VAUGHN SKOW's blog

Definative Answer: Should I wrap my strings around the tailpiece on my tune-o-matic style bridge?

So a couple weeks back a question came into one of the big forums that I see fly by all the time, and it seems like there is never a definitive answer, so I'm gonna give ya one ... right here, right now! 

The question: Should I wrap my strings around the tailpiece on my tune-o-matic style bridge?

The Answer: Maybe.

Maybe I should elaborate, but I promise, I'll keep this short and to the point!  When you wrap around the tail piece (stop bar) of a tune-o-matic, or "Nashville" style bridge it DOES make the strings feel a little slinkier and easier to bend.  And so, it THAT'S what you are wanting, then by all means go for it.

How Electric Guitar String Gauge Effects Tone: The quick, simple answer!

Howdy guitar gang.  Today's blog will be short & straight to the point (or at least I'll try my best ... really).  Last week I had an email come in from a pickup customer that basically said "an, your pickups sounded great on my guitar, but I switched from 9's to 7's and now the tone's really thin and almost ice-picky".  And all I could say was ... "duh"!!!  Okay, y'all know me, I had plenty more to say, and it went something like this:

Generally, I tell folks to play the gauge that works best with their style and desired feel, however, there ARE some general guidelines that must be applied here!

Evolution of Guitar Amps (Back to the Future Part 2)

Hi again fellow guitaraholics!  If you have not yet done so, you might want to begin by going back and reading last weeks blog on the evolution of guitar pickups, as it was kinda what sparked this idea.  While working on this young up and coming Nashville super-picker's Tele he asked a simple question I'd never heard before:  "What's the advantage of having a separate amp "head" with the electronics in it and a speaker cabinet with just speakers in it, versus just having it all in one combo amp?".  Pretty straight-forward question, right?  Let's talk about that!

Evolution of Guitar Pickups (Back To The Future)

G'day fellow guitar mates! A couple days back I had a killer up & coming Nashville based guitar player in the shop for a pickup upgrade on his uber sweeeet 1968 Tele; it was a road I've been down way too many times.  The guitar was a sort of family heirloom, passed down from his father, a former Nashville pro, to him (a future Nashville pro :). Problem is, back in the 80's dad had yanked those "awful" vintage Tele pickups out and replaced them with the cool (for the day) active EMG pickups.  Hey, I can't fault the guy, throughout the late 80's and early 90's EVERYBODY was yanking vintage pickups and putting in those darn sterile, lifeless EMG dog turds.  A bit of background here:  This was the era of "hair metal", and the dawn of the high-gain,

Best Replacement Speaker Upgrade for Fender Blues Junior

Howdy Tone friends!  Soooo, last week we discussed the best speaker options for the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp, Fender's all-time best selling amp.  Today, we move to it's lil' brother, the Blurs Junior, which is also a perennial best-seller ... and one HECK of a great deal in a grab-n-go hard gigging or recording tube amp.  The Blues Junior has the same 2-EL84 output section as the Hot Rod Deluxe, but sports a single channel (great pedal platform), and is in a much smaller cabinet made of MDF (ugg) instead of the much larger pine cabinet of the the HRDX.  And so, while the amplifier section in the BJr is VERY similar to the

Best Repalcement Speaker Upgrade for Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

So, whatcha think would be the best selling Fender Amp of all time? Many of you would say the Deluxe Reverb, and you would be ... close!  Maybe the Bassman or the Twin Reverb?  Nope.  Actually, the amp that wears the title of best seller EVER is the (drum rod) Hot Rod Deluxe!  Kinda feels a little crazy to me, since I have such a love affair with the Fender tweed and blackface amps of the 1950's and 60's, but beautiful as they might be, the HRDX outsold any of those glorious pre-CBS models.  And they really ARE good sounding amps, right outta the chute! The new series IV models are really downright stunning in both clean and dirty tones, and the Combination of an actual Pine Cabinet and Chinese made Celestion "A-Type" speaker make them the best sounding HRDX

The Best Options for acoustic guitar pickups, whatcha NEED to know!

Wow, this is such a hot topic these days ... and there is so much to cover it could go on forever, but I promise I'll cut straight to the point and keep it brief and bring you the info you need as quickly as possible.  ... You're welcome!  Let's dive in.

Musicians Unite To Save Small-Town USA!

Howdy Guitar Gang!  I pen this blog during "wave two" of the Covid scare having just spent time on main-street USA. Actually a small town in the northern part of the country, but it could be anywhere.  We just enjoyed some excellent coffee from a locally owned shop and wandered up and down Main Street.  It was AWESOME, but also tinged with a good bit of sadness, and longing for days-gone-by.  You know the "good old days" ... like waaaay back in ... say early 2020, otherwise known as pre-covid-19 America.  Yes we were glad to find some shops still open (as long as you wore a mask while walking in).  But what REALLY struck me was the number of newly vacant storefronts.  As if small-towns were not struggling enough, this 2020 insanity has really been

How Playing Guitar Makes You Better and Improves Your Life

How Playing Guitar Makes You Better and Improves Your Life

Older Korean Made vs Newer Indoneasian PRS SE Guitars

Hello fellow guitar lovers, today I have a special blog that kind of popped into my lap when TWO PRS guitars arrived at my shop for pickup upgrades; one was an older Korean made guitar (MIK) and the other a newer Indonesian made instrument (MII).  This, folks, provided exactly the opportunity for the direct comparison that myself and so many others out there have been waiting for.  So, is the lore true, are the Korean guitars superior to the Indonesian guitars?  Let's take a close look at THAT!