http://www.300guitars.com Guitar Mania by Billy Penn Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:25:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-a-quick-fix-for-stripped-wood-screw-holes/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-a-quick-fix-for-stripped-wood-screw-holes/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:54:26 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=1138 Here is a quick, “down and dirty” fix for stripped wood screw holes on your guitar and will also work on amplifier back panels. The common quick fix is to take a tooth pick and insert it into the hole making the hole diameter smaller. This will help the wood screw bite into the toothpick... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-a-quick-fix-for-stripped-wood-screw-holes/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-adjusting-your-trem-arm/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-adjusting-your-trem-arm/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:23:57 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=1065 Here is a tip for players that have a Stratocaster type guitar with a threaded, screw-in trem arm. Sometimes with the vintage type threaded, screw in arms the arm itself is either too loose and just swings uncontrollably when not in use or tightens up in the wrong spot. Either situation can be annoying. By taking... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-adjusting-your-trem-arm/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-how-to-reduce-phase-cancellation-from-open-back-combo-amps/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-how-to-reduce-phase-cancellation-from-open-back-combo-amps/#comments Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:35:36 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=1043 This Tuesday’s Tip of the Day is for all you players that use an open back combo amp or open back extension cabinet. This tip comes from a personal experience I encountered on a gig. During the soundcheck at a recent gig I noticed that my 5F6-A 4×10 Bassman clone I built sounded a little thin... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/11/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-how-to-reduce-phase-cancellation-from-open-back-combo-amps/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-how-to-repair-small-tears-in-speaker-cones/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-how-to-repair-small-tears-in-speaker-cones/#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:34:09 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=1019 Todays tip for Tuesday is about how to repair small tears in speaker cones. You may have a really great sounding speaker with it’s original cone that has a small tear somewhere in the cone. A small tear is around one inch in overall length. Instead of getting the speaker reconed or trying to find... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-how-to-repair-small-tears-in-speaker-cones/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-preventing-hand-fatigue/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-preventing-hand-fatigue/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:41:29 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=989 If you experience hand fatigue and or pain from extended periods of playing there are a few things you can do to prevent it and avoid a more serious condition such as tendonitis or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Hand fatigue happens for a number of reasons. One reason could be your technique. For example if your guitar is worn... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-preventing-hand-fatigue/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-prevent-machine-screws-from-vibrating-loose/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-prevent-machine-screws-from-vibrating-loose/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:12:44 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=933 If you are having a problem with machine screws on your guitar or amp coming loose you can use Loctite to prevent this. This is helpful on small screws like the ones used for guitar bridge height adjustment. This also works well for the mounting screws on amp handles that come loose occasionally. I like to use... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-prevent-machine-screws-from-vibrating-loose/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-nylon-or-steel-saddles-on-your-gibson-both/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-nylon-or-steel-saddles-on-your-gibson-both/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:59:48 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=914  This Tuesday’s Tip of the Day comes from a unique feature on the new Joe Bonamassa Signature Les Paul guitar. It seems that Joe was experimenting with some of the components on one of his Les Paul’s and decided to try different saddles on the tune-o-matic bridge. After his experiments he settled on using three... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-nylon-or-steel-saddles-on-your-gibson-both/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-using-a-capo-for-truss-rod-adjustments/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-using-a-capo-for-truss-rod-adjustments/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:36:20 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=877  If you need to adjust your vintage Fender type truss rod with access at the heel or change the battery in your acoustic/electric guitar this tip will help keep your strings in place and make the job alot easier. First thing to do is loosen the strings so they are slack and do not produce... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-using-a-capo-for-truss-rod-adjustments/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-fine-tune-your-amp-with-one-tube/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-fine-tune-your-amp-with-one-tube/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:46:29 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=855  You can fine tune your tube amplifier with one tube substitution. The tube that you want to change is V1 which is the first gain stage preamp tube. You can tailor the gain structure with different tubes making your amp run cleaner or dirtier and also change the dynamics. For example changing a 12AX7 for... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-fine-tune-your-amp-with-one-tube/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-classiscal-nylon-string-vs-steel-string-acoustic-guitars/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-classiscal-nylon-string-vs-steel-string-acoustic-guitars/#comments Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:18:57 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=829  Here is a tip that most guitar players probably know but the few that don’t could avoid a costly repair to a classical nylon string guitar. Steel string acoustic guitars can be used with nylon strings but your classical nylon string cannot be used with steel strings. The reason you cannot use steel strings on a classical... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-classiscal-nylon-string-vs-steel-string-acoustic-guitars/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-removing-stickers-safely/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-removing-stickers-safely/#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:55:50 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=797  If you have a guitar with stickers on it and want to remove them there is an easy way without harming the guitars finish to get the job done. The most effective way (and safest) for all finish types including nitrocellulose lacquer is to use Naptha. You can get Naptha in hardware stores or even... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/09/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-removing-stickers-safely/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/08/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-plywood-baffles-vs-particle-board/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/08/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-plywood-baffles-vs-particle-board/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:31:15 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=768 Here is a tip for anyone who has a guitar amp or extension cabinet with a particle board baffle. Changing the baffle from partical board to a high quality plywood will give your cabinet a more open and natural sound. Some players describe particle board sounding and feeling dead as compared to plywood. This is... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/08/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-plywood-baffles-vs-particle-board/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/08/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-lubricate-your-nuts/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/08/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-lubricate-your-nuts/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:23:47 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=711  Here is a simple tip to help keep your guitar in tune, especially guitars with vibrato tailpieces. One of the most common places where tuning problems occur is at the nut. Strings can get “hung up” and not glide through their nut slots. Bending strings and use of a vibrato tailpiece can also cause them to go... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/08/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-lubricate-your-nuts/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-troubleshooting-on-the-gig-101/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-troubleshooting-on-the-gig-101/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:58:08 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=669  When you find yourself in a situation where your guitar rig is suddenly not working (this usually happens 5 minutes before the gig or session starts) there are a few guidelines to help quickly troubleshoot the problem. First thing is to stay calm. Getting anxious only makes things worse and makes it difficult to think. You have... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-troubleshooting-on-the-gig-101/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-keep-those-knobs-and-switch-tips-in-place/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-keep-those-knobs-and-switch-tips-in-place/#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:28:48 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=653  If you have a guitar with push-on type knobs such as the ones as used on a Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul you may experience the knobs coming loose and falling off. This quick fix is great for push-on type switch tips as used on a Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster as well. On guitars with... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-keep-those-knobs-and-switch-tips-in-place/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-ground-loop-hum-with-multi-amp-rigs/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-ground-loop-hum-with-multi-amp-rigs/#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:13:43 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=627  If your rig has more than one amp in it and you are experiencing excessive hum or buzzing then you may have a ground loop. A ground loop is an unwanted current in a conductor connecting two points that are supposed to be at the same potential, often ground, but are actually at different potentials. Ground... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-ground-loop-hum-with-multi-amp-rigs/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-casters-and-tube-amps/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-casters-and-tube-amps/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:15:26 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=604 This Tuesday’s Tip of the Day is about casters and tube amps. After playing for many hours a tube amp gets hot. Very hot. Even with a cooling fan there is a certain degree of heat buildup in the chassis and tubes. If your amp has casters, rolling a hot tube amp over a rough surface... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-casters-and-tube-amps/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-clean-amplifier-tolex-the-simple-way/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-clean-amplifier-tolex-the-simple-way/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:30:55 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=555   What is the best product to clean dirty tolex without using harsh chemicals that may do more harm than good? Simple: Use “Simple Green“. Simple Green is the original Green cleaner not containing ammonia, citrus oils, bleach or petrollium distiallates. It is non-toxic, non- flammable, non-abrasive, biodegradable and the packaging is recyclable. Simple Green can be... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/07/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-clean-amplifier-tolex-the-simple-way/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/06/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-fix-that-loose-sagging-grill-cloth/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/06/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-fix-that-loose-sagging-grill-cloth/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:58:59 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=524  If your amp has loose, sagging grill cloth there is an easy quick-fix to tighten it back up to be factory fresh. This remedy applies to the plastic type grill cloth typically found on Fender type amps. First remove the speakers from the amp and then remove the baffle. Then take a hair dryer or if... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/06/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-fix-that-loose-sagging-grill-cloth/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2008/06/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-setting-un-numbered-guitar-knobs/ http://www.300guitars.com/2008/06/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-setting-un-numbered-guitar-knobs/#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:15:46 +0000 Billy Penn http://300guitars.com/?p=486  If you are like me and play a Telecaster most of the time, you know that the original style volume and tone knobs do not have numbers on them. Un-numbered knobs on guitars like the Tele can be a little difficult to navigate at times. One tip is to install the knob with the set... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2008/06/tuesdays-tip-of-the-day-setting-un-numbered-guitar-knobs/feed/ 0