I get press releases from Rotosound relatively frequently. Some of the information in those releases has found its way onto this site if I thought it might be useful to others.

This time though, I’m posting an image from this Rotosound release just because I like it.

Rotosound say they found a programme from Thin Lizzy’s Bad Reputation tour in their archives and it contained the ad above for their Jazz Bass strings. They say some other stuff about strings and other users and whatnot but I tuned out to be honest.

I just enjoyed the pic and the memories.

Interesting one this.

Remember a while back, TC Electronics released their – rather clever – PolyTune Pedal that allowed you to see the tuning of all six of your guitar’s strings at once.  Picking one string at a time is so last year.

Well, now TC are porting their cleverness to the iPhone (and iPod Touch if you’ve got a mic thing attached).

It’s early days yet, but the PolyTune App sounds pretty interesting.  In fact, the days are so early that TC are looking for beta testers for the app.

Want to be in on the ground floor?  Want to see this before the common people?  Want to help TC make the app perfect?  Well, off you go and apply to be a beta tester.  You’ll get a pre-relase copy of the app in return for providing feedback on its operation (or lack thereof).

Pop to TC Electronics to apply to test PolyTune iPhone app.  They’ll select 50 testers from those that apply (the exclusivity just gives more license to lord it over your friends).

I’m in danger of shorting out my keyboard with long strings of spittle as I read the specs and look at the images of Gibson’s latest.

Hot on the heels of the 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul, comes the 50th Anniversary 1960 ES-335TD.

Is it telling that I’m much more excited by this one? In the last few years I’ve been more and more drawn to the 335 and its semi-hollow yumminess. Perhaps I’m mellowing in my old age.

There is simply no denying, though, that the ES-335, and these ones in particular, are wonderfully beautiful instruments.  Go on, pointy guitar lovers, deny it?  I will shake my fist in your general direction.

As the calendar flicked through 1960 (like it does in films to indicate the passage of time), the ES-335 went through some small transformations from it’s ’50s iteration to settle – in a similar way to the Les Paul – on a slimmer, faster necked model.  The 335 also gained those snazzy ‘reflector’ volume and tone knobs.  It’s this model that Gibson have recreated for the 50th Anniversary ES-335TD (that’s Thinline Double, by the way – thin as in thin body and double as in double pickups).

We’re obviously talking Custom Shop here.  They’ve created three models of this beauty.  All are available with period-correct hardware and aged using the VOS (Vintage Original Specs) process. They all feature double-band Kluson style tuners and PAF-style ’57 Classic humbuckers.  As with the 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul, bridge and tailpiece are period correct zinc and aluminium (respectively) and are nickel plated.  A 5-ply pickguard is fitted.

Even the truss-rod channel has been retooled based on scans of original models showing 1960 depth and profile.  Now that’s anal (but we salute it).

Finishes are, obviously, nitrocellulose and three are available: Antique Faded Cherry (pics above), Antique Vintage Sunburst (handsome pic below), and Antique Natural.

As you’d expect, these come with a hardshell case and a certificate of authenticity.

Prices for the Cherry and Sunburst models are to be US $5,645 while the Natural finish is (oddly) more expensive at US $6,115.

I’d very much like one.  I’m not greedy.  The sunburst one would be fine.  If anyone would care to send me $5,645, that’d be lovely.  Thanks.

More at Gibson.

In the wake of Frusciante’s departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Josh Klinghoffer has been the name on everybody’s lips.  Is Klinghoffer is the man to replace Frusciante?

Ultimate Guitar published a story confirming Klinghoffer’s new role in the band and citing an article posted on stadium-arcadium.com.  The editor of Stadium-Arcadium (allegedly) wrote:

“I’ve managed to establish contact with Josh through the previous owner of Josh-Klinghoffer.net, Katrina, who has personal contact with him, and was able to get him to reply to an e-mail asking if he was in the band. He confirmed that he is in the band earlier today! Stadium-Arcadium.com now has direct contact with Josh and will be able to bring you updates from him personally in the future!”

This article, however, seems not to be there at the moment.  Curious.

Perhaps more curious, is that Klinghoffer’s own site currently contains only a holding page with the following text:

Information is currently circling the web that needs clarification, regarding Josh Klinghoffer and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Josh-Klinghoffer.net is currently undergoing a change of ownership, and in transferring data and relevant correspondence to the new owner, personal communications between Josh and Katrina (Cavadino, former editor of JKDN) were mistakenly sent out, leading to a story that should never have been run.

Katrina is completely mortified and disappointed at her betrayal of trust, no matter that it was a freak accident and miscommunication. She wishes to sincerely apologise for any embarassment or hurt she has inadvertently allowed to be caused.

Until official notice comes from the band or management, Josh’s role in the band is not confirmed and remains subject to speculation.

Kez Cunningham
On behalf of the former Josh-Klinghoffer.net team

Interesting, no?

Back to stadium-arcadium.com and they quote a tweet sent by Dave Navarro stating:

davenavarro6767 … Oh, and I’m NOT working with RHCP. They are working with an amazing talent, Josh Klinghoffer. I wish them love and the very best!

