Luthier Dave Helmer shows you how to cure buzzy strings, bad intonation, gnarly frets, high action, and other common troubles with off-the-shelf axes.
Guitars are the best. We love them. It’s fun to fall in love with a guitar at a store, buy it, and proudly bring it home. But we’ve all been there … where after a month that new guitar is just not playing as good as it was before. As guitar players, we know what feels good and what feels bad when it comes to playability. Maybe you have setup preferences that you like on all your guitars, or maybe you want to experiment with changes to your setup?
With a few tools, you can perform a handful of tasks that will make your new axe play better and stay in tune. This article is for folks who already know how to tighten loose parts, raise and lower string saddles or bridges, and adjust their truss rods—though I’ll share a tip on how to check it with even more accuracy.
Is that big bulky stock nut uncomfortable on your hand? Let’s trim it down and reshape it. If the action feels high and the neck looks straight, I’ll show you how to lower the action. And haven’t we all swapped out pickups and wondered, “Do they really sound better, or do I think that just because they’re new?” Before you swap your pickups, I’ll share some pickup-height measurements that might make you change your mind.
But wait! There’s more. With everything feeling and playing great, does moving into the upper register start to sound out of tune? Intonation is very easy to check and adjust. When you go to vibrato or hold a note, do the frets feel “sandy”? Are the fret ends rubbing against your hand while you play? Let’s flush and polish those up.
To be clear, we’re not swapping out anything on your new guitar: We’re simply refining the setup. Be sure to go online to see eight videos I made showing various processes covered in this story.
Begin the Beguine
There is an order of operations for best results. Neck relief is the first item to dial in, followed by getting the nut slots cut to the proper depth. After that, setting your string and pickup heights is in order. The final step is setting intonation.
Fret polishing is its own event and can happen anytime between string changes. Getting the frets feeling comfortable and well-polished will take some time and attention. You’ll also need some specialized tools as well as some that can be found in most households. Check the box for my list.
Tools You’ll Need
All of the specialized tools in this list are available through online suppliers, including StewMac and Amazon.
- 6" Ruler with measures in 64ths
- String action gauge [Photo 1]
- Miscellaneous screwdrivers
- Allen wrenches
- Radius blocks
- Understring radius gauges (with the radius on the bottom and the top)
- Fret-end dressing file
- Micro-Mesh sticks [Photo 2]
- Tape (low tack)
- Cotton swabs
- Paper towels (blue shop towels preferred)
- Clean cotton rags
- Nut files [Photo 3]
- Stikit sandpaper
- Tri-Flow lubricant
- Capo
- Feeler gauges
- Simichrome polish
Polishing the Frets
Photo 4
Let’s start with the most Zen of these tasks: fret polishing.
Tape off the fretboard using low-tack tape, exposing only the frets. De-tack each piece of tape on your clothing or maybe a rag—I use my jeans or my sweatshirt. Making it less sticky helps prevent pulling finish off a maple fretboard or the neck. Taping the fretboard also prevents putting any cross-grain scratches into it while you file and polish. You can choose to tape off the entire fretboard or work your way down one fret at a time. Dealer’s choice.
One thing to note about tape, any tape: Even when you de-tack it, you do not want to leave it on overnight. If that happens, rub the tape with your finger, which will break the surface tension. Then carefully pull the tape off from a corner, making sure you’re pulling it off at an angle and not at a straight line with the fretboard edge.
Every fret end has a small burr on the corner from the initial fret job. The fret-end dressing file has a non-marring smooth side for rounding the fret end, and a safe square edge for getting into the corner of the fret end. So, take the fret-end dressing file, use the squared off-side, and file both corners of the fret end [Photo 4].
How to Polish Frets
Here’s how easy it is to polish and smooth frets.
One or two strokes is all you’ll need. Then, using the non-marring side of the file, slightly round off the fret ends.
Photo 5
With the file positioned vertically, file downward to make the fret end flush with the edge of the fretboard.
Photo 6
For a nice, rounded-off look, polish the frets using the same rounding motion from the previous step, working through all three grits of the Micro-Mesh stick.
Photo 7
Then, polish both the sides and the top of the frets.
Photos 8 (top) & 9 (bottom)
Using a soft cloth and Simichrome, buff every fret. This will give you a great shine and help prevent oxidation. Now it’s time to remove the tape and condition the fingerboard if it needs it.
