The original (Arbiter England) Fuzz Face pedals first began being imported into America in 1966. A strong argument could be made that it’s introduction contributed greatly to the burgeoning hippie movement, and the psychedelic rock scene that first took shape in the late 60s.

So what made the original Fuzz Face so special? One of the most unique aspects of the pedal is its smooth, transistor-based fuzz sound. It produced this rich, smooth tone with the use of the (now rare) PNP germanium AC 128 transistors.

Later editions of the pedal began using more modern components, and replaced the original germanium transistors. Unfortunately, modernizing the components of the pedal also took away much of the warmth and color of its original sound. For this reason, original Arbiter England models are now considered rare finds. A unit in good condition can sell at auction for more than $1000. Pretty expensive guitar pedal, huh?

Fortunately, you can also find good deals on these vintage guitar pedals if you shop around at online auctions, or local pawn shops. Many times an individual will have an old Fuzz Face pedal lying around and decide to sell it without knowing how rare and prized this classic stomp box actually is.

In these situations you might be able to buy one in great shape for as little as $100 or less. Of course, you have to do some shopping around to find bargains like this, but it is possible.

Tone-wise, the original Arbiter Fuzz Face is an amazing guitar effect. Legendary guitar heroes such as Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townsend have immortalized the this pedal on recordings from the 1960s and 70s. Many modern rock players also go ga-ga for its “creamy” transistor produced sustain. In fact, the Fuzz Face is probably more popular today than ever.

Unfortunately, there is a great deal of confusion about what an original Fuzz Face pedal actually is. Various companies produce stomp boxes that use the name “fuzz face,” but are in fact very different pedals, using completely different components.

For example, Jim Dunlop produces a “Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face” pedal that is quite popular, but is NOT the original. Like the Dunlop model, many manufacturers produce a reissue or “reconstruction” of the classic Arbiter English version. And although some of these “remakes” are very good, and have established solid reputations in their own right, none are as revered as the original English version.

Even the Dallas-Arbiter version is slightly different from the original English model, and lacks a certain “bite” that is difficult to describe. Mind you, they still sound pretty great — just not quite as great as the original.

Trying to get your hands on original English Fuzz Face is not always easy, but with a little bit of persistence you can usually find one at a decent price by searching around. If the price tag of an original English model is a bit out of your league, consider one of the many high quality reissues such as the Cornell AC 128. Next to an authentic English-manufactured Fuzz Face, it’s one of the sweetest sounding fuzz boxes you’re likely to hear.

By: Jon Mercer

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Buying the right guitar may not be an easy choice for you. It can be so frustrating and exasperating that sometimes you will just feel like buying the next guitar you see just so that you can stop your search once and for all. Worse if you the easily frustrated type, you may even feel like giving up the idea of learning how to play the guitar altogether.

Every person will have a different set of criteria when choosing a good guitar. However, chances are that you may not always be able to satisfy all of them at once. Just have a little patience and look around as much as you can so that will not regret later that you have bought a wrong guitar. Don’t just buy the first guitar you see, visit as many guitar stores as you can just to get an idea of what is on offer.

You probably will have friends who are experienced guitarists, so go and ask them for advice on how to choose a guitar for a beginner like you. Someone who has been playing the guitar for sometime will be able to show you where to choose the best guitars for the best price. Better yet, ask them if they are willing to accompany you to check out the guitars.

Beginner guitar players are often offered package deals in most guitar stores. These deals will often include a free guitar strap, case, tuner and sometimes even free lessons. This would be a good choice for a beginner because everything you need to learn how to play the guitar is packaged together.

If you aspire to be a proficient guitarist, buying a guitar not suitable for you would not only get you shortchanged but it might also disillusion you and dampens your enthusiasm. For this reason, it is always recommended that buy your guitar from reputed brands such as Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, Gibson, Ovation and Martin just to list a few of them.

You don’t have to get embarrassed when trying out and testing the guitar at the shop since you will be the one who is paying for the guitar. When inspecting a guitar, lookout for sloppy gluing and also make sure that the guitar has a good solid top.

Play the guitar as loudly as you want to because this is the best way of listening to its tonal quality. Play on every fret on the guitar neck to make sure that there are no fret buzzes. Also never pay the listed price for a guitar, so do some hard bargaining with the sales staff and you may get a handsome discount.

If buying a brand new guitar is out of your tight budget, you may wish to consider getting a good quality second hand guitar. This is also an option especially so if your enthusiasm on being a guitarist is just a passing fad.

By: Chris Chew

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The Alvarez guitar line as we know it today started with a Japanese luthier named Kazuo Yairi who worked in partnership with an American company to design these guitars. Yairis family is known for creating high quality, hand made instruments. The companys current, skilled luthiers continue this tradition.

