Musical Instruments | Guitar

Les Paul Package

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:55:28 +0000

To get an authentic electric guitar sound you need to choose your guitar and amplifier very carefully. Certain guitar sounds can only be achieved with a particular guitar and amp. One combination that comes to mind is the Marshall Stack and the Gibson Les Paul. I am going to outline a classic example of this combination which dates back to the late 1950’s early 1960’s, this particular package is extremely valuable and sort after nowadays.

The 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard

The Gibson Leas Paul was first produced around 1958 and the standard version featured a maple top with a sunburst finish, 22 fret fingerboard with crown inlays. It came with two humbucker pickups and a stud tailpiece with height adjustable tune-o-matic bridge. A three way selector switch and two sets of volume and tone knobs are used to control the pickups. In later models the frets were enlarged and the depth of the neck was reduced.

Marshall JTM45

Jim Marshall and Jim Bran produced the first JTM45 amplifiers in 1962. The circuitry of the Fender Bassman influenced the JTM45 but the unusual combination of components produced a sound unlike any other amplifier of that time. Marshall continued to modify and develop this amp until the late 1960’s when it was replaced by the 100 watt head. The speaker cabinet has four 12 inch Celestion G12 speakers and features a sloped front.

Two common effects pedals of the time were the Colorsound Overdrive unit, produced by Sola Sound and the Cry Baby wah wah pedal produced by Jennings.

An example of this expressive, searing and heavy textured sound can be heard by listening to Eric Clapton’s Cream recordings.

Vintage Reissues

To get your hands on the actual guitar and amplifier outlined here would be quite tricky and no doubt very expensive. A number of vintage guitars and amps are available as reissues, in most cases the circuitry and construction would be similar. Some use modern materials, while others sacrifice hardiness and power for pure authenticity.

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Jazz Electric Guitar Packages and Harmonic Clarity

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:17:36 +0000

The jazz guitar outfit differs from that of rock and blues in that the jazz guitarist seeks harmonic, melodic and rhythmic inventiveness as opposed to layered sound-scapes and touch sensitive distortion. Here the choice of guitar and amplifier is crucial as adding effects pedals and the like are not recommended. Most jazz guitarists would choose an archtop guitar such as the Gibson ES-175 and a simple amplifier such as the Polytone Mini Brute. The combination of this amp and guitar offer the jazz guitarist a simple yet harmoniously rich sound with a warm mid range which is ideally suited to most jazz situations.

The Gibson ES-175 is fitted with two Gibson humbucker pickups with volume and tone controls for each pickup. The selector switch allows you to use the front, back or both pickups. It is also rubber mounted to the body so as to prevent any noise when switching pickups at high volume. The maple and plywood laminated body offers tonal clarity and excellent acoustic resonance. To get a warm “jazzy’ sound, just roll the tone control off a bit. Something worth considering is having the standard metal bridge exchanged with a wooden bridge.

The Polytone Mini Brute is a small portable amplifier and has a clear, balanced solid state sound which is ideal for jazz players. It was developed in the 1970’s and during the design stage a number of leading jazz guitarists were brought in as consultants. It is a simple single channel amp with volume, treble and bass controls. It features high and low sensitivity inputs and a tone filter switch offering “bright”, “middle” and “dark” tone selections. The strengths of this amplifier have resulted in it being used with double bass and other acoustic instruments.

The extent of the jazz guitar outfit is certainly simpler than that of other guitar genre’s but the choice and quality of the instrument and amplifier are of utmost importance. The extensive use of harmony in jazz music demands a setup that delivers tonal clarity and definition.

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Fender Stratocaster Package

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:15:13 +0000

The Fender Stratocaster would be the classic choice of guitar to use if you are a blues player. Fender Stratocaster’s generally come with a rosewood or maple fret board, maple being the brighter of the two. My personal choice would be rosewood, more rounded tone but like so many things it really boils down to what your ear wants to hear.

I would defiantly go for a Fender Amp as well; something with valves in it would give you a real classic blues sound. The fender bluesman has two pre amp channels which are switchable, one giving you a clean sound and the other giving an overdrive sound. The overdrive channel has valves in it which in my opinion still give a far superior overdrive sound than a transistors amp.

