Planet Waves Blog

Cortex Picks

2012-01-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

The Planet Waves’ announces Cortex Picks, expanding the tonal pallet of their best selling pick line!!

Cortex

Cortex picks are precision molded to eliminate grain structures, allowing for dynamic pick response. This unique material closely resembles actual tortoise shell in feel and sound yet offers high strength, durability and heat resistance. Cortex long lasting picks offer excellent attack with a clean, crisp tone for superior note definition, allowing notes to leap from your strings. Attack, control, clarity and durability…Cortex Picks!

Available in light, Medium, Heavy, and Extra Heavy.

Cellu-Glo Picks

2012-01-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

LIGHTEN UP WITH PLANET WAVES’ NEW CELLU-GLO PICKS

The NAMM Show • Anaheim, CA • January 19-22, 2012 • Booth# 4834 – Planet Waves is excited to announce its new twist on celluloid picks, Cellu-Glo. Cellu-Glo Picks offer guitarists the natural feel and warm, fat tone of celluloid in a fun glow-in-the-dark pick. Simply pre-charge the picks in natural sunlight or under a light bulb for a pick that not only sounds great but looks great, too.

“Cellu-Glo picks from Planet Waves add a new visual element for artists,” says Planet Waves Product Specialist, Robert Cunningham. “Guitarists also love them because they are so easy to find on dark stages.”

Planet Waves’ Cellu-Glo picks will be available in February 2012 in light, medium, heavy and extra heavy. The 10-packs to retail for $4.49, the 25-packs to retail for $9.99, and the 100-pack will retail for $34.99.

For more information on Planet Waves, please visit www.planetwaves.com

Planet Waves American Stage Cables

2012-01-17T18:37:00.000-08:00

PLANET WAVES INTRODUCES THE NEW AMERICAN STAGE CABLE

MANUFACTURED IN THE U.S.!

Cable Brings Innovative Design Features - Exclusive Geo-Tip Design for a Seamless Secure Connection

The NAMM Show • Anaheim, CA • January 19-22, 2012 • Booth# 4834 – Planet Waves is pleased to add custom-designed American Stage cables to its line of cabling. Designed and manufactured in the U.S., this special cable features Planet Waves’ exclusive In=Out technology for optimum signal transparency, in-line solder joints for superior conductivity and strength, and the exclusively patented Geo-Tip design for improved fit in all jacks.

Planet Waves American Stage instrument cables are built from the ground up to ensure perfect tone every time. The custom designed, made in the U.S.A. wire reproduces full lows and rich highs, accurately transferring true tone with clarity and noise free operation. The 22AWG Oxygen Free copper center provides enhanced signal transfer, while the 100% shield cover with 95% tinned copper braid and conductive PVC under jacket provides excellent electromagnetic interference rejection and no handling noise.

The in-line solder process utilizes modern micro flame technology and specially formulated RoHS compliant solder to create a permanent bond between wire and connector, creating unsurpassed strain relief and durability. The connectors are designed to exacting specifications and built by Neutrik in their state-of-the-art facility in Lichtenstein, using the highest quality components available. The flexible cable construction provides reduced tangling, effortless handling and uncoils easily. Finally, the innovative patented Geo-Tip provides a seamless and secure connection in any instrument, pedal or amp jack.

“We wanted to develop an instrument cable that sounds great, is flexible, and built like a tank,” says Frank Aresti, Planet Waves Cables Product Manager. “That’s precisely what we’ve made with American Stage.”

Available in 10’ – 30’ lengths, Planet Waves American Stage Instrument Cables will retail from $39.99 to $69.99 and will begin shipping in Q1 2012. For more information on Planet Waves, please visit www.planetwaves.com.

D'Addario and Aquila Team Up For Ukulele Strings

2012-01-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

DUE TO GROWING POPULARITY, D’ADDARIO
UNVEILS TWO COMPLETE LINES OF UKULELE STRINGS

The NAMM Show • Anaheim, CA • January 19-22, 2012 • Booth# 4834 – D’Addario proudly announces its new Nyltech and Titanium Ukulele Strings available in January 2012.

D’Addario and Aquila Strings are thrilled to announce their exciting new string development partnership, which created the Nyltech Ukulele Strings. Nyltech is made with D’Addario exclusive string material that offers a warm, yet punchy, gut-like tone.

The Nyltech Strings are available for most popular Ukulele sizes and tunings such as the Soprano (EJ88S), retailing at $11.10, Concert (EJ88C), also retailing for $11.10, Tenor (EJ88T), with a retail price of $12.55 and Baritone (EJ88B), which will retail for $13.90.

“Our new Nyltech Ukulele Strings are a contemporary take on a traditional sound with improved intonation verses other ukulele strings on the market,” says Brian Vance, Director of Product Management.

D’Addario is also releasing new Titanium Ukulele Strings. Titanium strings have recently been popular with classical guitarists for their bright, projecting tone and ultra-smooth feel. Now ukulele players can increase their volume, clarity and dynamics with Titanium Ukulele Strings. The dense monofilament material with translucent purple hue and smooth feel is similar to traditional nylon. The strings are available for most popular ukulele sizes and tunings such as the Soprano (EJ87S), retailing for $8.20, Concert (EJ87C), also retailing for $8.20, Tenor (EJ87T), to retail for $8.65 and Baritone (EJ87B), with a retail price of $9.85.

“We are excited to create Titanium strings that give a bright tone and smooth feel exclusively for Ukelele players,” adds Vance.

For more information on D’Addario, please visit www.daddario.com.

A (True) Cautionary Tale

2011-12-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

The Scene: A Los Angeles recording studio

The Players: First-call session musicians and a Rock Legend on vocals

The Plot: Studio band is assembled, tuned up and ready to go. They begin the first take of the song and have to stop, as strange noises are coming from the rhythm guitar player's rig. Everyone scrambles to get it fixed, as Rock Legend waits at the mic. Famous, name-brand cables are patched and re-patched and wiggled and the noise goes away...only to return the next take.

Lead guitarist has seen the video posted below, and notices the famous high-end cable the rhythm guitarist is using, puts on his Guitar Tech hat...and takes apart the input jack on the rhythm guy's Strat. He bends the stretched-out contact back in shape, and the session continues. During a break, the bass player notes that he stopped using that brand of cable after having to replace his input jack. The keyboard player says that he had to replace two jacks in his keyboard, a much more complicated procedure, due to this popular brand of cable stretching his input jacks out.

Scary cable. Very scary.

