A Fender Deluxe model is a decent upgrade from a Squier
Five different models of these exist, and they do serve as the best possible upgrade from a Squier if going with the Fender brand.
In Fender's lineup there is a series called Deluxe which consists of three Stratocasters and two Telecasters. One of them is the Deluxe Nashville Tele. More details on that guitar in a moment.
The other four models are Deluxe Strat, Deluxe Roadhouse Strat, Deluxe Tele Thinline and Deluxe Strat HSS.
All Deluxe models are made in Mexico so they don't cost as much as American models do. And the nice thing with Deluxe is that you get things not found on Squier models. This means when you buy one of these, you're not just getting a copy of a guitar made in a different country, but rather getting something that has decent hardware upgrades.
What I'll be listing below is what you get with a Deluxe that you don't get on any Squier model.
Deluxe Strat- Noiseless Strat pickups
- Push/pull that adds in the bridge pickup on positions 4 and 5
- 12" radius fingerboard
- Gig bag
- Twin head vintage humbucker pickup, two noiseless Strat pickups
- S-1 switching to switch the humbucker to a single
- 12" radius fingerboard
- Gig bag
- Noiseless Strat pickups
- V6 switching (similar to a Gibson Vari-Tone)
- 12" radius fingerboard
- Gig bag
Note: I've played one of these personally. This guitar uses a 9V battery located on the back of the guitar. It does not require the rear plate to be taken off to get to it, and the V6 switching is a nice thing to have.
Deluxe Nashville Tele- Two vintage noiseless Tele pickups on neck and bridge, vintage noiseless Strat pickup in the middle position
- Five way "Strat-o-Tone" switching
- Block saddles
- 12" radius fingerboard
- Gig bag
Note: This guitar is not just a Strat with a Tele body. The tonal character of the pickups is voiced to still be "very Telecaster," so to speak.
Deluxe Tele Thinline- Noiseless Tele pickups
- Four-way switching (for series wiring)
- Block saddles
- 12" radius fingerboard
What are the best parts about upgrading from a Squier to a Fender Deluxe?
The first obvious thing is the fingerboard radius. The 12" really does help when bending notes and you will fret out a lot less.
Some think the noiseless pickups take away too much from what a Fender guitar is supposed to sound like, but I disagree. Yes, the character is different, but not in a bad way. The noiseless pickups are voiced in a way that works very well with modern amplification and when plugging into the computer direct via DI.
The last thing is the hardware goodies. All models have switching that you can't get on any Squier that really opens up the sounds you can get out of the guitar.
Make no mistake, Fender Deluxe is where you get true upgrades over Squier. With other models in the Fender line, most of the time you're just getting a copy of what you already have with a Squier guitar. But with Deluxe, you legitimately get more hardware. That along with the 12" fingerboard for easier note bending is what makes Deluxe a good upgrade.
What is the American equivalent of Deluxe?
Fender Elite Series. Namely, Elite Stratocaster, Elite Stratocaster HSS, Elite Telecaster and Elite Telecaster Thinline.
What you get with those over the Deluxe models are some hardware changes, a compound radius 9.5" to 14" fingerboard and an ABS molded case with TSA locks (if you fly at all, having those TSA locks is nice because it passes security check without a problem.)
As you will notice, Elite costs a lot more than Deluxe does. Personally, were I to upgrade from Squier to Fender, my pick is Deluxe first, especially considering I can get a case with TSA locks for under $150. True, the case isn't Fender-branded, but to me a case is just a case. The guitar matters more.
How to add robot tuners to a guitar
These are cool to have if you use alternate tunings often.
How do you add robot tuners to a guitar?
Before answering that question, you should know what's involved first.
Can you motorize your existing tuners? No. You must replace all tuners outright.
How many pieces are involved? An entire kit usually has 8 total pieces. Six tuners, one backplate, one control module.
Are there any holes required to be drilled? No. The kit is designed to be a drop-in solution.
How long does it take to install this whole thing? About 20 minutes.
Does it add a bunch of weight? Probably not. While I don't know the exact weight of the kit, it shouldn't add more than just a few ounces.
