The Bench

Used 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard Premium Plus in Honeyburst resting on a chair

You Just Bought a Used Guitar. Here's Exactly W...

Plug it in and crank it? Not yet. Here's the exact bench routine I run on every used guitar before I play it — acclimate, inspect, restring, check the neck,...

You Just Bought a Used Guitar. Here's Exactly W...

Plug it in and crank it? Not yet. Here's the exact bench routine I run on every used guitar before I play it — acclimate, inspect, restring, check the neck,...

Diagram comparing a standard guitar nut and a zero fret, showing the open string resting in a bone or plastic nut slot versus resting on a metal zero fret

Is a Zero Fret Better Than a Nut? An Honest Tak...

A bench tech breaks down the zero fret versus a standard nut: what it does for open-string tone, low action, and tuning, where it wears out, and whether it's worth...

Is a Zero Fret Better Than a Nut? An Honest Tak...

A bench tech breaks down the zero fret versus a standard nut: what it does for open-string tone, low action, and tuning, where it wears out, and whether it's worth...

Diagram comparing brass, steel and titanium guitar bridge saddles by density, hardness and tonal reputation

Does Bridge Saddle Material Actually Change You...

Do brass, steel, or titanium bridge saddles really change your guitar's tone? A bench tech's honest take: the effect is real but small, and it's a fine-tuning move, not a...

Does Bridge Saddle Material Actually Change You...

Do brass, steel, or titanium bridge saddles really change your guitar's tone? A bench tech's honest take: the effect is real but small, and it's a fine-tuning move, not a...

Used Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s in Translucent Oxblood, an example of a used guitar you can inspect before buying.

Where Should You Actually Buy a Used Guitar? Re...

A bench tech's honest comparison of where to buy a used guitar - Reverb, a local specialist shop, Guitar Center and Sweetwater used, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace - weighing buyer...

Where Should You Actually Buy a Used Guitar? Re...

A bench tech's honest comparison of where to buy a used guitar - Reverb, a local specialist shop, Guitar Center and Sweetwater used, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace - weighing buyer...

Yellow Gibson Les Paul Melody Maker solidbody with two P-90 pickups lying in a hardshell case

Does How a Guitar Sounds Unplugged Actually Tel...

The unplugged "acoustic test" is a good diagnostic tool and a poor tone predictor. Here's what strumming a solidbody without an amp really tells you about a used guitar, and...

Does How a Guitar Sounds Unplugged Actually Tel...

The unplugged "acoustic test" is a good diagnostic tool and a poor tone predictor. Here's what strumming a solidbody without an amp really tells you about a used guitar, and...

Diagram comparing a standard straight guitar nut with a compensated nut where each string's contact point is shortened a different amount

Do Compensated Nuts and Buzz Feiten Tuning Syst...

Compensated nuts and the Buzz Feiten system do something real, but they fix the last few percent of a problem. A bench tech on what they actually do, when they're...

Do Compensated Nuts and Buzz Feiten Tuning Syst...

Compensated nuts and the Buzz Feiten system do something real, but they fix the last few percent of a problem. A bench tech on what they actually do, when they're...