Archive for October, 2009
Acoustic Guitar – A Closer Look
A Closer Look At The Acoustic Guitar
Author: Gray Rollins
The Acoustic Guitar
As was mentioned in our article on “the History of the Guitar,” guitars have been around for centuries. The original guitars were Acoustic guitars, which changed in shape over several hundred years. Since you’ve already been given a timeline of the evolution of the guitar, in this article we’ll go into greater depth discussing the Acoustic guitar itself.
History
The Acoustic guitar is essentially a descendent of the Classical guitar, which, in its current form, has been around for over 100 years. The main difference between the Classical and Acoustic guitars are that one is strung with nylon strings, while the other is strung with steel strings. Since the Acoustic guitar is strung with steel strings, it has a louder, brighter sound which is appealing to folk and blues players.
Another difference between the Acoustic and Classical guitars is that the Acoustic guitar has a bigger body size, stronger structure, and a narrower neck than does the Classical guitar. The structure of the Acoustic guitar is stronger so that it can withstand the immense tension placed on it by the heavier steel strings.
Acoustic-Electric guitars haven’t been in existence for nearly the amount of time that their Acoustic counterparts have. These guitars, which have the ability to be both plugged into an amp and played unplugged, have been around for roughly 70 years.
All about the Acoustic guitar
The bodies of cheap Acoustic guitars are typically made from laminated tonewood. More expensive Acoustics are made from higher cuts of solid spruce top wood On an Acoustic guitar, the material which the body is made from really matters, so those looking for a rich sound will want to choose a guitar with a body made from nicer wood such as spruce top wood.
The neck of the Acoustic guitar is usually made from maple, mahogany, or rosewood. However, some guitar necks are comprised of different woods. Yet again, the quality of wood does matter. Generally speaking, Acoustic guitars with necks made of a high quality maple or mahogany and bodies made with solid spruce top are quality guitars with great tone. These guitars usually cost $250 on up.
The vibration of the strings is amplified by the soundhole of the guitar. This is where all sound that you hear comes from.
If you look inside the soundhole of the Acoustic guitar, you’ll see the construction of the body. There are braces and linings, all essential to keeping the guitar intact and playable. X-bracing, a strong, durable bracing, is typically used on Acoustic guitars because it is heavy and strong enough to withstand the pressure of steel strings.
On the body of the guitar, you’ll find the bridge. This is where one end of the strings goes. The strings are inserted into the little holes and the bridge pegs hold them there.
On the neck of the Acoustic guitar is the fretboard. Most fretboards on the Acoustic guitar are made of rosewood or ebony. More expensive Acoustic guitars have fretboards made of higher quality woods.
The headstock of the Acoustic guitar features six tuning pegs (three on each side of the headstock) and six tuners (three on each side of the headstock). Good Acoustic guitars will have die-cast Grover tuners which usually stay in tune longer than other brands of tuners.
Like their Electric counterparts, Acoustic guitars are tuned in the standard E A D G B E tuning. Most Acoustic guitars have six strings, while some have twelve. If you are curious as to the difference between the two, check out our article on “Twelve string vs. Six string”.
The Acoustic guitar still remains a very popular instrument. It is used in virtually every style of music-rock, pop, country, blues, you name it. Acoustic guitars are wonderful instruments for both beginners and professionals.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/a-closer-look-at-the-acoustic-guitar-137426.html
About the Author
Gray Rollins is a featured writer for Guitarsland.com. To learn more about acoustic guitars and for tips on how to play the guitar, please visit us.
Cheap Bass Guitar
What Is The Jazz Bass Guitar?
Author: Or Keynan
This Bass Guitar Jazz was first discovered in 1960.This guitar was named as Bass Guitar Jazz because of designing in its neck and narrow and it is more rounded than that of other type of Bass, which appeal good to the musicians. Jazz bass has double coil pickups with two pole arrangement for each string, which gives bass a strong midway sound so that musician will get more melody music. This Jazz Bass neck was very much narrower at neck than that of other Precision Bass neck. The original Jazz Bass has two knobs with separate volume and tone controlling for each pick ups.These original instruments with its simple configuration is more valued in today’s guitar market. In 1961 a new Jazz Guitar comes into existence which has three knobs, two of them are used for controlling the volume and one for controlling the overall tone of the instrument.
There are lot of changes occurred when one of the company called CBS company purchased this Bass Guitar Jazz making companies. There is also push button control is also available in some of the American made Bass Guitar Jazz which occurred in the year middle of 2003 to 2008.This type of guitar are known as S1 switch and this type of configuration allow the pick ups to operate in standard type of wiring, in parallel type of wiring, in series type of wiring when the switch is depressed. In this type of Guitars both the pick ups are functioning as a single volume control that gives the Jazz guitar same sound as that of other type of Bass. Both the pick ups are located opposite from each other both in magnetic field and also in electric field so that when we are hearing the sound with clearity.In the year 2008 some of the American standard Guitar came which are much more differ from that of firstly produced guitar models which are produced in the year 1994.This type of American standard guitar which come into existence in 2008 are having the same type of the neck which is rolled with highly enlarged nut, it also has rounded shapes which has round body radius.
Some of the American standard guitars produced in the year between 1994 to 1999 have a single pole arrangement. This type of Guitars are designed by John Sohr.The standard Bass Guitar Jazz was sanded, painted and assembled in California along with other type of standard guitars.Some of the other characteristics of this type of Guitar is two bipolar single pick ups with an arrangement to black control knobs . The models produced before the 2003 came into existence for some period with black Stratocaster control knobs.
