Spears Music | Blog

01/03/2019
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Are Gretsch Guitars and Vox Amplification the perfect match?

I personally have always found Vox amplification to be the best or one of the best options for Gretsch guitars, being a Gretsch player and a big fan of the vintage sound, I am always on the hunt for the clarity and twang of the 60’s tone. I find this combination works best for me! Vox amps have always been a big name when it comes to classic 60’s rock n roll and have been used by players such as George Harrison of The Beatles, Keith Richards of The Rolling... Read More

07/02/2019

Acoustic or Electric Guitar?

Customers often ask what is the difference between an acoustic and electric guitar, before making their purchase. Our guide is here to help to answer any questions. Each guitar has many variations, with there being three different types to choose from you should know what sets them apart from one another. So, what do they have in common? The most obvious one is that they are stringed instruments, and in most cases, they are made up of 6 strings of metal.  In order to create a sound, these strings are plucked individually... Read More

01/02/2019

Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster

This is the perfect addition to any Eric Clapton fans guitar collection, a complete replica of his famous ‘Blackie’ Stratocaster! Featured on legendary songs such as, ‘I Shot The Sheriff’, ‘Wonderful Tonight’, ‘Lay Down Sally’, and many more! ‘Blackie’ was used by Eric almost exclusively on stage and in the studio from 1974-1985 and even appears on various live versions of ‘Layla’! In 2004, Eric’s ‘Blackie’ Stratocaster was sold for 850,000 USD at a Christie’s auction to support the Crossroads Centre and was the bid record for the world’s most... Read More

29/01/2019

Which Acoustic Strings Should I Buy?

There are many different brands of acoustic guitar strings on the market, with something out there for all budgets. Acoustic guitar strings are bronze strings and then steel for the top 2. Acoustic guitar strings brands vary from D’Addario, Ernie Ball, Martin and Elixir. These brands are some of the top selections and offer some great guitar strings. D’Addario do standard bronze strings and include a variety of different gauges which is the thickness of the string. The lighter the strings are such as a pack of 10’s means that... Read More

24/01/2019

Top 5 Pedals for Guitarists and How To Set Up Your Board

Once you start to get the ball rolling with your guitar playing, the hunger starts to kick in for more unique sounds. You may have learnt a few chords and licks, or mastered the classic clean verse to overdriven chorus song structure using your amps in-built distortion, but you want more than that! You want to test the boundaries. When it comes to guitar effects, the possibilities are endless and you have the ability to experiment with a variety of pedals. If you’re new to buying pedals it can be... Read More

21/01/2019

Epiphone Guitars

Epiphone guitars are among some of the best you can get. They come in all different shapes and sizes in both acoustic and electric. The Les Paul shape, I would say are the most popular models and they come in various different models such as Les Paul Standard, Les Paul Pro and the Les Paul Custom Pro. The differences are mainly the difference in the pickups, the type of body, if it is solid or not and the hardware. The SG body style is also a very popular model and... Read More

04/01/2019

What is Lemon Oil?

Lemon oil… What is it? Answer: a fretboard conditioner? Cleaner. Fretboard oils contain very little real lemon oil. The last thing any guitar product manufacturer wants is to damage their customer’s guitars. So, many of the popular guitar lemon oils sold by well-known guitar companies are comprised primarily of other oils–usually, mineral oil, which is a pretty good (and cheap) fretboard conditioner by itself. They contain only a small amount of real lemon oil, and the yellow colour comes from artificial colouring. In fact, some contain no real lemon oil at all. Instead, they’re just mineral oil... Read More

02/01/2019

Sigma Guitars

Sigma guitars are great guitars; they are affordable and very well made. They are copies of Martin guitars for the most part however they also do very good copies of Taylors and Gibson acoustics as well. They have a wide variety of different models ranging from travel guitars, parlour guitars, cutaway semi-acoustics and dreadnought. The newest addition to the sigma range is the modern range series and they sound absolutely beautiful and feel great to play. They all have a cutaway body and feature a fish man flex plus pickup... Read More

07/12/2018

Knowing Your Drum Sticks

If like myself you have stood before a stick rack at some point staring in confusion. Completely unsure which pair of sticks is right for you, or worse, you’re still doing it. Then this guide may help clarify a few things for you. Here are 5 things to look out for when trying to find the perfect pair of drum sticks. Wood Drumsticks commonly come in 3 different kinds of wood, maple, hickory, Japanese white oak or laminated birch. Each wood has a different feel. Each different wood reacts differently... Read More

05/12/2018
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Taking Care Of and Tuning Your Guitar

When your guitar has been used for a while it might be in need of some TLC. As well as a restring and a set up you can also use some great guitar cleaning products to assure your guitar is receiving the correct treatment. These products consist of lemon oil which you use when you take your strings off and put it on the neck. However, you would only use this on rosewood fingerboard as it is openly pawed, unlike maple fingerboards which are closed pawed. Guitar polish is the... Read More