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History of the Twelve-String Guitar

Author: Victor Epand

There are a lot of controversies as regards to the history of the Twelve-string guitar. The first theory says that it has been developed by Italian luthiers laboring in the guitar workshops in companies like Oscar Schmidt, Harmony and Regal in New York and Chicago. It is substantiated by the fact that one of the famous twelve-string guitars has a strong Italian connection. As per the other theory states that it arrived in the U.S from Mexico as Latin America has a long history of double-course variants of the standard six-string guitars.

Regardless of who invented the twelve-string guitar, it is considered as one of the novelty instrument invented. Other than the occasional custom ordered 12-string guitars, the more prestigious makers like Martin and Gibson consider making of these 12-string guitar to the low-end builders. This is clearly an indication that their buyers were from the poorer end of the social level.

The popularity of the twelve-string guitar can be traced out from the early recordings, where the blues musicians in Georgia and Mexican tejano musicians in Texas used them. It appears that the first musicians to take up the 12-srting guitars were street performers. The extra volume that the double strings added increased the popularity of these guitars. It is said that the volume is so intense that a busker could work without any other musicians and still assure full and rich sound.

The twelve-string guitar gained immense popularity when it was first exploited by one of the best early players, the Atlanta guitarist Blind Willie McTell. McTell was a well-known and accomplished guitarist of his time. Atlanta being the center for the Piedmont blues, a ragtime-based guitar style where complex finger picking and driving bass is needed to invest in its kind of music. And this is how the use of the 12-string guitar gained its momentum.

The 12-string guitar also became popular after the “Leadbelly”. Hudy William Ledbetter was an American folk and blues musician. He was known as the king of the twelve-string guitar, famous for his clear and forceful singing and his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar. He is best known as Leadbelly or Lead Belly. The topic of Leadbelly covers a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs, blues songs about women, liquor and racism. It also includes songs about cowboys, prison, workers, sailors, and many more. This is how the 12-string guitar came into popularity in a big way.

After Leadbelly, even the use of the twelve-string guitar was reduced drastically. It was like musicians express the mourning by refraining from playing the instrument. A few guitarists like Dick Rosmini, Fred Gerlach, and Pete Seeger, kept the twelve-string tradition alive.

And soon the use of the banjo has outnumbered the use of the 12-string guitar, but in 1963 a record came out that knocked the banjo off its place. It was a record by Pete Seeger called “We shall overcome” and the musician used the power of 12-string and novelty to draw the attention of the people as he was selling songs of justice and freedom. The extra volume and full sound of the twelve-string guitar made it perfect for leading and they were the important part of the civil rights movement.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/history-of-the-twelvestring-guitar-251604.html

About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, and synthesizers. You can find the best marketplace for guitars, drums, and synthesizers at these 3 sites: guitars, twelve-string guitars, drums, drum sets, and synthesizers, keyboards.

A Brief History of Ibanez Acoustic Guitars

Author: William McRea

Ibanez electric guitars have received quite a following, but a lot of people do not realize that their acoustic line is also well made and sounds great. The company started in 1900 under a different name by Hoshino Gaki in Japan. Though the company began at the turn of the 20th century, they did not start making guitars until 1935.

In general, the company was relatively unknown in the United States until the 60s. Hoshino Gakki partnered with Harry Rosenbloom, an American music shop owner in Pennsylvania. They decided that the name, the Hoshino Gaki Company, did not have what it took to signify success in the West. So, together, they came up with Ibanez, thus making the guitars more marketable based on the name alone.

Some of their early guitars included styles that were modeled after the popular guitars put out by large companies like Gibson and Fender. They were able to find people to use their instruments by offering nearly exact replicas of these brands for inexpensive prices. This helped them get their name out there, but it was not their permanent solution to success.

They no longer model their guitars after the success of others. They currently have their own line of both acoustic and electric guitars and the Ibanez brand is endorsed by some pretty accomplished players. Some of these players even have their own signature models. For example, Steve Vai is a very accomplished solo player and he has his own line through Ibanez which also includes an acoustic model.

Ibanez has a full line of acoustic guitars. These include the acoustic in the Steve Vai signature series, the AE, the Talman, the masa the GA, and the DT. For more information on the acoustic guitar line, visit the website at ibanez.com.

There are also a lot of musicians who love Ibanez guitars in general, and several actively endorse the brand. These include Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Andy Timmons, who are all accomplished solo players. Other guitarists include Terry Balsamo, Adam Blackstone, and Mike DeWolf. For more information on the artists visit the website.

