For years, the studio monitor has been the holy grail of mixing setups—treated rooms, perfectly placed monitors, and that elusive sweet spot. But what happens when you're on the move, working from home, or simply don’t have access to a tuned room? This is where high-quality headphones not only come in handy—they can be powerful mainstays in your workflow. Fortunately, we’re living in a golden age of headphone technology, where top-tier listening experiences are no longer tied to physical speaker systems or acoustically perfect environments.
There are several core benefits to working with headphones—especially when it comes to critical listening, portability, and budget efficiency.
Forensic Detail
One of the first things you'll notice when you start mixing on high-quality headphones is how much easier it is to hear subtle problems in your mix. Low-end muddiness, harsh sibilance, resonant frequencies, and overly wet reverbs—these details can get masked or skewed by reflections in an untreated room. With headphones, you’re hearing a direct feed of your mix, free from the room’s influence.
This level of forensic detail is especially useful when performing tasks like EQ cleanup, editing, or automation. You’ll be able to focus on problematic areas with more confidence, especially in the early stages of mixing when clarity is crucial.
Always in the Sweet Spot
Unlike speakers, which rely on proper room placement and listener positioning, headphones keep you permanently in the sweet spot. Whether you’re leaning back in a chair, lying on a hotel bed, or sitting in a quiet café with a laptop, you're still getting a centered, consistent stereo image and frequency response—a massive advantage for many mixers who don’t have access to ideal monitoring conditions.
Freedom From the Room
If your mix decisions are being influenced by poor room acoustics, you’re already starting from behind. Treating a room properly can be expensive, time-consuming, or impossible if you rent or are constantly moving. Headphones eliminate this variable almost entirely. When you mix on headphones, you’re not at the mercy of reflections, standing waves, or bass traps.
Especially for beginners, headphones offer a more reliable environment to learn in. You’ll be training your ears to hear the actual mix, rather than the room’s response to it.
Mixing on the Move
I learned this lesson the hard way—by necessity. While traveling frequently, I couldn’t count on consistent studio access. So, I started bringing two pairs of headphones with me everywhere: the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x ($149 street) for closed-back isolation and punchy midrange, and the Sennheiser HD650 ($499 street) for open-back transparency and spaciousness.
These two became my mobile studio, whether I was mixing on a tour bus, in a hotel, or grabbing a few hours between flights at an empty gate. The proof came when I got back home: I’d pull the mixes up on my main monitors, and they would hold up—often needing only minor tweaks (still critical). It was an empowering realization that I didn’t always need to be tethered to a room to do meaningful, professional work.
Reference Still Matters
Even with great headphones, referencing is still a key part of the process. Once I’ve done the bulk of a mix on headphones, I always check it on loudspeakers to make sure the low end translates, the stereo image isn’t overly wide, and there’s no listener fatigue.
You should also reference your mix against other commercial tracks—ideally in the same genre—on your headphones to calibrate your expectations and better understand how your mix sits in context.
The Budget Advantage
Let’s talk about money. If you’ve got less than $500 to spend and you’re deciding between entry-level monitors or professional headphones, go for the headphones. A great pair of cans will serve you far better than cheap monitors in an untreated room.
And if you’re curious about expanding your collection or exploring other options, keep an eye on other reputable brands like Neumann, Beyerdynamic, and Sony.
Each of these brands has a range of models catering to different budgets and tonal preferences, from analytical studio response to more musical listening curves. That said, it’s best not to get lost in specs—pick something with proven reliability and learn its sound inside and out.
As long as you’re mindful of your mix decisions, check your references, and develop an intimate familiarity with your headphones, you can make world-class mixes from virtually anywhere.
So, next time you’re packing your gear bag, don’t underestimate what a great pair of headphones can do for your mix. They might just be the most important investment you make.
Hello, and welcome back to Mod Garage. It’s been some time since my last column about how to make DIY guitar tools, but I’ve received several emails asking for some more tips, so this month, we will look into some sustainable and environmentally friendly DIY guitar helpers—all of which you can build yourself by upcycling things you already have at home.
