Pursuit of Tone

In this single lesson tutorial, you'll learn about all the different parts that make up an acoustic guitar.

This tutorial covers the functional aspects of various parts of a Stratocaster style guitar. Topics covered include the pickups, selector switch, knobs, vibrato system (block, bar, springs), and body shape and style. A Gibson style guitar is also included for comparison and contrast.

Every guitar player should have a working knowledge of how to change his/her guitar strings. What happens if you break a string on a gig? You should know how to put on a new one. You become a better player if you know your instrument better. This tutorial will help you do that.

In this tutorial we'll have an upclose look at the various types of necks and fretboards used to make electric guitars. Featured are maple necks, rosewood and maple fingerboards, scalloped necks and even a fretless guitar!

In these 13 videos, I'll show you how you can build your own custom guitar. You'll get a listing of all the parts you'll need before you start, then we'll go step-by-step through the assembly process: attaching the tuners to the neck, then the neck to the body; installing the claw plate and vibrato block bridge and springs; how to do all the necessary wiring; stringing the guitar; then attaching the string tree, strap buttons, and vibrato bar.

Every guitar player should have a working knowledge of how to change his/her guitar strings. What happens if you break a string on a gig? You should know how to put on a new one. You become a better player if you know your instrument better. This tutorial will help you do that.

Welcome to the guitar! Let's learn a bit about the varieties of guitar models that are available to you, and what model of guitar will be the best fit or you. We'll learn how to hold the guitar properly, and some basic guitar anatomy too!

In this single lesson tutorial, you'll learn about the parts that make up an electric guitar.

How can you try guitars in your local music store when that kid keeps butchering Smoke On the Water next to you? Let us do the dirty work for you and help you think it through before you get there! We'll give you a good listen to what the most common guitar models sound like - SG, Les Paul, Strat, and more - and how an amplifier can effect that tone subtlely or drastically, so you can make informed choices.

This tutorial is better than trying to fight your way through the crowd of weekend window shoppers at your local music store. We take a look at how different models of amplifiers sound. These amps are a good cross-cut of the main models your will choose from in the market today. Also, we pair each model with the main guitar models you probably own to show how this choice changes the amp tone. This is what you want to know in designing your rig and purchasing your gear!

In these lessons we'll give you an overview of several FX pedals commonly used in rock. We'll start with overdrive and stacking overdrives, then examine distortion. Next we'll compare overdrive, distortion, and fuzz. After that we'll look at delay, chorus, and the wah pedal; followed by compression, the phaser, and the octave pedal and volume pedal. We'll finish with the ring modulator.

In these 5 lessons, we'll learn how other miscellaneous factors influence your rock guitar tone. We'll first hear how using a pick affects your tone, then the contrast from playing with just your fingers. Next we'll hear how a slide affects your tone in a rock context. A capo is sometimes used in rock, and we'll learn how that affects your tone as well. Lastly, we'll take a look and listen to the eBow.

This is a series of non-playing lessons that give you a look at the guitar/amp/effects setups that make rock actually ROCK. You'll be surprised at how simple most setups are (some literally guitar and amp only). Most legendary players use a "less is more" principle. By using the models we give you here, you'll be able to build a great tone from the ground up.

In this set of lessons, Anders Mouridsen will talk about how to combine your effects pedals into a pedal chain. We'll first introduce the pedal chain concept, then you'll learn what connector cables to use and how to power your chain. Next, we'll put our basic and "joker" pedals into an effective order, then show you two common pedals setups.

In this set of lessons, Anders Mouridsen will show you how three common rock amps work, and how to achieve different tones from each. After an overview of the amps - a Fender Super Reverb, a Marshall Plexi, and a Vox AC30 - we'll learn a riff that we'll play consistently throughout the lessons to check out our tones. Then we'll examine how each amp works, and how it sounds when you dial in different frequencies.

In these five lessons, Anders Mouridsen is going to show you how to use the wah pedal. First up is an introduction the wah, then Anders will demonstrate how it works. We'll then look at how to use it in a rhythm context with sixteenth and eighth notes, followed by how to use it in your lead playing.

In this next tutorial on amps and effects we're going to take a look at distortion effects. Anders Mouridsen will show you how to use four common effects pedals: first the RAT, then the Tube Screamer, then the Fuzz, and lastly the Metal Zone. Anders will dial in various distortion tones with each pedal, then put it into a rock context by teaching you a riff to play using each type of distortion.

