Here are just a few of our favorite websites and excellent businesses enriching the music community:

Stringjoy

https://www.stringjoy.com/

Please check out Scott Marquart’s superb collection of custom, fresh made strings. Made with quality materials and genuine care. Tone That Lasts. Custom, handmade guitar strings. Nashville, TN, USA.

The difference: Quality craftsmanship. Fuller tone. Lasting playability. Stringjoy.com

Axe And You Shall Receive

https://www.axeandyoushallreceive.com/

Need a piece of gear that you just can’t find anywhere else? Need to talk to someone about it who knows everything, I mean EVERYTHING, about the coolest gear on the planet?

Scott knows his biz, takes care of his clients, and he’s a nice guy to boot :)

Find what you’re after at Axe And You Shall Receive.

Applied Guitar Theory

https://appliedguitartheory.com/

Applied Guitar Theory is geared toward beginner guitarists or those new to exploring music theory on the guitar. Chad put a lot of time and attention toward creating clean diagrams and concise lessons for this great resource that make it easy to understand and apply theory to the guitar.

Guitar Tricks Blog

https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/

Guitar Tricks represents a prime example of how technology has developed whole new levels of convenience for those learning guitar. Established in 2008, they’ve leveraged their massive experience into an award-winning lesson system that’s one of the easiest, fastest methods of learning guitar to be found on the internet.

Why we love the blog: The Guitar Tricks blog is chock full of interesting, relevant articles and reviews aimed at active guitar students. It’s broken down into a half dozen logical sections like How To, Music Theory, Gear, Bands etc. and the content is often conveniently presented in bite size-chunks that are easy to digest.

Guitar Chalk

https://www.guitarchalk.com/

Founded in 2012, Guitar Chalk offers up a host of incredibly in-depth and well researched articles. Their contributors list reads like a veritable who’s-who in the guitar publishing world. Offering up everything from online lessons reviews, academic and educational resources, to detailed gear reviews, and an articles section that’s full of quality content of all kinds.

Why we love the blog: The quality of the articles is simply outstanding. While no guitar site can offer up a solution to every guitar player’s questions under one roof, Guitar Chalk is a great place to find solid information on a multitude of topics.

Musician Tuts

https://musiciantuts.com/

Musician Tuts is a tutorial hub for musicians. From instrument lessons to guides and tutorials about music production, Musician Tuts aims to contribute to the music community through helping musicians learn skills to better their craft.

Learn more about Musician Tuts.

Shredaholic

http://www.shredaholic.com

As the name implies, Shredaholic is for guitar players who love to shred. But that doesn’t mean that the website is only limited to heavy metal music. It also provides tips on how to improve your speed or how to practice efficiently. They also have an area where you can read about your favorite guitar players. They also have reviews and more technical articles to learn how to play the guitar and improve your skills

Why we love the blog: This blog is very helpful to those who love to play guitar as well as those who teach guitar. It provides very useful tips for teachers, which can also be used by those who are teaching themselves.

Nail Guitar

http://nailguitar.blogspot.ie

If you get bored by simply reading information about guitars and you learn more if things are shown to you, then you will love Nail Guitar. Andy Collins is the man behind the blog and in it are his videos. He is a YouTube sensation who helps guitar players of various levels to play different songs. He is up to date with the latest songs and he also has blog posts on guitar lessons.

Why we love the blog: Apart from the guitar lessons, he also teaches how to play current songs through video so he shows you exactly how to play it. This is great for beginners, especially those who are not yet experienced in reading tabs or simple chords.

Melodic Exchange

https://melodicexchange.com/

Careers in the music industry are very rewarding and our mission is to provide unbiased and helpful information on everything there is to know about getting started.

If you’re looking for the best information on music, sound or audio engineering careers, plus reviews on the best music production equipment you’ve come to the right place.

Learn more about Melodic Exchange.

Guitar Lifestyle

http://www.guitarlifestyle.com

Guitar Lifestyle blog is written by Josh Evitt. Here you will find comprehensive reviews about guitars and gear related to guitars. There are also very useful tips for guitar collectors as well. They also have an area where you can find more information about what some of the most famous guitar rock bands use.

Why we love the blog: In this blog, you get to see different guitars from different brands. It is also a useful source of information if you want to know what guitars and gear are being used by various rock bands.

Guitar Answer Guy

http://www.guitaranswerguy.com/blog

The Guitar Answer Guy blog is owned by Bobby and the articles you find in there are written by him or some of his guests or contributors. The blog is very beginner friendly and in fact, they focus on helping beginning guitarists with everything they need to know. They can provide tips for guitar selection and even provide guitar lessons.