We live in a time where you can buy excellent-quality tools for almost every guitar job. Companies like StewMac, Madinter, Allparts, GMS, or Philadelphia Luthier Tools provide many specialized tools that can make difficult tasks much easier and save a lot of time. But there’s always the question: How often do you actually need them? There are many tools that I use in the workshop every day, and I need them to be dependable, so I don’t care what it will cost to get the best-quality soldering equipment, digital multimeter, scope, screwdrivers, wrenches, nut files, etc. But there are also tools I only need very rarely, and for these, I will either find them in standard, Home Depot-grade versions, or I’ll look into a DIY solution, which is always a fun project!
Here are three simple DIY guitar workshop tools that focus on upcycling and sustainability, which I think are important points today.
1. Cardboard
Some of you will remember MacGyver’s ingenuity and penchant for using cardboard for important tasks. He was on the right track. Cardboard is the most universal helper in your own little guitar workshop, and we all have a lot of it at home: USPS envelopes, Amazon boxes and packages, food packaging, padding material, and much more. Next time you get your hands on some cardboard, keep some of it around; I always have a (cardboard) box full of cardboard in the workshop.
Cardboard is easy to work with—all you need is a pair of scissors and a box cutter, and it often makes the perfect protection and support for a lot of different work. You can simply use it as a support to protect surfaces underneath it for painting, oiling, waxing, filing, and more, though old newspapers will do the trick here, too. Here are some examples of how I use it in the workshop to protect the finish of an instrument.
Mark the outline of a Telecaster control plate on the cardboard, cut it out, and use it as a protection for the finish and the pickguard when taking the screws of the control plate in and out. If you slip off with your screwdriver it’s easy to damage the finish and the pickguard. It also can’t hurt to protect the finish of the control plate with another piece of cardboard or a piece of foil.
Poke a little hole in a piece of cardboard by using a drill bit or X-Acto knife, and use it as a protection for the pickguard when removing or reinstalling screws.
Clamp a piece of cardboard underneath your Strat’s tremolo when adjusting string intonation to protect the finish of the body. Do the same on your Telecaster, Les Paul, etc. All you need is an appropriately sized rectangular piece of cardboard.
Cut two strips of cardboard to protect the surrounding surfaces when working on a nut. It’s very easy to slip with a nut file and ruin the finish on your headstock.
There are many, many more tasks for which cardboard can come in handy. Be creative!
2. Styrofoam/Polystyrene
You might be familiar with these wooden self-leveling guitar-neck support cradles when working on a guitar. They are great, but they’re not cheap, and naturally, you can stuff almost any material underneath the neck to support it. There are also budget neck-support devices available, but most of them suffer from a lack of stability. This might not be a problem when oiling your rosewood fretboard, but when you need the neck to be stable on a surface, the fun really starts.
Next time you receive an acoustic guitar that was shipped to you, inspect the inside of the box. Chances are good you will find a piece like this glued on the bottom.
A lot of special shipping boxes for acoustic guitars use a neck support made of styrofoam, and you only need a knife or spatula to detach it from the cardboard box, and presto: You have a great and stable neck support for free! You can also ask your local music store if they have some boxes in store; I’d bet they would be happy to give you some of them for free so they don’t have to throw them away themselves. Simply put an old towel, t-shirt, or whatever you have at the ready around the styrofoam to protect the finish of the guitar neck, and you’re ready to go.
In closing, here is a real little DIY build. If you’ve done some basic work on your own tube amps, you’ve puzzled over how to place the removed chassis in a stable position with the tubes installed. The professional solution is an amp-chassis stand with variable width and tilt angle which will work like a lockable cradle. This is perfect if you need it every day for all kinds of different amp chassis. If you don’t need the tilt-angle locking feature, you can build one with some old scrap wood pieces. Personally, I never cared about the tilt-angle feature, and I’ve used several pairs of this DIY-built amp stand for many years.
