Archive for January, 2010
When you’re performing with a band it’s important to understand a little bit about musical mechanics. It’s not as though you can simply get on stage and start singing/playing your instruments to a packed audience and expect them all to hear you. You’ll need a few pieces of equipment to get the show on the road – starting with a bass amp.
A bass amp is an amplifier which is used exclusively for an electric guitar and electric keyboard. Without a bass amplifier no one in the audience can hear what you’re playing on the keyboard or the bass. For people that don’t know much about music, it’s best explained like this: electric instruments need amplifiers to work while acoustic instruments do not. Though the industry standard would be an eight-by-ten bass cabinet, it would be wise to purchase a practice amp first, so that you can master your sound and sing.
Like most high schools around the country, my educational institution was filled with cliques and kids who fell into oft-used clichés. While most of us try not to classify people into one group or another, in high school that seems to be the M.O. We of course had the jocks, the cheerleaders and the preppy kids, but the one group that I seem to remember the most are the acoustic group.
These kids would tote their cheap acoustic guitars to school everyday and sit in the halls playing the same three songs over and over again. Although some of the musicians were truly talented, for every one person that was adept there were four who were atrocious. I have never been able to figure out what motivated these people to sit on the floor of the hall playing their guitars, but it is something that I will probably never forget.
It seems like skilled guitar players are a dime a dozen nowadays. While these players undoubtedly have the technical capabilities to play with the best of them, I feel like much of today’s music lacks passion and an artistic appeal. In my opinion, the mark of a great guitarist is that they realize when intricate chords and fast playing is necessary and also know when a more subdued and melodic sound is called for.
Two of my favorite guitarists, Jimi Hendrix and John Frusciante, have an uncanny knack for distinguishing these situations. While they have the skill and capability to play at breakneck speeds, they often rein in the sound of their custom electric guitar to match the feel of the song. This is evidenced in the guitar playing from two of my favorite songs by these artists: “Castles Made of Sand” and “Wet Sand.” (I just realized that they both reference sand in the title)
While most people can name off several of their favorite guitarists with ease, most bass players are overlooked and stay confined to the shadows of the stage. In my opinion, this is a travesty. The bass is an integral component of all bands, particularly the standard four-piece ensemble that is the prototype of rock bands.
Perhaps this is why some of my favorite bands-Pink Floyd, RHCP, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, etc.-don’t gloss over the importance of the bass. These bands are not afraid to turn up the bass amplifiers and let the oft overlooked player shine. The next time that you are listening to your favorite band, pay attention to the bass line and note how the song hinges on it and all of the other instruments follow its lead.
Usually buying gifts for my twin boys is a challenging task; they always want something different from their sibling, which creates quarrels over who was shown favoritism during the holidays. This Christmas, however, they both wanted the same thing: a new guitar. The boys are enamored with their Guitar Hero video game and wanted to try their hand at the real thing.
Admittedly, I know very little about guitars and what accessories are necessary. Luckily for me, I was able to find a website that sold comprehensive guitar packages that included everything that the boys needed to get started. The package had it all, from a quality instrument and amp to tuning equipment.
For decades the sound of electric guitars has dominated the zeitgeist of popular rock music, but recently there has been a shift to mellower, acoustic sounds. The change started occurring near the end of the grunge era, when bands like Nirvana and Alice in Chains participated in MTV’s acoustic program Unplugged. When these quintessential grunge bands whipped out their acoustic guitars, fans began to have an appreciation for the toned down sound.
Today there is a litany of new bands emerging that exclusively play acoustic music, many of which have been received with critical acclaim. One of the most highly touted albums of the last year is the self-titled release by The xx, which features a distinctive minimalistic acoustic sound. Other successful acoustic groups to emerge in recent years include Bon Iver and the Fleet Foxes.
As in life some things are just not fair. A band after 25 years of their first released album should be eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you were to see the list of bands that have not been inducted you would be surprised.
Some of the bands that scream out to me are, “Hall & Oates” “Heart” and the “Doobie Brothers”, it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about acoustic guitars, or electric guitars these bands were and still are great. How about “KISS”, with their innovative style using wild costumes and pyrotechnics someone has to explain to me why they are not in the Hall of Fame. How about the unique sound of (ELO) Electric Light Orchestra, why aren’t they in?
Between KISS and ELO you have two extreme bands, KISS is purely a hard rock band, while ELO with the help of a string section was a symphonic rock band. Why is it that neither of these bands are in the Hall of Fame.
When you see the list of bands that have been overlooked you have to start to wonder about some of the bands that are in, and how they got there ahead of these guys. It makes it seem like the rock and roll hall of fame is kind of like a popularity contest, if it is it really takes the credibility out of being a member.
I am 57 years old, I grew up listening to music in the late 50’s and 60’s. The sound of electric guitars and bass guitars inspired me so much I studied bass guitar and have been in several bands in my day.
My daughter Ashley is the youngest of my three daughters, she will be 14 in about a week, she reads my blogs and likes the ones I have written that are about Freddie Mercury and Queen, and Pink Floyd but doesn’t get my obsession with others involving guitars.
There was a time riding in my GMC pick-up ( what can I say I’ve turned into a redneck) the radio belonged to me, now since Ashley is getting older and developing her own taste in music I must share the radio. Whenever a song comes on that she can identify with she would ask me “What do you think of this song? Most times I would tell her it’s not my style of music but it’s ok.
Two songs Ashley has brought to my attention are “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and Jay Z, and “Run This town” by Rihanna and Kanye West. I’m sure it’s an age thing but Rap music I just don’t get. I don’t see where it takes any musical talent at all to be a Rap star. Listening to Rihanna on “Run This Town” I wonder whose song is it, She is so good it seems she’s there to make the song better. Alicia Keys role in “Empire State of Mind’” is so good the song belongs to her, she makes you forget about the fact that Jay Z is doing his Rap thing also. The more my daughter listens to this song she is starting to agree with me the song should just be Alicia Keys.
For your first purchase you bought a stratocaster electric guitar package with a 10 watt amplifier, you have had it for some time, you practice and play often and have decided you would like to get another guitar. You really have quite a few choices, you can purchase another strat guitar, telecaster style guitar, Les Paul style guitar, or even one of the jazz style guitars, and don’t rule out an acoustic guitar.
All the guitars mentioned above will play and sound different from your first strat. But why not take it to another level, instead of buying just another guitar consider picking up another electric guitar package. With your first purchase being a package with a 10 watt amp think about electric guitar packages with a 20 watt amplifier for your next purchase.
By having a second package with a 20 watt guitar amplifier you not only have a guitar with a different sound, you will also be able to use one amplifier as a preamp feeding the other amplifier giving you a greater range of sound possibilities. Don’t forget the other extras you also get when buying a package.
Beatle bass is the name given to a bass guitar produced by Hofner. They have several models of bass guitars this one is The Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass.
It is a semi acoustic bass guitar with amplification. The bass is very light weight due to its hollow body design. Because of the hollow body it has the sound of a double bass. The rich tone and the symmetrically shaped bass guitar body caught the eye of Paul McCartney the bass guitarist of The Beatles, and the rest is history.
Because of the cost of a Hofner Bass it has been replicated by many different manufacturers calling it a violin bass because it’s shape is like a violin, it has even been reproduced for The Beatles Rock Band.