Does it work? Yes, it works.
What kit do you get? Tronical Tuning Systems makes the kits, such as for the Gibson Les Paul.
Is it worth getting?
Note what I said above. It's cool to have if you use alternate tunings often.
The Tronical system has 18 different tunings you can choose from. So if you want to switch from EADGBE to DADGAD and back again very quickly, yes you can do it. And yes, you can program in your own custom tuning presets if you use something that's not covered by the 18 factory presets.
If however you don't use alternate tunings often or only use a simple alternate tuning like a "drop-D" where only the 6 string is changed, then the robot tuners really aren't any faster than tuning yourself. Just grab yourself a cheap headstock tuner and call it a day.
Are robot guitar tuners just a fad?
Some argue they are while others swear by them and wouldn't use anything else.
In the end, it all depends how often you change tunings that dictates whether you need the robot tuners or not. Yes, the price of a kit is up there, but generally speaking it's cheaper and more convenient than having multiple guitars in different tunings.
What you're buying with robot tuners is convenience and not better tuning stability. Small adjustments will still have to be made by you depending on your playing style. But yes, they do work...
...or you can just stick to regular Les Pauls with manual tuners, which is a-okay. That's the way they've been made for a very long time and it's always worked.
There is a reason I don't talk about this guitar
A couple of reasons, actually.
Take the Epiphone Les Paul SL. It is cheap and and plentiful at the time I write this. Ever since this guitar was introduced, people have been asking me what I think about it since I like good low-cost guitars.
I don't like this one.
There was a time when I owned an Epiphone Les Paul Special I P90. That was a guitar I liked because it got everything right for what it was.
The Les Paul SL misses the target.
First is the guitar's look. The skinny Strat-like pickups and big pick guard just don't work, making the SL look too much like a toy.
Second once again has to do with the pickups. They're not P90. While I've not heard this guitar in person, I am 100% certain that it absolutely does not have that cool P90 "growl".
Les Paul shape guitars are best suited to humbuckers or P90s both for look and for sound, and the SL doesn't have either of those.
I'm really not sure what Epiphone was thinking with this one. They had a hit with the 'Paul P90, but this...?
However, there may be some of you out there that like this thing. If you're one of them, grab one. They're sure to sell out quickly given the super low price point.
My suggestion: If buying for yourself, get the sunburst with the black guard. It looks way better than the turquoise.
How to create drum backing tracks for guitar the easy way
If you want to know how to create drum tracks in the easiest possible way to play your guitar along with, or if you don't like following a metronome and would prefer drums instead, this is how to do it. You might even have the equipment you need already right now to do it.
In this video, there are drums present. I didn't play them. They come from my keyboard, a Casio CTK-6200. That synthesizer makes it stupidly easy to pick a drum style, go to the accompaniment section and just have at it. It's literally as easy as pressing 3 buttons. Intro, normal rhythm, end...
...and that's the secret to getting drum tracks in the easiest possible way. Use a "portable keyboard".
My adventures with creating drum tracks
Over the years, this is what I've learned about creating drum tracks:
The #1 problem with drum machines is that they all shove way too many features in, making the machine unnecessarily difficult to use. It doesn't matter if it's digital hardware or virtual drumming software. Creating a usable drum track should be stupidly easy, but it's anything but that.
All I want to do is set the tempo, get a basic drum beat going, record that into the multitrack session (such as Audacity seen in the video), then use other tracks to lay down my guitars, bass and so on. But wow, do drum machines make that difficult to do...
...but with a portable keyboard it's dirt simple. Set a tempo, pick a beat, press the play button, and you're ready to go. That's how it should be when just trying to get a simple drum track to play along with.
Are portable keyboards easier than drum machines or virtual drums?
Yes, absolutely. The sound samples are good and the ease-of-use is there.
Before showing some decent portable keyboards that are available...
Most people have a portable keyboard lying around the house somewhere. Or if you don't, you probably know someone that does. Whatever that keyboard is, as long as it has full size keys and a way to output audio to whatever you record audio with, go get it.