You’ll need four pieces of wood panel sized 12 cm by 12 cm (approximately 4.7" by 4.7"). This height is sufficient for most tube amps so that the installed tubes will not touch the ground. If you’ll only use this stand for one particular tube amp, you can customize the height to your preferences. For better stability, choose a thicker material. I like to use wood that’s at least 20 mm, or 1/2", thick
Find and mark the exact middle on the two panels which will serve as the base, and decide where you want to drill the holes to attach the second panel. I always use three longer wood screws (red dots on the middle line) plus wood glue to attach the second panel, resulting in a very strong connection. Measure the thickness of the panel, divide it by two, and draw these lines in parallel to your middle line.
Drill the holes, put on some wood glue, and attach the second panel to the base so it will stand upright. Put some rubber feet under the base and some felt, carpet, or leather on top of the second panel. Repeat the process with the second pair of panels.
After receiving numerous requests from you about this, next month we will start a new little series and we will play a little game I’ll call “Custom Shop on a Budget.” We’ll talk about what is really important for the amplified tone of an electric guitar, and test all of this on a very cheap 6-string subject, taking it apart down to the last screw and seeing what is possible to make it an excellent sounding guitar. The experiment will start with the never-ending legends about “tonewood” on electric guitars and what they really mean, so stay tuned!
How this longstanding, classic tube amp design evolved from its introduction in 1953.
I have a silver-panel Bandmaster Reverb that I don’t think I’ve talked about enough in this column. It’s one of the most versatile and flexible amps I own, so I use it for everything. It’s portable, has tube-driven reverb and tremolo, and has a full set of EQ knobs including the critical bright switch, which we discussed the importance of earlier this year (“How to ‘Trebleshoot’ a Vintage Fender Amp,” March 2025). The amp is not only pedal-friendly; the flexible 4-ohm output impedance will handle almost all speaker configurations and sound any way you’d like. Let’s take a deeper look at the Fender Bandmaster amp and walk through its development through the years.
The first Bandmaster was introduced in 1953 as a wide-panel tweed amp with Fender’s 5C7 circuit. This rare combo was loaded with a single 15" Jensen P15N and powered by dual 6L6GC tubes in push-pull configuration to produce a modest 25 watts. The 6L6GCs were cathode biased and along with the 5U4GB rectifier tube contributed to a forgiving sag, early breakup, and a midrange-y voice.
Fender made several changes when they launched that amp’s successor in 1955, the more widely known 5E7 narrow-panel Bandmaster, a well-proven amp that has come back as a reissue model. It was still a dual-channel amp—instrument and microphone—but the newer 5E7 model had a fixed bias and a negative feedback loop, providing a louder, firmer, and cleaner tone. Most importantly, the single 15" speaker was replaced by three 10" speakers, making it very similar to the narrow-panel tweed Bassman, the granddaddy of all Marshall amps. This Bandmaster had three speakers instead of the Bassman’s four, and it delivered 25–30 watts instead of 40. It offered early breakup with a midrange-y, big and full tone.
For those not acquainted with tweed amps, the volume and EQ knobs behave differently than on silver- and black-panel Fender amps. The volume pot can act like a distortion control, while the EQ knobs control the volume, and many players I’ve talked to have not really unlocked this secret. This works because, in these circuits, the volume pot sits right before the preamp tube, which allows it to push the tube into full distortion. Since the EQ pots are located right after and are capable of reducing the volume, you’re able to distort the preamp at low volume settings.
“Things became more standardized in 1964 with the arrival of the black-panel AB763 Bandmaster, an amp I have worked on a lot and appreciate for its robustness, simplicity, and versatility.”
In 1960, a short-lived and rare Bandmaster dressed in brown tolex and a black faceplate appeared with the 5G7 circuit. From here on, all Bandmasters had the modern top-mounted chassis. With this circuit, the Bandmaster started to both look and sound more like a black-panel amp. It kept the 3x10" speakers but got a diode rectifier and bigger transformers resulting in a 45-watt output. Tremolo was introduced for the first time, and both channels were now intended for guitar.