Note: Every fret has two fret ends to clean up and polish along with the fret itself. This is a fair amount of handwork. If you’ve never done it, you will get tired and need a break. Take that break. Take multiple breaks. Let the process take however long it requires without rushing. If you’re new, do all the fret polishing over a weekend or a few days. It should be fun, not painful. If it is difficult, call your local luthier and hire them to do it for you.
Adjusting Neck Relief
Photo 10
Neck relief refers to the slight amount of concave bowing intentionally created in the neck of a guitar or bass by adjusting the truss rod. For the safety of the guitar, be sure to slack the strings before doing any adjustments to the truss rod. Neither you nor your guitar needs to be tense during this process.
Before whipping out an Allen wrench for the truss rod, start by sight-checking the neck’s straightness. You can sight the neck with the guitar on its back, but I like to put it on edge and look at it that way. It’s easier to see how much curve there is when the guitar is on its side. I feel like gravity plays tricks on my eyes when I sight the neck with the guitar on its back. When I play the guitar, it’s on its side anyway, so looking at it from this vantage point is best.
Tune the guitar to pitch, put a capo on the first fret, and press fret 15 with your left hand.
Photo 11
With your right hand, take a feeler gauge and check the gap at frets 7 through 9 (left-handed players, flip your hands around) [Photo 11].
From the top of the fret to the bottom of the string, the gap is usually anywhere from .003" to .012", depending on the feel you are going for. The feeler gauge should fit just between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string. The string shouldn’t move. This will tell you how much “relief” is in the neck. If you find this challenging, keep going—this will take some practice.
When dialing in the relief, I go back and forth between adjusting the truss rod and the string action. Getting the strings low and playing clean on a budget axe can be a challenge. Usually the fretwork isn’t that great, and in the upper register the frets can be unlevel, causing buzzes and clanks. If you need to raise the string action to get the notes to play clean, some fret leveling may be in order. (For more on fret leveling, go online to our article “About Fret Leveling,” from the December 2007 issue.) For good energy transfer, the neck should be as straight as possible. If the neck is straight and the frets are not level, the strings will buzz with low action.
In general, the flatter the radius on the fretboard, the straighter you can get the neck with the truss rod adjustment. On a fretboard with a 12" radius, you should be able to get .005" relief, and on a vintage 7.25" radius board you may need as much as .014" relief. The only way to get better at checking and setting relief is practice.
Refining the Nut
String buzzes, pinging noises when you tune, strings sticking in the slots, and too much string motion in the nut slots are all indicators of trouble. Before getting out the sandpaper and Micro-Mesh sticks, be sure you know if your guitar’s nut is TUSQ or bone. TUSQ is softer, so you should leave TUSQ nut slots a little higher. This leaves room for the TUSQ to wear without causing buzzing on the first fret. With bone, you can cut the slots lower, because it holds up to string wear.
How to Shape Your Guitar's Nut
Watch as Dave Helmer sands down the back half of a nut and creates a smooth finish.
The back side of the nut is usually very bulky and could often stand to lose some material to be more comfortable on your hand. So, let’s start there. Tape off the neck and headstock around the nut using a few layers of tape to protect the headstock face and fretboard. Then, slack the strings and pull them to either side of the nut.
Sand a bevel into the backside—the side closest to the headstock—of the nut using P320 and P400 grit Stikit sandpaper on a flat sanding stick.
Photo 12
The bevel should start at the back of the nut and come forward about one-third to one-half the thickness of the nut [Photo 12]. Use P320 for most of the sanding and switch to P400 for the last 5 to 10 strokes.
Next, take a fresh Micro-Mesh stick and work through the various grits to buff/round over the bevel you’ve sanded into back of the nut, so it looks and feels good.
Photo 13
TUSQ nuts are often tall, and the strings sit deep in the slots.
Photos 14 (left) & 15 (right)
Wound strings require 50 percent of the diameter of the string to sit in the nut slot, with the other 50 percent above the top of the nut surface. The plain strings should be flush with the top of the nut. Take a look at the wrong appearance [Photo 14] and the correct look [Photo 15] for properly seated strings.
How to Sand Your Guitar's Nut
Our luthier shows you how to use a radius block and sand down a nut.
Use a radius block that matches the radius of your fretboard.
Photo 16
With P320 and P400 grit Stikit sandpapers, use mild pressure to sand down the top of the nut. Sand a bit and check your progress by setting the strings in the slots and putting a little tension on them. Tuning to pitch isn’t necessary. Use the P320 for most of the sanding, and switch to P400 when you are close to the 50/50 height for the wound strings. The radius block sanding will leave a flat, sharp edge on each side of the TUSQ nut [Photo 16]. To round over the sharp edge, use the sanding block and Micro-Mesh stick.
