The way that it feels in your hands. The way it wails and screams for your fingers and for your affections. Its crisp tone and coarse pulse. These are the things we come to personally love about the Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar.

The truth behind the Fender Strat’s crazy popularity, however, is far more complicated than just how damn sharp these guitars feel when you play them. It’s because of it’s rich history and its legendary performance.

The History of Fender

Fullerton, California. Orange County, 1938. The Fender company originally started out as Fender’s Radio Service. Leonidas Fender, or Leo, an electronics technician, worked as a radio and home audio equipment repair man. He also fixed PA systems, amps, and other sound related devices in his community. On the side, he also sold records in his shop and began designing and building PA systems. He apparently appreciated building custom amplifiers, some after his own designs and others were modifications of existing models.

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Let’s continue with our Metallica biography, here come the nineties.

1990

It has now been a few years since the death of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. The glam rock era is long over and Metallica has opened up the world of metal and served it to the public like a hot meal.

Their next step: Create an even bigger portal to metal music for the mainstream world to enjoy, all the while building the Metallica empire.

Metallica: The Black Album

Despite it being their 5th album and not their 1st, Metallica dubbed their next music creation self titled. And since the name Metallica didn’t stick as the album’s name for the public, it became known as The Black Album.

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The neck of the guitar is obviously a very important part of the instrument. It is the bridge for the musician’s hands that takes them from touch to sound.

The frets, which are the communication hub of the guitar are also located on the neck, which is why it must be sturdy, stable and dependable.

Since the neck is such an important tool in delivering sound, the construction and materials of the neck can affect tone, reverb and sustain. To better understand which type of neck is right for you, I bring you these facts about guitar necks.

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If you love music and recording as much as any electronics geek does, then cheap, boxy sounding speakers are not welcome in your home, car or office.

At the same token, if you read about electronics as much as an electronics guru, you already know that a good set of speakers, no matter how much you love them, doesn’t last forever.

After being kicked, moved and moved again, played too loudly and all around mistreated, your favorite sounds can wind up sounding like they were sung by a country singer in a tin can. Which is why I went on the hunt for these great deals:

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When it comes to recording your voice at home, which is probably what most people do record at home, there are three major things that you need, assuming you already have your recording system. Microphones, a mic preamp and a compressor. Here’s some useful knowledge concerning each one:

The Microphone
As I’ve stated before, you have about as many choices in a mic as you do cars. Do you go with the SUV or a Hybrid? What about a Jaguar? And just like when checking out the gas mileage, choosing a microphone should be based on your needs.

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1986 marked the release of Metallica’s 3rd album Master of Puppets, a dark but fun ride through the artistic vision of the legendary Metallica crew.

A relief for some from the glam rock era, it reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 and is considered one of the most successful albums in rock history. That success, however, became bitter sweet and the band faced many complications after Master of Puppets.

Cliff Burton’s Death
Devastation hit the band on September 27th, 1986, with the death of their beloved “lead bassist,” Cliff Burton. While in Stockholm on the Damage Inc. tour, promoting Master of Puppets, the band members played their usual game of cards before heading to bed in their less-than-desirable tour bus. The winner would determine who got the most comfortable bed, which that night, was Cliff, who chose Hammett’s bunk.

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If you were to go out today as a novice and buy a complete PC home recording studio, there are many things you will need to research before you buy. And once you’ve chosen a product, research it again. To get you started, however, I have these tips and tricks on how to build your own home recording studio..

A Computer: Home Base For Your Recording Studio

Assuming you will be using a windows platform, you should look at an Intel CPU with dual core and decent speed. The chip set on the motherboard is not necessarily a priority, but I would recommend staying away from Via or SIS as these tend to not perform that well when working with audio.

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Signal processors can be anything that changes the sound of an audio signal in some way. This differs from an effects processor which generally adds something to the audio signal, not something that tailors it the way a signal processor does.

Since the term “signal processor” is a general term for many different devices, so it could be a Filter, an EQ, a Compressor, a Gate, an Expander, a Limiter, a Transient processor, a Preamp, a DeEsser, a Stereo Spreader/Imager, and many other things. Lets start by going down the list.

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When you want a specific tone from your guitar, the wood it’s made of can impact what you choose to play with. This is especially true when you are bound to a specific wood for the body of the guitar but need a sound that particular wood cannot offer. Budget is most often the culprit.

So here is a bit of knowledge on the subject of guitar neck woods that could be of some help to you the next time you are in the market for a lovely new piece.

Spruce

Although Spruce wood isn’t as attractive as, say, Maple or Rosewood, it is light and solid, which makes it perfect for necks on acoustic guitars with flat tops. Spruce necks offer a wide range and great resonance on acoustic guitars.

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Many of the individual members of Metallica have risen up from impossible circumstances and climbed to a mottled fame despite them, which is what makes them so intriguing.

Their sound, however, is what makes their gear list so intriguing and as the band changes with each year, their gear does as well. That, combined with the band members private collection of instruments that they choose to play from, some of which they don’t speak to the public about, makes keeping tabs on their gear list so impossible.

I have for you, however, a great list of the known items played by the metal gods.

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