The following year, a blonde 6G7 Bandmaster followed as a smaller amp head paired with a 1x12 extension cabinet. It had the timeless early blonde looks with cream tolex, brown faceplate, oxblood grill cloth, large Fender logo, and white knobs. But halfway into the blonde era, towards 1964, things turned strange and rather confusing. There were suddenly two 12" speakers, black knobs, a wheat-colored grill cloth, a more slim black-panel-style Fender logo, a black faceplate, and all in various combinations close to the transition into ’64.
Things became more standardized in 1964 with the arrival of the black-panel AB763 Bandmaster, an amp I have worked on a lot and appreciate for its robustness, simplicity, and versatility. It offers a pure, clean, scooped black-panel tone that’s somewhere between a Vibrolux Reverb and Pro Reverb, which share the medium-sized 125A6A output transformer and dual 6L6GC tubes. With its medium/high power and flexible 4-ohm output impedance, it can drive all kinds of speaker cabinets—as long as you stay between 2 and 8 ohms, you are safe.
For a short time in 1967–68, there was a transitional Bandmaster with aluminum trim and black-panel innards before the all-new silver-panel Bandmaster Reverb replaced it in 1968. The small-head cabinet had grown in size and, unfortunately, weight to accommodate the reverb tank. The amp got a 5U4GB rectifier tube along with a few general silver-panel changes to the circuit. Several silver-panel models existed with minor differences until a 70-watt beast version came along in 1977 with master volume.
To my own 1968 Bandmaster Reverb, I have done a few adjustments. First, I made a custom baffle to hold two 8" speakers. I installed a pair of WGS G8C speakers that fit perfectly on the baffle board without colliding with the reverb tank or transformers. Sometimes, I use only one of the 8" speakers for bedroom volume levels. Second, I reversed the bias circuitry to standard AB763 specs, making it easier to adjust bias correctly on both power tubes. If you are into sparkling clean and funky Strat sounds, you would love this little 2x8" combo.
For guitarists diving into the world of home recording, an audio interface is the bridge between your instrument and the digital world. With so many options out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed—especially when you’re juggling features, audio quality, and price. But if you’re serious about your tone and want to future-proof your setup, your best investment will always be the interface with the highest quality components, flexible I/O, and enough headroom to capture your playing at its very best. Welcome to another Dojo!
Let’s unpack the differences between interfaces with different numbers of input channels, and explore top-tier options from trusted names like Universal Audio, Focusrite, and Neumann. While your current needs might be modest, choosing an interface that can grow with your rig ensures that you’re not limiting your creativity before you even press record.
A single-input interface might seem like enough for a solo guitarist, especially if you’re primarily tracking one instrument at a time. They’re portable, affordable, and ideal for quick demos or mobile recording. However, this configuration quickly becomes restrictive. If you want to track both a mic’d cab and a DI signal simultaneously—or add vocals, synths, or pedals—you’re out of options.
Stepping up to dual-channel interfaces opens up a lot more flexibility. Models like the Universal Audio Apollo Twin X Duo ($799 street), Focusrite Clarett+ 2Pre ($499 street), or Neumann MT 48 ($1,850 street) offer outstanding fidelity and headroom with transparent preamps that preserve nuance. These interfaces support both high-impedance (Hi-Z) instrument inputs and line-level sources, allowing direct connection from guitars, pedals, or modelers like the Kemper or Quad Cortex. If you’re recording at higher sample rates—think 96 kHz or even 192 kHz—these units can handle it without breaking a sweat.
“Choosing an interface that can grow with your rig ensures that you're not limiting your creativity before you even press record.”
