The Bench

Illustration comparing Gibson Les Paul and PRS Custom 24 specs side by side.

Gibson Les Paul vs PRS Custom 24: Which Should ...

A used-guitar tech breaks down the real differences between a Gibson Les Paul and a PRS Custom 24 — scale, frets, bridge, weight, and tone — and who should actually...

Gibson Les Paul vs PRS Custom 24: Which Should ...

A used-guitar tech breaks down the real differences between a Gibson Les Paul and a PRS Custom 24 — scale, frets, bridge, weight, and tone — and who should actually...

Illustration comparing ebony and rosewood guitar fretboards by hardness, feel, look, tone, and maintenance

Ebony vs Rosewood Fretboards: Does the Fretboar...

Ebony or rosewood fretboard? A bench tech's honest take: the real differences are feel and looks, not tone. Plus maintenance, plus the CITES and Richlite backstory.

Ebony vs Rosewood Fretboards: Does the Fretboar...

Ebony or rosewood fretboard? A bench tech's honest take: the real differences are feel and looks, not tone. Plus maintenance, plus the CITES and Richlite backstory.

Vintage six-screw synchronized tremolo bridge on a Surf Green Fender Stratocaster, the hardware at the center of the float versus block debate

Should You Block Your Strat Tremolo, or Learn t...

Float, deck, or block your Strat tremolo? An honest, plain-spoken bench guide to what each setup does to tuning stability, sustain, and feel, plus how to set up any of...

Should You Block Your Strat Tremolo, or Learn t...

Float, deck, or block your Strat tremolo? An honest, plain-spoken bench guide to what each setup does to tuning stability, sustain, and feel, plus how to set up any of...

Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus with a real solid figured maple cap, flame wrapping over the carved top edge

Is That Flame Top Real? How to Tell Figured Map...

Real solid cap, thin figured veneer, or a printed photo top? How to tell the three apart on a used guitar in about thirty seconds — and whether the flame...

Is That Flame Top Real? How to Tell Figured Map...

Real solid cap, thin figured veneer, or a printed photo top? How to tell the three apart on a used guitar in about thirty seconds — and whether the flame...

Close-up of a maple Stratocaster fretboard, illustrating that guitar dead spots come from neck resonance rather than fret condition

Why Does One Note on My Guitar Sound Dead? Dead...

That one note that plays in tune but dies fast usually isn't a bad setup or a worn fret, it's a dead spot: a resonance baked into the neck. Here's...

Why Does One Note on My Guitar Sound Dead? Dead...

That one note that plays in tune but dies fast usually isn't a bad setup or a worn fret, it's a dead spot: a resonance baked into the neck. Here's...

Diagram of a wound guitar string cross-section showing the steel core wire and wrap wire, comparing a hex core to a round core

Do Guitar String Materials Actually Change Your...

Pure nickel, nickel-plated steel, or stainless? A used-guitar tech breaks down what string metal actually changes about your tone — and what it doesn't.

Do Guitar String Materials Actually Change Your...

Pure nickel, nickel-plated steel, or stainless? A used-guitar tech breaks down what string metal actually changes about your tone — and what it doesn't.