Strings Direct Blog

How To Toughen Up Your Fingers (And Release Your Inner Shredder!) Many beginner guitar players, and even regular accomplished players, can have issues with the war between playing and pain when starting off. It can be a bloodbath…literally!! Bloody fretboards. Crusty, sore fingertips - we have all been there. So Strings Direct have compiled 11 Top Tips (no pun intended) to help you rock out for longer without curling up in the corner to find... read more.

The (indefinite) Guide to Orange Endorsements by Alex Auxier I manage Orange’s Artist Relations (AR) team. Every day someone asks me how to get an endorsement, which we call an “Ambassadorship” (because, except for me, we’re British). I usually give a canned response with ridiculously high standards so that I can finish the conversation faster. The reason is that while we do have some minimal criteria in mind when selecting artists for our Ambassador program,... read more.

Jim Dunlop Cry Baby® Q-Zone™ Auto-Wah Today I'll be taking a look at the MXR Crybaby Q-Zone Auto-Wah pedal. This single-unit stompbox allows you to dial in a variety of fixed-position wah tones, replicating the resonance and vocal characteristics of the Cry Baby by means of the legendary red Fasel Inductor, which is an integral part of its design and construct. The pedal itself comes well packaged and is of good weight and excellent build-quality,... read more.

Every morning, when I arrive at work, I follow a certain routine.  As my computer and emails are loading I make myself a cup of coffee, with the absolute certainty that, well, I'm gonna need it.  I then sit down at my desk and dutifully begin the daily task of sifting through my Inbox.  And every day without fail, in between an offer for rubberised components, mass-produced in China and a lucrative business offer from... read more.