So where does that leave things?   In the air, basically.  If I were a betting man, I’d put money on Klinghoffer being the new Chili guitarist and I’m guessing that the band and Josh are still working out all the various legal bits and pieces.

We’ll keep an eye on things with interest over the next few days.

Today, in Guitar 101, we’re looking at the guitar neck.  And, this time, we’re taking considering scale length and string compensation.

Scale length

Scale length is, effectively, the ‘sounding’ length of the string – i.e. the bit that actually ‘sounds’ (or vibrates – it’s the same thing) when plucked.  This means that we’re only considering the length of string between the nut and saddle (see our article on Guitar Anatomy if you need a refresher on these terms).

Some of the common scale lengths of popular guitars and basses are:

• Many Gibson Guitars, Les Paul, SG, etc.
  24.75″ or 629mm
• Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster
  25.5″ or 648mm
• Fender Mustang and Jaguar
  24″ or 610mm
• Paul Reed Smith (mostly)
  25″ or 635mm
• Fender Precision and Jazz bass
  34″ or 864mm
• Gibson EB0 bass
  30.5″ or 775mm
• Rickenbacker 4001 bass
  32.5″ or 825mm

There are other scale lengths on other (and even these) instruments but these are the more common ones you’ll find.  As you can see, there’s quite a difference.

So it’s a bigger/smaller thing?

Yes.  Firstly, and most obviously, scale length affects the fret-spacing – i.e. the distance between each fret – as you have to fit a similar number of frets into a bigger or smaller space.

If you have small hands for example, you might appreciate playing a Fender Jaguar as the frets are not so far apart and so, you don’t have to reach so much between them.

Is that it?

Nope.  There’s a less obvious factor that needs to be considered too – string tension.

Because the scale length determines the tension a particular string must have applied to reach a given pitch, different scale length necks will feel and sound very different.

For example, the same gauge strings on that Fender Jaguar will feel different than if they were on a Strat.  The Strat’s strings will have more tension and will ‘play’ differently.  They’ll feel tighter for bending and fretting.

They’ll also sound differently (if we take the variables like pickups, body wood, etc. out of the picture).  The Strat will probably sound more ‘focussed’ and will probably sustain longer.

So what scale length do I want?

Up to you, I’m afraid.  Each has pros and cons.  Each feels and sounds different.  It may come down to hand size and finding ‘the right size’ or it may be more of a playability and ‘feel’ thing – you may prefer a slightly slacker, bend-friendly tension for instance.

My advice is to try a couple of instruments with different scale lengths.  You might find you can get on with one better than another.

A tip on measuring scale length

Because of the combined wonders of music and mathematics, the 12th fret position on your guitar or bass is exactly half the scale length.  So, if your guitar has a 25″ scale length, measuring from the nut to the centre of 12th fret (that’s the fret itself – the metal bar) should give you 12.5″.  This is actually a handy way to check scale length if you don’t have a loooong ruler or measure.

Which brings us to:

String Compensation

If measuring the full scale length (i.e. the full length – not just to the 12th fret as mentioned in the shortcut-tip above) we usually measure at the top-E string.  That’s because this string is the thinnest and requires the least amount of string compensation.  This string is, therefore, closer to the actual scale length of the instrument. The other strings are generally compensated which means they’re actually slightly longer than the scale length.

What’s compensation?

Great question.

When you fret a string somewhere along the fretboard, you actually sharpen that string’s pitch by a tiny amount. To compensate for this, each string is made a little bit longer than the instrument’s actual scale length, thereby ‘flattening’ its pitch.  The amount that each string is made longer (flattened) depends on that strings size – thin strings not much and getting progressively more as the strings get thicker.  Clever, eh?

To nicely illustrate it, this is why acoustic saddles are angled – the sounding length of the thicker, wound strings is actually longer than that of the thinner strings.

Many guitars have adjustable bridges and/or string saddles to allow each string’s compensation be accurately set.  Setting the compensation is referred to as ‘intonating‘ the instrument and the compensation overall can be called ‘intonation‘.  More about that another time – it’s a whole other kettle of piscine-like creatures.

As always, if you’ve any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments.

While there is a massive chunk of the this site’s audience already very familiar with what each bit of a guitar is, this article is really aimed at those who might be just starting their guitar journey (or even just thinking about it).

This first article in Guitar 101 is a primer (or a refresher if you want to do a little revision) to ensure we all know the basics before we start moving on to look, in more detail, at all of the bits of a guitar.  For that reason, some of you may want to gloss over or skip this article.  Feel free to do so – it’s to get everyone to the same starting point before moving on (and it’ll still be here later should you ever feel the need to go back).

Lets start at the very beginning – What is a guitar?

A guitar (or bass – I’ll use guitar as an umbrella term, though) is essentially a device for amplifying the sound of a strings vibration.  In a nutshell, that’s all a guitar does – it amplifies (either through an electric guitar’s pickups or an acoustic guitar’s sound box) the sound of the vibrating string.

