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• Should I remove the volume and tone controls?
• Any strings that make less noise?
• Soundhole pickup won't fit in my guitar...
• Custom built cases...
• How do you read tablature?
• Licks, riffs, chords, notes...
• Does a cutaway make a guitar sound different?
• What pickup should I put in my Taylor?
• What is a Taylor GA-MC?
• How do different woods affect the sound of a guitar?
• How do you tune a twelve-string?
• Tuning without a tuner...
• Acoustic pickup installation problem...
• Tremelo arm is lifted up...
• Broken headstock...
• Loud "clicking" sound through my amp...
• What is Guitar Tablature?
• Guitar won't stay in tune...
• Guitar has fine cracks all over...
• Which is easier to play, guitar or bass?
• Steel strings on a classical guitar?
• Guitar goes out of tune when using tremelo arm...
• Guitars all look the same...

Q. A guitar builder once told me that volume and tone potentiometers ruin a guitar's sound. I still don't understand what he meant. 

A. First of all, the builder used a rather harsh generalization. Volume and tone controls don't ruin the sound, but they do inhibit the full output and tone of the pickups. Since potentiometers are manufactured at certain resistances, they do hold back some of the pure tone of the pickup. So who wants pots in the signal path? Wiring straight from the pickup to the input control will give you the true sound that the pickup (and guitar) are capable of delivering. To be able to control your volume in this situation, your best bet would be to use a volume pedal, but instead of plugging the volume pedal straight into the front of your amp, try placing it in the effects Send and Return loop of your amplifier. Running it this way will not affect your preamp tone.

Thanks to Dries Keetelaar of Holland for the inspiration to this one!

A.  Most (if not all) strings will make some noise while sliding your fingers up and down the neck. String or finger noise varies from player to player, depending on the moisture of your hands, the strength of your grip, how effortlessly or difficultly you switch positions, etc. Often, it can be controlled by playing with ease, changing chords with a minimum of movement, and so on. Many string companies claim "stay in tune", "longer-lasting" "less-noise" but, you know.....any string properly wound will stay in tune, and any string with windings on it has the ability to squeak. Analyze your playing style to see if you can reduce some of the noise yourself.

A. Dean Markley does not make a smaller soundhole pickup, but you can cut or sand the bottom corners off one to allow it to fit. Take off just a bit at a time, as you don't want it to be too loose.

Justin Mai reminded us that the Bill Lawrence pickups we sell fit into smaller soundholes very well. See http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog/pickups.htm

A. No problem. Send us a tracing of your instrument, along with the exact measurements, and we'll provide you with a price quote and delivery time. Most custom made cases will sell for about $129.00 and up, and take around four weeks to complete.

A. Here's the way it works. There are six lines that represent the six strings of the guitar. The line on the bottom is the low-pitched E string, or 6th string. The numbers on the lines indicate which string you play on (if the number is on the the 4th string down from the top, you play the 4th string (D string) on the guitar. Whatever number is written on that line is the fret number you play on. If it says "9" you play that string on the 9th fret. If it has numbers on top of each other, you play all those strings on those frets at the same time, to make part of a chord.

A. A lick and a riff are the same thing. They're just names for runs. What's a run? It's a lick or a riff. It's like dog, pooch, mutt. Your strumming hand is very important when it comes to making chords sound right. First, make sure your guitar is in perfect tune. For your strumming hand, try down/up/down..........down/up/down..........over and over. While you're strumming, count the beats to yourself. 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3. That's only one rhythm, there are tons of possibilities. You can't learn perfect rhythm in the mail, you've just gotta do it over and over and over.........It'll start to sound better. You really need to work on the rhythm, it'll make you a better lead player.

