Do maple fretboards sound different compared to rosewood?
Are there tonal differences between the two? Let's find out. Above is a Fender Deluxe Players Strat, which does have an all-maple neck option. My first guitar, the '89 Squier II Stratocaster, does have...
View ArticleHow to get good tone from an unmodded Stratocaster
Some guitar players are all about modifying the Strat. But what about keeping the guitar totally unmodified? Getting good tone out of an unmodified Stratocaster is easy once you understand traditional...
View ArticleGuitar of the week #46 - Ibanez Talman TM302
Note: I'm changing the title of this feature from "Cheap guitar of the week" to just "Guitar of the week" so I'm not limited to just the cheap stuff. The Ibanez Talman TM302 as you'll see from that...
View ArticleIn a band and want to get known? Don't even bother with MTV
I think the release pictured above absolutely and totally sucks. It is total garbage that I would never buy in a million years, however I did see it on the front of amazon.com and that's why I know...
View ArticleHow does a band get known today for no cost?
Being I just talked about how MTV is a total waste of time, I figured it would be good to explain what bands can do these days to get known using a very specific free service mentioned in that article....
View ArticleGuitar of the week #47 - B.C. Rich Villain
When you dig around a little, you'll find B.C. Rich actually makes some pretty good stuff. B.C. Rich is a guitar brand I don't mention too often because in all honesty, they don't have much I consider...
View ArticleCan't play a Stratocaster because you keep hitting the volume knob?
There are some players who can't own a Strat, or at least not one in stock condition, because of the volume knob placement. Charles recently emailed with this: Hey Rich, I'm looking to replace my...
View ArticleThe quest for the right day-date watch continues
You would not believe the crapola I've been through in trying to find an analog wristwatch I can get along with. This is the latest on my search. Recently, I bought a Casio F-91W. Two of them,...
View ArticleGuitar of the week #48 - Danelectro "The 64"
Weird, wacky and cool. But not cheap. The last time I saw a Mosrite clone was the Jay Turser Mosman, which evidently is now called the "Venture Mach 1." That guitar has a mid-tier price. The Danelectro...
View ArticleRich's big 41st birthday wish list
I turn 41 this month, and there's stuff I want. You can help me get it, and get something in return for your generosity. Amazon has this thing called a Wish List, so I decided to try it out. Being my...
View ArticleWhich Casio keeps the best time?
5 watches, all with different personalities. The day this gets posted this is when Daylight Savings Time will go into effect, so yeah, it's appropriate to talk about watches and time. :) Above are 5...
View ArticleDoes the DigiTech Nexus software for the RP360 really work?
It's time for some software goodness. If you have a DigiTech RP360 like I do (the DigiTech RP360XP will also work,) you can download the free Nexus software from the DigiTech web site and edit the user...
View ArticleGuitar of the week #49 - Epiphone ES-175 Premium
Some fancy digs here. Is it worth the asking price? This guitar is not cheap. Some would say, "Well, it's cheap compared to a Gibson ES-175!" I don't agree with that either. When you see the price tag...
View Articlediet update, march 2016
I've had some ups and downs, but I'm still doing well. February 16, 2015 is when I started my diet. February 16, 2016 passed and I totally forgot to write about it, so I'll talk about it now. The...
View Articleworkout buddy: the wristwatch timer auto-repeat feature
If you do any sort of workout that involves repetitions, a.k.a. reps, you need a watch with this very specific feature. This is kind of a follow up to my last post and the Which Casio keeps the best...
View ArticleThere is no such thing as an HSS guitar
You may think there is, but there isn't. The vast majority of players out there not only identify pickups incorrectly on an electric guitar, but also identify obvious electronics incorrectly as well....
View ArticleGuitar of the week #50 - ESP E-II Eclipse
This is what happens when a guitar company does a Les Paul copy correctly but at the same time makes it their own. The ESP E-II Eclipse is not cheap. However, it pretty much has everything a Gibson Les...
View ArticleCasio A158, the "steel" version of the F-91W
I've only shown this watch in one previous post, so I figured I'd give a dedicated article to it since it's currently my daily wearer. The Casio A158 is functionally identical to the F-91W in every...
View ArticleEaster is not about candy, except it is about candy
It is interesting what happens when you actually read labels. In the United States, there are two times of the year where children stuff themselves with all the chocolate they can get their grubby paws...
View ArticleSoylent Green movie review (is the story plausible today?)
I finally got the chance to watch this. Soylent Green is a movie made 2 years before I was even born, so I could not have watched this when it was first released, obviously. The first time I even heard...
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