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The Acoustic Bass Guitar: A Relative Newcomer

Author: Victor Epand

If you find out someone is a guitarist and you ask them what kind of guitar they play, chances are that the answer will not be “the acoustic bass.” In the world of guitars, this instrument does not have an overly large following. It lacks the historical tradition of the classical acoustic guitar and the sexiness of the electric bass. However, the acoustic bass should not be discounted, as it does hold a certain place in the world of music. Although rarely utilized in its early years, it gained a foothold during the late 1980s when it was used during MTV Unplugged programs.

Acoustic bass guitars are an extremely recent advent as compared with most other versions of the instrument. The first acoustic basses on record are those made during the 1950s, and the first modern such instrument was developed in the early 1960s. The modern acoustic bass is accredited to Ernie Ball of California, who was supposedly felt that since electric guitars had bass instruments, acoustic guitars should too. Regardless of his motivation, Ball went on to collaborate with a man named George Fullerton and together, the two of them developed the first commercially produced acoustic bass, the Earthwood. This instrument was produced from 1972 to 1974 and again from 1976 to 1985.

An acoustic bass guitar, unlike its electric cousin, has a hollow wooden body similar to that of a steel-string acoustic guitar. It is generally fretted and possessed of four strings, although variations on this makeup do occur. The sound produced by this instrument is quite low, and as a result it can be difficult to hear unless an amplifier is used. Therefore, most acoustic basses have pickups that allow them to be used with amplifiers. Manufacturers of these instruments include Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Tacoma and a number of other companies.

It should be noted that while the modern acoustic bass dates back only to the 1950s, traditional Mexican music has utilized this instrument for much longer. This style of music actually uses several kinds of acoustic basses. One of the most common is the “baja sexto,” which resembles a twelve-string guitar that has simply been tuned an octave lower. This instrument has been used in Texas since the 1920s, when “Tex-Mex” music began to become popular. A variation on the baja sexton is the “bajo sexton,” which is tuned slightly differently.

Finally, it is impossible to discuss bass guitars without bringing up the “guitarron,” the largest of the Mexican acoustic basses. This instrument is very large and has a strikingly deep body. It has six strings, as opposed to the modern acoustic bass’s four, and is commonly used in the music of mariachi bands. Because of its great size, the guitarron produces a loud sound and does not require electric amplification, at least in smaller venues. This attribute, the number of its strings and the fact that the guitarron is fretless all make it noticeably different from the modern acoustic bass. Despite these variations, Mr. Ball is believed to have used the guitarron as inspiration for his invention.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/the-acoustic-bass-guitar-a-relative-newcomer-565450.html

About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio. You can find the best marketplace at these sites for guitars, acoustic bass guitars, guitarrons, sheet music, guitar tabs, and home theater audio.

A Brief History of Epiphone Guitars

Author: William McRea

When thinking about the history of Epiphone, one must start in Greece where Anastasios Stathopoulos made lioutos (a Greek stringed instrument), mandolins, fiddles, and lutes. The family moved to New York, and his son, Epi Stathopoulos inherited the company in 1915.

The company name changed from the House of Stathopoulos to Epiphone, a combination of his name and the Greek word for sound. The change was made official in 1928. It was during this time that the company was active in making banjos, and they even bought out a banjo company in Long Island. After the change was approved, the company became the Epiphone Banjo Co.

Epiphones guitars were launched in 1931. This was a full line of what are known as archtop guitars, a style that is popular with jazz and blues musicians. They quickly became one of the top guitar produces with Gibson being one of their biggest rivals. Notable Epiphone players of that time include Tony Mottola with the George Hall band and two band members of Benny Goodman.

Epi unfortunately died of leukemia and left the company to Orphie, who before his death was the second in command. His other brother, Frixo, became the Vice President. The two brothers later have a feud and Frixo sells his stock. After that, company had some trouble and eventually stopped producing a lot of instruments.

In 1957, Chicago Musical Instrument purchased Epiphone and made them a division of Gibson. Epiphone now still maintains their own line of guitars and the Gibson and Epiphone labels remain separate.

Current Epiphone models include a few Gibson copies (Epiphones version of the Flying-V and Les Paul are a few examples), and a few original Epiphone lines. The original guitars include all the versions of the Casino, Zephyr, and Sheraton, the Wildkat, the Broadway, and the Emporer.

Epiphone has had some famous endorsees. Both George Harrison and John Lennon played Epiphone Casinos. Lennon is famous for his personal modifications to the Casino. Other artists include Bob Marley, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Lars Frederickson or Rancid, and Chad of Nickelback. For a complete list of artists, visit the Epiphone website . The list is quite extensive.

Here are what some uses have to say about Epiphone guitars (source Harmony Central):

About the Epiphone G-400 Custom

Action was really good. Finish was ok. Definately looks different than the rest of the pack. Gold hardware is gorgeous. The custom logo shined in the stage lights. I had to have it and I had fun with it for a few years.

