Archive for October, 2009
It is used in blues, jazz, and pop bands, but when you think of rock and roll you think electric guitars. Most electric guitars are what is called a solid body, some have a hollow body which means they can be played without an amplifier like an acoustic guitar.
Unlike the acoustic guitar the design of the electric guitar is unlimited. That being said the two most popular designs are the Stratocaster style and the Les Paul style. Because the electric guitar needs amplification to be heard its sound can’t compared with that of an acoustic guitar’s sound box. With the necessity of an amplifier if you are considering an electric guitar you need to give thought to what amplifier you will use, consider your amplifier an extension of your guitar.
When you think of an acoustic guitar you think of a guitar with a hole in the middle, although this is true acoustic guitars can also have holes that look like that found on a violin these are called “f” holes. There are two main kinds of acoustic guitars are classical and steel stringed, with the classical guitar having a wider neck and using nylon strings.
Acoustic guitars come in in full size and a cutaway style that gives you better access to the uper frets. Some steel string guitars are equiped with pickups in the bridge, these are known as acoustic electric guitars.
Have you ever noticed that a band sounds markedly different depending on the given performance venue? That’s because every live setting has its own acoustic properties. When bands are just starting out, they seldom have any choice but to play small, intimate venues of varying acoustic quality. With that in mind, it’s important to optimize one’s guitar amplifier before every single performance.
Once the guitar is properly tuned, switch the amp’s bass, mid and treble settings to zero. Beginning with the bass knob, turn it while strumming the guitar. You’ll notice a distinct “swell” of sound when the bass level reaches its optimal setting; keep it there. Repeat this process with the mid and treble settings. You can then shift your focus to other aspects of sound check.
You have decided that you don’t want to play guitar but would like to play the bass guitar and are not sure which style bass is right for you. Most basses are either a Precision Bass (P-Bass) or a Jazz Bass (J-Bass). This article will help explain them.
You will find more bassists playing a P-bass rather than a J-bass, although I prefer a J-bass. The P-bass has a much thicker neck than that of a J-bass which is much more slender, (that is the quality I like). The J-bass has two pickups one towards the neck and one at the bridge, the pickup at the bridge is treble while the bridge at the neck is bass, the P-bass usually has a single split pickup. The two pickups of the J-bass give you different tones to choose from depending on the way you adjust them. The body styles are also different with the J-bass being off set.
No matter which one you choose bass is a fun instrument to play. If you are a first time bass player or even intermediate you might want to check out the bass guitar packages that are available.
In the early 1900s a banjo was used in jazz groups. The banjo was used since its sound could be heard through the other instruments such as saxes,drums and clarinets. In the 1923s an acoustic guitar with an arched top was made by Gibson, model L5, and this started to replace the banjo. The mid to late 1930s saw the start of electrical amplification and Gibson was up for the challenge with its ES150 an arched top acoustic guitar with a guitar pickup.
There have been several improvements since the 1930s. Today although jazz can be played on an acoustic guitar as well as an solid body electric guitar, the favorite among jazz guitarists is still an amplified electric guitar with the looks from the 1930s. The guitar is identified by its big sound box, arched top, and it “F” holes that look like they belong on a violin, they also have a floating bridge, and possibly magnetic pickups.
If you are considering buying a bass guitar you might want to look into a bass guitar package. If you want more bang for your dollars spent bass guitar packages will give you everything you need as a beginner or intermediate player, they might even include some things you would not have thought of.
Electric bass Guitar packages include your bass guitar, in a style you prefer, a guitar cable, strap, and allen keys to make neck adjustments in the future should it be necessary. A package will also contain a guitar stand, gig bag, guitar tuner, and extras like guitar polish and guitar rags. Oh yeah, I almost forgot a 10 watt amplifier, or possibly a 20 watt bass amplifier.
One of the most recognizable guitar riffs in music would not have been written if it weren’t for the stupidity of someone attending a concert by Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention. The concert was in a casino in Montreux, Switzerland.
Released in the album Machine Head in 1972, Smoke On The Water would not be released as a single until 1973. The song refers to a fan shooting a flare gun into the ceiling of the casino. The ceiling was made of rattan and quickly began burning which then burned the rest of the casino complex down. The title of the song is from the smoke of the fire over Lake Geneva.
The familiar riff is played by Ritchie Blackmore and was the only song which he used a Gibson ES-335 electric guitar, instead of his usual Fender Stratocaster Guitar.
This is the third article on electric guitars. With the first two covering the make up of an electric guitar the same information can also be used to describe a bass guitar. Some of the items we will discuss this time only pertain to a guitar.
Whammy Bar: This is found on some electric guitars depending on the model guitar you have. This is a bar that is attached to the bridge and is used to distort the sound (almost making your guitar sound like it’s crying.
Capo: You can play the same chord structures in a different key using this bar that attaches to the frets.
Reverb: This sound is added through a box (often called an effects box), it adds an echo to sound.
Vibrato: The bending of a string to produce a pulsating sound.
Tablature: Referred to as guitar tabs, it is music that is translated into guitar frets, a good choice if you are learning to play guitar.
There is much more to cover as far as learning guitar, but I will leave that for another time.
This is the second article identifying electric guitar parts and their uses. The idea behind these articles is to show new musicians what an electric guitar is all about.
Pickups: Some guitars are configured with two pickups. others with three some with just one. Pickups send the sound from the strings to an amplifier, they are actually like a little for each string, if you get close enough to one your voice will be sent to the amplifier.
Strings: Strings are a very important part of your guitar, no matter how good a player you are bad strings will make you sound bad. Made of alloy they vary in size from the thinnest at the top to the thickest at the bottom.
Volume And Tone Knobs: These are used when your guitar is plugged into an amplifier and will adjust the volume and tone.
The next few articles will be spent on identifying the various parts of an electric guitar, and acoustic guitar, with the parts of a bass being virtually the same. One article will address some of the accessories of a guitar, along with their uses.
Body: This being the largest part of the guitar also known as the sound box.
Headstock: Connected to the neck it holds the tuning keys.
Nut: Also referred to as the Headnut, this is between the headstock and the neck. This is usually made of plastic on cheaper guitars and ivory on more expensive guitars. This piece has grooves in which the strings are placed.
Neck: The neck is a long and holds the fretboard.
Fret Board: Mostly made from rosewood, but can sometimes be made of maple. It has inlays made either plastic or tortoise shell, it has metal rods that seperate the sections that makes each note.
Bridge: Attached to the body it raises the strings above the body and allows the guitar to have a resonance.