter instrument is a considerable advantage. If you play mostly at home or do studio work, an extra pound should be lower on the list of concerns. There are a lot of great instruments out there that deserved to be played. Don’t let a few ounces stand between you and a great musical experience.

For guitar offerings from Upfront Guitars:  www.upfrontguitars.com

Adjusting the action on Godin Multiac guitars

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The Godin Multiac and ACS series of Electro-Acoustic guitars are great instruments for both live performances and recording. Plus their easy playability make them ideal for electric players who want to add acoustic nylon or steel sounds to their repertoire. But like any guitar, they benefit from being properly adjusted. Most electric players are accustomed to having an adjustable bridge to tweak their guitar. So what’s the best way to set up a Godin Multiac?

Shameless Plug: If you buy a guitar from UpFront Guitars, all this work is done for you and you can stop reading! If you already own a Godin Multiac or similar instrument, please read on.

When working on a Godin Multiac, the first place to start is to look at the action at the 12th fret. Whether nylon or steel, acoustics strings are heavier gage and often get played harder then electrics. As such, the strings may experience greater amplitude (physically wider vibrations from being plucked or strummed). So setting up an acoustic with action suitable for an electric guitar may choke off the sound and hamper sustain. A typical target is somewhere about .070” but generally not greater than .080” when measured from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the 6th string.

Once you’ve determined that the action needs adjustment, the easiest way to make a small adjustment is to adjust the neck relief (forward bow of the neck towards the fingerboard or back bow). Although neck relief is also critical for insuring that the strings do not buzz on the lower frets, there is usually some leeway to find a happy medium between neck relief and action.

String-Height
Checking action at the 12th fret with a string height gauge

To check neck relief, place a capo on the first fret, and then fret the last fret on the 6th string. With a .010 or .011 feeler gage, check the clearance at the 8th fret between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string. If you don’t have a feeler gauge, a typical uncoated business card is about .010 and works fine (but if you plan to do frequent guitar maintenance, get a set of feeler gauges from an Auto Parts store or Stewart-MacDonald). Clearance of .010 is usually enough to ensure good playability on the lower part of the neck without buzz. But as Ronald Reagan said, “trust but verify” and always play your guitar after making any adjustments.

If there is excess neck relief (forward bow), and the guitar action at the 12th fret is higher than you’d like, you can dial out some relief by adjusting the trust rod. This will effectively lower your action. The truss rod adjustment on a Multiac is at the bottom of the neck, and it works opposite of an electric with the truss rod socket at the headstock. Facing the rod socket and turning the rod clockwise will remove bow and decrease the relief.  Godin guitars have dual action truss rods, so you can add relief (forward bow) or flatten the neck (back bow).

When adjusting a truss rod, a little can do a lot. Don’t turn the nut more than a ¼ of a turn at a time, and then measure the change in relief. Also, the neck must have some amount of truss rod tension. So if the perfect relief is achieved with no tension on the rod, add a small amount of tension (eighth to a quarter turn) in the direction that works best for playability.

If the action at the 12th fret is too low, you can add relief to essentially raise the action. In the extreme, too much relief will affect the guitar’s intonation (the strings become less parallel to the fretboard). However, since even semi-hollow guitars have more complex resonances and overtones than a solid body guitar, they are not nearly as sensitive to minor changes in intonation. I’ve never had the occasion where any adjustments caused a Multiac to not play in tune.

The method of adjusting relief to tweak the action is a compromise between how the guitar plays, and whether there is any objectionable fret buzz. Too little relief will cause buzzing around frets 1-8, and too low action will cause buzzing at the 12th fret and above. So if you can’t get the desired result with this method, you have two other options:

Shimming the Neck

Note – If you have a Godin ACS with piezo saddles, you can’t shave the bridge and all your adjustments have to be made with neck shim/relief.

Truth be told, many Godin Multiac guitars come from the factory with a neck shim, often in the form of a piece of sandpaper. It’s the right thickness (about .009) and being a guitar company, they have a lot of sandpaper. If the action needs to be raised, I will usually take out the sandpaper shim – if there is one – and insert a “business card” shim. My UpFront Guitars coated business cards are about .016, so if I need more of a change than the sandpaper shim is providing, the business card usually does the trick.  For demonstration purposes, I show a guitar with the neck removed. It is not actually necessary to remove the neck of the guitar. Here is the quick method:

