Changes

== New Strings == '''You should be changing your strings every 2-3 months at the very least''', more often if you play them a lot. Generally, it's a good idea to change them ''once a month''. Many popular artists with dedicated guitar techs will put a new set of strings on after every show! New strings will ''stay in tune'' better, have longer ''sustain'', produce a ''richer and brighter tone'', and be ''easier to play''. If you want to get more life from your strings, '''wash your hands before playing''' and wipe the strings down with some rubbing alcohol every now and then. You don’t want them to get covered in dirt and corrosive materials. == String Gauge ==Most stock guitars come in standard E tuning with 9's (.009-.042). These are easy to bend and are good for lead work, but I find them a bit lacking if you want a heavy rhythm sound. Because they are relatively loose, you'll get a strong attack on them that quickly fades to a whimper. In my mind, that sounds kind of vintage, not modern and heavy. For standard E tuning, '''I prefer 10's''' (.010-.046). If you like to play in drop D, you may prefer strings with a heavy bottom (.010-.052). The heavy bottom is nice, even if you don't play in a drop tuning - you generally don't need to make as strong bends on your thicker strings as you do on the thinner ones. Given that I'm a Petrucci nut, I basically use the See [[http://www.johnpetrucci.com/gear.htm exact same string gaugesStrings] (Scroll down a little and there's a chart for all his tunings with the gauges used). Also, '''thinner strings are easier to mute'''. This is mostly why I like them for lead work - you are less likely to have an unwanted string ring out. I find I sometimes like the sharper attack too, but not always. You will also have an '''easier time playing legato''' (hammer-ons and pull-offs) with thinner strings. I have two guitars tuned to standard E. One has 9's, the other 10's.  If you are '''tuning all your guitar strings down''', you don't want 9's, or even 10's. I find I need at least 11's to play in standard D, at least 12's to play in standard C, and at least 13's to play in standard B. If you are additionally going to drop the 6th string a full step, I highly recommend getting a set of heavy bottoms. Again, see the chart on the Petrucci site linked above, or [http://www.surveyor.com/guitar/stringtension.html visit this website], which has a Java Applet to calculate string tension using gauges and tunings. Here are the values I use for most of my guitars: notice you can specify the scale length, tuning, and type of strings. The first is ''D'Addario EXL120's'', then ''D'Addario EXL110's'', then ''D'Addario EXL110-7's'' with an additional .080 nickel wound string (for my Ibanez RGA8 8 string). Notice the 8 string has a longer scale length, but I tune it down a half step, acheiving roughly the same string tension. len 25.5" E4 .009" PL == 13.13# B3 .011" PL == 11.01# G3 .016" PL == 14.68# D3 .024" NW == 15.77# A2 .032" NW == 15.77# E2 .042" NW == 14.77# total == 85.13#  E4 .010" PL == 16.21# B3 .013" PL == 15.38# G3 .017" PL == 16.57# D3 .026" NW == 18.41# A2 .036" NW == 19.54# E2 .046" NW == 17.48# total == 103.59#  len 27" E4b .010" PL == 16.2# B3b .013" PL == 15.36# G3b .017" PL == 16.55# D3b .026" NW == 18.38# A2b .036" NW == 19.51# E2b .046" NW == 17.46# B1b .059" NW == 16.46# F1 .080" NW == 16.55# total == 136.49# Another point on string gauge - the thinner your strings, the less tension they'll have which means the more you'll stretch them when you pick them. This will cause them to '''go sharp initially and gradually lower their pitch''' until they find their natural sustaining volume. The harder you pick them, the sharper they'll go. For metal, where you often have to play fast and aggressively, picking hard will cause the initial attack to be sharper than the note you desire. This is another reason to '''use thicker strings for aggressive music''' like metal - otherwise, you can sound out of tune, even when you aren’t.  Lately much ado has been made about '''balanced tension''' between the strings - basically each string having near identical tension when tuned up. ''There's nothing wrong with unbalanced tension''. Of course, a wide imbalance is going to feel awkward. I consider balanced tension a good ''ideal'', but I find most commercial sets are close enough not to nitpick. D'Addario actually took notice and makes true balanced tension sets now, but the price is a bit too high right now for me to switch to them. Keep in mind also that the link above to the tension calculator is not perfect and should only be used as a rough estimate.  And a final point - thin strings are '''more likely to have fret buzz''' with the attack. As I just mentioned, they will stretch more and thus be more likely to slap against frets above the one you are fretting. This can sound kind of nice for blues work, where you aren't always picking aggressively - it really emphasizes when you do. For metal, where you are constantly picking quickly and aggressively, it will make your playing sound like noise; it will be near impossible to hear the desired note pitch. This also depends on your...