A. As far as the tonal changes experienced as a result of having a cutaway and pickup in the guitar, I support Taylor's explanation, which is this: "The change will not be any greater than the difference between two same models without cutaway and electronics." The insert cut into the side is in what's probably the least vibrant area of the guitar. Wood needs flat, wide space to resonate, and the upper bout does not meet this description. The cutaway does reduce the sound chamber by a few cubic inches, but the difference in wood to wood, despite being the same origin, probably has a larger difference than this sound chamber loss

A. Hi....you apparently thought you were connecting with Taylor Guitars, but you got us through your search engines. We are a Taylor dealer, just like _____. Taylor is not yet equipped with email correspondence. They are wisely waiting to be able to handle it before they open the gates. You may call Taylor directly at 1-619-258-6957. My guess is that if ____ carries Taylor, they are in tune and in touch with the guitar world pretty well, and are most likely set up for professional pickup installation. We prefer Fishman systems, which is what Taylor uses as stock electronics. Fishman electronics are excellent, and are very reasonably priced.

A. The GA-MC was a limited edition of only 200 guitars, built about 3 years ago. (1995) It was basically a prototype of what is now the Grand Auditorium Series, which is what the "GA" stands for, and the "MC" means Mahogany back/sides with Cedar top. The new version of this is called the 514ce, basically the same guitar, and it now comes standard with a cutaway and Fishman Blender pickup/mike system. You can see this guitar on our Taylor page at http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog/taylor.htm

A. Cedar tops have been used for years on high quality classical guitars. The notion of using cedar on steel is still rather new and unique compared to spruce, which appears on probably 99% of guitar tops. Cedar iswarmer, very good for fingerstyle, but a little mushy sounding if you're a chord basher. Sitka spruce is generally used on high end, Engelmann on very-high end guitars. It's more traditional sounding, good for all around playing. Rosewood sides and back provide strong bass, good single note clarity in the low end, and quite loud. Great for "pick/strum, pick/strum" etc. Bluegrass, country, aggressive folk, just about any acoustic element can be played with success. Mahogany sides/back are warmer toned, not quite as projecting, but quite loud in a room unamplified. The rosewood may travel farther on its' own accord unamplified. Then, of course, you mix and match these elements and a new child is born. And, a lot of it is the player, of course. A seasoned guitarist who knows how to "work" an instrument can pick up a $49 guitar and make it sound good within it's own limits, you know? There are no steadfast rules as far as type of guitar and style of music. I'm only narrowing it down by musical stereotype. I own a Taylor 514 that sports cedar and mahogany, just like the Tacoma C1, and I play fingerstyle, blues, modern folk, and some occasional Hendrix on it. It can't sound bad. I can, but it can't.

A. It's not as difficult as it may appear. There are only 4 strings out of 12 that do anything unusual tuning-wise. Using whatever info you prefer for tuning the 6-string, let's start with looking at the guitar as if it was hanging on the wall in a music store. The thinner strings are on your right, heavier on your left. Starting at the extreme right is string #1, moving consecutively to the left until #12. Tune strings # 1+2 just like the first string of any guitar. Tune strings # 3+4 are just like the second string of any guitar.

 Now we'll skip around a bit for simplicity. String # 5 is like the usual third string. String # 7 is like the usual fourth string. String #9 is like the usual fifth string. String # 11 is like the usual sixth string. Now we've got eight strings done. Here's where it gets interesting......String #6 is the same note as the string next to it (# 5) but it's one octave above. You can get it tuned pretty close by equaling it to the 5th string at the 12th fret. If you're using an electronic tuner, you can zone in on this much easier and more exactly.

And so it goes for the rest......string # 8 equals the 7th string at the 12th fret, string #10 equals the 9th string at the 12th fret, and finally, the 12th string equals the 11th string at the 12th fret.

 Practice makes perfect. Good luck, I hope this will help.

A. Just pick up the phone and.......no, no, no, don't call us, just listen to the dial tone. Anywhere in the US, the note you hear on the telephone dial tone is very close to an "F". Match that tone to your first string at the first fret, tune up the rest of the guitar to that string, and you're in business again, thanks to Ma Bell.

