The Bench

Nut and first frets of a 1997 Gibson Les Paul Classic, the area where nut slot height causes fretted notes to play sharp

Why Is My Guitar In Tune Open But Sharp When I ...

Open strings perfect, fretted chords sour? It's the nut, the saddles, or your grip — and the fret where the error appears tells you which. A bench-side diagnosis, in order.

Why Is My Guitar In Tune Open But Sharp When I ...

Open strings perfect, fretted chords sour? It's the nut, the saddles, or your grip — and the fret where the error appears tells you which. A bench-side diagnosis, in order.

1982 Gibson ES-335 Dot in Natural finish, illustrating the wider 16-inch semi-hollow body

Gibson ES-335 vs. ES-339: Which Semi-Hollow Sho...

The ES-339 isn't just a smaller ES-335. Same scale, same rim depth, same center block — but roughly two inches narrower across the lower bout, and that changes ergonomics, feedback...

Gibson ES-335 vs. ES-339: Which Semi-Hollow Sho...

The ES-339 isn't just a smaller ES-335. Same scale, same rim depth, same center block — but roughly two inches narrower across the lower bout, and that changes ergonomics, feedback...

Diagram comparing a flat Fender headstock, a one-piece 17-degree Gibson headstock with short grain and a truss rod cavity, and a scarf-jointed headstock

Why Do Gibson Headstocks Break So Easily (and F...

It is not bad luck. A 17-degree headstock angle, short grain running the wrong way, and a truss rod cavity routed into the weakest spot all stack up in the...

Why Do Gibson Headstocks Break So Easily (and F...

It is not bad luck. A 17-degree headstock angle, short grain running the wrong way, and a truss rod cavity routed into the weakest spot all stack up in the...

Diagram of Fender Custom Shop and Gibson Murphy Lab guitar relic aging tiers from NOS to Heavy Relic

Are Relic'd Guitars Worth It? An Honest Take Fr...

Relic'd guitars don't sound better, and the aging is cosmetic. Here's the honest case for and against buying one, what the Fender and Murphy Lab tiers actually mean, and the...

Are Relic'd Guitars Worth It? An Honest Take Fr...

Relic'd guitars don't sound better, and the aging is cosmetic. Here's the honest case for and against buying one, what the Fender and Murphy Lab tiers actually mean, and the...

Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro V in Blueberry Burst in an open case, illustrating unit-to-unit variation between identical guitar models.

Why Do Two Identical Guitars Feel Completely Di...

Same model, same year, same finish, and one just feels better. Here is what actually varies between two guitars off the same line, what is fixable, and what is not.

Why Do Two Identical Guitars Feel Completely Di...

Same model, same year, same finish, and one just feels better. Here is what actually varies between two guitars off the same line, what is fixable, and what is not.

Diagram comparing an angled Gibson-style headstock and a flat Fender-style headstock, showing the short-grain break zone and the direction of string tension and impact force when a guitar case is dropped

Should You Loosen the Strings When Shipping or ...

The honest answer from a used-guitar shop: go down about a whole step for shipping, leave it tuned for normal storage, and understand why headstock geometry matters far more than...

Should You Loosen the Strings When Shipping or ...

The honest answer from a used-guitar shop: go down about a whole step for shipping, leave it tuned for normal storage, and understand why headstock geometry matters far more than...