How To Make A Cheap Guitar Sound Great

Most beginning guitar players start with a rather inexpensive instrument. They usually have a mass production clone of a Fender Stratocaster or a Gibson Les Paul. The most popular clones are made overseas by Gibson and Fender themselves through the Epiphone and Squier lines. These are built to the same specs as the American made models. They are decent instruments in their own right but they can be improved greatly with just a pickup replacement. As long as the neck is straight and the tuning pegs are fairly tight, this is often all you need to upgrade to a pro sound.

Iv'e modified several Mexican made Stratocasters and I'll take you through the process. The first thing you want to decide on is what kind of sound you're looking for. Replacement pickups are available with a lot of variety in sound output. I like to use Seymour Duncan pickups because they have proven to be of high quality and reliability. They also have a good selection and have a CD of sound samples you can listen to. Most dealers have the CD's and you can also listen to the samples online. Choose your replacement pickups and you're ready to upgrade.

You'll need several things for the job. A good stable workbench or table, with plenty of room to lay your tools out, makes things much easier. Here's a list of what you need: 1.screwdriver set, both flat head and philips 2.soldering iron 3.solder 4.new set of strings 5.wire cutters/strippers

The first thing you need to do is remove your guitar strings. I usually leave the low E-string on to keep a little tension on the neck. Next remove the pickguard cover. Make sure you save all the screws in a cup as they are small and get lost easily. After you remove the screws you should be able to lift up on it and slide it off under the E-string. You should now see your three pickups and the wiring thats attached to them.

The new pickups come with a wiring diagram that is color coded but take a good look at each pickup before you replace it in case something isn't quite right with the color code. It's important that you replace one pickup at a time so as not to mix up the bridge, middle and neck pickups.

Heat up your soldering iron. Remove the first pickup. I usually start with the neck pickup. Cut and strip the wires according to the instructions and solder the wires to the new ones. Repeat the process for the other two. Not too bad, huh?

When you replace the cover/pickguard, be careful not to overtighten the screws or they might get stripped. Now would be a good time to clean the guitar before you put the new strings on.

Replace and tune the strings and plug in. You'll be pleased with the results. I have several of these upgraded strats for the price of one expensive one and more versatilty with different pickup sounds. You can do the same thing with an Epiphone Les Paul to produce a sound that rivals the Gibson for about a third of the price. Now you can spend more money on all the cool effects gadgets. Have fun and keep practicing.

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John is one of the webmasters at: Guitar Reviews

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6 Simple Tips To Help Potty Train Your Puppy
Potty training also known as toilet or house training is the art of teaching your puppy where you want him to relieve himself. Sound simple! Not exactly, at least to me and many dog owners out there. Potty training my puppy gives me the most problems and headaches when I start to house train my first puppy years ago.

It seems that my puppy is always either in the wrong place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time! Nevertheless, over the years, after much experiments and reading up, I’ve manage to come out with 6 simple tips to help potty train your dog.

1. Try to feed your puppy on a regular schedule and remove his water supply before bed time. His potty timing would be more predictable and consistent.

2. Puppy usually instinctively wants to relieve itself after feeding, sleeping, playing and confinement. Bring him to your designated area for his potty business after such activities.

3. Do not let your puppy wander off without supervision, potty training aside, it is dangerous for a young puppy to wander around by itself. Confined it in an area where you can see to prevent accidents and reward desired behaviors.

4. Be vigilance and always be on the look out. When you see your puppy sniffing and running around in circles, bring him to your designated spot immediately.

5. Give a command to help your dog associate the potty action with. For example, “Do it now” or “Go Potty”.

6. When he is doing his potty business, praise and reward. Praise and reward again after he’s finished.

Following these tips should help you considerably in potty training your puppy.

About the Author

Moses Chia is a dog lover and owner of DogsObedienceTraining.com – The dog training resource site for a happier and healthier dog. You are welcome to reprint this article if you keep the content and live link intact.

7 Simple ways to safe Guard your dog this summer!
If you have a hard time in summer imagine how it must feel under a fur coat! here are some simple tips to help your dog beat the heat.

1) Bob The Hair:
If you have a shaggy dog like a pomeranian, Pekinese or any such variation then listen up. Your dog needs a hair cut. The hair should be cut with scissors and not shaved. Do not cut around the whiskers but you can carefully trim around the eyes.The less hair on your dog the cooler he will keep. If you have a short haired dog no need for a trim.