Use the coarse grit of a Micro-Mesh stick to round over and blend the bevel from the back into the top of the nut. Work through the grit gauges until it’s smooth. There is a fine balance between the bevel at the back of the nut and the top radius of the nut. Go back and forth between the two steps to get a nice, finished look and a nut that functions at optimal levels.
… And Refining the Nut Slots
Photo 17
Nut height is the distance from the top of the first fret to the bottom of the string. A good height on the wound strings is about .020", and for the plain strings about .015". Measuring this gap with a feeler gauge can be tricky because of the fretboard radius. Many repair folks do this by eye and feel, based on experience. It takes some practice. A good check: At pitch, fret the third fret and check for a small gap between the string and the top of the first fret.
How to Widen Your Guitar's Nut Slots
A diamond file can make quick work of deepening and widening nut slots.
The bottom of the string should be sitting on the bottom of the front half of the nut slot [Photo 17]. File down each nut slot to its proper depth using the corresponding nut file. There are diamond nut files on the market in multiple sizes to accommodate many string gauges. Make sure to keep your strokes straight. The standard-toothed files have less sizes and usually require rolling them from side to side to get a well-fit string.
Next, using a proper-sized file, round over the bottom back half of the nut slots down, toward the face of the headstock and away from the strings. This will allow the strings to move freely during tuning or bending, while still having support from the front half of the slot.
How to File D and G String Slots on Guitar
Photo 18
On guitars with 3x3 headstock configurations, the D and G strings need the back half of the slots feathered out away from the center, so the string has a direct path to the tuner post. Using a file that is one size bigger than the string and rolling it side to side on the back of the nut slot will give the string a straight path to the tuner post. Photo 18 is my illustration showing which slots need feathering.
Watch How to File D and G String Slots on Guitar
The D and G nut slots require special attention on 3x3-style headstock configurations.
Additionally, use pencil lead to lubricate the slots. Just get in there with the point of a pencil and mark the slot with its graphite. You might also put a drop of Tri-Flow on the front of the string tree. Tri-Flow will run down the string, so take a cotton swab or cloth to clean up any excess. Tri-Flow has Teflon in it, so you don’t need much.
Adjusting String Action
Photo 19
First, find your string height by measuring the string action at the 17th fret on a Fender-style guitar and at the 15th fret on a Gibson-style instrument.On electric guitars, action can range from 3/64" to 3/32", depending on the player’s comfort. My preferences are 1/16" on the treble side and 5/64"on the bass side on both Fender- and Gibson-style guitars measured at the appropriate fret.
How to Adjust Guitar Action
Here’s a look at how our author adjusts the action.
Always loosen the string tension before making action adjustments. This will save wear and tear on the small bridge components. Take either a 6" ruler or a string action gauge and set it on the frets. Measure from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string [Photo 19].
If the action is high, you will lower that string’s saddle or that side of the bridge. If it is low, you will raise it. Make sure the individual saddles are sitting square and upright to the face of the bridge. You do not want them sitting at an angle or leaning over. This will cause buzzing.
The bottom of the strings should match the radius of the fretboard when measured with an understring radius gauge.
Photo 20
Start your adjustment with the outside strings, working toward the center. On Fender-style guitars, set the two outside strings to the height you want and have the middle four strings a bit higher than that. Bring the gauge up from underneath and just touch the two outside strings. Then, bring the strings down a little at a time until the radius matches.
On a Gibson-style Tune-o-matic, the saddles are not individually adjustable. So, if the radius doesn’t match, the saddles will need to be filed. To do this, I recommend using toothed nut files and a rolling side-to-side motion. Do a little work and check your progress. Remember to slack your strings when adjusting the saddle or bridge up or down.
Changing Pickup Height
Photo 21
Finally, let’s take a look at pickup-height adjustment. First, to check pickup height, use the two outside strings again. Press the top wound string on the last fret and measure the distance from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string [Photo 21]. This distance can range from 3/64" to 1/8". My preferences are 1/16" on the treble side and 5/64" on the bass side.
Adjusting Guitar Pickup Height
Dave Helmer walks you through the process of adjusting the height of your guitar’s pickups.
On most styles of pickups, there are height adjustment screws on either side of the pickup to raise or lower it. The closer the pickup gets to the strings, the more present string frequencies become. If you get too close, the magnetic pull can affect the string’s vibration and you may hear some strange sounds as you go into the upper register.
