From virtual musician to real musician

It wasn’t always the case, but I now believe that music video games can contribute to the Part-Time Musician’s development in some ways – and they’re a lot of fun! That last part – the fun – is what draws the vast majority of gamers to pick up Rock Band or Guitar Hero. But why should the fun stop when you shut off the game console?

It’s common sense, regardless of the activity: if you enjoy it, you’ll be more committed, you’ll do it better, and you’ll reap more benefits…which leads to deeper commitment, better performance, more benefits…well, you know where this is going. 

I’ve already written about the benefits of music video games to current PTMs, but what about those who have yet to discover their longing to play real music? Don’t we all want to get others hooked on our playing addiction? Well…of course we do!

I ran across this article about some great things Fender is doing to entice new musicians into the fold and to appeal to current musicians as well. Check out these nuggets:

“Guitarists using Fender’s new $299 G-DEC 3 amplifier, on sale in April, will get the traditional boost, echo, reverb and other heavy amplified sounds. But the G-DEC 3 is also a “band in a box,” letting musicians play along with 100 music tracks in various styles created by guitarists such as Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. There’s an SD slot for adding MP3 files to the amp.”

“Fender just launched ejamming.com, a site where guitarists can plug into the Net and jam with musicians around the world. The site features free downloadable software that allows musicians to connect. The music can be recorded and saved. There’s a one-month free trial and $9.99 a month subscription.”

I’m excited enough about these developments to give ejamming.com a try myself, and if anyone has any connections at Fender, I’d be more than willing to do a review of the G-DEC 3…so put me in touch, please!

What do you think? While these developments can’t fully replace a live, in-person jam session, they certainly could help keep one driving toward their musical goals with a smile. Interested? Leave a comment! We’d love to hear from you.

Keep playing,
Mark

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How to make your own guitar pickups

Some Part-Time Musicians (PTMs) have the goal to pick up a new instrument, or perhaps to learn new things with an instrument they already know and love. Some folks can’t stop at that. They must know how to build one.  Neither obsession is the “right” obsession for everyone, and they certainly aren’t mutually exclusive. If you are “that kind of person”, this article may scratch an itch you didn’t even know you had. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Some time ago, our friends at Instructables posted an article showing how to make your own guitar pickups. We had intended to run this shortly after our feature on replacing your guitar’s pickups, but other topics pushed it aside. No longer! Even if you aren’t inclined to tinker, this is fascinating stuff.

The Bottom Line

You can make your own guitar pickups for less than $10 each, but the real benefits to doing so don’t start or end at price. If you want to design your own, learn about the inner workings of your axe, or just inspire awe and envy among your gearhead friends (!), this project is a great way to do it. Enjoy!

All the best,
Mark

Disclaimer: Any destruction or improvements you manage to cause are your responsibility. Take full credit or blame for them yourself! If you’d like to share a cautionary tale or words of encouragement, though, feel free to drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you!

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How to replace the pickups in your guitar

If you’ve ever daydreamed about replacing the pickups in that old axe of yours but thought it would be too difficult or risky, your waiting days may be over.

Written by a fifteen year-old – yes, fifteen! – this article details how to remove and replace your existing pickups, ending up with something a little more to your (ears’) liking. Though it wasn’t a perfect ending, it demonstrates very well that with a little time, money, and patience, you really can get a great new sound from that old guitar!

My first foray into working on (rather than playing) guitars was when, out of desperation, I experimented with adjusting the intonation on a faux Stratocaster I owned. The results were beyond encouraging, as detailed in this article. I always figured swapping pickups would be too involved to tackle myself…but now I’m getting ideas. Aren’t you? 

What do you think? Are you up to the challenge? If this has pushed you over the edge, please let us know! And if you’d like to chronicle your upgrade, we might even post an article about your travels. Drop us a line; we’d love to hear from you.

Keep playing,
Mark

Note: If you’re shopping for pickups or other gear, please consider supporting your PartTimeMusician.com advertisers! Just follow the links in the right-hand column to explore your upgrade options. Thank you!

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YouTube for musicians: equipment setup

This is the second in a series of articles about using YouTube to accomplish your goals as a musician. Many of these goals overlap, but today, we’ll try to keep our focus to using YouTube as a reference for working with (e.g. setting up, maintaining) your equipment.

Even with the numerous demands on our time, I firmly believe that becoming a “good musician” (whatever your definition) is more attainable now than it ever has been. Many factors contribute to this, including the widespread availability of good, reasonably-priced instruments…and the wealth of knowledge available to those who want/need it. While finding it can be a problem – as can distinguishing the good from the bad, just as with the instruments themselves at times – help is available on almost any topic imaginable. One of the best sources is YouTube.

This article addresses the guitar family, but rest assured it applies to all instruments. For today, though, our fretted friends offer the perfect example.

New or used, cheap or expensive, rare is the electric guitar (or bass) that makes its way into your hands with perfect intonation. While relief and pickup adjustments can be very helpful, I would suggest that adjusting your guitar’s intonation may be the single best (free) thing you can do for your overall sound quality.

Several years ago, I bought an inexpensive guitar pack to play around with. The bundled guitar was a cheap Strat knock-off, and while my expectations weren’t high, the guitar just was never “right”. The tuner would show that every string was in tune, but when you played a chord, it didn’t quite sound that way. Since I played only acoustic/classical guitar to that point and had always taken any problems to the shop for resolution, that’s what I did this time as well.

The tech was helpful, and he took a quick stab at adjusting the intonation. Although he didn’t make any noticeable improvement, he did encourage me to give it a try myself. So back home I went…and the first thing I did was pull up YouTube. Eventually, I found the video below, and (adopting dramatic voice) it changed my life. 

I sat down one evening and tinkered with the poor, cheap Stratocopy until it sounded like a real guitar. I was amazed at the difference! No, this simple procedure won’t transform a dime-store instrument into a mega-axe, but it just might make your beater a useful music-maker. The Strat that had collected dust for months (years?) now sees regular use and is a real joy to play.

After the success with the little Stratocopy, I turned my attention to my favorite bass. It had always sounded good, but with a little intonation TLC, it sounded even better. Again, rare is the gear that couldn’t benefit from a little attention! A word of warning: the more intonation adjustments you do, the better you get at doing them…and the more you crave the results.

For those Part-Time Musicians (PTMs) who don’t play guitar or bass, you (and your instrument/equipment) can still benefit from a little YouTubing. In future articles, I plan to address helpful videos for everything from woodwinds to pianos, brass to fine strings. Whatever you play, it’s very likely that something is in there for you. Finding it is the challenge. 

Keep playing,
Mark

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Welcome new advertiser: Making Music Magazine

Please welcome our newest advertiser, Making Music Magazine! If you haven’t already, you can check out their ad in the right column of this (and every!) page here at PartTimeMusician.com. It looks like this:

Making Music Magazine is a print publication that caters to people who play music as an avocation, not as a vocation. Many of us PTMs fall into that category, and for those who do, MMM is an excellent (additional!) resource.

Our goal here at PartTimeMusician.com is to provide quality information to those who “work a day job to support their playing addiction”, and this extends to our advertisers. Our bar is high on your behalf, and we feel MMM fits right in.

Please let us know how we’re doing! After all, this is your site, too. 

All the best,
Mark

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