Duke - Acoustic Woodshed

Flat Fee or Percentage of the Door: How a Solo Acoustic Act Should Actually Price a Gig

A musician playing acoustic guitar and singing into a microphone at a small indoor venue

I’ve been asked “what do you charge” more times than I’ve been asked to tune up before a set, and for years I gave a different answer every time, which is its own kind of problem. What finally settled it for me wasn’t a pep talk about knowing your worth. It was looking at what two different pricing structures actually do to your night, your relationship with the venue, and your bank account, and picking the one that fits the room you’re walking into. The … Read the article

Buying Guides

Solid-Top Acoustics Under $400: A Beginner’s Guide to What Nobody Tells You

Middle-aged man playing an acoustic guitar in a woodworking workshop.

I’ve set up more cheap acoustics on my kitchen table than I can count, mostly for younger players who bought based on looks or a salesperson’s … Read the article

Tutorials

Fingerpicking Patterns That Sound Harder Than They Are (And the One That Doesn’t)

Detailed view of a hand strumming an acoustic guitar outdoors, capturing musical passion.

Every few months somebody at a gig asks me to show them “that fancy fingerpicking thing” and points at my right hand like it’s doing something … Read the article

Buying Guides

Capos, Compared: Kyser, Shubb, G7th, and the $9 One in Your Case

Detailed view of hands playing guitar with capo, capturing musician's skill and emotion.

I own about a dozen capos because I keep buying one after every gig where I couldn’t find the good one in the case. So this … Read the article

Performing

Stopping Feedback on Stage: The Fixes That Actually Work, in Order

A male musician tuning his guitar on stage before a live performance.

I have had an acoustic guitar howl at me through a monitor wedge more times than I can count, usually two bars into a song I … Read the article

Buying Guides

The Dreadnought Isn’t the “Default” Guitar — Here’s How to Actually Pick a Body Shape

Sunburst dreadnought acoustic guitar resting on a hammock in dappled light

Every guitar store clerk has told some version of the same story: get a dreadnought first, that’s the “standard” shape, you can grow into it. I … Read the article

Tutorials

The 45-50% humidity rule is a target, not a cliff

A close-up photo of a vintage acoustic guitar in a hard case, showcasing its elegant design and wood grain.

The belief: your acoustic guitar has to live at 45-50% relative humidity, and if the reading drops below that, the wood is about to crack. The … Read the article

Tutorials

The Nashville Number System: a chart that survives a key change

An open notepad with handwritten notes and a pen resting on it, with the edge of an acoustic guitar alongside

The singer decides at soundcheck that the song sits better a step down. If your chart says G – D – Em – C, you are … Read the article

Buying Guides

80/20, phosphor bronze or coated: choosing acoustic strings

Close-up of bronze-wound acoustic guitar strings running from the bridge pins over a bone saddle towards the soundhole

The acoustic string wall is a bad place to make a decision. Twenty near-identical packages, all promising warmth and brightness in the same breath, and no … Read the article

Tutorials

Measure first, adjust second: an acoustic setup walkthrough

A guitar maker in an apron working on an acoustic guitar neck in a workshop, with the guitar body on the bench

Most guitars that get described as “hard to play” are not badly built. They are badly set up, and the owner has been compensating with their … Read the article

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