Here is what some people have to say about their Ibanez Acoustic guitars:

About the Ibanez DT 10

Beautiful style and sound!. Great tone quality, nice finish. I started playing the guitar a little over a year ago. I was lucky to get a good deal on my Ibanez, since I did not even know where to begin. I walked into our local music store, stood at the counter, and said, I want to buy a guitar.

About the Ibanez AW100
This is a good guitar with a great sound. It holds up to the Ibanez reputation with a nice feel and an even better sound. It is a very sturdy guitar that can take a lot of abuse even for an acoustic. It has a nice bright sound and a smooth thin neck.

Another for the Ibanzes AW100

Great sound and solid top for this price is exceptional. Great starter guitar. I have played the guitar for about 12 years no so recently I have been in the market, or at least looking and drooling over, a higher end guitar. My recent research has lead me to be quite up to date on several different guitar makers and the individual.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-brief-history-of-ibanez-acoustic-guitars-55155.html

About the Author
Guitar Warehouse is your place to Buy Guitar and other musical gear. We also offer a wide range of
Ibanez Acoustic Guitars and Free Guitar Lessons.

Basics of Bass Guitars

Author: melvillejackson

The history of bass guitars dates back to 1930s when it was first developed by Paul Tutmarc of Seattle, Washington. A bass guitar looks similar to an electric guitar except it is larger in terms of body and neck length. The guitar is tuned to pitches that are one octave lower than those of the four lower strings of a guitar (E, A, D and G). Like electric guitars, bass guitars are attached to an amplifier or speaker for live performance.

What are bass guitars made of?

The bass guitars usually have bodies made of wood. The body may also be made of other materials like graphite as in some of the Steinberger guitars. Different types of woods are used for the making of the neck, body and the fretboard of the bass guitars. Usually the body is made of alder; the fretboard is made of rosewood and the neck of maple. Other types of woods used are ash, mahogany and maple for bodies, maple and ebony for the fretboard and mahogany for necks. The bass guitars have various flat and curved designs and oil, wax, or lacquer finishes.

What creates the bass effect?

Most of the bass guitars have bodies with hollow chambers to enhance the resonance and tone of the instruments. This design also reduces the weight of the guitars. Acoustic bass guitars usually have piezoelectric or magnetic pick ups and amplifiers. Bass Guitars may also be classified on the basis of the frets. The Fender basses have about 20 frets whereas modern basses have about 24 or more frets. The Fretless basses produce distinct sound due to lack of frets. Usually the bass guitars have four, five or six strings.

You can take formal bass guitars training in a wide range of styles like jazz, rock, Latin, funk and R&B. You may even learn informally from records or CDs. There is a wide variety of brands and styles of bass guitars. You can buy them along with many different accessories according to your individual needs. Some of the accessories that are often required are amplifiers, cables, straps, tuners, headphones, Instructional DVDs and gig bags. You can even shop online. The different websites will offer you the opportunity to make a well informed buy. They can also create personalized packages that contain the accessories that you want to suit your individual tastes and preferences.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/basics-of-bass-guitars-1357853.html

About the Author

At World Music Supply, we offer acoustic guitars in all your favorite models and styles. From Strats (Stratocasters) to Teles (Telecasters), jazzy arch-tops to cool signatures, metal guitars, and even smaller sized guitars for those just beginning, we’ve got something for everyone, in top brands like Fender, ESP, B.C. Rich, and Jackson.

All about an Acoustic Bass Guitar

Author: Victor Epand

There are different types of guitars producing various sound variations, offering different features. One of the most demanding is the acoustic bass guitar. This is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to a bass guitar, though usually somewhat larger than a steel string acoustic guitar. A steel strung acoustic bass guitar is louder and sounds brighter than a classical guitar. These guitars are constructed and made using various materials. Those guitars, which are expensive, have a solid top, solid back and sides. Normally cedar and spruce are the materials, which are being used for making the solid wood tops. Back and sides are often made from mahogany, maple or rosewood.

Entry-level acoustic bass guitars are generally constructed entirely from laminated wood. But mid range acoustic bass guitars may sometimes have a combination of solid parts, often solid top and laminated woods. Acoustic bass guitars are most preferably used while playing a folk music or a country song, though many pop as well as rock singers use this guitar quite often in their concerts.

A brief history

The first modern acoustic bass guitar was developed in the early 1960s by Ernie Ball of San Luis Obispo, California. Ball aimed to provide bass guitarists with a more acoustic sounding instrument that would match better with the sound of acoustic guitars. In the late 1980s, MTV unplugged show helped to popularize hollow bodied acoustic bass guitars amplified with pickups.