When you reach the quad-input category, you’re entering serious territory. Interfaces such as the Universal Audio Apollo x4 ($1,599 street) or Focusrite Clarett+ 4Pre ($699 street), as well as many others, are great for guitarists who run stereo rigs or want to simultaneously record multiple sources: guitar, vocals, keys, or even analog outboard gear. This level of input expands what’s possible in your session. Notably, these models often include ADAT expansion, so you can add even more inputs later.
The Apollo series, in particular, is a favorite among professionals for good reason. Being able to track through high-end emulations of preamps, compressors, and EQs in real time—without taxing your computer—can dramatically improve your workflow and sound. Plus, their Unison technology adapts the impedance and gain staging of their preamps to match classic hardware profiles, making it ideal for guitarists chasing vintage tone.
Neumann, a name traditionally associated with high-end microphones, has entered the interface market with the MT 48, and it’s turning some heads. This interface boasts elite conversion quality (up to 32-bit/192 kHz), a clean, expansive 78 dB of gain—plenty of headroom for any dynamic mic or ribbon—and the touchscreen control and routing matrix make it very flexible.
For budget-conscious musicians, Focusrite’s Scarlett series is the go-to, but the Clarett+ line is where the real power lies. With upgraded converters, improved dynamic range, and dedicated instrument inputs, these interfaces deliver clarity and punch at a more accessible price point.
While connectivity might seem like an afterthought, it’s actually a critical consideration. Interfaces now come with Thunderbolt, USB-C, or even network-based options like AVB or Dante. Thunderbolt models, such as those from Universal Audio and some Focusrite Clarett+ versions, offer ultra-low latency and superior bandwidth—ideal for running complex sessions with many plugins. USB-C interfaces are broadly compatible and increasingly powerful, while AVB and Dante appeal to those integrating with larger studio setups or performing live with digital mixers.
In the end, your audio interface is the foundation of your home studio. Prioritize audio quality—especially high sample and bit rates (96 kHz/24-bit or higher)—but don’t skimp on headroom, especially if you’re using dynamic or ribbon mics. Make sure you have at least one Hi-Z input for your guitar and that your line-level handling is clean and reliable. Expansion potential, digital signal processing, and solid connectivity are all worth the investment if they keep your workflow smooth and your sound uncompromised.
So even if you’re only plugging in a single Strat today, think beyond the present. Choose the interface that matches the sound in your head—not just your budget. It’s an investment not just in gear, but in your music. Namaste.
Neutrik’s Timbre plug, made for toggling between capacitors.
Photo courtesy Neutrik company (https://www.neutrik.com)
This follow-up to May 2025’s column shows you a few basic techniques to inject some capacitance into your rig.
Hello, and welcome back to Mod Garage. This month, we will dive into the details of how to add additional guitar-cable capacitance—the right way. Time to get started!
Let’s begin with some typical additional capacitance values that certain lengths of cable (or capacitors) can bring to your system:
I listed standard values here, so you should have no problem getting caps to match them in any local electronics store or online; the type of cap doesn’t really matter and will mostly be dominated by size, but I’ll share more about this in a minute.
Let’s quickly summarize the first installment of this column from last month’s issue: From a technical point of view, added capacitance shifts down the resonance frequency of the pickups, so they sound fatter, especially when using overdrive. This is exactly the reason why a lot of distortion and fuzz boxes with a vintage voicing use an additional cap at the input section; the resulting overdriven tone is fat and warm.
This month’s mod, which involves adding a capacitor to your signal, works best with vintage-flavored single-coil pickups (approximately 2.4 H inductance) or a typical old-school PAF-style pickup (approximately 3.8 H inductance). Modern high-output pickups are often sporting inductances of 6 H to 8 H, and don’t sound very good with this mod—when adding more cable capacitance to such pickups, the result is a dull and wooly tone without any clearness and definition. If you want to make your single-coil guitar sound more Les Paul-ish, you should try a 4.7n capacitor. It will shift the resonance frequency of your single-coil pickups down to the typical PAF ballpark, making for a very cool and usable old-fashioned guitar tone. It might feel a little muffled when playing clean, but ultra fat and punchy when using overdrive! In general, values higher than 4.7n are not recommended.