2) Play it cool: Food can be lighter and given before it gets hot in the morning and after it cools down in the evening.Depending on the dogs normal diet, reduce or entirely eliminate meat. Replace with soya, mashed or cooked with meat flavour. When a dog is panting give ice to lick.

3) walk on the mild side:
Walks should be taken early and then again after sundown. Don't encourage chasing, fetching games too much.

4) Cool it: If you enjoy airconditioning so does your dog.If you have a cooled space share it with your pooch.

5) No closed encounters: Never leave dogs in a completely closed space. If your dog is home, Leave on the fan. In a car, leave the window partially open.

6) Let it all hang out: Dogs sweat from their tongues so never tie or muzzle the mouth in the summer. Whilst giving medical treatment see if you can hold the head rather than tying the mouth. If you have to tie the mouth be sure to release as quickly as possible.

7) Do not bathe your dog more than once a month. Soap/ Cleansers strip their skin of natural oils and lead to skin irritation. when dirty you can simply towel dry with a damp towel.

About the Author

Venkata Ramana is a Dog Lover since childhood. Visit his www.dogs-now.com/go/Boxer Dog website and discover how you can make boxer dog the happiest, loving dog alive, Running healthily with you.

Celebrity Gossip: What's The Attraction?
Have you ever found yourself enthralled by what goes on in the personal lives of celebrities? Well, you aren’t alone. A huge percentage of people all over the world look forward to opening up their magazine of choice and reading about what the famous are up to. In what new ways has Tom Cruise embarrassed himself? Has Britney Spears given birth yet? Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie sleeping in separate beds? For some reason, many humans find these things to be interesting.

But you have to ask yourself, why is it that people are entertained hearing about celebrity gossip? If Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are having marital troubles, what makes it more interesting than your neighbors regular fights? Is it because the celebrities have more money, and therefore anything that happens to them is more important? After all, if I want to hear about marital troubles, I don’t have to look very far.

Celebrity gossip is a huge business. The photographers can earn literally thousands of dollars just for taking a picture of a celebrity. The magazines scrape together every little bit of info the can to come up with the newest rumors. The magazines are released to grocery store checkouts across the nation, and are quickly snapped up by shoppers eager to hear the latest.

The Celebrity is really an interesting phenomenon. Society has idolized people who are hardly more good-looking or charismatic than the average person. And individuals have followed this trend, and begun to be interested by the celebrity gossip that is everywhere. But when put into perspective, few people can come up with the true reason they are interested by it. So, ask yourself why you really enjoy reading the gossip magazines. If you can’t come up with any valid reason, perhaps it’s time to rethink your priorities.

We know that it doesn't make any sense, but Celebrity Gossip is still fun, right? So visit our Celebrity Gossip Forum ;-)

More things I have learned
Growing old does have one benefit ... experience. So, I am continuing here to share my vast pool of knowledge. Of course my girlfriend can't resist telling me I need to clean the pool, but heres the list anyway.

1. If you do anything that gets your hands wet, soapy or dirty, your nose WILL itch.

2. When you give your email out anywhere on the internet, you will soon learn all you never wanted to know about body part enhancements.

3. A cat does not love you. It simply allows you to live with it IF you pet, feed and clean it's litter box on a regular basis. Otherwise, you're history.

4. Your Co-Workers, on the other hand, DO love you ... at least as long as you continue to give them good stuff to talk about when you aren't around.

5. You are NOT the master of your fate. Your mother is. And when you get married, your wife is.

6. Life is beautiful .. Life sucks ... life is beautiful ... life sucks. Repeat as necessary.

7. There is a chip in all cars that keeps them from starting unless you stroke the dashboard correctly and sincerely mean it when you say "Come on baby .. you can do it".

8. Computers will only work correctly when you DON'T need them to.

9. A kiss is just a kiss, and a smile is just a smile, but a baby is forever.

10. There is no such thing as a ghost that can haunt you ... except in your own mind.

11. Nothing is carved in stone ... other than what will happen if you forget your other half's birthday or anniversary.

12. No matter how hard you try, you will NEVER be able to fold laundry according to your spouse's instructions.

13. Anything you think will happen, won't... and anything you think won't happen, will.

14. Love is a two way street .. unless you are on the freeway and then there may be lots of exits before you get somewhere.

You can see more of Jan Michaels musings or various and sundry humorous items at: Articles Heaven Or, Free Heaven