The Moral: There's nothing to fear from Planet Waves American Stage cables.

Check out the video and learn what that lead player knows:

On the Gig with Planet Waves Capos

2011-04-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

Richard Bennett (Mark Knopfler, Nashville Session Ace)

"I use a Planet Waves NS capo all the time, in the studio and live. It's simple, works great and above all it's reasonably discreet. I've never understood all these folks using those big, hunky, clamp things with the french curve sticking out at the top. It's like they take great pride in parading their ability to use a capo".

Duke Levine (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Aimee Mann, Studio)

"I love the NS capos, I use them on my electric and acoustic guitars. They have a low, almost invisible profile that I really appreciate. I use the NS Trio for my mandola, it's just the right size!"

Jason Roller (Nashville Session)

"These capos are great, the best I've used. They are sturdy, reliable and don't take drastic re-tuning after putting them on or moving them around the neck. Job well done!"

Brad Rice (Courtyard Hounds, Keith Urban, Ryan Adams)

"I'm in tune and don't fret out with Planet Waves capos"

Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart's Fabulous Superlatives)

"I love the NS capo. It's the finest available".

Elizabeth Cook

"D'Addario strings and Planet Waves Dual-Action capos: Taking question marks off Elizabeth Cook gigs since 2007!"

Brian Nutter (Keith Urban)

"I have completely converted to all things D'Addario/Planet Waves. They simply make the best stuff and have the best people!"

Strap Panache

2011-04-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

The job seems simple - hold up your guitar in playing position and don't break. But there's more to straps than that. Straps now add a bit of flash and flair to your onstage style.

Back in the day, a thin, braided cord was used. It tied on to the headstock and end pin an dug into your shoulder all night. I bought a 1946 L-7 years ago that had the original strap with it and I tried it out. Not a pleasant experience.

In the '50's it was thin leather with a wider shoulder pad and in the '60s, fabric straps ruled. I remember the popular brand was called "Ace". After that, all manner of leather and poly straps came into the market.

Planet Waves has a wide selection of straps, from the basic black polypro to a wide, padded suede model for the plush set. We offer many variations on leather straps, from metal studs, vents, stoned leather and several artist straps from The Beatles, Joe Satriani, Kiss, Motley Crue, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who and Ozzy Osbourne.

The Beatles Strap Collection

Planet waves has also introduced innovations that make using a strap even handier.

Planet Lock Strap

The Planet Lock system is a built-in strap lock that works on most every strap button, and the Acoustic Quick Release allows you to use the time-rested headstock method and the ability to take your guitar on or off in a hurry. Very nice for those of you acoustic pickers with cowboy hats!

Acoustic Quick Release

Black Eyes, Black Skies, Black Ice

2011-02-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

(Apologies to Mr. A. Partridge).

What's under the cushion, wedged in the dryer, beneath the bed, stuck to your forearm, stuffed in your gig bag? A pick, of course. Unless you are a digitus au natural player, you use a pick. You might even have a favorite size, gauge, color, etc. New picks are a dime a dozen (or used to be, back in the day). New shapes, new materials, new whatever. Hard to be excited by a pick, especially if you have a favorite and are under the impression that your tone and style are due in some part to your choice of pick...and, indeed, they are.

So, switching picks was never my thing. I always favor a medium for strummy things and a Jazz 3 for solo-y things. Any medium pick would work, but it was difficult to find an equal to the feel of a jazz pick. Even though I tried them out at Planet Waves headquarters before they were released to the public, I did not think the Black Ice picks were going to win me over. They felt great, they sounded great, they didn't slip through my fingers...but I already had a favorite pick. Why change?

I put my stash of Black Ice picks in a drawer and went on, blissfully unaware. One day, a few months ago, while looking for something else, I found my Black Ice stash. Tried out a medium .080 gauged pick. Loved it. Loved it for strumming AND picking. It sounded great on acoustics, great on electrics, great on ukulele, great on mandolin.

Now it's the only pick I use. There's a blog post in that tale...

New at NAMM 2011

2011-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Planet Waves introduced several new products at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California this past week.

First up is the Guitar Rest: The ultimate solution to having your guitar slipping and falling over when you lean it against an amp or table.

Made from a soft plastic, the Guitar Rest turns any flat surface into a guitar stand. The top is hollowed out for storing slides, picks, etc.

Next is the D-Slyde, a D-shaped glass bottleneck slide that has Velcro on the flattened surface. Now you can store our slide on the back of your headstock, your amp, the mic stand, wherever the Velcro will stick.

Speaking of slides, traditional slide players can check out the new chrome-plated brass slides form Planet Waves. Ultra smooth finishing makes this slide both beautiful and toneful.

New additions to the wildly successful Beatles guitar strap line are woven straps featuring various iconic logos from The Beatles history.

The Acoustic Quick Release combines great Planet Waves straps in 13 different choices with the popular Quick Release acoustic guitar strap device. There are also 38 new models of the Planet Lock system which gives strap-lock security to any guitar using your existing strap buttons.

My Workbox Tour

2011-01-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Of course, you'll need a soldering iron, too. Mine died in the Nashville Flood, and I never replaced it before getting off the road.

Oh, The Humidity

2010-12-20T07:24:00.000-08:00

It's Winter time again and that means it's time to make sure your precious guitars are dressed for the weather. As temperatures drop outside, most of us turn up the thermostat and heat our homes with some kind of forced-air heating system. Unless you have the AprilAire or a similar re-hydration device that puts moisture back into the heated air, the lack of humidity in your home can adversely effect your acoustic and electric guitars.

Most experts agree that an approximate 50% humidity level is ideal for acoustic instruments. Planet Waves offers a handy device for measuring the humidity in your home with the Humidity and Temperature Sensor (HTS). The HTS measures relative humidity levels from Low (under 20%) to High (up to 99%) and displays the current temperature in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. It can be programmed to give a visual warning (a water drop icon) when humidity levels dip below a pre-set minimum. It also has a High and Low memory that tracks the conditions of the surrounding area from the point of the last reset, including the date and time of the peaks and valleys of the humidity level.

Keeping track of the humidity is the first step. The next is to control it via adding or removing moisture from the air around your instruments. Planet waves has a low-cost and convenient way to add moisture to the air around your guitar.

The Acoustic Guitar Humidifier is a compact humidity solution specifically made for acoustic guitars. The high-impact plastic body sits suspended between the "D" and "G" strings of your guitar. A high absorption sponge gradually releases moisture to the inside of your guitar without ever touching the actual wood. Refills are quick and easy. By keeping your acoustic guitars in their hardshell cases, you get a "humidor" effect, effectively shrinking the size of the "room" to be humidified to the dimensions of your case.