Why we love the blog: We love the blog for its simplicity and for the topics that are geared towards helping beginners. Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced guitar player, you may find some of their tips and advice to be very useful and effective.

Classic Guitar

http://classicalguitar.org/blog

Classic Guitar is a great blog to follow and explore so that you can learn everything there is to know about the classic acoustic guitar. Although it offers a more traditional take on guitars, the kind of music you find in it is not limited to traditional music only.

Why we love the blog: They offer free stuff like a downloadable guitar eBook, guitar exercises, and sheet music.

Guitarhabits

http://www.guitarhabits.com

Guitarhabits is a blog by Klaus Crow who has been playing the guitar professionally for the last 20 years. The blog is about anything and everything about guitar. It is mostly filled with guitar lessons, exercises, tips and tricks, licks, music theory, and just about everything about guitars.

Why we love the blog: Every lesson in the blog is free and you can take the lessons as you wish. There are also videos in the blog that helps in the better visualization of the lessons or tips.

Guitar Noise

http://www.guitarnoise.com/blog

Guitar Noise is blog that provides help and information for beginners as well as more experienced guitar players. They provide mini-lesson for absolute beginners and provide even more complicated lesson fit for those who already know the basics. They have published articles from various authors so you get to see not just one person’s opinion.

Why we love the blog: We love that the blog doesn’t only focus on one kind of guitar. Instead, it has lots of information on different kinds such as bass guitars, 12 string guitars, ukulele and left handed guitars and many others.

Eddie’s Guitars

http://eddiesguitars.com/blog

Eddie’s Guitars is another blog that doesn’t limit their focus to one type of guitar. They review lots of different guitars and show you videos playing them. Video and sound quality is great so you really get to see and compare guitars.

Why we love the blog: They provide reviews for various guitars, most of which are high-end acoustic guitars. It is a great blog to find your dream guitar or a guitar that you would consider as a good investment.

The Guitar Journal

http://www.theguitarjournal.com

The Guitar Journal is a blog by Jesse who is based in Sweden. It talks about the different guitar gear, guitar apps and some of their recommended resources. They also feature different guitar players who have captured their interest.

Why we love the blog: Posts are done weekly so you can expect to read something new every week. They are really updated with the latest apps and gear available for guitars.

Bruce Music

https://brucemusic.co.uk/

Guitar Lessons London. At Bruce Music we provide Guitar lessons, Bass Guitar lessons and Ukulele lessons to students anywhere in Greater London. We also offer Guitar lessons throughout the surrounding counties, covering all of South East England.

At Bruce Music: Guitar Lessons London we teach students of all ages, all abilities and any experience level.

Guitarz

http://guitarz.blogspot.com

Guitarz has been up and running since 2002 and until today, they are still adding more articles about anything related to guitars. They provide lots of reviews not just on popular guitars that you find on the market, but also the more obscure models. They also provide relevant news about anything related to the guitar industry.

Why we love the blog: They have lots of pictures of some of the rarest guitars ever made, some of which you never knew existed. Some of their posts have videos showcasing the guitars as well.

GuitarAdvice.com

https://guitaradvice.com

As a relatively new site, GuitarAdvice.com offers an interesting mix of all good things related to guitar. You’ll even find a few things that you wouldn’t normally find on a guitar site – not going to give anything away, you’ll have to check it out for yourself :)

All in all, from product reviews & guides to tutorials on how to do virtually anything on or with the guitar, GuitarAdvice has something for just about anybody.

Transcribe!

https://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html

Transcribe! – software to help transcribe recorded music

The Transcribe! application is an assistant for people who want to work out a piece of music from a recording, in order to write it out, or play it themselves, or both.

NewViolinist

https://newviolinist.com/

At NewViolinist, you’ll find great reviews on beginner violins, beginner violin outfits, helpful accessory and buying guides plus resources to help you make informed decisions.

Guitar Secrets

https://guitarsecrets.com/

Guitar Secrets, Lead Guitar Made Easy and free online guitar lessons. It’s time to learn right, become a Gold Level Member today and learn to Rock!

Guitar Tone Master

https://www.guitartonemaster.com/

GuitarToneMaster.com – Find the perfect Jam & Backing Track
Search a library of 1000+ free jamtracks and find the right track. You’ll always find something amazing!

NewPercussionist

https://newpercussionist.com/

Just starting to hit the skins? NewPercussionist.com provides some of the best drum set reviews and helpful advice a new drummer will find anywhere.

