I can remember even having this argument with my brother. I always said that I would much rather buy a single effect pedal over a multi pedal effect board any day, and our debating went round and round. So what are the perks of each one and which route is right for the every day guitarist consumer?
A single effect pedal has its rewards in the fact that they are typically of high quality, can be modeled after a famous guitar players set up, and have an exclusive sound, effect, or tone. The bad thing about them is the mullah. Single effect pedals can cost a fortune. The other bad part, and this is very common, is that people often grow instantly tired of their new effect pedal, and never use it again. Swooosh! two hundred dollars of fine craftsmanship out the window.
Multi pedal effect boards have their pros and cons too. The good parts about them is that they can be very cheap, sometimes less than a hundred dollars, and that these multi effect pedals can sport a large array of sounds. The bad news is that a lot of these sounds are just garbage and useless as some of them are over the top. The good news once again is that multi pedal effect technology has improved, or at least been taken more seriously, and now most of the effects sound pretty awesome.
Another good thing about the multi effects is that you can have plenty to work with to mix and match and create your own tone. These boards are also good for freeing up space, and are excellent for cable management.
I look at effect pedals as candy bars. They all have distinct packaging, and if you've never tried a certain candy bar before, then you're going to be curious about it. Pedals unfortunately are designed to visually make your mouth water, and not necessarily perform. So if your curiosity is driving you to make that choice, why not do it with a multi effect pedal board? This way, you can be guaranteed that you will walk away with at least twenty or so effects that you do like, and you may discover great combinations in the future.
What I really like about the multi boards is that it feels good and empowering, by arming you with the effects resources of a small studio, so in the long run your cup is quite full.
No effect can work without your willingness to master guitar playing. Learning guitar and having a good sound are a must, and it starts with the choice to learn and master guitar in every possible way.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Sibbs
Monday, 23 November 2009
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Choosing Your First Tube Amplifier
For decades, it's been a general opinion that tube (or valve) amplifiers sound better than solid state amps.
First of all - what is a tube amp? A tube amp is a type of guitar amplifier that operates on valves (or vacuum tubes) instead of transistors. The sound you get from a tube amp is warmer and fuller that what you'd get from a solid state amp.
Valve amplifiers range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, so the choice is really confusing! If you're reading this article, you've probably decided that it's time that you want to crank your volume past the 10 mark on your current practice amp or the tone just isn't satisfying you anymore.
There are a few things you have to know in order to make your decision. First of all, the type of music that you play, so that you can decide on the amount of gain that your amp needs to have. What is gain? Gain is basically a synonym for distortion. If you play mostly "clean" music (virtually, no amount of distortion), you won't need a lot of gain. If the music you play is blues or rock, you'll need a mild amount of gain, depending on how distorted you want the sound to be. If you play metal, you'll need a high-gain tube amp.
The most notable clean amp of all tube amp history is the Fender Bassman, the holy-grail of clean sounds. Generally, you'll want to look at Fender and Vox. Most tube amps have the amount of gain necessary for blues or rock (Marshalls, the expensive Buddas, the budget Blackhearts). Finally, if we're talking metal, you're going to want to look at Peavey, Mesa Boogie, ENGL.
The second aspect of a tube amp, why many people crave them, is the dynamic. Dynamic is the ability of the tube amp to sound clean when you're hitting the strings softly, and distorted when you're hitting them hard. This allows a great amount of expression. You're going to have to listen to an amp to see if it has this quality.
You'll also have to listen for definition, which is the ability to amplify every single note your play clearly. This is very important, otherwise you'll sound all muddy. The best way to test this is to play some chords, even fewer amps possess this quality.
Lastly, you'll just have to listen if it possesses the basic tonal characteristics that fit you. If the basic sound of the amp is bad, it will sound bad anyway you will adjust the equalizer, amount of gain, anything. It's not uncommon that you find bad tube amps made by prestigious brands. There's no such thing as "not knowing" if it sounds good or not, and although store employees can help you with various information such as amounts of gain, number of tubes, etc. they always want to convince you to buy the products you're trying. If you don't buy it, you can always come back another time and try it again, but if you do, you'll just lack motivation and it will harm your playing. This is important because tube amps aren't as cheap as a practice amp. Always try before you buy!
My name is Andrei Popa, and I've been playing electric guitar for 6 years now. I've bought and sold a lot of gear over the years, filtered all the guitar playing information I've received and have generally been through a lot of trial and error. I maintain a gear reviews website at http://guitar-gear-demos.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrei_Popa
First of all - what is a tube amp? A tube amp is a type of guitar amplifier that operates on valves (or vacuum tubes) instead of transistors. The sound you get from a tube amp is warmer and fuller that what you'd get from a solid state amp.
Valve amplifiers range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, so the choice is really confusing! If you're reading this article, you've probably decided that it's time that you want to crank your volume past the 10 mark on your current practice amp or the tone just isn't satisfying you anymore.