A. This style of pickup is very dependent on making good pressure contact inside the saddle slot. If the slot, or the bottom of the saddle, is not perfectly flat, there will be loud and soft spots in the pickup. Check these areas, and if you still have problems, there are two methods you may use to compensate.

1) Try shimming under the saddle with a thin piece of paper, cut to the exact width as the saddle, and only as long as the area that is soft volume.

Or....

2) Apply a thin trace of super-glue on the bottom of the saddle to act like a shim. Be sure to wait at least an hour before putting it back in. You can lightly sand the glue after it's dry, to smooth it out if you use too much.

Also, if the pickup fits too tight, it will not seat properly. This is not as easy to remedy, and probably calls for an experienced repairperson to widen the saddle slot.

A. I'm going to guess that you switched to a heavier string guage, which pulls extra tension on the bridge. Remove the back plate, loosen the strings, locate the "claw" which connects the springs to the inside of the body, and tighten the two large screws that the claw is attached to. Tune up to standard pitch, and check the tremelo angle again. It may take a couple times tightening and loosening the screws to get the adjustment right.

A. Maybe not! You definately need to take it to a qualified repairperson, but a good percentage of broken headstocks (and necks) can be repaired with good success. In the meantime, avoid touching all exposed wood, and store the guitar safely, so the pieces will not be damaged more.

A. It could be lots of things, or even combinations of factors. Here's some possibilities:

Old wiring in the building; some other electronic item in or around the house causing interference, such as a TV, electric razor, electric typewriter, electric fence; or it could be aliens. The list could go on and on......Without hearing the sound myself, I can only offer a few clues. Good luck.

Justin Mai reports to us that wearing a wind-up watch can cause this annoying phenomenon! When worn on the picking hand, it is possible for the watch ticking to be amplified by some types of pickups.

A. Guitar Tablature or "Tab" is a method of reading guitar music without having to read standard notation. There are six lines, rather than five, and each line represents a string of the guitar. Numbers on the lines substitute for notes, and by counting along string by string, fret by fret, tablature will pull you through the music quite rapidly after a little practice. There's a large selection of Guitar Tab books available, and a growing number of Bass Tab books.

A. We find that most tuning problems are either due to the strings being incorrectly installed, or needing a simple adjustment on the guitar.

A. Probably not. The cracks you describe are most likely "finish-checking", which happens with almost all guitars sooner or later. The wood expands and contracts with seasonal changes, but the layers of lacquer sealer are not as flexible as wood, therefore they fracture, causing anywhere from one to hundreds of tiny cracks on the outer finish. Have a qualified guitar technician inspect your instrument to be sure.

A. Well......no. The bass does have only four strings rather than six like on a guitar, but it still takes lots of time and practice to learn. There is no "easy" instrument, although some can provide you with a level of satisfaction sooner than others. Your own natural interest and enthusiasm are your most valuable components.

A. Sorry, no. Steel string guitars are made to withstand a much greater tension. Nylon string, or classical guitars are made very differently. If you do put them on, several things could go wrong. The bridge could pull off, the neck could bend, the tuning machines may break. Have we scared you yet?

A. You may or may not be able to remedy this yourself, but let's try. First, be sure your strings are properly installed. Not too few windings, but not so many that they overlap. Next, take a sharp lead pencil and color in the slots of the nut where the strings ride through before attaching to the tuning machines. The pencil lead is graphite, and will allow your strings to slip smoothly without binding. These tips should help, but you may need additional adjustments by a qualified repairperson. Lastly, you probably won't be able to do guitar acrobatics and still stay in tune, but you should be able to minimize the problem.

A. Lower priced acoustics are made of laminated wood, which looks a lot like solid wood prior to close inspection. Solid wood tops give an acoustic guitar a much richer sound, usually more volume and bass. Solid wood top, sides and back guitars are the most expensive, and of course the best sounding. In addition to the materials that a guitar is made of, the level of craftmanship also makes a difference on the playability, and again, the sound.