  • Loosen the strings so they are very slack
  • Remove the neck screws
  • Tilt the neck forward in the pocket. Do not remove the neck from the pocket!
  • As needed, remove the old sandpaper shim using tweezers or needle-nose pliers
  • As needed, insert a new shim, and visually confirm that it is seated in the bottom of the neck pocket
  • Re-install the neck screws, making sure the neck is seated fully flush in the neck pocket. When driving the first couple screws, hold the neck tightly in the pocket
  • Tune up the guitar.
Cut-card
Creating a neck shim from a business card

 

 

install-card
Placing the shim in the pocket (you don’t actually have to remove the neck to do this)

At this point you’ll need to check the action at the 12th fret, and see if your changes achieved the desired results. You can also again adjust the neck relief to fine-tune the guitar’s playing qualities. To achieve optimal results, it’s quite often a balance between the right neck shim and neck relief adjustment.

Shaving the Bridge

Let’s say you want to lower the action, and you are not able to get right results with a shim. Or you don’t like the idea of the shim, and the potential for the shim to “de-couple” neck on body vibrations. The other option is to shave the bridge. To do a good job of the shaving the bridge, a little more equipment is needed. And of course if you go too far, you can’t go back (“I cut it twice and it’s still too short”). Ideally the tools needed are:

  • Bench grinder
  • Vernier or Dial Caliper (to measure material removal)
  • Sanding block (I use a sanding sponge, but dry)
  • A black Sharpie pen

The Godin bridge saddle is made by Graphtech, and is some sort of graphite impregnated plastic. It’s a very workable, so go slowly and check your results frequently as you go. Also, how much material do you need to remove? This is where having a Dial Caliper is handy, as generally the amount needed to remove is only .010 to .015”. Keep in mind that a 64th of an inch is only .015”, so a ruler is not going to be accurate enough. Lastly, before you take the saddle out of the guitar, mark it with a pencil to indicate its orientation in the bridge. It’s not a symmetrical part, and position matters. Once the saddle is out, here is my approach:

  • “Color” the base of the saddle with the Sharpie. As you remove the material by grinding or sanding, you can judge the results by how the black is removed
  • Holding firmly with both hands, lightly move the saddle base across the grinding wheel, holding the saddle as tangent to the wheel as possible.
  • Check after each stroke to see how evenly the black Sharpie if being removed.
  • Check the height of the saddle with the caliper to accurately measure material removal
  • “Re-Color” the base as needed to insure that you are evenly working the saddle
grinding-bridge
Shaving the bridge with a bench grinder

 

Even with practice, it’s not easy to get a perfectly flat grind from the grinding wheel. There always seems to be some amount of unevenness. So after the majority of the work is accomplished with the wheel. The final “honing” of the saddle is done on the sanding block. Pressing lightly on the block and working in circular motions does a nice job of producing an even, flat finish on the saddle base. If you have only a very small amount of material to remove, it might be possible to do the entire job on a sanding block. But it’s a slow process, and removing even .010” is a lot of strokes. But you’re unlikely to ever wreck the saddle doing it that way.

sanding-bridge
Use a sanding block to make sure the bridge surface is level, or to remove very small amounts

 

If you shave the bridge too much, it might be possible to save the job by removing a neck shim or tweaking the relief. The only other recourse is to start over with a new saddle, or shim the saddle. Since all Multiac guitars receive some or all of their vibrational input via the bridge saddle, a shim is likely to have some sonic affect on sound quality and should be avoided.

Shaving the Bridge Plan B

What if you have a Multiac with a Graphtech saddle, don’t have a grinding wheel, or the thought of that process seems too risky? The other option is to work each string slot with a fret file. Of course this requires the added expense of having a set of nut files, and the tedious task of working each slot evenly. The “can’t go back” rule also applies to filing saddle slots. This is really best for working out a spot problem, and not dropping the string action an even amount across the board.

In Conclusion: Plan your attack in advance

With any repair or project, it’s always most efficient to employ the least complex method that will produce the desired the result. So in order of preference, the plan of attack for a Multiac guitar would be:

  • Adjust neck relief to achieve the best balance of action and playing performance. Neck relief is subjective: Your ears will tell you if you are happy. Players who want the lowest action possible will oftentimes tolerate the minor buzz of a very flat neck.
  • Use a neck shim. If you can’t get what you want with just neck relief, a neck shim is fast and effective. To maximize neck/body coupling. Don’t use more than one shim and don’t shim more that a business card. Combining a shim and truss rod adjustment is usually all that is ever needed.
  • Shave the bridge if you must, but it’s a non-reversible process and requires the most tools and skill.

For guitar selection and services at Upfront Guitars:  www.upfrontguitars.com