Living with no tremolo

Hardtail guitars are always better.

I made the choice a while back to stop using vibrato systems altogether with my guitars, and this was a wise decision.

To note: Fender calls vibrato tremolo and that's the definition most guitarists go by, hence why I'm referring to it as such... even though I know the proper name for it is vibrato.

Every guitar player at some point realizes that tremolo is stupid and stops using it. It doesn't matter if it's the Stratocaster tremolo system, Jazzmaster/Jaguar system, Floyd-Rose system, Bigsby system or whatever it is.

Why is tremolo stupid? Well, aside from putting your guitar out-of-tune (there is no such thing as a tremolo system that always keeps strings in tune after use no matter what anyone says), it gets in the way of your playing.

Want to know why so many Strat players "block" or "deck" their tremolo systems, effectively disabling it? It's so they don't have to spend extra time getting the guitar ready-to-play after a new string installation. Disable the system and you start playing sooner rather than later. Problem solved.

There is however another reason why tremolo is stupid.

Nobody wants to hear annoying bendy notes in a guitar solo. In fact, nobody wants to hear guitar solos at all.

Many guitar players get tricked into thinking that a) you must solo, and b) your solos must have "crazy" bends to sound good.

Don't do crazy bends. Don't solo. You don't need to do that and never did.

Fun fact: Did you know that when you stop soloing and stop doing crazy bendy notes, you can lower your guitar action even more for more effortless play? It's true.

Living with no tremolo is easy regardless of what music style you play

When you don't use tremolo at all, the guitar becomes a lot easier and more enjoyable to use.

Hardtail guitars like the Telecaster, SG and Les Paul along with many semi-hollow bodies are way easier to set up, string up and play. Once set up, all you have to do it plug in and go. It doesn't get any easier.

I was at one point all about the tremolo with the Jazzmaster. But then I went all-in with Telecaster style guitars, and it's just better.

The end result of going no-tremolo was that instead of fussing around with a tremolo system, I play more. And that's the entire reason I even own guitars to begin with. To play them.

I bought the cheapest bass, and it's actually pretty good

This really is the cheapest stringed instrument I've ever bought.

I'll say first that the company who made this bass has sponsored a lot of people. I am not one of them. I paid full price for this, meaning I'm not sponsored.

What I bought was a Glarry GJazz.

Before I get into more detail, I'll explain why I bought it first.

While I do have a synthesizer that has bass guitar sounds in it, I simply can't replicate decent bass playing on a synth. All a synth can do regardless of price is do very simple bass lines, provided you have a sustain pedal. For example, you can do this dirt cheap with a Yamaha YPT260 synth and a Yamaha FC-5 pedal. If all you need is something that makes a decent bass sound that you can play with one finger, the synth and pedal is all that's required.

I do have a synth setup similar to that, but to get the bass lines I wanted, I knew I had to get a real bass.

I've owned basses before. In the video I said I owned 4. Actually, the Glarry is my 5th. The first bass was an Epiphone with a model name I don't remember, then a Yamaha RBX170, then a second Yamaha RBX170, then a Squier Jaguar Bass Special SS, and now the Glarry GJazz.

What would happen is I'd buy a bass, own it for a while, then trade it out. The trade would usually go towards some guitar I wanted at the time.

This time around, I decided to go for the cheapest bass I could find. Originally I was going to get the SX Ursa 2 from Rondo. But at the time of this writing, the only full size long scale model available was $235. That was more than I wanted to spend and it didn't even come in a color that I liked.

Xaviere brand does sell a Jazz Bass model called the JB, and as of this writing it's $209 (not including shipping cost). And it looks awesome too. But that was still more than I wanted to spend.

Then I remembered Glarry, so I looked them up. They had a Jazz Bass style at a very nice price in a color that worked for the body shape. Okay, sold. I bought one.

"So... how is it?"

Surprisingly good, but it needed some attention.

The neck had a mighty hump in it, meaning it was back-bowed. A few cranks of the truss rod fixed that.

I noticed a rather large gap at the neck pocket. What I discovered is that it appears the neck wasn't screwed down all the way from the factory. Detuned the strings, took off the neck, reseated it, fixed. And I didn't even need to shim it, which was nice.

