Articles for author: Jeff Bollettino

August 11, 2026

Jeff Bollettino

How to Practice a Musical Instrument (or help your child practice)

When I look back on my guitar-playing “career” of nearly 40 years (I started very young), I can divide the time into two major periods.  The first, lasting 30 years, was before I learned to practice; the second, for the last 10 years, was after I learned to practice.  Yes, it took me 30 years to learn how to practice.   It never even occurred to me that I might need to learn how to practice.  I had taken lessons with several teachers over the years, and none had ever mentioned anything about how to practice, just that I needed

August 10, 2026

Jeff Bollettino

Kasino Natural bass amplifier head

Vintage Kasino Natural Bass Amp Repair: Early 1970s Solid-State Bench Troubleshooting

Project Scope: Vintage solid-state audio repair, schematic signal tracing, and capacitor replacement bench log. Technical Specifications: 1970s Kasino Natural Bass Amp Specification Details Manufacturer Kustom Electronics (Kasino Brand) Model Kasino Natural Bass Amp Era Early 1970s Topology Solid-State Output Power 75 W RMS / 150 W Peak Board Schematics 5104 Preamp Board / 5033 Power Amp Board Background & History: Kustom vs. Kasino In this installment of “The Repair Bench,” we are repairing a vintage Kasino Natural model bass amplifier head from the early 1970s. The Kasino brand was made by Kustom Electronics, maker of Kustom Amplifiers. If you’re not

August 8, 2026

Jeff Bollettino

Fake Books 101: What is a Fake Book & How to Use The Real Book

What Is a Fake Book? Fake books are large compilations of the tunes that musicians most commonly need to know to meet the demands of their audience. Though many variations have evolved, a fake book typically includes the melody and chord changes for the tune. The melody line is typically shown as notes on a music staff. Chords are typically notated by name, such as “Cmaj7”, and not as written notes on a staff. In modern sheet music, this format is often referred to as a lead sheet, making a fake book essentially a large collection of lead sheets bound

August 7, 2026

Jeff Bollettino

Why Your Overalls Suck: The Fit Guide to Women’s Workwear Overalls in Australia

You know the feeling. You’re on site, you squat down, and the crotch seam reminds you it wasn’t designed for your body. Or the straps slide off your shoulders at the exact moment your hands are full. Or you’ve spent the last three hours hiking up pants that fit fine standing still and nowhere else. This has been the reality for women in the trades for decades. Historically, finding properly fitting women’s workwear overalls in Australia has been a major challenge for tradeswomen. “Shrink it and pink it” is the rubbish that the men’s apparel industry has handed us for

August 17, 2025

Jeff Bollettino

Roland Micro Cube Amplifier Repair

Learning how to troubleshoot electronic circuits is one of the handiest skills anyone can have if they are building or modifying amplifiers or effect pedals. At some point you’ll power-up a circuit and find that it doesn’t work, and then what? For this reason we write “The Repair Bench” section of Guitar Kit Builder about our own troubleshooting of amplifiers and other devices, to pass along to the reader the thought process, tips and techniques of troubleshooting electronic equipment. In this edition of “The Repair Bench” we cover a common repair for us – replacing the input jack on a