Do Pickguards Impact Guitar Tone?
Whether or not pickguards affect guitar tone is an interesting topic, and opinions vary in the field of guitar makers.
These articles originally appeared in the March-April 2023 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Learn These Percussive Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques to Add Punch and Groove to Your Playing
Highlighting the backbeat can be an effective percussive tool
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Find Your Own Musical Voice on Guitar Using Timbre, Dynamics, and Time-Feel
We spend a lot of time trying to find the right notes, or the best words for what we’re trying to say, but how we say something is what helps us leave our mark
Sunny War’s “No Reason” Is Built from a Cool and Distinctive Riff
It has a non-Western vibe, but at the same time connects to the Travis picking tradition
Improviser Grant Gordy Thrives in the String-Band Ensemble Setting of His Latest Work
Since Grant Gordy's 2010 self-titled debut album, he has used bluegrass as a foundation while stretching out far beyond the genre’s confines to find his voice as an improviser, composer, and arranger.
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How to Deal with Bulging Soundboards and Moldy Cases
AG's repair expert weighs in on a common playability issue and the only sure way to cure the moldy case blues
Review: Bourgeois’ Touchstone OM Vintage/TS is a Brilliant New Guitar with an Old Soul
The Bourgeois Touchstone OM Vintage/TS is a collaboration with Eastman Guitars that has resulted in an excellent tradition-inspired guitar with a relatively affordable price.
Luthier William Eaton Has Made a Life in Music with a Passion for Unconventional Instruments
William Eaton has made many unconventional instruments since the mid-1970s, and he has helped students learn how to build much more straightforward guitars at Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery
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How to Use Rest Strokes to Improve Your Flatpicking Technique—and Your Guitar Sound
The rest stroke—similar to the fingerstyle approach used by classical guitarists—is a plectrum technique in which each downstroke lands on an adjacent string rather than passing over it.
Six Decades into His Musical Journey, Classical Guitarist Eliot Fisk Still Seeks New Summits
Now age 68, classical guitar virtuoso Eliot Fisk turns momentarily wistful looking back over his long and storied career. “Years pass by and I think, ‘How can this be?’ I’m just getting started,” he says, voice rising. “I’m at the point where I’m looking at the last chapters of my life.”
How to Play “Willin’” — Little Feat’s Trucking Anthem in Open-G Tuning
This guitar lesson is based on Little Feat’s original recording of "Willin'," a duet with George on vocals and acoustic guitar and Ry Cooder on bottleneck electric guitar.
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Rory Block’s ‘Ain’t Nobody Worried’ Salutes 10 of Her Favorite Female Singers
Ain’t Nobody Worried, the third installment in Rory Block’s Power Women of the Blues series, takes the acoustic slide guitar master and blues belter in some unexpected but completely rewarding new directions.
“Prelude No. 1 in C Major”—Transforming a Bach Keyboard Work into a Flatpicking Guitar Study
As this arrangement shows, Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major works quite well as a flatpicking etude.
After More Than 40 Albums, John McCutcheon Is Still in Love with His Instruments
As you might expect from such a narrative songwriter, each of his guitars has a bit of a story behind it.
Learn to Play the Fun and Breezy 19th Century Dance Tune “Jenny Jenkins”
“Jenny Jenkins,” which has been covered by the likes of Jerry Garcia (with David Grisman) and Lisa Loeb, is as simple as it is sweet.
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Review: The Phil Jones Bass X4 Nanobass Combo Amplifier May Be Light, but It’s No Lightweight
It doesn’t weigh much, but the Phil Jones Bass X4 Nanobass combo amp is no lightweight. Its ability to produce warm, clean lows is impressive for an amp its size.
7 Tips to Make Cover Songs Feel Like Your Own
As a songwriter, do you stick to your guns and your own songs—or cave and just deliver the hits everyone can sing along with? There’s a healthier way to look at covers: as a creative vehicle that can actually enhance rather than compete with your songwriting.
How to Add Bass Lines to the Boom-Chuck Guitar Strum
Learn how to use different kinds of bass lines to add variety to boom-chuck accompaniment in the keys of E and A major.
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Great Picking, Singing, and Songs on ‘Kin Ya See That Sun,’ a Fitting Tribute to the Late Maggie Roche
The album brings together 15 previously unreleased live and studio tracks by two of the three singing Roche sisters, Terre and Maggie, who were a performing folk duo dating back to their teen years.
12 Ways to Challenge Yourself and Discover New Territory on Guitar
We talked to a group of artists and educators who share their favorite exercises, strategies, and tricks for helping get beyond the comfort zone and discover new territory on the guitar.
Great Acoustics: Linda Manzer’s Sunflower Guitar for Ukraine
Renowned Canadian luthier Linda Manzer made the "Sunflower Guitar" to raise funds to aid the Ukrainian people.