There are a few things you have to know in order to make your decision. First of all, the type of music that you play, so that you can decide on the amount of gain that your amp needs to have. What is gain? Gain is basically a synonym for distortion. If you play mostly "clean" music (virtually, no amount of distortion), you won't need a lot of gain. If the music you play is blues or rock, you'll need a mild amount of gain, depending on how distorted you want the sound to be. If you play metal, you'll need a high-gain tube amp.
The most notable clean amp of all tube amp history is the Fender Bassman, the holy-grail of clean sounds. Generally, you'll want to look at Fender and Vox. Most tube amps have the amount of gain necessary for blues or rock (Marshalls, the expensive Buddas, the budget Blackhearts). Finally, if we're talking metal, you're going to want to look at Peavey, Mesa Boogie, ENGL.
The second aspect of a tube amp, why many people crave them, is the dynamic. Dynamic is the ability of the tube amp to sound clean when you're hitting the strings softly, and distorted when you're hitting them hard. This allows a great amount of expression. You're going to have to listen to an amp to see if it has this quality.
You'll also have to listen for definition, which is the ability to amplify every single note your play clearly. This is very important, otherwise you'll sound all muddy. The best way to test this is to play some chords, even fewer amps possess this quality.
Lastly, you'll just have to listen if it possesses the basic tonal characteristics that fit you. If the basic sound of the amp is bad, it will sound bad anyway you will adjust the equalizer, amount of gain, anything. It's not uncommon that you find bad tube amps made by prestigious brands. There's no such thing as "not knowing" if it sounds good or not, and although store employees can help you with various information such as amounts of gain, number of tubes, etc. they always want to convince you to buy the products you're trying. If you don't buy it, you can always come back another time and try it again, but if you do, you'll just lack motivation and it will harm your playing. This is important because tube amps aren't as cheap as a practice amp. Always try before you buy!
My name is Andrei Popa, and I've been playing electric guitar for 6 years now. I've bought and sold a lot of gear over the years, filtered all the guitar playing information I've received and have generally been through a lot of trial and error. I maintain a gear reviews website at http://guitar-gear-demos.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrei_Popa
Saturday, 14 November 2009
How To Choose A Guitar Amp
Here are some things to keep in your head when you are going out to buy your first guitar amp. There are different amps to suit different styles of guitar music. Blues, jazz and blues based rock are best served by the so-called "vintage" sound. This is the sound of the sixties, brought to the world by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Cream. You can get that authentic sound by getting yourself an effects program that can replicate many of the vintage amp sounds. For playing heavy metal high gain amps are the way to go. These amps give you greater distortion than the vintage amps.
Let's go onto the possibility that sometime in the near future you are going to be a professional or semi-professional guitar player. You will be getting paid to play the guitar on stage. People will enjoy hearing you play at your gigs but don't get the idea that your family will be enjoying listening to your guitar practice. The message here is to get a practice amp or an amp that's small enough to play through without making your family and neighbors mad. Either that or make sure the place you practice is separated by distance or thick walls from the rest of the world. If you must practice in your bedroom, get some headphones.
To use for practice or for small gigs you need a low wattage amp. It's best to go for a good tone so that your relationship with your amp will always be one of mutual respect. Don't let a guy in a guitar store sell you a big bad amp with a boatload of effects. You won't be needing any of that for quite a while, if ever. You will eventually become disenchanted with loudness but a good sound is a joy forever. So get a thirty watt amp and start working on being a serious musician.
The thing that makes the sound of your electric guitar into a nice tone is your pre-amp. You plug your guitar into it and it works on the noise from the strings to give it bass, treble and a number of other qualities that go into a great tone. You will find some pre-amps using MIDI technology to generate your tone. Using this kind of setup you can save your settings and access your preset effects with a pedal. It is best to get yourself a separate effects box. This will give you better quality effects and greater versatility.
Newbie guitar players are flocking to Guitar How-To for the free articles, tutorials and videos on every aspect of guitar playing you can think of. Fast track your guitar expertise now at http://guitar-how-to.com/
Let's go onto the possibility that sometime in the near future you are going to be a professional or semi-professional guitar player. You will be getting paid to play the guitar on stage. People will enjoy hearing you play at your gigs but don't get the idea that your family will be enjoying listening to your guitar practice. The message here is to get a practice amp or an amp that's small enough to play through without making your family and neighbors mad. Either that or make sure the place you practice is separated by distance or thick walls from the rest of the world. If you must practice in your bedroom, get some headphones.
To use for practice or for small gigs you need a low wattage amp. It's best to go for a good tone so that your relationship with your amp will always be one of mutual respect. Don't let a guy in a guitar store sell you a big bad amp with a boatload of effects. You won't be needing any of that for quite a while, if ever. You will eventually become disenchanted with loudness but a good sound is a joy forever. So get a thirty watt amp and start working on being a serious musician.