On Strats, the neck pickup is regularly set too close, and at the 12th fret and above, the low E and A can sound choked, honky, and not clear. Lowering the neck pickup with a screwdriver usually solves this issue.
Setting Intonation
Photo 22
If you can’t get your guitar accurately in tune, you might need to check its intonation. Adjust all saddles as far back as possible so every string will play flat at the 12th fret. You will adjust the saddles forward, gradually making the octave play sharper until it’s in tune with the open string [Photo 22].
Adjust Your Guitar's Intonation
With a tuner and a screwdriver, Dave Helmer shows you how to adjust your guitar’s intonation.
Depending on your vibrato style, experiment with intonating the plain strings slightly flat. Use your ear and do what sounds good. Sometimes, the plain strings can have perfect intonation, but playing with vibrato can make them sound sharp.
To fine-tune intonation, the individual bridge saddles must be adjustable. Once the intonation is set, recheck the string radius using the understring radius gauge and adjust as needed. The radius can change as the saddles come forward during intonation.
Tri-Flow is great for lubricating saddle parts. Put a small drop on the saddle-height adjustment screws and capillary action will suck it in. Adjust the saddle up and down a few times to coat the threads. Clean up any excess with a cotton swab or cloth. Put a drop or two onto a cotton swab and apply the Tri-Flow to the top of each saddle where the string rests. This will help strings move freely during tuning and after any bends or vibrato.
And that’s it! For a relatively small investment in tools and time, you’re now ready to supercharge your new guitar—and maybe your long-treasured axes, too.
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With a bit of downtime back in Nashville, co-shredders-in-chief Megan and Rebecca Lovell joined Shred With Shifty to deconstruct their face-melting leads on “Summertime Sunset,” off of their 2022 record Blood Harmony.
The Georgia-born, Nashville-based roots-rock outfit Larkin Poe have had a busy year. Last summer, they toured across the U.S. supporting Slash, and released their seventh studio album, Bloom, on January 22. With a bit of downtime back in Nashville, co-shredders-in-chief Megan and Rebecca Lovell joined Shred With Shifty to deconstruct their face-melting leads on “Summertime Sunset,” off of their 2022 record Blood Harmony.
The Lovells grew up reading sheet music and learning violin via the Suzuki method—there was little room for going off the beaten path until they fell in love with Jerry Douglas’ dobro playing on Alison Krauss records. Rebecca took up the mandolin, while Megan went for the dobro and the slide side of things. It took a while for them to get comfortable turning up from their bluegrass roots, but eventually they built Larkin Poe’s amplified, blues-rock sound.
First up, Rebecca, playing a pristine ’60s SG, shows how she put together her stinging, fuzzy solo by “hunting and pecking out” melodies in her mind, building up the chops to follow her intuition. Then Megan, playing a Rickenbacker-inspired lap steel of her own design through a Rodenberg TB Drive, details her dizzyingly fast slide acrobatics, and her particular “rake” technique that she copped from Jerry Douglas and Derek Trucks.
Tune in to hear them talk about how to sustain family relationships while going professional, keeping music community-minded, and whether or not they’ll go back to bluegrass.
If you’re able to help, here are some charities aimed at assisting musicians affected by the fires in L.A:
https://guitarcenterfoundation.org
https://www.cciarts.org/relief.html
https://www.musiciansfoundation.org
https://fireaidla.org
https://www.musicares.org
https://www.sweetrelief.org
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
The legendary Louisville rockers brought tons of vintage tone tools on the road this year.
My Morning Jacket’s Is, their 10th album, released on March 21, and as we reported in our feature on the band in our May print issue, it showcased a band exercising their classic strengths as well as newfound vision and curiosity. Helmed by superstar producer Brendan O’Brien, Is finds MMJ at their anthemic, psychedelic best.
We caught up with Carl Broemel for a Rig Rundown back in 2015, but on this year’s tour, PG’s John Bohlinger checked in with all three axemen—Jim James, Broemel, and bassist Tom Blankenship—to hear about their road rigs. In Broemel’s estimation, they’re lazy—they just like to bring everything.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Three's a Crowd
This gorgeous Gibson Jimi Hendrix 1967 SG Custom, aged by Murphy Labs, initially had three humbuckers, but James kept hitting his pick on the middle pickup, so it got the yank—as did the hefty bridge and Maestro Vibrola system, which were replaced with a simple stopbar tailpiece.