This Bass Guitar Jazz is giving the bright sound, with high ends than that of other type of Bass. This arrangement makes it ideal for slap playing and also for finger style players.
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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/what-is-the-jazz-bass-guitar-1835489.html
About the Author
jazz vs precision bass , and mach more
http://www.beginner-bass-guitar.com
Acoustic Electric Guitars
What Can a Classical Guitar Do for You?
Author: Guitars from Spain
For most players, the realm of classical guitars is one that they’d just as soon avoid. The scale length is different, the neck is wider, and they’re harder to play, so why bother?
Why? Because the world of the classical guitar is definitely one worth exploring and one that will reap incredible rewards the more you explore it. A well-executed classical passage within a rock song can give an air of class and distinction to the music, not to mention adding a great break in the middle of the song. Playing classical guitar, even if you use it traditionally (playing simple fingerpicker parts, strumming and single-note lines) can help your playing take a giant leap
forward.
Classical guitars are very, very similar in their construction to traditional acoustic guitars. The body is smaller, but the bracing methods and wood types are similar. The necks are wider to accommodate your fingers, the nylon strings give the classical guitar its distinctive tone, but most players with average-size hands find that this transition isn’t as difficult as they first may have pictured it.
What can a Classical guitar do for you?
Well, give it a try and you’ll find out a whole new world.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/what-can-a-classical-guitar-do-for-you-85892.html
About the Author
Deen Jonse
Guitars from Spain, Inc.
2658 Del Mar Heights Rd. #242
Del Mar/California/USA
92014
Phone :
(866)-396-1933
Fax .
(561)-347-0291
http://www.guitarsfromspain.com
Electric Acoustic Guitars
An Introduction To Learning To Play The Guitar
Author: Evert DuToit
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is played by plucking or strumming the strings, while the fingers hold down the strings in certain combinations, to play the notes. Most guitars have six strings that are tuned on the scale E A D G B E. There are two broad categories of guitars today, acoustic and electric.
Acoustic guitars have hollow bodies, called sound boxes, which produce the sound, and thus do not need amplification. However, some modern ones do come with the electronics so that it can be connected to an amplifier. On the other hand, the body of an electric guitar is solid on only semi-hollow and needs to be connected to an amplifier to be heard.
Thanks to the electronics you can produce all kinds of effects and sounds with an electric guitar that is very hard or impossible to reproduce on an acoustic guitar. Samples of the special effects that can be produced on an electric guitar are: distortion, wah, phasers, compression, vibrato, flanging and chorus effect. These effects cause the sound produced by the same note to be different. For example:
- Distortion effect. This will produce a distorted and very heavy sound, as often used in heavy metal and rock music.
- Wah effect. The frequency of the note goes up and down each time you hit the foot pedal.
- Flanging effect. This effect causes a pause in the signal, followed by a series of the note originally played, sounding like an echo.
The guitar is used to play almost any kind of music, and is usually a big part of the music played by a band. Learning to play a guitar can be exciting and is a great way to entertain yourself and your friend.
When you decide to learn to play the guitar you will also have to learn tablatures and sheet music. Guitar sheet music is useful to guide you when learning to play the guitar, as you just have to follow the notes and tablatures illustrated on the sheet music. It is a great tool to help you play your guitar. By practicing frequently and being dedicated to learning the notes, you will soon be playing like an expert.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/an-introduction-to-learning-to-play-the-guitar-104197.html
About the Author
To get more information about guitar music, and want to learn to play guitar online, please visit us at www.guitarmusicinfo.com.
Acoustic Guitar Songs
Easy Songs On The Acoustic Guitar: Learn How To Play
Author: Sophia MUNOZ
There is something deliciously special about playing acoustic guitar songs. If you try you will see. Just try to hold one and you will experience something special. Have you ever dreamed of being the one holding the guitar around the campfire and playing that song everyone is singing? You can be that person too. Just give it a go and you will see how magic and powerful it is to play the acoustic guitar. Having a dozen people around you at the beach on a full moon being mesmerized by the lyrical power of the musical notes you are playing on the acoustic guitar, is something you cannot put into words if you have not experienced it.
Most people who are drawn to acoustic guitars, but who have never played guitar, are a little star-struck by them. They sometimes believe that the guitar is much more than what it is. Being able to produce music seems like magic in a way. Music is such a powerful, universal language that it can be overwhelming to think that you could make that happen. Feeling this way can make people feel skittish with an acoustic guitar and treat it too gingerly.
If you have never tried playing acoustic guitar before, you can be somewhat impressed by its majesty. However, keep something simple in mind: learning how to play acoustic guitar is like learning a new language: it is definitely hard at the beginning, each step requiring time and dedication, but it is definitely achievable. Little by little you are gaining more confidence and the acoustic guitar will quite naturally become an extension of your hands, musical notes flowing right through it like words flowing through a poet.
Acoustic guitars were created to be played. There are a lot of easy songs you can start playing on your acoustic guitar even though you are beginner. Some people think that the best acoustic guitar songs are the ones that are easy to remember, others think that they are the ones that are easy to play. I personally think that you need a combination of both. Here are some of my favorite acoustic guitar songs for beginners:
Riders on the Storm by the Doors
Happy Christmas by John Lennon
Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan
Sitting on the dock of the bay by Otis Redding
There are a myriad of other songs you can play from John Taylor, The Eagles Joni Mitchell or Jewell. Playing the acoustic guitar is magic: give in to your temptation and take the step today!
You will never regret it.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/easy-songs-on-the-acoustic-guitar-learn-how-to-play-396468.html
About the Author
Find out new tips to learn how to play acoustic guitar easily and start learning with video lessons now!