Or heck, even if it doesn't have a traditional 1/4-inch output, it's guaranteed to have a headphone jack. If that's what you end up with, buy yourself a 1/8" stereo to dual 1/4" cable, a.k.a. Y cable. The small 1/8" goes into the keyboard, and the 1/4" ends are the left and right channels that go into whatever mixer you use.
Even if it's an older keyboard you end up with, you'll probably find at least 3 drum beats in it that are good enough for backing drum tracks that you can record to follow along with your guitar later.
What's available new?
There are several good choices out there, but I personally recommend going cheap and sticking with brands that know how to do a low-cost portable keyboard right. And those brands are Alesis, Casio and Yamaha.
If you go Korg or Roland, you're going to spend a lot of cash. They both make great stuff, but again, it will cost you.
However, these choices won't hit your wallet hard at all and will get you those easy-to-use drum kits:
- Alesis Harmony 61
- Casio CTK-6250 (or 6200 like the one I have, same thing, different color)
- Yamaha YPT260
One more small note on the video: I did absolutely no editing for the drum track. What you hear there is a 100% stock Casio CTK-6200 rhythm preset. The only thing I did was slow it down to my desired tempo, adjusted the record volume, recorded it (it's the first track), then laid down some guitars and bass direct from my Line 6 Spider V 60. That was it. Nice and simple.
And yes, you can do it too. If drum machines be it hardware or software have frustrated you to no end and you want easy, get a portable keyboard and create backing drums that way. That's as easy as it gets.
The BOSS DS-1 is an awful guitar pedal
Yes, I think this pedal sucks...
...but at the same time it has a reliable sound that never does you wrong and it is worth owning.
I'll explain.
Guitar players buy a BOSS DS-1 for basically one reason. It is the cheapest distortion pedal that's built like a tank. Yes, there are tons of other distortion pedals out there, but the DS-1 is only pedal that can truly hold the title of stomp box at its price point. You can quite literally stomp on this thing hard, and at no time will you think "Gee, I sure hope I don't break this thing." Trust me, you're not going to break it.
As well built as the DS-1 is however, the tradeoff is that it's a tone wrecker.
Any guitar that's plugged into this thing will sound the same when the pedal is on. It's a biting, nasty, trebly sound that completely strips a guitar of any natural pickup harmonics and blares out a tone best described as "square".
The only way to really get a DS-1 sounding anywhere near usable is to dial both the TONE and DIST knobs all the way back (yes, all the way), and then start shaping your sound from there.
The first thing you'll immediately notice about the DS-1 is that even with TONE and DIST turned all the way back, distortion still exists. This pedal always has dirt in the sound, and that's part of its tonal character.
The second thing you'll notice is that TONE is oversensitive to the point where anything past the 12 o'clock position is pretty much unusable.
The third thing you'll notice is that DIST is also oversensitive to where anything past 12 o'clock is pretty much unusable.
But even with all this suck going on...
...the DS-1 is still one of the best distortion pedals of all time and is worth owning.
The DS-1 never has an "off day", so to speak. It always sounds the same every time. The same can't be said for other pedals. Every time you stomp the DS-1, the same square sound comes out very reliably.
Another thing about the DS-1 that most people don't mention is that once you're able to wrangle a decent sound out of it, that square tone is easy to mix because the sound is so squashed. Also, the tone of the pedal can cut through any mix with a quick turn of the TONE knob.
I personally believe the secret of having a decent DS-1 tone is using an analog delay pedal with it, such as the BOSS DM-2. A small amount of delay works very well to tame the grit of the DS-1. As for whether the delay should exist before or after the DS-1 in the chain, that's up to you. Try both and see which works best for your sound.
Another thing I'll mention about the DS-1 is something I've said before. You absolutely, positively cannot plug in a DS-1 direct to a mixer and expect it to sound good. That will never happen. A DS-1 must go through some kind of amp modeling first since it was designed for amps originally (it was originally released in 1978, after all, and it hasn't changed much since then).
In the end, yes you can get a DS-1 to sound good, but it takes effort to do it. And a delay pedal.