The most comprehensive offering from Planet Waves is the Humidipak Moisture Management System. As you can tell by the name, it is not only a humidifier, but a de-humidifier as well. Using a formulation of salts, water and gum sealed in a vapor-permeable pack, the patented Humidipak system creates a specific relative humidity by either retaining or releasing water vapor into the air. Depending on you location, the packets last from 2-6 months, with replacements available separately.

Here's a video of Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars on the Humidipak and a .pdf on humidity in general.

And here's a detailed video on how to use the Humidipak.

Your acoustic instrument needs some love and care in extreme weather, make sure you have it protected with one of the Planet Waves humidity solutions.

Bridge (Pins) of Size

2010-10-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Nobody thinks much about them...until they break...or you lose one. Then the lowly bridge pin gets the respect it deserves - no bridge pin, no music. I've been caught without spares before and had to use broken pencils, glued-together wooden matches, or whatever I could scrounge to replace a snapped-off pin at a gig.

These days, when having spares for spares is part of my job description, I carry a nice assortment of Planet Waves bridge pins and end pins. We offer boxwood, ebony and plastic.

Plastic is the most economical, and many guitars at all price points ship with plastic pins. They have the least amount of mass and a bright tone. If your guitar came with them and you like the tone as is, you can stick with them.

Boxwood is a hard wood that is denser than the plastic and lasts longer. Planet Waves offer Black Pearl or Turquoise inlays in our boxwood pins, to add beauty to your bridge.

Ebony is a very dense wood that will last for a long time. Most players find that they mellow out the tone of your guitar, so if you have a bright sounding guitar, try a set to see what effect the ebony has on the trebles. Planet Waves offer ebony pins with brass studs and abalone, turquoise and pearl inlays.

For less than $20, you can try out these different pins from Planet Waves. And in true "real world solution" fashion, we even include an extra bridge pin in every set!

Pillows, Balloons and O-Ports

2010-08-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

There are a few things in a guitar tech's workbox that might puzzle a casual observer. I have at various times carried around pillow stuffing, which was used to tame an overly responsive Dobro from feeding back.

Other odd items you might see are a few black balloons. Inserted into an ES-335 or similar semi-acoustic and then blown up, they serve to deaden the top and back enough to stop feedback and they also work in acoustic guitars. You might need to wait until Halloween to get black balloons, but they do come in handy.

If you want a more traditional approach to feedback suppression, Planet Waves offers two great products.

The Screeching Halt, which is hands-down my favorite product name, is a sound hole plug and top dampener for acoustic guitars. The slightly tapered edge make it compatible with most sound holes.

The other option is using the amazing O-Port. Designed to project the sound out of your guitar in a fashion similar to the ports on high quality speakers, the O-Port doubles as a top dampener.

I use it in just that manner on Brian Nutter's Sigma 12-string. If you've been to a live Keith Urban show lately and heard "Stupid Boy", that was Brian playing the Sigma with an O-Port, standing in the spotlight at the very edge of the stage, practically in front of the house P.A. speakers....no feedback.

O-Port demo #1

O-Port demo #2

Hangin' With Your Heroes

2010-08-10T03:21:00.000-07:00

Planet Waves has a new batch of Classic Rock straps that feature album art work and logos from the Golden Age of Rock. The first album I ever bought with my own money was KISS's "Destroyer". I was 14 or 15 years old and it was a bit of a daring thing to bring that album cover into the classroom at the Catholic school I attended.

Southern Rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd also have a couple of logo straps out this year. I had their "Pronounced" album on 8-track!

Glam-Rock bad boys Motley Crue have three straps to offer, featuring art work from such favorites as "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Shout at the Devil" and "Dr. Feelgood".

Pioneering power trio +1 The Who always managed to have iconic visuals. Their Union Jack and Target straps are a throwback to the Mod culture of swinging London in the early '60's.

Check out all of the Planet Waves straps at your local retailer.

App-etizers

2010-07-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Planet Waves has a great new suite of iPhone apps called Guitar Tools. Let's take a closer look:

Chords

Guitar Tools includes a complete chord dictionary with over 7,000 voicings. Simply select the chord you want, and use the touch screen to strum it. Great for writing songs on the go.

Chord Finder

You put your fingers into some neat configuration, you love how it sounds...but what should you call it? Guitar Tools allows you to select the string and fret position and then gives you the proper name of the chord.

Scales

Thousands of scales, modes, arpeggios in multiple fingerings. You can even re-tune the virtual guitar and get scales for DADGAD, Open G or any other tuning you can dream up.

Tuner

Choose analog needle or digital strobe readout to keep your instrument in tune.

Metronome

Get into the groove by tapping the tempo on the touchscreen and choosing from multiple sounds and time signatures.

Learn

Using the "Teachers Near Me" function, Guitar Tools can find a local instructor no matter where you are. Grab a lesson while on vacation!

Shop

A database of music stores to help you find out where to make your next gear purchase. Great for Road Managers and Guitar Techs.

Check out all of the Planet Waves iPhone apps here.

Tech It... with a Planet Waves Tech Kit

2010-05-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Those little trap-door boxes inside your hardshell guitar case are great places to keep capos, spare strings, picks, and other gig essentials. Planet Waves offers a series of tech-related accessories that also fit in most cases and gig bags, and you can create a travel version of a tech bench with just a few items.

First is a ProWinder. No need to take a string cutter and a peg winder. The ProWinder is two tools in one, and I do not leave the house without one.

Next is the Headstand, a collapsible neck rest that slips into your case and is indispensable when changing strings, polishing or doing more involved fret cleaning, etc.

The Lubrikit is another essential for me. I started using it on all of my guitars that have tremolos, and now I find myself putting it in the string slots at the bridge and nut of all of my guitars, acoustics included. I like the idea of a frictionless path from the bridge to the tuning keys.

The last essential item is the Headstock Tuner. I've written about it before, and I'm sure I will again. This is the handiest tuner I've ever used. It's small, light, accurate and affordable enough to keep in several different guitar cases.

Shine On

2010-05-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've spent much of the past week cleaning up flood-related messes and throwing away a lot of un-fixable gear from my guitar tech workbox. All of my many nuts, bolts, screws, springs, buttons, switches, jacks and potentiometers are toast, drenched for days in river water, then exposed to the air and covered in rust. We had a few guitars survive, due to miracles, luck or simply having them stored higher than 42 inches.