Know Your Instrument

https://www.knowyourinstrument.com/

Know Your Instrument – this is a great site to learn more about guitars and ukes. You can find some in depth buying guides which will help you pick the right guitar the next time you buy.

FaChords

https://www.fachords.com/

FaChords Guitar Lessons & Software. Tips, tools and strategies to skyrocket your guitar playing. If you want to learn how to play the guitar, or just improve your skills and knowledge, check out Gianca’s great guitar resources!

Join the Conversation

If you have any favorite blogs you think are exceptionally helpful, please leave a reply in the comments section below. We’d love to share notable sites and help keep the guitar community healthy.

The post Top Guitar Blogs and Music Communities first appeared on GuitarNiche.

“I’m getting fret buzz…”

Sound familiar? If you’ve played guitar for more than five minutes in your whole life, you’ve probably experienced that irritating sizzle that can drive you absolutely nuts! So what causes fret buzz? Good question. The answer list is long but well worth the read if you want to have an idea for a solution. From a service point of view, this is definitely one of the most common complaints from players showing up with a problematic instrument: “it’s buzzing”. You might think the root of the problem is the strings or the frets, but I can tell you with absolute certainty there can be other forces at work. The sour sound of a poorly reincarnated Ravi Shankar has many origins. What follows is a comprehensive list, in no particular order, of the most common causes of fret buzz, plus some solutions you can try on your own before you pack your instrument up and head off to see your local guitar tech. Btw, if you do, come see me first if you can :)  

1. UNEVEN FRETS

Wear and tear, cheap production quality, seasonal changes and age are all major contributors to the buzz factor generated by uneven frets. You can find suspected high frets with a 6″ straight edge or fret rocker; they’ll allow the straight edge to tip back and forth. You can also sight down the neck from the body end and, when angled in the right light, offending high or low frets will show themselves easily.

2. FRETS TOO LOW

Many old japanese imports came like this right from the factory – built more for chording rather than pushing the string up to your chin in a wicked bend. As instruments age, frets can be leveled out a couple of times, but each time you’re reducing the overall fret height and coming in contact with more fretboard. The net result is more of a fight for clear notes, not to mention string bending – ouch! In this case, a trip to your local tech is the way to go.

3. LOOSE FRETS

A very common problem, particularly in mass produced guitars with flash-dried fingerboards is loose frets. It only takes a couple of seasonal changes for these culprits to show themselves. Take a small solid object, like the 6″ straight edge, and tap the end of each fret as you go along the fretboard. Loose frets will produce a dull thud instead of a solid knock. A little crazy glue carefully applied makes a great quick fix.

4. FLAT SADDLE TOP

Any time a string flows over a surface, it must maintain full contact at the leading edge. If the top of the saddle has a flat spot where the string sits, it can create the most amazing sitar sounds. If that’s what you want, cool, but a nicely angled or rounded saddle surface will let the string ring true.

5. NO BREAK ANGLE

Whether at the nut or the bridge, the angle of the string passing over these points has to be enough to keep it from chattering, buzzing and even popping out. The cure? make sure you have enough string windings on your tuners to keep a good angle at the nut, or adjust your bridge and tailpiece system to keep the pressure up.

6. LOOSE HARDWARE

Sympathetic vibrations from loose hardware can be interpreted as string or fret buzz – maddening. Loose end pins, switch knobs, wiring, loose trussrods, ball ends, tuner buttons and an endless list of more culprits, are all contributors to the problem. Try holding the instrument straight up and tapping all around it. Chances are you’ll hone in on the cause in relatively short order. In all cases, batten down the hatches!

7. WINDING FUZZ TOUCHING THE SADDLE

Again, one of those misleading symptoms that cause you grief; the mundane, stupid things that will drive you nuts. Simply take a look at all contact points for the strings and make sure their real estate hasn’t been encroached upon by debris of any kind.

8. BACKBOW

Too much relief is one thing, but backbow, the opposite condition, is a sure fire way to get sizzle over most of the neck. In fact, the closer towards the headstock end of the neck you get, the worse it becomes. You can spot backbow easily by sighting down the edge of the fretboard from the headstock to the body. Back off the truss rod a bit at a time, maybe an eighth of a turn, then check that the neck is straightening out. If you’re on the right track you’l be back in business in no time.

9. IMPROPERLY CUT OR LOW NUT

One of the most common sources of string buzz. Nut slots wear therefor the string gets too low to allow for proper deflection. Sometimes this problem is accelerated by those individuals who are eager to practice nut work and don’t realize how quickly material can be removed – can’t blame them for trying though. The nut can be repaired with crazy glue and baking soda (or bone dust) or may have to be replaced if it’s too far gone.

