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The age old question... Over 90% of us use gauge 9 or 10 (thousandth of an inch thick) strings. But what if the 10s are a little tight on your Stratocaster but the 9s a little light or lacking bottom end..? The compromise has always been to go with a hybrid set which mix the 3 plain strings of a 9 gauge set allowing easy bending up the neck ( where the majority of bends end up! ) and the 3 wound strings of a 10 gauge set to keep the solid deeper 'chug' for power chords and rhythm playing. This is a good compromise and one that works for many people but there is another way and Ernie Ball have recently added an unusual set to their lineup... the Primo Slinkys, a 9.5 gauge set... It may sound a little like splitting hairs ( after all 1/2 thousandth of an inch is 1/5 the size of an average human hair!) but for some this new gauge will be just what they were looking for. If you find 9s perfect on your strat but too sloppy on your Les Paul (24.75" gibson scale length is 3/4" shorter, nut to saddle compared with Fenders 25.5"), then the 9.5s will feel much more familiar on your Les Paul. Likewise, anyone who likes a 10 gauge on their Gibson sized fretboard but finds them a little tight flying over their Fender frets, will feel at home with a set of Primo slinkys on their strat. There is no exact science with guitars, their necks, weight, body shape, sound and strings, it's what feels right to you. Believe me, I've had a few, frankly idiotic requests over the past 30 years and on occasion laugh when I hear the adage "the customer is always right" but when it comes to the feel of a guitar, the weight, the tone and particularly the neck, the set up and string gauges, it's a very personal thing and " The player IS always right" ! Also, another reason to use shops like mine to come try a range of guitars ( or ukes or saxophones or flutes) before buying, it is surprising how often, when given a few suggestions, that people go for something different to what they thought they wanted.. Maybe you're someone who has been waiting for 9.5 gauge strings all your life, maybe its piqued your interest to try a set next time, maybe you think it's crazy... I've got a few sets in stock but don't forget I also ( and have done for almost 20 years) the stock to make up custom sets of almost any gauges to suit any scale length, any tuning, the most simple being to change the 6th string to a 2 or 4 thou thicker string to keep an even tension with a, for example, dropped D tuning but I have also used tension charts to make up a weird tuning on homemade, odd length instruments but to keep the string tension in a similar feel to their standard tuned 10 gauge guitar... Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather...Karl

Free Monthly Lesson Preview July '19

Highly recommended for anyone wanting to move their mandolin playing forward...

Northwich Guitar Club

Annual event from Local guitar club in Northwich. All ages, all abilities, a fun afternoon with any donations on the door going to good causes, previous years funding free instruments and lessons to primary school kids who couldn't otherwise afford the opportunity. Bar and refreshments available

I call SNOW DAY!

Hope you've all had a great Christmas, if anyone needs me, I'm open for the next few hours..

I'm open today and will do what I can to help though i won't be getting any large amps out or similar as my back isn't recovered yet, thanks for bearing with me....

Due to back injury, I'm afraid we're closed for the foreseeable, with any luck I'll be open again next week. I'm happy to answer any queries on here, thanks for your patience, Karl

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SPECIAL PURCHASE! German made, good quality "Sela" Cajons (pronounced ca-hons), I only have one of each colour at this price, usually £120. Lovely tone and snare sound, including a great carry bag with backpack straps and a Cajon pad (seat cushion) only £80 each, would make a great Christmas present for someone (or yourself!)

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Let's have a poll... your favourite look on an acoustic, 👍for plain, ❤ for tortoiseshell pickguard and 😡 for black pickguard Terms and conditions apply, one vote each, there is no prize, votes will be counted when I've nothing better to do, any similarity to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental, 1500% APR, your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against the property, all votes before 1st September 2018 will not be counted, when asked,8 out of 10 cats represented the views of 80% of the feline population, not as seen on TV, by voting you are giving permission for viewers of this page to see whether you prefer acoustic guitars with black, tortoise shell or no pickguard, views expressed on this page are solely the views of the page administrators and do not represent the views of the instrument manufacturer(s)

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Yamaha Digital Piano. Full 88 weighted keys. Rosewood finish. Perfect working order. Third (sostenuto) pedal. Model YDP101 £300

Timeline Photos

Cheap keyboard! Ideal for kids to 'test the water' comes with music holder and manual and a set of batteries £10