This guitar is solid. Never goes out of tune. Hardware will dull a bit over the years. Strap buttons are solid. Careful with the neck dive on stage. Very top heavy.

About the Epiphone Flying Vee-Wee

I absolutely love this guitar!!! The VeeWee is the perfect shape for lap you can rest your hand on the upper arm of the V, or put it your hand in the point of the V to pick right near the bridge. The controls and cord jack are in the perfect position for lap style as well. Since it is so small and inexpensive, I carry it with me everywhere. I would not dream of bringing my Les Paul into the office, but this VeeWee is perfect for break time noodling. As I mentioned, the sound is great. I now own 5 guitars, and my lap-steel PeeVee wins the Most Fun award hands down!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-brief-history-of-epiphone-guitars-54173.html

About the Author
Guitar Warehouse is your place to Buy Guitar and other musical gear. We also offer a wide range of
free guitar lessons and tips.

Cheap Electric Guitars-You Can Own a Quality Guitar For Cheap

Author: GoldTop

Owning a really nice guitar can be very exspensive. Fact is most folks looking for cheap electric guitars are just starting out and can not afford a $1000 guitar. The good news is you can have a nice sounding guitar that will stand the test of time for between $200 and $400.

You may be asking, how can I find a cheap guitar that still sounds good? Or I am starting out, which body stlye is right for me?  Should I buy new or used?  With all the brands out there, how do I know which one is the best?

These are all common questions that are asked when considering a guitar purchase. They are good questions. I would like to address some of these concerns in the following article. If you are thinking about buying cheap electric guitars, Hopefully you will find this information helpful. I have been around music and guitars since the early 70′s. It is a pleasure for me to research these things.
Body Styles of Cheap Electric Guitars
How to determine which body style is best for you

It really boils down to a personal preference when deciding which body style to choose.The solid-bodies and semi-solid bodies are the preferred choice for most “rockers” There is that straight forward sound that makes these guitars unique. The hollow-body guitars on the other hand resonate more along the lines of an acoustic guitar. They are used more frequently by jazz and blues players.

I think if you are just starting out, I would go with a semi-solid body. With this guitar you will have a broader range of sounds without having to use special effects. But what it really comes down to is you getting out there and testing a number of cheap electric guitars out.No matter which one you choose, the way manufacturers are building this things these days, you can be sure to find one reasonably priced that will perform very well. Ultimately it’s all about how it feels and sounds.

Quality Sound In Cheap Electric Guitars. What is sweet to your ear is what is most important

Again, this really is up to the individual. Everyone’s taste are so different. Some people like a crisp high end sound, while others prefer a resonating sustain and everything in between. You would be surprised at how much you can change the sound simply with the controls on the guitar. By adding an special effect (like a Boss DS-1 Classic Distortion Pedal) that cost no more than $40 you can do even more with the sound.

If you happen to have a old guitar that isn’t worth much, or a cheap guitar that just sounds lousy. One thing you can do is change a few things out. Start with the pick-ups. You can buy a…humbucker pick-up for around $100. The other thing you can do is replace the tuner heads…Ping Chrome Tuning Heads Just doing these two things will really improve your guitars performance.

Cheap Electric Guitars-Buy New or Used. Just be careful if you buy a used one

In making a decision on whether to buy a new or used guitar, consider a couple of things. Sometimes you can find a really sweet used guitar. The people selling the guitar just don’t know the value of it or they simply just want to get rid of it. At the same time you need to be cautious when looking at used cheap guitars. It’s like buying a car, you don’t want a lemon.

It would really be wise to bring someone along that knows a lot about guitars if you are going to go that route. Some of the common defects can be… a twisted or warped neck, damage to the frets or tuning heads. One of the hardest thing to detect is a hair line crack, which can be either on the neck or the body of the guitar. If the tuning heads are bad or the pick-ups are lousy, these things can be replaced without spending to much money.

I think you are better off buying a new guitar. At least until you become very familiar with the different brands.That way if you are not satisfied you can bring it back. There are some nice guitars out there that you can pick up for a few hundred dollars. The nice thing is it’s yours from the start, no one else was beating away at it. You can work it to your style of playing. If you buy new, do your best to hang on to it. I don’t know how many musicians I have talked to that wished they had hung on to that first guitar, (If that is the case for you.)

The Right Brand of Cheap Electric Guitars. There are a lot of good options

With so many different brands out there, many of which are great performers for the money, the best thing you can do is check out all the ratings and reviews and determine which guitar you see repeated more often then the others. Keeping your price limit as your guide.

If you are not excited about running around the Internet trying to figure out the best deal, check out my website. I did all the running around for you, bringing the best deals to one place. I have four merchants in one site, so you can save time and money. I am sure you will be happy with the many choices available.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/cheap-electric-guitarsyou-can-own-a-quality-guitar-for-cheap-1461785.html

About the Author

It can be frustrating weeding through all the forums and blogs out there while trying to find cheap guitars. If you want to see several 5 star guitars for under $500 all in one place, check out my website Cheap Guitars or Cheap Electric Guitars

I have been in the music business since the early 70′s. My goal is to bring all the reviewed guitars and related gear to one place. Saving you the time of running all over the Internet.