Many local luthiers set up a "triage" center and began stripping down guitars that were wet and drying them out. You might want to remember these few tips on what to do should your prized axe ever get left out in the rain.

Here's triage member Jeff Senn on flood damaged guitars:

Flood damaged guitars can present some serious challenges in attempting to repair and restore them to playing condition. The duration of time an instrument has been submerged is the critical determining factor in the steps taken to save your guitar.

For an instrument that has gotten wet via a rainstorm onstage or very brief saturation, a quick drying off with a cloth such as the Planet Waves untreated polish cloth and spraying the electronics with a corrosion resister such as DeOxit D5 followed by a quick polish with Planet Waves Protect liquid carnuba wax can be enough. Also, if you are trying to save your strings Planet Waves Renew string cleaning system is ace.

Instruments that have been underwater for a few hours to a few days need much more care to survive.

The first step recommended is complete disassembly. If possible, every part should come off. If it's a bolt on neck instrument remove the neck. Necks can swell to the point where they will split the body.

Next, wipe all parts down with a mixture of 70% distilled water and 30% alcohol to remove contaminants. This won't hurt your guitar or finish since it's already wet, right? Make sure to dry off the surface completely after this bath. Metal parts should be treated with a bath of WD40 or Planet Waves String Cleaner, which will help to displace the moisture and slow or stop corrosion.

If you have a rosewood or ebony fingerboard treat the board immediately with an application of Planet Waves Hydrate fingerboard conditioner. As the water evaporates from the fingerboard, it often takes some of the vital nutrients with it and the board can crack in just hours.

After drying the guitar body and neck as much as possible with towels and cloths place the components in a garbage bag filled with rice, yes that's right, regular white rice that you purchase at your local grocery. After making sure the parts are sufficiently surrounded by the rice in the bag close off the opening of the bag leaving just a little slack for air to get in and out. The rice will remove moisture from the wood and you want there to be a little air flow through the bag opening to release this moisture. This process can be repeated over a few weeks if the instrument was under water for days.

If your guitar or bass has made it this far without developing serious cracks and has dried out completely you can begin reassembly. Start by cleaning and polishing the finish with some Planet Waves Restore deep cleaning polish. This with return the shine to your instrument and can help remove blushing and tarnishing from the moisture.

Frets can be cleaned with the Planet Waves Fret Polishing System to remove any corrosion. Planet Waves Express Packs can be handy in the reassembly process, as they give you three of the necessary "potions and lotions" as we call them here in our shop. Spray out the electronics one more time before reassembly/use with an electronic deoxidizing spray and if any of the components are corroded or rusty you may want to replace them at this time.

If you are not handy enough to reassemble your guitar or bass you can still do most or all of the cleaning yourself with some of the products mentioned and then take it to a professional tech to get your baby playing great again. After the recent Nashville flood a well-known and respected player helped to disassemble and clean instruments to help others, but when it came to reassembly he admitted it was out of his ability range. Nothing wrong with that. That's exactly what your local guitar and bass technicians are there for.

Having your pride and joy get a thrashing from mother nature can be a nerve wracking and humbling experience but with some fast action and a little patience some instruments can live to rock, swing or twang another day.

Feed Your Head Stock

2010-04-15T09:07:00.005-07:00

I'm in rehearsals this week with the Keith Urban band, getting ready for a show in Phoenix and the ACM Awards in Las Vegas. I'm taking care of Brian Nutter's gear this year, and we're putting the Planet Waves Headstock tuner to good use.

Brian plays electric, acoustic, 6 and 12-string, resophonic, ganjo (6-sting banjo) and mandolin in the show. We're running all these acoustic instruments into a pair of Midas XL 42 dual mic pres, then into a line mixer blend these four inputs into a single output to send the monitor and front of house engineer a single fader to control.

This means that any on-the-spot tuning that Brian might need is done on stage without a mute switch or volume pedal. I send every acoustic instrument out with a Headstock Tuner clamped on.

I use them to first tune the instruments in my world, since the stage volume is usually too loud to use an audio-based tuner. By sensing the vibrations through the headstock, the Headstock Tuner doesn't really care how loud the band is, how close you are to a raging half-stack, how loud the crowd is cheering. They work great on electric guitars, too. I also send one out on the 12-string headstock of the white Gibson EDS-1275 doubleneck that's capoed with an NS capo at the 3rd fret...just in case!

The $.25 EQ

2010-04-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

Picks. Everybody has lots of picks, everybody has lost a lot of picks. Once you find a gauge and texture you like, most people stick with it and don't give it another thought. But picks are the least expensive way to change your tone, explore new sounds, and create a wider palette of tones in the studio.

Planet Waves makes a variety of picks for just about every occasion.

Our Duralin picks are the most popular. Made from Acetyl or Delrin™, Duralin picks have a perfect blend of stiffness and spring. They're extremely durable and last a long time. In fact you'll probably lose it before you use it. Duralin picks accentuate the attack of a note, giving clarity and power to every pick stroke.

Duralin Picks

Classic Celluloid. No, it's not a Charlie Chaplin film festival, it's the Planet Waves version of the perennial favorite guitar pick. A softer, less aggressive tone than the Duralin, Celluloid picks were the favored substitute for actual tortoiseshell, and it fact Fender's #351 medium gauge tortoiseshell pick might be the most famous pick of all time. Planet Waves offers celluloid picks in a variety of colors and gauges. Great for strumming acoustic guitars and for when you want a little warmer sound. A thin celluloid playing a high-capo part is a great trick to use when doubling a track in the studio.

Classic Celluloid

Delflex. The blending of nylon and acetyl, these injection molded picks and long-lasting and bright. Injection molding gives the pick familiar flexibility in all directions, as opposed to stamped sheet picks, which can break and tear if bent in the "wrong" direction. Quick on the attack with a bit of give, striking a nice balance between the Duralin and the Classic Celluloid. Great for bass guitars that need some snap on the attack, but without the click.

Delflex

The SurePick is a Planet Waves innovation. An injection molded rubber grip (in the shape of the Planet Waves logo) makes this pick a great choice for slippery fingers and bass guitarists. You can really dig in to the strings without fear of losing your grip. (Hold one up to the light and check out what the logo on each side of the pick turns into...!)

SurePick

Black Ice picks are Planet Waves' latest offering. Duralin picks formed into the popular Jazz shape and tumbled like fine jewels for a soft texture with a stiff attack. Perfect for ripping, articulate leads and heavy rhythm.