Intonation was way out, so I intonated it. Fixed.

The 45-100 string set wasn't to my liking, so I switched over to a lighter D'Addario 45-90 EXL220BT set. Cheap and good.

The pickup screws needed to be reseated. Took them out, put back in, adjusted height, done.

...and that's it. The neck has proper relief now, the pocket gap was fixed, it's intonated and has the strings I want on it. Good to go. All the electronics work like they're supposed to.

Do I recommend this bass for guitar players?

Yes. It's a cheap Jazz style bass that works. If you need a bass for recording bass tracks at home, get one of these.

The only requirement is that you have to know how to set one up. If you know how to set up a guitar, then you already know how to set up a bass. Same thing, bigger strings. There's really not much to it. Check the instrument over, set neck relief, adjust pickup height, adjust string height, and so on. You know the drill.

I should also note there is the Glarry GP, which is their Precision Bass copy. I wanted a bass with two pickups in it with the Jazz Bass shape, but if you prefer the Precision Bass shape with one pickup, that works too. And they even have one in Hot Yellow, which is basically Graffiti Yellow. That I like, but that color isn't available on the GJazz, hence why I got the white one.

Using really light electric guitar strings

Going light? Going ultra light? There are some things you need to know.

It usually comes as a surprise to most people when they find out I use 8-38 guitar strings. Or to be technically accurate about it, a set that is usually the specific sizes from thinnest to thickest of .008 .011 .014 .022w .030 .038 (the w in .022w means "wound").

Do I a have a brand preference? Yes and no.

Yes, in that when possible, I will buy GHS GBUL (Guitar Boomers Ultra Light).

No, because since 8-38 is not as common as other sizes, I have the three alternates of Ernie Ball Extra Slinky 2225, Ernie Ball Extra Slinky 2255 (this is a "pure nickel" variant), and D'Addario XL EXL130. Whatever I get literally depends on which is cheaper at the time of purchase.

Set size weirdness

Ernie ball uses a 4 string size in an 8-38 set of .022w, but D'Addario uses .021w as does the Fender 250XS set. I've no idea if this makes any real difference or not due to the fact it's a wound string. On a thin plain string, sure, you feel that. But on wound, not-so much, if at all.

The DR Strings LLT-8 set throws a curve ball by messing with the 3 string size. Instead of 8-11-14-22-30-38 like most other sets, theirs is 8-11-16-24-30-38.

I'm telling you this just so you know there really isn't an absolute standard when it comes to 8-38 set sizes. You will find slight variations from string maker to string maker.

Why I switched to 8-38

While there were several reasons I switched over to 8-38, the main reasons were that I started chording a lot more, started playing surf and country music, and turned the overdrive/distortion way, way down.

For a very long time I used nothing but 9-42 and "light top, heavy bottom" 9-46 sets. But I found that with the styles of music I favor playing now, lighter strings are just better.

What I prefer is action as low and light as I can get it so I can glide across the fretboard effortlessly. This allows me to play for longer periods of time and moreover enjoy the guitar more, so I'm all for it.

Do ultra light strings work on any electric guitar?

Yes, but whether they work for you or not depends on your hands.

If you typically have a tight grip with your fret hand (if you do, you would know it), fretted notes using 8-38 may go out-of-tune slightly.

If you use a strong pick strike with your picking hand, the same out-of-tune issue happens, especially if you favor "power chords" (5th chords).

In other words, 8-38 is not for the heavy-handed player. Even if you switch to a more flexible pick, that really doesn't help much if the fret hand grips hard and/or the picking hand strikes hard.

On the assumption you play with a lighter touch or could learn to, the only thing to know is that you will have to set up your guitar again should you switch to 8-38.

If for example you switch from 10-46 to 8-38, everything has to be readjusted. Neck relief, string saddle height, pickup height, the works.

This may sound like a big project, but it really isn't. You just have to expect it because the woods of your guitar will act differently with 8-38 compared to 10-46.

Have your guitar tools ready if you want to make the jump to 8-38.