We have two options for where to install our cap.
On the Guitar Cable
This is the easiest location to add additional capacitance to your system, with several mod options:
1. The lightest mod ever isn’t a mod at all—it’s to simply buy a vintage guitar cable and plug it in whenever you need it! I don’t know of any company that offers modern guitar cables with intentionally high capacitance.
2. The Neutrik company offers a special angled plug, called the Timbre Plug, that you can solder to any guitar cable of your choice. The plug has a 4-way rotary knob on top to toggle between different capacitors. In addition to a bypass setting, the plug offers capacitances of 1nF, 2.2nF, and 3.3nF, letting you simulate different cable lengths on the fly.
3. You can add an additional capacitor to any guitar cable of your choice to convert it into a “longer-sounding” cable. You simply open one of the plugs to solder the cap between the hot and ground—that’s it. Small, 2.5 mm contact spacing ceramic caps are easy to put into a standard plug and are your weapon of choice here. It’s essential to only add the additional cap to one of the two plugs, but it doesn’t matter if you plug this side into your guitar, an effect, or your amp. This method allows you to build yourself some cables that simulate their older, longer relatives.
You can add an additional capacitor to any guitar cable of your choice to convert it into a “longer-sounding” cable.
You can also add a cap (or several) inside your guitar if you only need this mod for one instrument. If you’re looking for added capacitance with all your guitars, you’d be better off choosing one of the techniques mentioned above.
1. The easiest way is to solder your additional capacitor directly to your volume pot; this way it has a fixed value that can’t be changed and is always engaged. This operation is very simple to do, and you can use regular-sized caps for this.
You can add a cap (or several) inside your guitar if you only need this mod for one instrument.
2. If you want to make the cap switchable, such that you can run it either bypassed or engaged, you can install a SPST mini toggle switch or use half of a push-pull or push-push pot, which usually sport a DPDT switch underneath.
This drawing shows how to make your additional cap switchable.
3. If you want to use more than one cap to simulate different cable lengths, your weapon of choice is a rotary switch, setting up a kind of Gibson Varitone wiring without the inductor. Because we are switching capacitances, it is essential to run an additional 10 meg resistor in parallel to each of the caps, and to use a make-before-break, not a break-before-make, rotary switch to prevent loud popping noises when using the switch while your guitar is plugged into an amp. Leave the first lug of the rotary switch open for the bypass position without an additional cap.
If you want to use more than one cap to simulate different cable lengths, use a rotary switch.
4. If you want to make this mod even more flexible, you can add an additional “cable simulator pot” to your system. The pot should have the same resistance as your volume pot, and should be wired to your volume pot. This way, for example, you can add a 3.3nF or 4.7nF cap to the extra pot, and dial in as much cable capacitance as you like.
You can also add an additional “cable simulator pot” to your system.
The idea of putting a rotary switch or cable-simulator-pot solution into an external unit to create a kind of extra-capacitance stompbox to use with all of your instruments is just around the corner, and yes, it’s possible! However, I don’t recommend this, because it’s physically located after the volume pot in the guitar, which means less volume (no unity gain) and less high end. But don’t worry: If you are looking for a pedalboard solution to simulate different cable lengths (which, as we defined earlier, means to shift the resonance frequency of the pickups), there are some active solutions on the market offering such a feature, usually in combination with a boost or buffer functionality. To name just a few, you should look into the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster, Stellartone Micro Pedal, or the i2e Audio AG1.0 The PURR. Along with some other brands, these pedals will do the trick, and they’re not difficult to build if you are looking for a DIY solution.
So far, I’ve received several emails from readers asking for some more DIY guitar tools, so next month, we will look into some sustainable and environmentally friendly DIY guitar helpers—all of which you can build yourself easily by upcycling things you already have at home. Stay tuned!
