Blogs
What is the difference between a humbucker and single coil Electric Guitar Pickup
So what is the difference between a Humbucker and a Single Coil? How did pickup design all start? The first commercial pickup design went into mass production in 1932 by the company that would end up becoming Rickenbacker Guitars. Many people had experimented with pickup design, Les Paul (the inventor of the famous Les Paul Gibson... Read more
How to Keep your Guitar Nut working at its best
One of our good customers was asking me recently about how to solve a nut issue on a 12 string How do I stop my 12 string guitar snapping the High G string each time I tune it up? We have 2 different things that really help this issue 1. Change your high G to a 9 gauge - We find that by... Read more
How to choose a guitar that fits your sound
This is one of our most asked questions - How to choose the right guitar for a particular sound Guitars come in all different shapes and sizes, and personally I wish I could have them all at home for when I needed them (but I only live in a small apartment so it’s not very practical) The first step in choosing a... Read more
How to match bass or guitar amplifier heads heads to other brand speaker boxes?
So there are 2 things you need to consider when you match a speaker head and an amplifier. Power handling (How many Watts it can handle) and impedance. Wattage is pretty easy and most people understand it, but impedance is a little tricky. I like to think of impedance of like being the gears in your car, the lower the impedance (say 4ohms) is like running your car in first gear,... Read more
Why a bone nut & saddle improves your tone
So today we answer another one of the common questions in our recent survey Tell me more about the materials on your guitars - what makes them different, and how can I set up my guitar to play better? One of the key factors that make our solid top guitars sound so good is the bone nut and saddle. For any guitar, you want t... Read more
21 Reasons Why YOU Should Learn Guitar...
Thinking about learning an instrument? At The Ultimate Guitar Academy , we believe you should choose GUITAR! Here's why... ... Read more
Why you should always keep your Guitar in-tune and your neck straight
Should I remove my strings if I’m leaving my guitar for a long time, or planning on taking a flight? The answer to this is a very strong " NO !". Most guitars have a truss rod, which is a long metal bar inside the neck that changes the bend of the neck, or keeps it straight. In many guitars, it only works one way (to straighten a... Read more
Choosing your first guitar – What to consider
Choosing your first guitar is something that is extremely important and also very confusing. A guitar player of many years has learnt about all the subtle differences and knows exactly what they want to do but beginners need help. Unfortunately the right advice can be hard to find. So here are a few key points to consider; 1. Body Size and Neck size and weight Es... Read more
How to Choose the correct sized Violin
Choosing the right vioin can be difficult when faced with so many size options. First you need to ask yourself a cou... Read more
What Strings are on your Artist Guitar?
When buying a new guitar it is important to know what to expect. We use a variety of strings on our guitars, and to get the best from your instrument we always recommend fitting new strings and doing a proper set-up on any new guitar. This guide will help you if you're looking to replace your strings with a similar gauge or material to those provided, and can give you some idea of what kind of... Read more
Flatwound Bass Strings
Ever wondered what the deal is with Flatwound strings? Who would use a set of strings that cost so much more than regular roundwounds? If you like the classic old school, vintage double bass sound, then these strings could be for you. Traditionally used for jazz and blues styles of music, they're now popular in the indie world and bands who are chasing the classic sound of 50's Rock n... Read more
Setting up your Artist AMS6 or AG78V2
Setting up your headless guitar follows the same basic principle as any normal guitar, but you must take care to ensure that you’re using the locking mechanisms correctly, and do not over-tighten your grub... Read more
How to Use VideoAsk to Send Artist Guitars a Video
Our Customer Happiness team are always on hand to answer questions, offer advice on our products, or assist however we can if you have any issues at all. We also have a knowledgeable technical team to help troubleshoot any issues, but it’s not always possible for our team to inspect an instrument in person if you do have a problem. Instead, we use a very helpful tool called Vi... Read more
How to Troubleshoot a Guitar Effects Pedal
Guitar pedals are an incredible tool for any guitarist, and a multitude of tones and utilities are now more affordable and accessible than ever. It is great fun to collect your favourite stompboxes and craft your personal sound with your own pedal board, but what happens when you kick your favourite stompbox on and… nothing? We’ll help you find the most common causes, and how to resolve these i... Read more
What are the Differences in Tube Amp Classes?
What does “Amp Class” mean? We get this question frequently, and beyond a simple marketing term, the answer is quite straightforward and can actually tell you a lot about how an amplifier will behave.... Read more
7 Top Tips for Acoustic and Classical Guitar Maintenance
Our acoustic and classical guitars are made with high-quality materials and construction, so if looked after and maintained well you can enjoy your new instrument for many years. Taking good care of your gear and observing a few general upkeep practices is the best way to extend the life of your instrument, plus your guitar will play and feel better. Neglecting to clean and take... Read more
5 Top Tips for Electric Guitar Maintenance
Just like any quality instrument, your new electric guitar is a tool that will last you many years of enjoyment and creativity if cared for properly. Taking good care of your gear and observing a few general upkeep practices is the best way to extend the life of your instrument, plus your guitar will play and feel better. Neglecting to clean and take care of your gear can cause... Read more
Pickups in Artist Guitars
We use a variety of pickups in our different styles of guitars, and we have a large range of tonal options in our line-up! This page will help you with technical information and specifications on the different pickups we use in each model, and can help if you wanted to change pickups or wanted more information about what is installed in your guitar. Keep in mind that every picku... Read more
Classical Nylon string vs Steel String Acoustic: Whats the difference?
What is the difference between a Nylon String and a steel string guitar? To start, the difference in tonality between classical or flamenco (nylon strings) guitars and that of a steel string acoustic guitar exists solely for the application that they are going to be used for. If you play a song on either nylon strings or steel string, the song always remains the same, but it is its... Read more
What is a Multiscale Guitar?
Simply put, a multi scale guitar is a guitar with multiple scale le... Read more
Artist Guitars UK
After operating in Australia and New Zealand for nearly 15 years, we're very excited to announce the next chapter of the Artist Guitars story. Artist Guitars UK is open for business!... Read more
How to Check if Your Guitar Amp or Lead are Faulty
Got trouble hearing your guitar through your amp? Troubleshooting signal loss can be tricky if you don't know what to check, and it can be hard to tell if the problem is with the amp, the guitar or the lead. Step 1 is always to isolate the signal as much as possible, so remove any effects pedals in your chain then try the following. First, you'll need to check yo... Read more
Thomas Blug: A few of his favourite things
Tell us about your career till now? I'm a professional guitarist and amp-designer for almost 30 years now. I played in many different bands in Germany and all over Europe, released 5 Solo Albums,... Read more