Mirror Image
James picked up this 1998 Gibson Flying V right around when My Morning Jacket got started. He traced and ordered the flashy mirror pickguard himself. It’s got Gibson pickups, though James isn’t sure of the models.
Jim James' Jimmy
James plucked this one-of-a-kind from Scott Baxendale’s collection of restored vintage guitars. He guesses it’s either an old Kay or Harmony guitar, but the decorations, including the custom plastic headstock plaque, make exact identification difficult. But it was clear this one was meant for James, since it has his name on it.
Elsewhere backstage is James’ Epiphone Jim James ES-335, a custom shop Fender Telecaster and Strat, a 1967 Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman, and a Gibson Barney Kessel.
Make Love, Not War
James loves repurposing old military equipment for creative, peaceful purposes, which is how this old radar system came to be a part of his live amplification kit. Along with the old tech, James runs two 3 Monkeys Orangutan heads through a 3 Monkeys cab.
Jim James' Pedalboard
James’ board is built around a pair of GigRig QuarterMaster switching systems, which lets him navigate the stomps you see here: a Devi Ever US Fuzz, Boss BD-2w, SoloDallas Schaffer Boost, Boss OC-2, EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery, Strymon blueSky, EQD Ghost Echo, Malekko Spring Chicken, ISP Deci-Mate, Electro-Harmonix Mel9, UA Starlight Echo Station, and UA Astra Modulation Machine. A D’Addario Chromatic Pedal Tuner duo keep things on pitch, a Strymon Zuma and Ojai pair handle the power, and a Radial SGI-44 line driver maintains clarity.
Arts and Crafts Night
One night while a bit tipsy, Broemel took out his paint pens and set to work on this Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded, resulting in this masterpiece. He also removed the pickup selector switch; even though the neck pickup remains, it never gets used.
Relic By Broemel
This 1988 Les Paul Standard predates the band, and Broemel has given it its aged finish over the years—on one occasion, it fell out of a truck. It’s been treated to a Seymour Duncan pickup upgrade and occasional refrets when required.
Carl's Creston
This Creston Lea offset has two Novak lipstick pickups in the neck, with a switch to engage just one or both, plus a low-end roll-off control. It’s finished in the same blue-black color as Broemel’s house and sports a basil leaf on the headstock in tribute to Broemel’s son, Basil.
Also in the wardrobe are a shiny new Duesenberg tuned to open G, and a custom shop Fender Telecaster with a fattened neck and Bigsby to swing it closer to Broemel’s beloved LPs.
Milk Route
Broemel routes his GFI Ultra pedal steel, which is tuned to E9, through a board which includes a Milkman The Amp, which is projected through the speaker of a Fender Princeton Reissue combo. Operated with another GigRig QuarterMaster, the board also includes an Eventide H9, Moog MF Delay, Fender The Pelt, MXR Phase 90, EHX Nano POG, Xotic Effects EP Booster, Source Audio C4, and a Peterson StroboStomp HD.
Side-Carr
This time out, Broemel is running two Carr Slant 6V heads in stereo.
Carl Broemel's Pedalboard
Broemel commissioned XAct Tone Solutions to build this double-decker board, which depends on a GigRig G3S switching system. From top to bottom (literally), it includes a Boss TU-3, Durham Electronics Sex Drive, JAM Pedals Tubedreamer, Source Audio Spectrum, JAM Retrovibe, MXR Phase 100, Fender The Pelt, Origin Effects SlideRIG, 29 Pedals EUNA, two Eventide H9s, Kingsley Harlot V3, JAM Delay Llama, Merix LVX, Hologram Chroma Console, and EHX POGIII. A wah and Mission Engineering expression pedal sit on the left side, while a Lehle volume pedal and Gamechanger Audio Plus hold down the right edge.
Utility units include two SGI TX interfaces, two Strymon Ojais and a Strymon Zuma, and a Cioks Crux.
More From the Creston Crew
Blankenship, too, has brought along a few guitars from Lea, including these Precision-bass and Jazz-bass models. The dark-sparkle P-style rocks with GHS flatwound strings, while the natural-finish J-style has roundwounds.
Emperor's New Groove
Blankenship just got these brand-new Emperor cabinets, through which he cranks his Mesa Boogie WD-800 Subway heads.
Tom Blankenship’s Pedalboard
Like James, Blankenship uses a GigRig QuarterMaster to jump between his effects. After his Boss TU-3, that includes an Origin Effects Cali76, DigiTech Whammy Ricochet, Pepers’ Pedals Humongous Fuzz, MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, Tronographic Rusty Box, and EHX Bassballs Nano. A Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus lights things up, and a Radial SGI TX keeps the signal squeaky clean.
