Jimmy

When I started streaming on Twitch three years ago, I never thought my keyboard would become my biggest audio problem. Within minutes of going live, viewers flooded my chat complaining about the constant clack of my mechanical keyboard bleeding into the microphone. That was the day I realized streamers need specialized keyboards, not just good … Read more

Last summer I plugged in my Strat during a humid gig and the volume knob crackled so badly the audience thought my tone was a joke. After ten years of chasing scratchy pots, I learned one thing: the right contact cleaner turns a flaky guitar into a studio workhorse. That’s why I spent 90 days … Read more

Finding the best guitar pickups for death metal changed my playing more than any amp I have ever owned. I spent three months A/B testing ten popular high-output humbuckers through a 5150 and a Mark V, down-tuning to drop C and beyond, palm muting brutal chugs and trying to keep palm-muted low strings tight. The … Read more

Spending under 400 on a guitar used to mean one thing: compromise. I spent the last three months testing 12 of the best guitars under 400 across acoustic, electric, and acoustic-electric categories, and the results genuinely surprised me. The sub-400 price point is the real sweet spot for serious beginners and intermediate players, because it’s … Read more

I’ve spent the last few months testing small guitar amps in my apartment, on hotel desks, and in the back seat of my car. The best small guitars amp options today can deliver tones that rival much bigger combos, and they fit inside a backpack. If you want real Marshall grit without waking up the … Read more

Starting bass can feel intimidating, especially when a full 34-inch neck stretches your hand in ways guitar fingers have never seen. After helping dozens of first-time players pick their first instrument over years of testing, our team has watched short scale basses consistently turn reluctant learners into confident rhythm players faster than any full-size alternative. … Read more

If you’ve ever plugged into a bad cable mid-gig and lost half your low end, you already know why the best instrument cables for bass matter. A bass guitar produces a wider frequency range than a standard electric guitar, with frequencies that drop well below what most guitar cables are designed to handle cleanly. The … Read more

Recording an acoustic guitar is one of the most rewarding and most frustrating tasks in a home studio. The instrument spans a wide dynamic range, from whisper-quiet fingerpicking to aggressive strumming, and it generates a dense wash of overtones, body resonances, and pick attacks that expose every flaw in a bad microphone. After testing dozens … Read more

Modern metal guitars are electric guitars built with humbucker pickups, fast necks for shredding, and solid bodies designed for high-gain tones and down-tuning. After spending three months testing 12 metal-ready electrics in our rehearsal space and home studio, I built this guide around the guitars that actually delivered tight riffs, clear palm mutes, and reliable … Read more

Finding the best guitar pickups for heavy metal changed how I approached tone. I spent years blaming my amplifier when really the heart of the metal tone lives in the pickup itself. After swapping pickups in five different guitars and running them through everything from 5150s to dual-recs, I learned one thing: the right humbucker … Read more