Black Ice

All of these picks will make you guitar respond and react differently. Next time you're at the music store, grab a handful of picks of several different gauges and materials. Try playing the same piece of music, song or favorite lick and vary the pick you use. Listen to what it does to the attack of the string. Bright and immediate? Soft and warm? Quick and aggressive? Listen to how the different picks accentuate the sound of your electric guitar. Turn them around and use the rounded edge instead of the point. This is a common trick used by Bluegrass pickers.

Spend some time exploring the Planet of Picks... and make your own Planet Waves.

John Hiatt and His Headstock Tuner on Lightning 100

2010-04-01T17:04:00.001-07:00

Creative Capos

2010-03-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

The capo has been around since the 17th century. Capos, from the Italian phrase “capo tasto” meaning “head fret”, are used to change the pitch - or transpose - various stringed instruments without re-tuning. Certain chord voicings, like the open-position G chord on a guitar, have a distinctive sound that cannot be completely captured by barring the strings. Bluegrass guitar, in particular, features the “Lester Flatt G-run” that is impossible to play correctly (with its distinctive open strings and hammer-ons) without a capo.

Capos are also used on 12-string guitars to play in concert pitch. Some guitarists like the bigger sound you get by using medium strings, which can put a lot of tension on an acoustic 12-string and make fingering difficult. By tuning down a whole step and capoing on the second fret, you get the extra thump of a medium gauge with the easier fingering of reduced string tension.

Some players with less appreciation of the importance of open chord voicings and string tension (and it’s effect on timbre) call capos “cheaters”. While it’s true that using a capo allows the “three-chord guitar player" the opportunity to play in any key without learning a new chord grip, capos can be used in more creative ways. In fact, a beginning guitarist with a capo can play many things that a professional without one cannot. You’d be cheating your music by not investigating the many uses of a capo.

The most obvious use is to simply change the pitch of the strings by capoing on any fret and playing the chords to the song as you would in the open, un-capoed position.

G chord in open position

G chord capoed at second fret is now an "A" chord

This is especially helpful when you have learned a song using open chords and have to play it in a different key. For example, female singers who are covering songs originally sung in lower keys benefit from this use of a capo. Guitar players gigging with a female singer-songwriter will often find themselves in the keys of B, Eb, Ab, Db and other keys that are simply guitar un-friendly. Capos are an essential tool in your gig bag.

Another great use for the capo is in the recording studio. When layering guitar tracks, it often sounds good to play a second acoustic track while capoed up several frets. The blend of the two chord voicings and timbres creates a warm, rich foundation for a track. You can also use a capo and play just the top three or four strings on the doubled part to get a faux-12 string sound.

Capos can also give you the sound of a “dropped-D” tuning. By placing a capo on strings 5 through 1 (the A, D, G, B and High E) at the second fret, leaving the Low E open, you get the sound of a dropped D tuning in the key of E. This allows you to use the friendlier D, G and A shapes in the key of E and gives you the solid bass note of the tonic E chord.

Capo at 2nd fret, with open E string

Planet Waves makes the NS Trio capo for this purpose. Partial capoing on an acoustic guitar is one part of the Trio concept, additionally it is a great capo for both mandolins and banjos. The Trio capo is shorter than a standard capo, and covers 5 strings of a standard guitar. Planet Waves also offers a Classical Capo, which is long enough to cover the width of a classical/nylon string guitar neck and is machined to fit it’s typically flattened fingerboard.

Once you’ve tried the “Dropped-D” trick using an open string in E, you can use two capos to get the same voicings in other keys. Try putting a standard NS capo across all six strings at the third fret and a Trio capo on strings 5 through 1 at the 5th fret. Now you can play in C using the "G chord" shape as your I chord and have your V chord (in this case, the G chord played in a D-shape voicing) still have plenty of low end.

A C chord using the "G shape" in the 2-capo "Drop D" set up

Playing a G chord in the "Drop D" 2-capo setup

The neat trick to this technique is that you can reach notes between the two capos, for example to fret the A note on the 5th fret to play a VIm (A minor) chord. Your first finger completes the barre at the 5th fret.

Playing an "Em barre shape" (sounding as an Am) in the two-capo setup

That ought to get you started thinking about creative capo uses. Check out all of the excellent capos from Planet Waves at www.planetwaves.com

Tru To Life

2010-02-09T13:41:00.001-08:00

The latest entry in Planet Wave’s popular pedal tuner line addresses the most common requests we’ve received: A true strobe tuner pedal that can be seen at noon or midnight on any stage. I’ve been using the original TruStrobe on my tech bench for about a year now, and the Chromatic Pedal Tuner on my own pedalboard and that of the guys I tech for.

The new Tru Strobe Pedal Tuner is a mash-up of both...the “guts” of the table top and the body of the stompbox. The LED light have been replaced with an LCD screen with a switchable on/off backlight. The orange background with black numbers and letters is easy to read from every angle an in all lighting conditions. The true strobe nature of the pedal allows extremely accurate on-stage tuning. Simply watch the rotating LCD segments and tune the string until they stop moving. Clock-wise motion means you are flat, counterclockwise means you are sharp. This tuner is accurate to within +/- 0.1 cent.

I had the opportunity to use this tuner in the field recently, when Brian Nutter, guitarist for Keith Urban , added it to his pedalboard for the taping of the CMT Crossroads show with Urban and John Mayer. Brian is fun and challenging to tech for because he started out in this organization ...as Keith’s tech! He loved the tuner and I ended up leaving it on his board even thought it was my only sample at the time. Not only is it an accurate and easy to use tuner, but it looks great doing it. The black chrome housing is stylish and unobtrusive and takes up minimal space on your board.

Standard 9v battery power and AC input jacks, including a daisy-chain output to power more pedals. The Tru Srobe pedal is also true bypass.

A great addition to your onstage rig, this pedal is accurate enough to be your ONLY tuner...at the gig, on the work bench and in the studio.

The PW-CT-10 Headstock Tuner Live Onstage With Keith Urban

2009-08-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone-

This is Tom with Planet Waves Artist Relations checking in while I'm on the road with Keith Urban. One of the great perks of working for Planet Waves is getting to try their products in many different scenarios. On stage in a club, in the studio, offstage in an arena, on a tour bus, wherever a guitar needs tuning.