Alvarez does not use computers and other high tech devices to help build their guitars. Computer assisted guitars have a very uniform sound across the board. The Alvarez guitars are unique from instrument to instrument. Building them by hand gives each guitar their own character. That is why it is important to find luthiers and other workers who are both skilled and passionate.

They pride themselves on their wood seasoning process. Done correctly, this can be considered the key to the sound. Wood types such as mahogany and rosewood are both air dried and kiln dried for long periods of time- sometimes as much as fifteen years. This aging process helps develop the tone and gives it a rich quality. The guitars are then shaped into their various styles.

Alvarez has a complete line of high quality guitars. Their acoustic guitar styles include the Dreadnought series, crafted in a shape and style similar to other Dreadnoughts, Alvarez classic guitars of various styles and woods, and Alvarez folk style guitars, including some cutaway models. For a complete list of styles, visit their website.

There are also plenty of famous and accomplished musicians who play Alvarez guitars. These include Ani DiFranco, Bret Michaels, Carlos Santana, Graham Nash, Kipp Winger, Laura Clapp, and David Crosby. For an extensive list, please visit their website.

Here are some reviews of Alvarez Acoustic Guitars (source Harmony Central):

About the Alvarez 5054 12 String

Got started more than half a century ago. I m what we now like to call a multi-instrumentalist. Play in half a dozen bands, jazz, blues, metal, punk, Cajun and Irish.

This is a great guitar. The first time you pick it up you immediately recognize that it “has something”. And it ain t just me, I ve had some friends (including some well-known players) try it out and give it a thumbs-up.

I m not saying I would trade my Guild for it, but I ve not come across a comparable second choice. And considering that nowadays this is a sub $400 guitar it s an outright bargain.

About the Alvarez AC 60SC

I have been playing guitar for over 30 years and have owned all types of guitars and gear. I was without a nylon stringed guitar for a while and developed a nylon jones. I began looking for a classical guitar, with a cutaway and built in electronics. I checked out guitars at 2 stores and chose this one for it s acoustic sound. I did not even plug it in at the store. I liked the characteristics in her voice. I came back the next day and traded my steel-string acoustic in on her.

As I said before, this guitar is like a wonderful woman. One that should be treated well and caressed. Playing her should be like making love.

If guitar playing can be that much fun everyone should take it up.

By: William McRea

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Technorati Tags: Basic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Guitar Accessories, Guitar Amp

Acquiring and wrapping your fingers around your own, personal guitar to get its ‘feel’ is always a good idea. We recommend you to go in for a used acoustic guitar. Here’s what, why and how …

Unlike, say, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar neither needs nor uses any external devices to enhance its sound volume and quality. Remember, guitars are seldom played solo. They’re played along with other, often noisy, instruments. Naturally, if you’re the guitarist you want to be distinctly heard by and be properly audible to the audience. You might not be blasting away like the trumpeter but, nevertheless, you want the melody of the music you’re making to be picked up straight away.

It is to help you fulfill this perfectly legitimate aspiration that we suggest you begin your music-making with not just an acoustic guitar but specifically a used acoustic guitar. Why? Because thanks to its earlier use by another guitarist, whether professional or amateur, the used acoustic guitar is more likely than not to have already ‘found’ its fully formed voice. With the passage of time a wood-based musical instrument like a guitar (or violin, for that matter) sheds the brittleness of its timber and becomes soft and mellowed with the cleaning up and rubbing with oil that comes with its proper maintenance. In a used acoustic guitar somebody else has already done the rubbing up for you! Besides, you’re likely to spend only half the cost of a brand new instrument – so it’s a bargain all the way!

Fine, so where can you find cheap acoustic guitars? To start with, you’ll have to be certain that the acoustic guitar for sale won’t land you conned into buying an instrument you wouldn’t want. Generally, the used guitar could be one of four kinds: old used, new used, refurbished and needs work.

Your best choice would be in finding an old used acoustic guitar for sale that’s ten years old or even older. A new used one would be fewer than five years old. If you’re lucky, you’ll find factory seconds or refurbished guitars on recent models. You must know what you’re buying: Is the neck twisted or bent? Is the neck joint flush to the body of the guitar? (It ought to be so.) Is it plastic or wood? (Wood is definitely better.) Do you have to change the strings? (If so, you can’t test the sound.)

Online,you’ll find great bargains on acoustic guitars for sale of all categories. Look for sellers who have sold acoustic guitars before and have positive feedbacks. So now you know your what, why and how. Happy strumming!

By: Fredrik Roaldset

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I built my guitar whilst living on my boat “The Nicky J Miller” in the North of Queensland. Naturally, I had a few simple power tools but nothing more than that. I did have access to a rusty old Triton Bench saw and was able to make use of that for cutting the braces but they could have easily been done with a hand saw!