Shop My Morning Jacket's Rig
EarthQuaker Devices host Echo Reverb Pedal
ISP Technologies DECI-MATE Micro Noise Reduction Pedal
Electro-Harmonix Mel9 Tape Replay Machine Pedal
EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery Envelope Filter Pedal
Universal Audio UAFX Starlight Echo Station Delay Pedal
Universal Audio UAFX Astra Modulation Machine Pedal
Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster
Experience the pinnacle of Taylor playing comfort and tone with the Builder’s Edition 514ce, 514ce Kona Burst, and 524ce. These models feature solid Shamel ash back and sides, uniquely voiced V-Class bracing, Gotoh 510 tuners, ES2 electronics, and a Deluxe Hardshell Case.
The Builder’s Edition 514ce, 514ce Kona Burst and 524ce join our acclaimed Builder’s Edition Collection, giving you more ways to experience the pinnacle of Taylor playing comfort and tone.
Each model boasts a gloss-finish cutaway Grand Auditorium body with solid Shamel ash back and sides, an artfully applied Kona burst on the back, sides and neck, uniquely voiced V-Class interior bracing, Gotoh 510 antique chrome tuners, ES2 electronics, and a Deluxe Hardshell Case.
Refined, comfort-enhancing features include a beveled armrest and cutaway, chamfered body edges and a smoothly contoured Curve Wing bridge. Italian acrylic “Compass” inlays and a vibrant firestripe pickguard add tasteful aesthetic accents.
Responsibly sourced from cities in Southern California, Shamel ash is given a second life as a tonewood in our premium-class guitars. It yields a focused, fundamental-strong voice with midrange power and balance comparable to Honduran mahogany.
Models:
- Builder's Edition 514ce - $3,399 - Featuring a natural Sitka spruce top paired with solid Shamel ash back and sides, the Builder’s Edition 514ce delivers warmth, depth and musical versatility for any style or genre.
- Builder's Edition 514ce Kona Burst - $3,499 - Showcasing a vintage aesthetic flair, this solid Shamel ash/Sitka spruce model features a Tobacco Kona burst top.
- Builder's Edition 524ce - $3,499 - This model pairs solid Shamel ash back and sides with a mahogany top—also featuring a Tobacco Kona burst—that adds a bit of natural compression to help create incredible tonal balance across the frequency spectrum.
For more information, please visit taylorguitars.com.
Expansive range of subtle thickening and focusing tones to fuzz. Great alternative to run-of-the-mill overdrive and fuzz. Enables surgical shaping of guitar sounds within a mix.
Interactive, sometimes sensitive controls make certain tones elusive and lend the pedal a twitchy feel.
$179
Catalinbread Airstrip
With the preamp from a Trident A-Range console as their target, Catalinbread conjures up a varied gain device that can massage or mangle your guitar tone.
Replicating a recording console preamp in a pedal is a pretty elementary idea, but it’s inspired stompboxes as varied as theJHS Colour Box andHudson Broadcast. All recording desks—and the pedals that imitate them—have their own color. Catalinbread’s Airstrip chases the sound of a Trident A-Range channel strip. (Search “Trident Studios” to get a handle on the kind of clientele the place attracted back in the ’60s and ’70s).
Presently, a new Trident A-Range channel strip costs thousands of dollars. An original? Well, only 13 desks were made, so you can probably get a nice used Rolls Royce for less—if you can find one. Rightly then, one should temper expectations about how well a $179 pedal can ape a priceless console. But like many preamps in a box, the Airstrip excels at a wide range of gain-shaping tasks, from surgical boost and EQ shadings to fuzzy, filtered, ready-to-rip-through-a-mix Jimmy Page/Beatles/Neil Young-style direct-to-desk tones. Even at extremes, the Airstrip is sensitive to touch, volume, and tone dynamics, enabling pivots from light (if very focused) overdrive to ’60s germanium-fuzz-like sounds with changes in guitar volume and tone. And though it’s dynamic and responsive, at many settings it also exhibits lovely compression tendencies, softening transients before giving way to wide-vista tone blooms—a great recipe for spare, lyrical, melodic leads with a ’60s biker-flick-soundtrack edge. Without any of its market-leading competitors around for comparison, it’s hard to say exactly how the Airstrip aligns with their EQ biases and core tones. What is certain is that there are scores of mellow to unconventionally aggressive colors here to explore.