Now, of course, it also provides a means to tune that string and a means to selectively change the pitch of that string (by fretting) thereby allowing different notes be played.

The parts of an electric guitar

Despite different shapes and sizes, guitars generally share a standard set of characteristics.

In the image above you can see that despite minor differences, the two guitars are essentially based on the same principles.  We’ll take a quick overview of these principles below – don’t worry if we don’t explain all the terms now, we’ll be covering it in more detail later on.

How a guitar actually works

The guitar’s strings are anchored at each end.  At the top they’re anchored to tuners which allow the string tension be varied, thereby ‘tuning’ the string to the pitch required.  At the body end, the strings anchor in a bridge or tailpiece (and sometimes through the body itself).

Between these two anchor points, the string passes over two points: the nut (at the end of the neck) and the saddle (the saddle is the string contact point at the bridge).  The distance between these two points is the ‘scale length‘ of a guitar.  Many saddles/bridges are adjustable to allow for string-length compensation.

The pitch of any string can be changed by fretting it against the fingerboard with a finger.  Frets are thin metal bars installed in the fretboard at precise positions to ensure accurate pitch.

The sound of an electric guitar is generally amplified electronically.  The pickups sense the strings’ vibration and convert it to a small electric current.  This travels down your guitar cable/lead to an amplifier where it’s turned into a bigger current – one sufficient to drive a speaker.

The parts of an acoustic guitar

Acoustic guitars are pretty much the same.

The strings are anchored at the body end – through holes in the bridge and top – with bridge-pins.

In most cases, the acoustic guitar saddle is not adjustable for compensation.  The saddle is generally made from the same material as the nut (often bone, or a plastic).

In the case of an acoustic guitar the string’s vibration causes the guitar’s top to vibrate too. This moves the air inside the guitar body (or soundbox) which is what causes the sound to be ‘amplified’ or made louder. The moving air comes out through the soundhole and the listener hears it.

Over the coming weeks, Guitar 101 will take a closer look at many of the component parts of a guitar and examine what they do and why they’re there.  We hope to give you an understanding of why a guitar is the way it is and how it works.  Guitar 101 will provide some of the theory behind the practical parts of our upcoming Guitar Setup articles.

The 3-Saddle Intonation Problem

If you play a Telecaster with a 3-saddle bridge (like the one shown opposite), you may be aware that setting intonation on the instrument is a matter of compromise.  Because a single adjustment screw sets the intonation on two different strings at the same time, Telecaster intonation is really a matter of ‘balancing the differences’ and getting each string as close as possible without putting its partner string out by too much.

Move to a 6-saddle bridge

If this really bothers you, you can move to a 6-saddle bridge.  However, while this gives you more control over individual strings, most people feel that it alters the sound too.  General consensus is that a chunk of the original ‘Tele sound’ comes from the extra coupling of its two-string saddles but, if exact intonation is an absolute requirement for you, six saddles are the answer.

Better intonation keeping the Tele sound

There are some alternatives to switching to a 6-saddle bridge however.

The first option is to use Trev Wilkinson’s Tele Bridge with adjustable saddles.  You can get this as a complete replacement bridge or as retro-fit saddles only.

Each of the brass saddles can pivot on the intonation screw. This means you can rough-in your intonation and then pivot the saddles to get each string pair a little more accurate than you can with the regular, straight, saddles. Once you have things the way you like them, there is a locking screw that tightens and snugs everything up to stop it moving about and provide for more solid string vibration transference.

The second option is a similar, if simpler idea.

On the left are Tele Compensated Bridge Saddles.

Basically, the saddles are already angled to compensate for string length and provide better intonation.  These saddles are similar to the ones fitted by Fender to the Danny Gatton signature Teles.

They don’t allow for pivoting like the Wilkinsons above but, in my opinion, that’s why I prefer them.  They’re more ‘Telecaster’. There’s less that can go wrong and less things in the way of getting that string vibration into your bridge and body. Personally, I feel these are a better option if you don’t want to mess with the sound of your Tele.

They have the added advantage of being cheaper than the Wilkinsons.

Replacing the saddles on your Tele is a relatively simple job.  Before you do so, make a few measurements though.  Note the height of each string (generally, I’d do this at the 17th fret – noting height between the top of the fret and the bottom of the strings).  If you also note the distance each saddle is from the back of the bridge, it can help to get you back in the ball park after the new ones are installed.

Pop the new saddles on (after removing stings, of course).  Set roughly in place and restring.  Then you can do your fine setting of height and intonation.

Limitations

These saddles do provide an improvement on the regular Tele saddles.  They’re not perfect however and there is still some ‘averaging-out’ of differences to be done on each string pair.  This is generally less than on the standard saddles however and you should see improved intonation.   As mentioned though, if exact intonation is a must-have for your Tele, you really need to consider a 6-saddle bridge.

You can get any of the items mentioned here from Stewart MacDonald.  They’re a fantastic resource for any guitar repair items you might need and are always incredibly helpful (I’m not on commission by the way but I did use their images so, if you’re buying these, do get them over at StewMac).

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below and I’ll do my best to help out.