I shot this short video at a recent Keith Urban concert, with the noisy crowd and blaring P.A. in the background to prove a point. The Planet Waves Headstock Tuner works under fire, no matter what the ambient noise around you might be. By reading the vibrations transmitted through the headstock, and not relying on a pickup reading an audible string pluck, you can tune a sensitive instrument like a banjo with no problems. I put a Headstock Tuner on every guitar, banjo and mandolin that goes on stage. Check it out!

Richard Gilewitz - New Zealand Clinic Tour

2009-07-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

Richard Gilewitz here from the other side of the planet to talk about the great Planet Wave products and D'Addario Strings as I travel through the entire country of New Zealand for my 5th tour in 8 years.

Currently as of this writing I am midway through the tour and just about to finish up on the South Island. Not exactly looking forward to the 3 hour ferry ride to the North Island this weekend (although it is a beautiful trip) since I was apparently born without proper sea legs. Nothing a bag of chicken flavored potato chips and ginger beer won't cure!

Had a fantastic time during the first half of the trip, apparently no issues with jet lag (this time) and have had many opportunities to demo a multitude of great products.

Trevor Daley at MusicWorks in Invercargill (the furthest city south in the world - Antarctica is next spot down) did a bang up job promoting the concert/seminar event drawing a crowd of well over 110 folks and the hottest giveaway 'swag' items for the evening were the Planet Waves Humidifier, 3 phase guitar polishes, SOS tuners, and EXP D'Áddario Strings.

Several musicians in the audience also approached me after the event and appeared to be utterly fascinated with the circuit breaker cable as well as my stated 'string life' mentioned during my performance.

Trevor was also kind enough to change my strings on my Breedlove Signature 6 string model and was grateful for the use of my Planet Wave Peg Winder complete with the string cutting feature.

During my MusicWorks mini-GillaCamp 'hands on' workshop the following night in Gore, Trevor's friend, Peter Cairns was kind enough to host the event drawing 18 attendees for the evening. Until I pulled out my Planet Wave Multi Function Tuner/Metronome the group sounded like a bag of cats when playing together. Once I aligned their timing with the help of the metronome the room sounded like a symphony. Well, almost.

Looking forward to sharing the great products DÁddario was so kind to send for the trip as I travel north ... and really looking forward to those Chicken Chips.

Gillacamp website:http://www.richardgilewitz.com/gillacamp.html

Rig Remote Demo at WWDC by Planet Waves

2009-06-18T09:46:00.001-07:00

Demo of the new MIDI Mobilizer and Planet Waves Rig Remote Application featured at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference 2009

When used with the upcoming Planet Waves Rig Remote application for iPhone and iPod touch the MIDI Mobilizer gives guitarists the freedom to control Line 6 Variax® digital modeling guitars and Vetta™ II digital modeling amplifiers.

The Rig Remote app features an attractive graphical display that takes a nod from the Line 6 software commonly used to adjust Line 6 gear via personal computers. The innovative Multi-Touch user interface makes it simple for iPhone and iPod touch users to scroll, choose and adjust models of amps, guitars, pickups, pickup placement, alternate tuning and more. Guitarists can easily save their favorite settings and apply them to any Variax guitar or Vetta II amplifier.

MIDI Mobilizer and Rig Remote 1.0 are currently in final development, with pricing, availability, and more detail on the complete feature set to be announced at a future date.

For more information on Planet Waves please visit: http://www.planetwaves.com/

For more information on Line 6 please visit: http://www.line6.com/

Deep Thoughts & Planet Waves Cables with Nick Hipa from As I Lay Dying

2009-06-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago while driving I noticed an assortment of words on the back window of a pickup truck. From its appearance, this wasnt merely a truck stop sticker with a witty saying, but rather a combination of individual letter stickers that were meticulously arranged to form this quote: He who desires to succeed will find a way, he who does not will make an excuse. The intent of this person, who went through such great lengths to share this message with fellow motorists in the greater San Diego area, was probably meant to inspire...
In my case it certainly did!

I began thinking about the plethora of goals I have set for myself, and how instead of realizing them I have made excuses as to why I fail to fulfill them. Most of these goals are quite trivial in the grand scheme of life (ex. Goal - Go to the gym constantly and become the most shredded dude ever) yet the only obstacle I truly have that keeps me from it is my mind (Excuses- ahh the gym is way too crowded right now/I dont want to become a bulky steroid looking dude/burritos are so delicious/I enjoy beer/etc).

History has proven that I do tend to set way too many goals for myself that are more or less cool ideas that I think I really want, but somehow never get around to. When trimming out the fat, however, and addressing things that are a real concern in my life, the notion that I am making excuses for my lack of discipline and fortitude in pursuing my dreams is a harsh bit of reality. I alone can make it happen or not.

The beauty of coming to this realization, though, is that it really is all up to me. It is all up to you to. Life and all of the things we dream of accomplishing in our span of time in it can be ours if we exercise our willpower and discipline. Upon arriving home I googled the quote (as best I could remember) to find out who actually coined it. Although I had no luck (perhaps it was an original?) I did get caught in a whirlwind of other awesome inspirational success quotes:

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
-Benjamin Franklin

I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse.
-Florence Nightingale

Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.
-Francois La Rochefoucauld

Niney-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
-George W. Carver

Now to shamelessly tie this all in to Planet Waves and my relationship with them: I am on the noblest of pursuits to obtain the raddest guitar tone known to all of mankind. There are many variables involved with achieving this, with the most basic division of categories being the player and the gear.

True tone comes from the fingers, but unless you plan on playing acoustic sets in coffee shops for your entire musical career youre going to have to run through some amplification! Most players focus the majority of their gear attention to simply amp and cab. While this is the bulk of your tones awesomeness, the cutting edge and extra sparkle of quality resides in the little details.

The most important of all these little details is what transports every moment of your sound: Cables! In my opinion, to truly succeed in honing sonic excellence is to use the best, and the best cables in existence are made by Planet Waves... hands down. I use the Custom Pro Series both live & in the studio. To use anything else would be to make a sorry excuse for lackluster tone.

Peace and I'm out,

Nick Hipa
As I Lay Dying

http://www.asilaydying.com/

Strobe Tuning

2009-05-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

Strobe tuners are extremely accurate pitch measurement devices. While most guitar tuners on the market are accurate to a range of +/- 3 cents, strobe tuners can be accurate to +/- 0.1 cents. Thats 15 times more as accurate!! Though at first these tuners may seem harder to use, once you understand how they work and get used to them, you really can hear a dramatic difference in the way chords ring out. Let’s dive in...