Information about the construction

The acoustic bass guitar usually has a hollow wooden body similar to that of the steel string acoustic guitar. This is quite unlike the electric bass guitar, which is generally a solid body instrument. The majority of acoustic basses are fretted. Semi fretted versions also exist, although they are quite rare. Frets are raised metal strips inserted into the fingerboard that extend across the full width of the neck. On a fretted bass, the frets divide the fingerboard into semitone divisions. The acoustic bass guitar commonly has four strings, which are normally tuned E A D G, an octave below the lowest four strings of the 6 string guitar. Most acoustic basses have pickups, either magnetic or piezoelectric or both, so that they can be amplified with an instrument amplifier. This is because it becomes difficult to hear an acoustic bass guitar without an amplifier. Piezoelectric pickups are non magnetic pickups that produce a different tone.

Conclusion

Acoustic guitars, which are an indispensable part of folk music and country music as well, are available in different types. The prices of these guitars also vary because of the materials used to make the guitars. The Earthwood acoustic bass guitar was introduced in 1972. The Earthwood acoustic guitar was quite large and deep in contrast to most instruments and gave more volume, especially in the low register. After a few years of its birth it became almost extinct. Some of the very famous guitar manufacturers, who make world class acoustic guitars, are Alvarez, Breedlove, Cort, Crafter, Jerzey, Dean, Eston, Gibson, and some others.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/all-about-an-acoustic-bass-guitar-255853.html

About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, and synthesizers. You can find the best marketplace for guitars, drums, and synthesizers at these 3 sites: guitars, acoustic bass guitars, drums, drum sets, drum kits, and synthesizers, keyboards.

Yamaha Electric Guitars

Author: Peter Suhm

Yamaha electric guitars are produced by a company with more than 100 years of experience and expertise in making musical instruments. The brand stands on a good and proven record of quality products. Yamaha fabricated its first electric guitar in 1966 at its factory in Central Japan.

One of Yamaha’s core values is the absolute joy of music. For this reason, the company aims to make this wonderful discovery attainable by everyone. To meet this goal, Yamaha has a variety of complete guitar kits on the market. The Yamaha EG-112PF Electric Guitar kit is a popular choice for new beginners. This kit includes a practice amplifier, padded gig bag, guitar cable, 2 single-coil pickups, 1 humbucking pickup, 5-positiong pickup switch, a tremolo bar, and chrome hardware. Satisfied customers claim that it is the best choice for any beginner. In fact, many accomplished guitarists today began with this very kit. One of the nice things about the Yamaha EG-112PF Electric Guitar kit is that as the novice guitarists improves and becomes more accomplished, this first-love guitar can easily be overhauled to meet the needs of the growing musician.

Along these same lines is the Gigmaker EG guitar pack. This kit includes a PAC012 Pacifica solid body electric guitar, 20-watt 2-channel Drive guitar amp, Qwik Tune Digital chromatic tuner, guitar cable, gig bag, guitar strap, and an instructional DVD.

Another unique electric guitar made by Yamaha is the SLG100 Silent guitar. This guitar is perfect for people who live in populated areas such as student dorms, apartments, and condos. Just plug in the headphones and what you hear will make you feel as if you are playing in a grand concert hall, but no one else will know! It’s a great way to practice. Then, just hook up to a sound system and you are ready for public performances.

Yamaha electric guitars are recognized for their through neck system whereas the neck is set deeply into the body instead of being bolted onto the body. Yamaha electric guitars are also known for their patented “T-Cross system” and “sustain Plate”. These new features resulted in a powerful yet warm tone quality. Known as high quality, yet affordable for the beginning and intermediate guitarist, it is often said that a Yamaha electric guitar is the optimal choice because it is both affordable and easy to play.

Like all the famous electric guitar manufacturers, Yamaha makes a variety of models. The Pacific series is significant because it was the first to be designed and built in the American Custom Shop in Hollywood California with the input from professional players.

Yamaha electric guitars are among the best for beginners, but the true Yamaha lover can stay with this brand forever. Yamaha electric guitars span the limits in versatility. From low-cost basic to high end professional instruments, Yamaha electric guitars can meet your needs and enhance your performance for a lifetime of musical bliss.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/yamaha-electric-guitars-590491.html

About the Author

My name is Peter Suhm and i have played music since i was 9 years old.
Visit my website about electric guitars here:

http://www.find-electric-guitars.info