Optional desirable tools! Ones I didnt have!

Bandsaw, a planer, a router (I **** them and don’t own one!)

TOOLS I USED FOR BUILDING MY GUITAR

( strangely enough, I didnt even use all of these tools either!)

· A rusty old Triton workbench (only for the braces)

· A small block plane

· A sharpening stone and some oil

· A set of chisels 6mm to 25mm

· A chisel and plane honing guide (an absolute must)

· A set of cheap saws consisting of a hand rip saw, a small keyhole saw, a retractable exacto type knife.

· A stainless steel scraper.

· Ten or twelve six inch clamps.

· Several small G clamps

· Three cam clamps

· A set of needle files

· A tenon saw

· A hobby type hacksaw

· A dovetail saw

· A coping saw

· A jeweller’s tenon saw with a packet of 000 blades

· A flat smooth woodworkers file .

· Jewellers pincers small

· A small hammer

· A small jewellers vice

· A small red vice.

· A one metre straight edged engineer’s rule (invaluable)

· A one foot steel rule (in inches)

· A foldaway builders steel tape (in inches and millimetres)

· Various sanding blocks (rubber and foam)

· A Bernz-o-matic plumber’s gas torch with a regular nozzle

(I would recommend a larger nozzle)

· Several small assorted fine toothed saws

· Several packets of sandpaper ranging from some cheapo bargains in all grades to some really good expensive non clog stuff ranging from 80 grit to around 800grit….some wet and dry about 400 grit

· A packet of 000 fine wire wool

· A jar of orange shellac (flakes) and a litre of methylated spirits

· Several odd little clamps that were lying around the boat

· A large packet of super big elastic bands

· About twenty very large rubber bands made from an old car tyre

· A twenty-dollar cheap and cheerful folding workbench (a kit from Supercheaps!)

· A tapered reamer from Supercheaps

· A few half decent paint brushes and pots.

ELECTRIC TOOLS

I had the usual electric tools that are usually found around a house or boat. These were as follows:

· An electric drill

· A jigsaw

· A variable speed rotary sander..this is a wonderful tool and I used it for nearly all sanding jobs.. the great beauty of this machine is the variable speed, you can pull it right down to about 75 rpm and it is very gentle to use.. Normal sanders are stupid and lethal and really should be banned! What on earth is the good of a machine that kicks in from nought to twenty thousand revs in a second or two…I **** them, they are only good for cutting roof tiles or steel even then they are still lethal!!

· A six inch rotary bench saw ( never used it!)

· A Bosch variable speed electric orbital sander and a lot of discs ranging from 120grit to 400grit ….( this tool was fantastic for sanding the braces, backs and soundboard)

· A Colt or Dremel mini variable speed rotary drill and kit… I bought a few accessory kits for this machine most of which I did not even use except the rotary sandpaper drums for sanding down the braces to a point! and honestly I just could not have built this guitar without this little wonder of a machine!…sadly, it burned out on the very last stages of the build but I will buy a Dremel next time or even a Ryobi!

These machines are the last word if you need to do any inlaying, but if you do, buy this book;

“The Art Of Inlay by Larry Robinson”….it is indispensable if you are even thinking about tackling any inlaying!

One obvious thing is, of course, Keep your chisels and planers sharp! I have posted another article I have written for a boating magazine called “ How to keep your tools sharp using automotive wet’n’dry paper. You will find it very useful I’m sure!

I also have bought a honing guide and it’s a great little machine too and you can still use the Automotive wet’n’dry to sharpen them too!

HUMIDITY, THE SOGGY QUESTION!

I’m going to say a few words about humidity. When I first said I would make my guitar on a boat, the immediate response was

“ What about the humidity?” Well, firstly in Australia where I built the guitar in summer it is horribly humid and there is no way I would have attempted it then during the Summer or ‘wet’ as it is known.. However, I have lived on my boat for about seven years and own eight guitars. My boat is beautifully warm and dry and I have never had a problem with any of them at all. I do, however, keep them in their cases at most times. However, in the Winter, it’s a different story, There are many days when the humidity is well below sixty percent and that’s fine for glueing up the guitars. It’s much the same as anyone who lives in a waterside house or apartment….. what do they do? I simple listen to the marine forecast or look at the weather on the computer and they can tell me whatever the humidity was just ten minutes ago! So really, I don’t have a problem with dreaded Humidity folks!

All of this information and much more can be found in Terry’s book that he wrote about the build called ” How to build a weissenborn lap steel guitar” This can be found on terry’s site as well as photos of the build, and even a sound clip of the finished guitar! Thiscan be found at www.buildaweissenborn.com

By: Terry Buddell

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