The first stroboscopic (strobe) tuner was produced by Conn back in the 1930’s. Mechanical strobe tuners use spinning translucent disc’s that spin at a given rate of pitch that is set by the user. These Discs’s have a printed circular pattern on them. Behind this disc is a series of lights or LED’s that flash (or strobe) at the same rate as the incoming signal. The difference between the rate of the disc spinning and the rate of the lights flashing create the optical illusion of movement. The more out of tune the incoming signal is compared to the correct pitch, the faster the disc appears to spin. When the disc and the incoming signal are the same, no movement is seen and that’s how you know you are in tune. It's really that simple but ingenious!

These days, strobe tuning is accomplished not only with spinning disc but also with LED and LCD displays. Such examples of this are the Planets Waves Tru-Strobe and SOS tuners.

The SOS Tuner projects two opposing strobe (or rapidly flashing) LED’s onto the guitar string at the exact frequency at which the perfectly tuned string will vibrate. This then gives you a visible indication on the string itself as to whether the string is in tune or not: if the two lights are moving, the string needs to be adjusted to bring it in tune. If there is no movement, the string is properly tuned. Tuning the string simply involves projecting the desired pitch onto the string, plucking the string, and adjusting the string tension until the strobe lights stop moving. What's also great about this tuner is that since you are shine the light right on the string no input signal is needed. you could tune you guitar perfect while standing next to a running 747 (I don't recomend that you try this though!)

The Tru-Strobe Tuner works by displaying the interference between a reference frequency (or pitch) and the instrument’s signal input. Electronics in the tuner detect the pitch of the instruments signal and spins the ring of LED’s at the recognized pitch, “E” for example. The instruments signal then turns the tuner's whole ring of lights on and off as the string vibrates, and the optical interference creates the strobe or spinning effect. When the string's frequency matches the lights' spin rate, the image appears to stand still, indicating the string is perfectly in tune.

No matter which style is used, strobe tuners will take you to the next level of tuning accuracy. This is critical when in the studio, on stage or setting up the intonation of your guitar. Next time you’re at a concert or your local repair shop look around and I’m sure you will find a strobe tuner in use.

Secret behind the scenes video....SHHHHHH!!!

Click here, the first 25 people will be sent a free Planet Waves SOS Tuner!!

Polishing tips from a pro...

2009-05-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Even though guitars are inanimate objects they really do become an extension of us. We choose them carefully and after a while we do form a bond with our instruments. Keeping them playing and looking their best will let us get the most from our guitars. Just because we play hard, that doesn’t mean our instruments have to look like it. Planet Waves offers everything you need to get the most from your instruments and keep them looking great including a fret polishing system, string cleaner, fingerboard conditioners and the three step polishing system. Don’t take our word for it; take it from Slipknot’s Mick Thomson #7:

I’m serious. This is not a sales pitch. This is how it is, and it really is that good:

The three step process of Restore, Protect and Shine is impressive. It’s very similar to detailing an auto finish. Restore has a fine cutting agent that cleans and helps to remove fine scratches. Protect adds Carnauba Wax for amazing gloss and reflection. The finish almost looks wet. Shine adds a little boost to those steps and should be used on its own frequently to keep the finish looking new.

The key to it working is elbow grease (the more you do - the better the results. The only better way would be to use the same products after stripping the guitar bare of hardware and using a random orbital buffer). Don’t simply wipe on and wipe off for the first two steps. The time you spend equals the results you get.

Apply the first step using very small (like 2" diameter) circular rotations. Give it a few minutes to dry to a haze. Don’t do the whole guitar at once. Do sections (I usually do 4). Do the same for step two. ALWAYS use a clean polishing cloth as to not scratch the finish. Any sh*t on the cloth can (and likely WILL) put scratches in your finish. Use a separate cloth to apply and remove and use different clean parts of the cloth during the process (i usually end up using 4 sections of any cloth).

After using Restore and Protect you can either stop there, or add a little Shine to another polishing cloth, wipe gently and buff. From there you can just use Shine as needed (perfect for day to day polishing). After a while (everyone beats sh*t up at a different rate) you can start the process over and make your guitar "new" again. It really does take the appearance of years off a guitar.

I use these on everything I own from an old $300 Kramer to a $10K Les Paul. I’ve found nothing better.

-Mick Thomson

http://www.slipknot1.com/

There you have it, from a pro who is putting Planet Waves Instrument Care products to the test nightly on the world’s biggest stages. When it comes to guitars, he’s got ‘em all & doesn’t cut corners when taking care of them. You shouldn’t either!

Jim D’Addario Anecdotes

2009-04-27T04:38:00.001-07:00

Collaborate to Succeed Part 1 – John D’Angelico

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind too), those who learn to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”

In reading that statement, one could assume it came from a musician or athlete playing team sports. But in actuality, it was the naturalist Charles Darwin that penned the line.

For musicians, collaborating and improvising is a way of life. Many times when people look at the success of a musical group or an enterprise, they inaccurately assume that success is the result of the efforts of one or two individuals. The fact is even the most astute entrepreneur gets nowhere if he/she does not learn to collaborate and improvise. Finding the right partners to collaborate with is the key.

I learned a lot about collaboration and running a business when I joined my first band at age 13. The first thing that was abundantly clear to me was that we sounded much better as a group than we did individually - provided we all practiced our parts. Later on in my career as business challenges presented themselves, I would always look for collaboration partners, reaching out to someone with more experience to help with the specific challenges that we faced.

In 1905, my grandfather Charles D’Addario emigrated from Italy to New York. He brought with him the family trade of making strings, which dates back hundreds of years to 1680. By coincidence, the very same year a Czechoslovakian luthier named Ladislav Kaplan also moved his family from Europe to America. At the time, there was a shortage of quality musical instruments and strings. Both gentlemen bought the American dream and lived it.

Soon after arriving in America, Ladislav discovered that he was having trouble getting good strings for his violins, violas and cellos. A trained craftsman, he discovered he was also a very, very talented mechanical engineer. Soon after, he began making his own strings and before long the Kaplan brand of gut bowed strings was well established.

Charles and Ladislav were friendly competitors and exchanged raw materials and know-how on occasion. Accounting ledger books from 1922 show Charles and Ladislav frequently exchanging material for payment. In the true European family business model, the Kaplan family ran their little string business out of a garage in their backyard in Norwalk, CT from 1905 to 1981. The D’Addarios ran theirs in the basement of their Jackson Heights, NY home, a short walk from what would become LaGuardia airport.

