Builder's Guide

The gear layer of the site. What woods and strings each genre actually wants, how producers prep a guitar before it hits tape, and the documented rig behind specific records. Every gear and spec claim is sourced, and every part is one click from the best price.

• Guitar weight: why it matters, what's heavy, and why bands like All Time Low go lightA builder's guide to guitar weight: which woods and builds are heavy or light, why weight changes comfort and stage feel, the tone debate, and why players who move hard onstage (like All Time Low's Alex Gaskarth on a PRS Mira) pick a light guitar over a heavy Les Paul. Sourced.Read the guide →
• Producers on strings for recording: how often to change them, and why to buy in bulkHow producers handle strings in the studio: why fresh strings matter for tracking, how often the pros change them, coated vs uncoated, gauges for drop tunings, and why bands tracking a record or heading out on tour order strings by the box. Sourced, in plain-English FAQ tables.Read the guide →
• The gear behind Reckless & Relentless: Joey Sturgis, Asking Alexandria, and a wall of drop-G#A Builder's Guide breakdown of Asking Alexandria's Reckless & Relentless, produced by Joey Sturgis: the drop-G# tuning, the very heavy string gauges the band is documented playing, Sturgis's fresh-strings studio method, and the sets that get you that sound. Sourced, with the gaps flagged honestly.Read the guide →
• Tonewoods by genre: what wood (and what strings) your style actually wantsA builder's reference to guitar tonewoods by genre. What mahogany, alder, ash, basswood, and maple do to your tone, which woods each style leans on, and the strings that finish the job. Sourced, gear-forward, and built to help you buy the right parts.Read the guide →