Battle of the cheap Squiers: Bullet Stratocaster HT vs. Affinity Telecaster

These guitars are both cheap, but are 50 dollars apart. One is under $200 and the other over. Is one better than the other?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer:

I'm writing this after having played a Squier Affinity Telecaster and Squier Bullet Stratocaster HT (which by the way has a Shell Pink HSS version available). The HT means "hardtail", which means the strings are top-loaded. No vibrato system, which Fender calls tremolo, meaning no vibrato arm, which everybody calls a whammy bar.

I have owned Bullet Strats and an Affinity Telecaster before. The only thing that's really changed is that the Bullet Stratocaster series is now slightly better with the tuners being changed to screw-down with the securing nut on top. They used to use tuners that were mostly plastic and secured to the headstock with a ferrule. I believe the tuners are all metal now on the Bullet Strat, at least for the HT model.

As for the Affinity Telecaster, there has barely been anything that has changed about it for 10 years or possibly longer - with the exception of two things. New models with serials starting with CS (as opposed to CY) rear-load strings, and the neck pickup finally gets pickguard mounted adjustment screws (as opposed to having to take off the guard to adjust the neck pickup height).

Now as far as which is the better guitar...

...the Affinity Telecaster absolutely obliterates the Bullet Stratocaster in every way. I'm not kidding. Night and day difference. It is absolutely worth spending the extra 50 bucks to get the Affinity Tele over the Bullet Strat.

Does this mean if you want a better Strat, get the Affinity Stratocaster? No. Everybody, including me, hates the headstock logo treatment on the Affinity Strat. It just looks plain goofy, always has, and still does. The Bullet Strat, while inferior, genuinely looks like a better Strat.

However, to get up to par with the Affinity Telecaster in Stratocaster form, you have to bump all the way up to a Classic Vibe Stratocaster just to get it. And that's almost double the price of the Affinity Telecaster.

In sub-$250 Squier territory, Affinity Telecaster is far and away the one to get. Whether it's the outgoing CY serial or the newer CS serial, either is the best thing going for a Squier under $250 at the moment.

Squier Paranormal Offset Telecaster - is it worth it?

400 bucks isn't exactly cheap for one of these.

I recently went to Guitar Center to try out two guitars, the latest Squier Affinity Telecaster and Squier Bullet Stratocaster HT (I'll write more about that later). While there, I spotted not one but two Squier Paranormal Offset Telecaster models. One in Natural and the other in Surf Green.

If you're on the fence whether to get this guitar or not, here are my impressions of it.

This guitar uses the Jazzmaster body shape, so of course it's ridiculously comfortable to play seated or standing.

The neck felt a bit on the thin side but was also comfortable. It's your standard thin C shape, and if you've played a Classic Vibe Telecaster, then you pretty much already know what this neck feels like. The neck finish is high gloss.

Action on the knobs was good but the pickup selector felt somewhat stiff. This is probably something that could be easily cured with a quick spray of DeoxIT D5.

The tone of the guitar sounded like typical Telecaster, which was expected.

I liked the tuners because they are the slotted vintage style, and the round tuner buttons definitely go along well with the guitar since there are curves everywhere.

What I didn't like...

...can be boiled down to just two things.

First, I just can't get used to seeing a Telecaster headstock shape on a Jazzmaster body. I understand the design decision here since the model of the guitar is literally a Telecaster, but this would have looked so much better with a Jazzmaster headstock.

Second, I wasn't feeling the magic with this one, and I know exactly why. There really wasn't any tonal difference between this and a regular Squier Telecaster. To my ear, the guitar felt like it needed something a little extra and it just wasn't there.

But is it worth it?

This is going to sound weird after what I just said, but yes, it is worth buying one.

While I wasn't feeling the sound and didn't like the headstock shape on this particular body design, the fact of the matter is that this guitar is different in a positive way.

Also, the Jazzmaster shape is the ultimate as far as a sit-down guitar is concerned, since the original Fender Jazzmaster was designed to be played seated first.

Ultimately, if you want something Tele that's different and plays easier sitting down, then you want one of these.

On a final note, I can see this model having actual collector value at some point. This is going to be one of those guitars where a bunch of guitar players will say "I should have bought one of these when I saw it" five years from now. It's probably true this guitar won't have crazy-good collector value, but still, I'm fairly certain it will appreciate in just a few years. It's not like this model will be coming back after its run is completed.