In the 1930’s, John D’Addario, Sr. joined his dad, Charles, and his young inquisitive mind was immediately energized by the world of the guitar. The guitar was yet to be amplified and was for the most part used as an element of the rhythm section of the big bands that were popular during that era. Guitar makers like Maccaferri and D’Angelico worked hard to make their instruments project acoustically over entire bands or orchestras.

John, Sr. (my dad), befriended John D’Angelico towards the end of the 1930’s. Their collaboration would be a key to the success of D’Addario guitar strings some 35 years later. D’Angelico was looking for someone to improve on the quality of the acoustic guitar strings that were available at the time. Dad was lucky enough to enter the picture at the right time. The art of string making at that time was exactly that - an ‘art’. Most developments were by accident or by trial and error. The major string brands at the time, National Black Diamond and Gibson for instance, did not make a string with the low end output, sustain and the projection in the upper register to satisfy D’Angelico.

I had the good fortune to meet John D’Angelico on several occasions as child when my dad was delivering strings to his shop on Kenmare Street in Little Italy. I can tell you personally - D’Angelico had golden ears. My dad’s collaboration with him yielded the acoustic guitar specifications that we, by and large, still use today. In fact most successful competitive brands have emulated the very specifications that the collaboration between D’Addario and D’Angelico yielded. All the D’Angelico packaged strings made prior to John D’Angelico’s passing (1964) were made by our family. Similarity in the names and his respect for John D’Angelico were key reasons why Dad never used the D’Addario family name on his strings until we did so in 1974.

My dad often spoke fondly of how well they worked together. Dad would make a variety of samples, with different core sizes and whatever different alloys of brass, bronze and silver plated copper that he could get his hands on at the time. John would test them and together, using their ears and their minds, through trial and error, they advanced the art of guitar string-making. Their first epiphany was determining the optimum size ratios between the core wire and the wrap wire for each wound string on the guitar. Later, they realized that the 80-20 brass (referred to as bronze most of the time) needed to be softened prior to winding. Eventually, after many trials, they landed on some great-sounding string specifications.

D’Angelico made instruments for all kinds of different guitar players. Many times the guitarist would not be satisfied with the instrument he ordered when he came to pick it up. While D’Angelico could make adjustments in the set-up of the guitar to sometimes satisfy the particular want of each player, he quickly realized, with all these string samples lying around, that many times just changing the string tension would do the trick.

Prior to their collaboration, strings were sold in one gauge. They pioneered the idea of Light, Medium and Heavy string gauges. Later, as the electric guitar took hold, players would demand even lighter and lighter string gauges. Back then, most guitars were outfitted with pretty heavy gauge strings.

As the guitar string business grew and my grandfather’s retirement age was approaching, my dad began to lose interest in bowed string manufacturing and focused more and more of his attention on fretted instrument strings. In 1959, Charles retired and for a few years, my dad and his team continued to make bowed strings for various private labels and under their own names Puccini and La Rita. Around 1964, after the British invasion and the advent of the real guitar boom, D’Addario totally abandoned bowed string manufacturing and focused all their energy on fretted instrument strings.

Dad and his partners (two other gentlemen from the same town in Italy) sold their company to C. F. Martin & Company in 1969. In 1974, after a five-year employment engagement, a newly-formed company (our present entity) introduced fretted instrument strings for the first time, bearing the D’Addario family name. Joined by his two sons John D’Addario, Jr. (my brother) and me (Jim D’Addario), the D’Addario family began on the journey of establishing the D’Addario brand name utilizing many of the string innovations discovered through the collaboration of John D’Angelico.

More on collaboration to come. . . .
My next article will discuss the acquisition of Kaplan Music Strings in 1981 and the re-entry into the bowed string business through our collaboration with Dr. Norman Pickering.

Jim D’Addario

Capacitance: What is it and how does it affect my tone?

2009-04-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

The capacitance of something is a measurement of its ability to store a charge. Did you ever drag your feet and then touch someone in order to shock them…capacitance in action!!

A capacitor is a device that stores a charge consisting of two conductors separated by an insulator. What does such a device have to do with a guitar player? If you play electric guitar, everything!!

Let’s look at the construction of an instrument cable. A standard instrument cable in its most basic form is made up of a center conductor, some type of insulation, a shield (which is also used as a conductor) and the outer jacket. Hmm….a conductor, insulation and another conductor…Sound familiar?? Now that we realize that a guitar cable is basically a long capacitor, let’s look at how your tone gets affected.

When you start playing your guitar, a small electrical current flows between the two conductors of the cable. As the frequency increases, so does the current that flows through a capacitor. This is why high frequencies are affected more by cable capacitance then low frequencies.

Along with the source impedance, cable capacitance forms a low-pass filter between the instrument and amplifier, meaning it rolls-off or cuts high frequencies, much like your guitar’s tone control. The higher the capacitance is of the cable, the more high-end roll-off you will experience.

Capacitance in instrument cables is measured in picofarads (pF) as a full farad is too large compared to typical requirements in electronic devices. The picofarad is sometimes comically called a "puff" as well. Let’s say you have a cable that measure 45pF per foot and you use a 10ft cable to an effects pedal and then a 10 ft cable to your amplifier. Taking the pedal out of the equation you are looking at 900pF before your guitar signal hits your amplifier. Now lets take two cables that have a capacitance of only 33pF/ft. Using the same set-up you would have a total of 660pF before your guitar signal hits your Amplifier. See why it’s important to use quality, low-capacitance cables?

Some manufacturers design cables with a sound in mind…say a “rock style” or “jazz style” cable. What they are doing is pre-equalizing the cable by the capacitance level to roll-off certain frequencies. While this may work for some players, the best cables should leave your signal untouched giving you the most control over your tone when it reaches your amp. Now when some people use a cable with low capacitance, they will say that the cable is very “bright” compared to their standard cable. That “brightness” is actually the high frequencies that their previous cable was rolling off or not effectively reproducing. You may also experience greater lows and added dynamics or “liveliness”. The advantage of this is that you can now lower the treble controls on your amplifier, which in turn will cut down on the “hiss” that the amp produces. You are now getting a truer reproduction of your instrument into your amplifier.

Planet Waves cables are specifically designed and manufactured to have very low capacitance (among the lowest available), so that the output of your instrument remains intact and unchanged, giving you full tonal control over your sound.

For more information on Planet Waves cables, please visit our cable page or check out video library with behind the scenes tours from guitar techs for Warren Haynes, Peter Frampton, John Petrucci, and more.

Rob Cunningham