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LOADED PICKGUARDS – Why should I replace ALL of my electronics at once?

You’ve been looking at that loaded Stratocaster pickguard online for a while now but you’re unsure as to why you should replace ALL of the electronics in your prized Strat… and, at $299, it’s not cheap. We’re going to help you make up your mind. One way or the other. If you have a MIM […]

Pickup Magnets – What’s the difference between them?

Should you get alnico 2s in your Tele neck pickup? Alnico 5s? What about in your Strat? Should you use all alnico 5 magnets?What’s the big difference between them anyway??We put together an easy-to-understand graphic that will help in your decision making. And, of course, we custom build pickups and can use any type of […]

GROUND LOOPS – What are they & how I can avoid one?

Ground loops can cause humming and buzzing in your guitar. Period. Do they ALWAYS cause humming and buzzing in your guitar. No, not 100% of the time. But wouldn’t you rather eliminate the possibility if you are rewiring your guitar? The traditional way that guitars are wired is to have a common ground for both […]

SCRATCHY SOUNDING POTS – My guitar sounds terrible! What should I do?

This happens to all players at some point in time. You discover at a practice that the pots in your coveted electric guitar sound a little… well, scratchy. Just a little. Not enough for you to be too concerned but, over time, they get worse. And worse. Until, finally, you’ve had enough and need to […]

Arrrrgh!! Why can’t I get my guitar to stop buzzing??

The age-old single coil guitar problem… BUZZING & HUMMING. Why won’t it stop?? To cut to the chase, your single coil pickup functions as an antenna of sorts. That is, it picks up and magnifies outside signals (electromagnetic interference) very well. Signals from transformers (such as ballasts in fluorescent lights, neon lights, computer monitors, TVs, […]

The BIG Question! What’s more important – pickups or wiring?

When it comes to upgrading your electric guitar, what’s more important… Pickups? Or wiring? An online customer (let’s call him Bob) asked us that very question just the other day. Bob only had a certain amount of money to spend on their guitar and wanted the most bang for their buck. Over the years, we […]

Pot Values – How do they affect my sound?

The big question… Do I use 250k, 300k, 500k, or 1meg pots in my guitar? Well… the answer is… it depends. The way pot values work is this: the lower the number on the pot (25k, 100k, 250k, etc), the more highs the pot will attenuate (or bleed off) from your signal the higher the number […]

Audio or linear taper pots? What’s the difference?

Volume and tone controls. Potentiometers. Pots. The Voodoo of the Guitar World, indeed. What is the difference between audio taper and linear taper potentiometers? And which should you use? Traditionally, audio taper pots have been used in volume control positions and linear taper pots have been used in tone control settings. We don’t pretend to […]