Intonation is basically how in tune the guitar is at different frets and strings. If a guitar is intonated poorly, it will '''sound out of tune ''' when playing notes higher on the fretboard. Chords will be notably dissonant when they shouldn't be.

Most people don't pay much attention to intonation, yet it is ''absolutely crucial '' to sound good, especially in a band or recording environment. It's also a fairly simple and risk-free adjustment, although it may take a little time.

The easiest way to intonate the guitar is by '''comparing the pitch of the 12th fret harmonic vs. the fretted note'''. If the fretted note is sharper than the harmonic, the string must be lengthened, which usually involves moving the individual bridge saddle away from the nut. If it is flatter, then the string must be shortened by moving the saddle closer to the nut. Be sure to re-tune the guitar after each adjustment - this is ''especially'' important with a floating bridge, where string tension affects action. Once all your strings are intonated, tune up your guitar. Youyou'll notice it will sound much better across the fretboard, especially for chords.

Note that '''intonation is also dependent on the rest of your setup''', particularly your action. If you have a high action, you have to press the string down a significant distance to fret it, which is adding tension (and possibly length) to the string. This is why it is difficult to intonate a guitar with high action. You can match the 12th harmonic to the 12th fretted note, but other spots on the fretboard may not be consistently in tune. The same principle applies to a guitar with a high nut height. You have to exert more tension on the frets close to the nut to properly fret them, causing them to be sharper than other areas of the neck.

Thus, I like to '''intonate using at least 2-3 comparisons'''. I'll start with the 12th harmonic vs 12th fret, then I'll try the 7th fret vs. 19th fret. If that's off, maybe I need to lower my action a little. Then I'll try the 2nd fret vs. 14th. If there's a discrepancy there, it tells me how much impact my nut height is having on getting a proper intonation. If I can't get all of these 3 tests perfect, I'll '''compromise ''' and get all 3 as close as possible rather than have one perfect and the other 2 way off.

Keep in mind that lower quality instruments might have issues with the nut or possibly even with the fret spacing. Unlevel frets can also throw off intonation, making it impossible to intonate. Technically, perfect intonation is impossible - the best you can do is a compromise to get all the notes as close to in-tune as possible.

'''Too low ''' and you lose SNR and your dynamic response gets messed up, '''too high ''' and you get input clipping on your device, as well as "pole pull", which can screw up your intonation and kill sustain. I recommend allowing them to have a safe distance. Also, don't confuse output level with SNR. Raising your pickups will increase their output level, but it is probably not improving their SNR unless they were very low (or extremely weak) to start.

'''This depends on the type of active pickup'''. Some have weaker magnets and need to be placed closer to the strings. Others will suffer similar problems as above, or introduce new issues. EMG recommends you to put them ''as close as possible''. I followed this advice when I had these pickups and never noticed any problems with doing so. Of course, don't put them so close the string ever hits the pickup or it interferes with your picking stroke. For the SD Blackouts, this is where things get a little interesting. The pickups seem to have some kind of buffer, so they will not output above a certain level. So it's like a limiter effect. If you raise them close, you will actually reduce the dynamics to your attack. I prefer to keep a medium distance on these pickups. They work pretty well at a distance. I actually have them as low as possible on my custom Jem (which actually isn’t THAT low). Even with some distance, they still have a higher-than-normal output. But if you go too low, you’ll notice you can’t get good artificial harmonics or softer notes to sound good.

The nut is an often overlooked area of the guitar. It needs to be '''positioned properly ''' for the guitar to '''intonate correctly'''. It has a strong affect on the action. '''An improperly filed nut can cause tuning and sustain issues or cause buzzing/ringing on open strings. ''' I recommend having a professional adjust your nut. To file it correctly it is best done with specialized filing tools, which are too costly to justify a one-time use. I like my nut to be like the 0th fret - providing a similar clearance over the 1st fret for open strings as they have over the 2nd fret when fretting the 1st fret. Any lower and they'll buzz. Any higher and intonation is off and action is unnecessarily high. The strings should make firm contact with the nut right where they leave the nut and travel over the fretboard. The grooves should point directly towards the tuning pegs. They should be wide enough to fit the string in easily and so that it doesn't pinch when tuning or bending. It also has to be smooth so the string slides easily over it and doesn't break. But it can't be so wide as to allow the string to '''rattle in the groove'''. They have to be deep enough so the strings don't pop out, but shallow enough so the strings can easily fit into and out of the nut.

The simplest and easiest tweak to help fix a nut is to '''draw in the grooves'' with a pencil'''. The graphite will lubricate the string's movement in the groove, so it doesn't pinch. This helps keep your strings in tune better.