10. LOW SADDLE

Just like a low nut but at the other end. low saddles taken down to the point where the leading edge of the string is practically resting on the bridge, not to mention the break angle is reduced to near nothing thus aggravating the problem even more. A new saddle will not necessarily be the fix, but it will need replacing as the condition is more due to the angle of the neck. Can you say deception?

11. POOR RELIEF

Neck relief has to be just right for an instrument to function properly. That might be an obvious statement, but just like backbow, too much relief causes a whole host of issues including fret buzz. Changes in humidity levels and string tension itself can greatly affect the amount of relief in a neck.

Refer to the backbow section and adjust the truss rod in the same manner but in reverse. You can get a good idea how to adjust a neck to it’s most optimal relief by checking out this article.

12. DAMAGED OR DEFECTIVE STRINGS

Ever bump the fretboard of your guitar buy accident? Ever feel a little bobble in a string as your finger slides over it? A little kink from careless installation, a string that’s out of round, loose wraps from fret wear can all cause fret buzz. ANY physical distortion in the string itself will result in unexpected sonic results. The simple solution is to install fresh strings – easy.

13. OLD STRINGS

Beyond specific damage and production imperfections, age and wear take their toll to the point where the strings are totally inconsistent across their length. Pitting, finger gunk, time and decay change the mass of the string. Therefor it becomes a huge question mark in the perfect operation of the instrument. Moreover, aged strings become virtually impossible to intonate – no fun. Change your strings, kill the gremlins, save your sanity.

14. STRINGS TOO LIGHT

Extra light strings, especially reeeeeeally light strings, are naturally energetic on the fretboard when played: they’ll bounce off the frets like rubber bands. They might be fun to play as you gain massive flexibility, but you also trade good tension, body and tone (gasp). Try going up one gauge, not two, that’s too much of a shock, and see if things calm down.

15. FLAT FRETS

Just like a flat saddle, flat frets will be a problem because of the lack of a refined contact point for the string. Divets in the frets from wear are common as is the hurried use of a flat file to correct an obvious problematic high spot. The frets must have some kind of crown to produce pure notes therefor this kind of work is best left to your favorite guitar tech.

16. ACTION TOO LOW

This one should be obvious. In the pursuit of better playability the strings get lowered to the point that they’re almost ON the fretboard. This also sacrifices tone… not good. I have seen some instruments where this wasn’t a problem, almost like the instrument says, “How low do you want to go?” It’s very cool, but not the rule. For every instrument there should be a sweet spot in the action where it responds best.

17. DEEP SADDLE NOTCHES

Just like a poorly cut or worn nut, deep saddle notches are one of those conditions that cause nasty buzzing and chatter. Flat spots in the saddle’s groove or an over-widened notch simply won’t keep a string’s vibration under control; all that energy is compromised and lost like water being squeezed from a sponge. If it’s worn or damaged, replace it!

18. STRINGS INSTALLED INCORRECTLY

Granted, most people don’t take a course in string installation. They may be heavy-handed or all thumbs around maintenance issues, either way, installing strings incorrectly will have it’s consequences. The wrong gauge for the string (oops, must have mixed them up), way too many wraps at the tuner, kinks in the string (as mentioned previously). Please respect the strings as you install them. Not sure how to do it? watch a video or two – preferably one of mine, or pay to have it done for you.

19. OPERATOR ERROR

I have two schools of thought here: 1 – it is essential that you fret the string just behind the fret itself, that’s just good fundamental technique. Fretting a note further back in the fret space is inefficient and doesn’t impart the same energy. And 2 – if you go looking for problems, you WILL find them… and fixate on them. That’s not to say let’s sweep our guitar issues under the rug, on the contrary, put them under the light and get them taken care of properly with a good guitar setup from your local tech. At the end of the day the overall truth is, some very minor guitar-centric issues are simply not worth the frustration – let’s get on with the business of playing!

20. IT JUST DOES

Last but not least, this is the hardest pill to swallow. It is a fact, some guitars are just no damn good; they will buzz no matter what you do. Why? Because resonant points, competing frequencies and the laws of physics will produce anomalies we find undesirable. It’s rare, but it does happen.

I recently had a beautiful high-end instrument come across my work bench that suffered this fate – what a shame. It was later confirmed by the company after it was sent back, there was nothing they could do.

If you suspect that your own instrument is nothing but a GSO (guitar shaped object), have at least one professional guitar technician look at it, a second opinion is totally worth it to save you the added aggravation of owning a lemon.

The post What Causes Fret Buzz, And What To Do About It. first appeared on GuitarNiche.