In this set of effects lessons, Anders Mouridsen will teach you about the delay pedal. After an introduction to delay effects and a look at a basic delay pedal, Anders will demonstrate how to dial in four types of delay: a single lead delay, a slap back delay, a big washy delay, and a rhythmic delay. We'll put all these into a musical context using riffs and licks set to backing tracks.

In this effects tutorial, Anders Mouridsen will teach you about three modulation FX that cycle and sweep frequencies. Anders will introduce the modulation concept, then talk about the chorus pedal and give you an example. Next is the flanger pedal and a riff example using it, and we'll finish with the phaser pedal and an example.

In this next set of lessons, Anders Mouridsen is going to teach you about dynamic effects. Each of these effects control volume, and here Anders will teach you about three common dynamic effects: the volume pedal, the tremolo pedal, and the compression pedal. We'll demo each one, then you'll learn a musical example using it.

Christopher will show you how to use effects pedals in a live performance situation. He will cover setting up a simple pedal board with several effects for tone options to use in various parts of a song. Then he'll show you how to dial in the effects. Finally he'll show you how to use the effect pedals in real time along with an easy pop rock style song with multiple sections requiring tone changes on the fly!

In this tutorial we'll walk you through the sounds and electronic configurations available on the most popular guitars in the market: semi-hollow body, Les Paul, SG, Telecaster, and more. You will have a great idea of what guitar will give you the sound you want, to become the blues player you want to be.

There are many different kinds of amplifiers to choose from. These are 3 primary amp styles on which most models are based, and here we'll look at 2 tube amps and a solid state amp. Use this demonstration by a pro to get a good idea of what kind of amp best suits your style.

This tutorial will give you the know-how to identify and put together great gear to get the tone you want. With these lessons, we hope to take away some of the work it takes to find the right effects and make the most of your hard-earned dollars. We'll look at overdrive, distortion, tremolo, delay, wah, fuzz, and vibe pedal.

In this tutorial we'll answer questions about the tonal differences between using your fingers instead of a pick. We'll also look at the bottleneck slide, then how to use a capo. All these are important components of getting great blues tone and style.

These non-playing lessons will do a side-by-side comparison of guitar tones, amp tones, and the difference in tones created by the most common effects used by blues guitarists. We'll look at several tone configurations to give a good overview of the variety of choices available to get killer blues tone.

In this next tutorial, Anders Mouridsen will take a look at the experimental era of the 60s and 70s. First Anders will give an overview of the lessons and dial in a tone, then he'll create a basic progression. Then it's time to add a blues note and make it a riff, after which we'll focus on the rhythm. A wild and reckless solo comes next, then we'll add a tag for an outro before we put it all together for a full play along.

In this tutorial we'll answer questions about the tonal differences between using your fingers instead of a pick. We'll also look at the bottleneck slide, then how to use a capo. All these are important components of getting great blues tone and style.

In this tutorial we'll give you an overview of the Telecaster, Strat, and Les Paul tone controls and pickups, plus getting tones from an acoustic guitar. Each of these guitars are commonly used in country music, and in these lessons you'll get an idea of how they sound and the role they play in country music.

In these lessons we take a look at amplifier setups in order to achieve great country tone. We'll introduce you to both tube and solid state amps, then learn about EQ controls and how equalization affects your tone. We'll demonstrate volume controls and how volume changes tone as well, then look at various settings you can use on your amp.

Yes, effects are used in country music! Here we'll travel down a chain of commonly used effects in country music and hear how each can affect your tone. We'll teach you some ways you can use and tweak overdrive, compression, chorus, delay, tremolo, phaser, and a volume pedal to achieve killer country tone.

This tutorial contains lessons on some miscellaneous components that will affect the tones to get in your country playing. We'll hear how using a pick affects your tone, then how things sound when you play with your fingers. We'll get into the sound of the slide next, then look at the use of a capo.

In this tutorial we'll turn our attention to an actual amp, and we'll break down all the different parts and controls that you find on a classic guitar amp. This will enable you to dial a great Country tone on almost any amp you encounter down the road. We'll use a Fender Super Reverb as the test subject, since it has many of the basic controls you'll find on most amps.