Between your guitar and amp you can have numerous pedals and effect processing units, I would certainly keep this to a minimum. Especially with blues I think the less you process your sound the better. Rather spend more on the amp and guitar than get all sorts of pedals that promise great tone but actually end up killing the tone of a good amp and guitar. I am clearly not one for too many effects but one that deserves a mention is the Pro Co Rat. This is a very simple distortion pedal that when coupled with a Fender Strat and Valve Amp gives the most amazing blues sound you can imagine. Yes it’s very retro, you’ll sound like you just stepped out of the seventies but it sure is a very cool blues sound.

The rest of your outfit would be leads, straps, picks, a guitar stand, a tuner and a bag or case. You may also have some backing tracks to practice to and perhaps a recording device like an iPod or mini disc so you can listen back and hear what you sound like.

Well, good luck with your blues playing and remember, good tone starts with your fingers.

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Electric Guitar Rock Music

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:06:01 +0000

The feeling of wanting to be a rock guitarist is something that a lot of people can relate to. The truth is that very few people are willing and able to achieve what is necessary to become a rock guitarist. Most people don’t even know what creating a good rock guitar sound involves. This article is going to address some of the issues around the electric guitar outfit.

When you experience the power of the perfectly tuned electric guitar outfit you will know, you will definitely know. There are certainly a number of things that need consideration and a lot of trail and error will be needed to find the right sound.

You will need to allocate a reasonable budget to put a good rock setup together and the first thing to think about is the guitar. Go for a known make like Gibson, Fender or PRS and remember that guitars get better with age so browse your local classifieds and second hand shops, you might just pick up a winner for a good price. Budget range guitars and cheap copies are never going to give you the tone you’re after so steer clear of these.

The amplifier you choose could possibly be your best purchase you make. Like the guitar you choose you should try and go for a known brand. Marshall and Fender make very reliable and versatile amps so if you can get your hands on one of these you cant go wrong. Both these makes come in a number of models so best would be to go to your local music store and try a few out until you find the one that best suites your style.

Some smaller pieces and parts can help to make up this whole as well. For instance, you are going to want some accessories for your set up. You are going to want a lengthy enough cord to run to your amplifier. You are going to want some of your favorite gauge in pick, and you might also consider a strap to rock out standing up.

While there might be plenty of pieces and parts to make up an electric guitar outfit, that is not to suggest that these are the only things needing to be considered. This should give you a good place to start, though.

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Choosing the Best Electric Guitar Starter Pack

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:00:03 +0000

I remember when I started playing guitar and how difficult it was to choose the right guitar and amplifier to begin with. There are so many options and my thought was to get the best, most expensive equipment I could afford. Needless to say I ended up buying and selling a number of electric guitars and amplifiers before I realized that I needed to get to grips with my playing before I could decide on the guitar equipment and tonal quality I was after. Now when you are a beginner it is actually better to get a combo that is just a bit above the cheap budget range. I say this because you don’t want a guitar that is so cheap that it doesn’t stay in tune when you play it and an amp that sounds like your granddads old wireless radio. In order to learn you need equipment that sounds reasonable and a guitar that keeps its pitch. Your ear won’t be able to learn the notes if your guitar doesn’t play them correctly and consistently.

Your style will develop over time so you don’t want to spend a fortune on an electric guitar outfit that doesn’t quite fit the tone and style that you want to hear. I only started getting a proper idea of the equipment I wanted to use after a good two years of playing. I’m not saying you shouldn’t experiment with different guitars and amplifiers but you can accomplish this without having to buy an example of each kind. Go and spend a morning at your local music store, try out different guitars and amplifiers. Advertise in your local community paper that you’d like to get together with other amateur guitarists; you’ll soon be exposed to a range of guitars and amplifiers not to mention the other guitarists and styles.

I started out playing an electric guitar in an alternative rock band and ended up playing a semi acoustic classical guitar in a blues jazz band. The moral of the story is to get something basic for a reasonable to cheap price and play, get experience, your style will grow and soon you won’t even need to think about the guitar outfit you want, you will know exactly what you need.