Posts Tagged ‘guitars’
Acoustic Electric
Acoustic Electric Guitars
Author: Peter Suhm
Acoustic electric guitars: is this not a contradiction in terms? After all, “acoustic” describes music, or a musical instrument that is not electronically amplified; “electric” however, implies that the music or musical instrument is electronically amplified. Well actually, the wonderful thing about acoustic electric guitars is that they combine both the qualities of the acoustic, which is to control, absorb, and carry sound, as well as the qualities of the electric which is to amplify the sound. Acoustic electric guitars give the player and the listener alike the full benefit of both acoustic and electric qualities.
Acoustic guitars have a hollow body (or at least a portion of the body is hollow) like acoustic instruments, but they also have electric pickups mounted directly onto the body. The purpose of an acoustic electric guitar is to get the tones of an acoustic, but with an increased volume. The most basic and original kind of acoustic electric guitar is an acoustic that has been fitted to include pickups. When these were first introduced, the major problem was with feedback. The electronic pickups couldn’t handle all the vibrations of the instrument and the electrical currents, so a screaming feedback often resulted. In addition, the acoustic sound was often compromised as well because the electric pickups simply could not manage the high frequency sounds.
Today, most acoustic electric guitars have piezoelectric pickups which require a preamplifier made directly into the body of the guitar. The more advanced acoustic electric guitars of today have eliminated these problems and enhanced the quality of sound as they are designed to be truly acoustic-electric as opposed to being acoustic guitars with an electric add-on.
There are two kinds of acoustic electric guitars: the acoustic-electric classical guitar, and the basic acoustic electric guitar. The acoustic-electric classical guitar was designed to amplify the sound. This guitar is first an acoustic instrument, and the electric component is added. This idea was then improved upon, thus the invention of the acoustic electric guitar. Generally speaking, you can remember that acoustic electric guitars are primarily regarded as acoustic instruments because the pickups produce a signal from the vibration of the guitar’s body rather than from the vibration of the strings.
The most valued benefits of an acoustic electric guitar are 1) the ability to plug your instrument into a console without the need for expensive microphone equipment, and 2) the ability to play at very loud volumes while still maintaining the clear, sharp, beautiful tones of the acoustic guitar. These guitars produce both clarity of tone as well as volume and are an excellent choice for many musicians.
The term acoustic electric guitars is not at all a contradiction of terms, rather it refers to the type of guitar that produces an incredible sound at concert levels by its innovative design.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/acoustic-electric-guitars-590478.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
Electric Guitars
Choose Electric over Acoustic – Guitars
Author: Lisa M
Electric guitars are used in various forms and styles of music including pop, country, rock and roll, jazz or blues. These guitars are used largely in rock music, and are a bit more forgiving than are acoustic guitars. Depending on the venue, electric guitars are one of the most common guitars used in the 20th century.
The strings used on electric guitars are steel strings as on acoustic guitars, but usually of a much lighter gauge so they are generally easier on your fingers. The guitars themselves are much heavier than are acoustic guitars. The wood is heavier and the electronic parts on the inside add weight to the guitar, as well. While the specific wood type for the body, neck and fingerboard is less of a factor in electric guitars, the wood chosen for a particular electric guitar does contribute its distinctive sound and as well as the feel of the guitar in your hands and even in your style of playing. The neck of the electric guitar must also take more stress due to the heavy body of the guitar.
Because of the type of strings used on the electric guitar, they are considered to be easier to play. The lighter gauge of the strings for the electric guitar makes picking and strumming much simpler. The trade-off, of course, is the weight of the guitar and ability to be heard by larger audiences.
Electric guitars are slightly more expensive than are acoustic guitars but quality electric guitars can be found in the lower price ranges, as well. The important thing to remember in planning to purchase an electric guitar is that they only sound good with an amplifier, so you must count on purchasing one of those as well as the guitar.