Gold Top
Musician- Researcher

Guitar Effects Pedals Vs. Rack Mount Processors

Author: Richard Brodsky

If you play electric guitar or even if you’re just a fan, you’ve undoubtedly asked yourself how your favorite artist gets ‘that sound’ on one of your favorite tunes.

There is a dizzying array of guitar effects processors available these days and finding the right combination of guitar effects pedals and rackmount gear can be a daunting task that requires a certain amount of experimentation before finding the combination that works best for you.

Larger touring rock bands often have racks full of processors and a stage littered with pedals to switch between effects patches. Still, many musicians have found the old-style stompbox guitar pedals to offer the best bang for the buck. Although digital multi-effects processors offer some distinct convenient advantages, allowing guitar players to build combinations of effects -i.e. Chorus + Delay + Reverb + Distortion – into patches and banks for easy recall and switching later, there are some drawbacks to this approach as well. The combination of effects that’s written to a patch ad the associated parameters (amount of delay, reverb decay etc.), generally can not be changed on the fly. In addition, when switching between effects in a live gig situation, oftentimes there is a slight sound dropout which makes it impractical to use while sustaining a long chord for instance.

The stompbox guitar effects pedal set up, however provides much greater flexibility, allowing the guitar player to switch on and off individual effects at will. In addition, many guitar players prefer the ‘warmer’ tone provided by some of the older analog effects pedals. For convenience, you can purchase a pedalboard style case that will allow you to keep standard sized stompboxes connected together, so you don’t need to continuously reconnect everything each time you play. Many of these pedalboards also provide power supplies to connect all guitar effects pedals to, so that batteries don’t need to be constantly changed.

In the end, the best way to find what works for you is to experiment. Individual guitar effects pedals, multi-effects pedals and rackmount processors, along with various midi switching devices can be bought fairly inexpensively on sites like Ebay, if you take the time to look around and do your homework. If you find something that doesn’t work for you or your setup, you can always find someone who will be willing to buy it from you.

Richard Brodsky has been playing guitar since the 1970′s. He knows the best place to buy guitar effects pedals is http://www.myguitareffects.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/guitar-effects-pedals-vs-rack-mount-processors-420950.html

About the Author

Richard Brodsky has been playing guitar since the 1970′s. He knows the best place to buy guitar effects pedals is http://www.myguitareffects.com

Acoustic Guitar Finger Picking

Author: Ricky Sharples

Acoustic guitar finger picking is often taken up by guitarists who have been playing the guitar for a year or three who want to find out what finger picking can do for their playing. Sometimes a guitar player will make up his own finger picking techniques as an ad hoc measure to get a solo or accompaniment to sound good, but there’s always the need to know the basic principles behind finger picking guitar styles.

There are many different finger picking techniques like classical, Travis Picking, chord melody and flamenco. One way to get into finger picking is to get hold of a book or DVD by one of the authorities on the subject. Mark Hanson is always mentioned as a great fingerstyle guitar player and teacher, as is Al Petteway. Pete Huttlinger has put out a info-packed DVD called Essential Exercises for Fingerstyle Guitar. Happy Traum also has a great deal of teaching material for fingerpickers on Homespun Tapes.

Unfortunately, no one finger picking style will give you a real introduction to all styles. Fortunately, you do not need to know a great range of playing styles to give you a general understanding of playing using the right hand fingers. As an example, a folk guitar player with some experience with finger picking patterns and scales will be able to play some pieces from the classical guitar repertoire but he won’t necessarily sound much like a classical guitarist.

Some guitarists who have played using a plectrum are discouraged by the difficulty of trying to coordinate the thumb and fingers. The key to getting the fingers and thumb working as independent units is slow practice. Really slow. Put your metronome on a very low setting and play the bass notes of the chords, only adding an incidental note with the first finger when you are feeling confident.

Another question guitar players have about beginning finger picking guitar is on the choice of songs to learn. My advice is that there is no need to be too ambitious. Choose a song that is maybe a little below your technical standard and start with strumming the chords until you have the feel of playing along to the lyrics.

Once you have the general rhythm of the song, grab a finger picking pattern in the correct time signature from a guitar tutor or a free guitar lesson website and apply it to your song. The House Of The Rising Sun as played by The Animals is a good song for a beginner finger picking guitar player as is Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton. More Than Words by Extreme is another good, simple song, and when you are feeling more ambitious, go onto Stairway To Heaven. To give you a challenge for your left hand, look for tabs and YouTube video lessons on a classical guitar piece called The Anonymous Romance or Spanish Romance.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/acoustic-guitar-finger-picking-1013724.html

About the Author

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.