Armando's Take

ow often should I change strings on my instrument? I get this question quite a bit and the answer is different depending on which instrument we are talking about. On a guitar, I like to change strings as soon as I see them getting a bit tarnished and brown, even if the discoloration is not […]

In today’s crowded field of online music lessons, YouTube tutorials and mobile device teaching apps, it is not so easy to spot the right one that will make you a musician or at least improve your musical skills. Chances are, you will be looking at 20+ tutorials and haven’t touched your guitar the whole time! […]

  Choosing the right guitar when you are an absolute beginner can be a difficult task, simply because you don’t know which one would be best for you given the large variety of guitars available on the market. Let’s begin with size. Not all guitar are created equal and not all guitar players are created […]

New products and ideas straight from the largest music event of the year   I’m always  thrilled to go to NAMM. It’s definitely a unique experience that always inspires me and at the same time overwhelms me but ultimately enriches my knowledge of the music industry. And did I mention, I can’t wait till some […]

What does instrument set up mean? Here at Penny Lane Emporium we often hear this question from many of our online shoppers: “do you set up the instrument before you ship?” The answer to that question is yes, but what does “set up” mean exactly? Set up is very personal and varies from musician to […]

I have been attending the NAMM show for five years now, I’m talking about the big one in Anaheim, CA and not the much smaller one in Nashville. For those who don’t know, NAMM stands for National Association of Music Merchants and its annual trade show is the world’s largest expo of everything MUSIC. I […]

So you change your guitar strings when one breaks? Well, lets talk about that for a minute. I often get asked “when should I change my guitar strings?” or “how often should I do a setup on my instrument?” Well, there are many variables as well as personal taste as far as changing strings. For […]