While various historians would argue about the time frame, electric guitars became popular in the 1960’s and 1970′s. At that point, rock n’ roll was the prevailing culture in the world of music. Electric guitars became a necessity in the competition with the amplified instruments used by jazz orchestras. They quickly became popular, even though there were some difficulties with their construction. The body of the electric guitar would vibrate because of the amplified sounds that came through the speakers, to which they were connected, causing what we know as feed-back. Electric guitars don’t work with microphones, but with special pickups on the body of the guitar that senses the movement of strings. These pickups also tend to pick up the various electrical noises of the room, giving the guitar a bit of a “hum” which can be a very large or very small depending on where the guitar is being played. Several different designs for electric guitars were tried and left unused because of this difficulty in the decades before the 70’s. However, the Les Paul by Gibson and the Stratocaster by Fender rose above the other models to help eliminate some of these difficulties and secured their place in electric guitar history.
There are many types of electric guitars: solid body, hollow body and metal body. The solid body electric guitar is actually carved from hardwood and has a lacquer finish. The guitars with the metal bodies are affected by the “weight relief” holes that are bored into the solid metal guitars or they are chambered metal so that the guitar will not weigh so much. The hollow bodied electric guitars are said to add resonance and sustain to the guitar while being lighter in weight for the guitarists handling of the instrument. The hollow body electric guitars have the pick-ups mounted in such a way that they convert the combination of the string and the instrument’s body vibration into the electrical signal sent to the amplifier.
Electric guitars are great instruments to have around. They can be played for large audiences and their versatility of style is excellent. Earphones are a great addition to the guitar and the amplifier for the student who lives in the house with others that don’t necessarily want to hear the instrument played all night or all day. With this one upgrade, the electric guitar is a great addition to the other instruments in my household!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/choose-electric-over-acoustic-guitars-940568.html
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Find savings, coupons, and deals at FindSavings. Find Sam Ash coupons and Guitar Center coupon codes.
Pink Acoustic Guitars
Finding The Best Pink Guitars
Author: michaelrussell
If you want something really unusual for your next musical performance, think pink guitars. You’re sure to be noticed and not just for your musical talent. Quality in the instrument and in the performance are both important. Read the rest of this entry »
Left Handed Electric Guitars
Left-handed Electric Guitars
Author: Peter Suhm
What is a left-handed electric guitar? Can’t you just flip a regular electric guitar over, string it backwards, and call it a left-handed guitar? Read the rest of this entry »
Guitar Tuning Notes
Learn How You Can Tune A Guitar
Author: nlwest21
Anybody who is able to play an instrument of any type is talented and is an example that they are efficient at studying tricky things and reading a new kind of language – sheet music. There are lots of several kinds of instruments and each on of them can be difficult to learn – but none is most ordinary then the guitar.
The guitar is an American classic and is the backdrop for rock ‘n roll music that we and also our children enjoy to listen to. We can’t help but be taken in by the strumming of the acoustical guitar and the jamming of the electric guitar. Each of them are wonderful to listen to – but what good would they be to us if they were not tuned properly?
Anyone who owns one of these instruments acknowledges the importance of keeping their instruments tuned right. Over time the strings will get disaligned and the notes will sound flat or too high. This will wreck any song you are learning to play. The only way to mend this is to find out how to tune it yourself.
Not many of us have the musical ear we require to tune it manually and to understand exactly when the note is perfect. Because of this individuals have created particular tuning software. This allows you to tune it in front of your computer. Utilise a microphone and pluck and aline the strings till the computer tells that it is fixed.
For something a bit more conventional you will have the power to buy a guitar tuning instrument. This is a tiny black box that will have a special light that will suggest whether or not you have it tuned it properly. Just pull on the strings and keep adjusting it till you have it in the correct spot.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-how-you-can-tune-a-guitar-928545.html
About the Author
Find the best way to Tune your Guitar so that it sounds right. Also try to find other helpful Guitar Tips.