The thing that makes the sound of your electric guitar into a nice tone is your pre-amp. You plug your guitar into it and it works on the noise from the strings to give it bass, treble and a number of other qualities that go into a great tone. You will find some pre-amps using MIDI technology to generate your tone. Using this kind of setup you can save your settings and access your preset effects with a pedal. It is best to get yourself a separate effects box. This will give you better quality effects and greater versatility.
Newbie guitar players are flocking to Guitar How-To for the free articles, tutorials and videos on every aspect of guitar playing you can think of. Fast track your guitar expertise now at http://guitar-how-to.com/
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Eight Popular Guitars
There are literally dozens of guitar brands on the market, some good, some bad and some unbelievably excellent If you want the best sound and quality, then it really does pay to choose a good brand name
There are literally dozens of guitar brands on the market, some good, some bad and some unbelievably excellent. If you want the best sound and quality, then it really does pay to choose a good brand name. You''ll pay more initially, but it''s worth it since you''ll just have to replace a cheap guitar pretty quickly.
Going with an established name will pretty much ensure you''re getting great quality. If you''re serious about playing, then you should definitely take a look at one of the following guitars.
Fender
This company is probably the best known when it comes to top of the line guitars. This is where the famous Stratocasters come from . . . the original guitars in this line are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fender also produces custom guitars, many of which can be seen in the hands of famous musicians like Santana.
Gibson
Another very popular guitar brand is Gibson, running almost neck in neck with Fender for quality. This brand has pretty much cornered the upper levels of the electric guitar market, though they also produce high quality acoustic instruments. Among musicians who use Gibson brand guitars are Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and the Allman Brothers Band.
Yamaha
Well known as a musical company, Yamaha isn''t just a keyboard brand. They also turn out some great guitars that are sturdy and well suited to the life of a musician. Many of their designs are actually copies of more popular designs from the US, but they also have some original designs of their own that sell very well. It''s a brand name that is trusted, so many new musicians opt for this brand.
Ovation
These guitars are quite distinctive in how they look. With a rounded back and fibrglass body, Ovation guitars can''t be mistaken for any other brand. Besides the bowl-like back of the instrument, the sound holes are also different. Rather than one large hole, as other guitars have, these instruments tend to have groupings of smaller holes. Despite the odd looks, they are considered precision and provide great sound.
Martin
This brand is also known for its superiority in the world of guitars. Martins are usually more affordable than the top of the line guitars, but still produces excellent instruments. These guitars tend to be larger than the average acoustic guitar and are very popular among players who enjoy playing acoustic.
Alvarez
When it comes to acoustic guitars, Alvarez is certainly one of the first guitar brands that comes to mind. With over 60 years of experience in making precision instruments, Alvarez actually comes from a long Japanese line of well made classical instruments.
Jackson
Best known for the unique design of their guitars, Jackson instruments were originally meant to look like the Fender Strat, but quickly became a hardcore version made for rockers. The Jackson guitar line is usually associated with rock and metal music.
Guild
While perhaps not as well known as some of the above guitar brands, this is a good, solid company with years of excellent guitar making behind it. Guild is 100% American and has been around since the 1940''s. They are best known for making jazz guitars, but have since expanded into other areas, providing distinctive musical instruments and guitars.
There are plenty of different guitar brands to choose from, but if you want an instrument that will give you the quality of sound that you want and something that will last for a good long time, then it''s worth looking at the best in the business. The brands above are all top of the line and excellent guitars.
Music School offering Grand Pianos Toronto, voice, guitar and voice lessons Oakville and the GTA area. Visit our music store to find new and used pianos in Toronto.
Music School offering voice, drum and Voice Lessons Oakville, and in the GTA area. Visit us to learn more about Grand Piano Toronto.
Copyright (c) 2009 Free Online Library
This article can be reproduced subject to these terms. Syndicate this article. More free articles for syndication
There are literally dozens of guitar brands on the market, some good, some bad and some unbelievably excellent. If you want the best sound and quality, then it really does pay to choose a good brand name. You''ll pay more initially, but it''s worth it since you''ll just have to replace a cheap guitar pretty quickly.
Going with an established name will pretty much ensure you''re getting great quality. If you''re serious about playing, then you should definitely take a look at one of the following guitars.
Fender
This company is probably the best known when it comes to top of the line guitars. This is where the famous Stratocasters come from . . . the original guitars in this line are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fender also produces custom guitars, many of which can be seen in the hands of famous musicians like Santana.
Gibson
Another very popular guitar brand is Gibson, running almost neck in neck with Fender for quality. This brand has pretty much cornered the upper levels of the electric guitar market, though they also produce high quality acoustic instruments. Among musicians who use Gibson brand guitars are Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and the Allman Brothers Band.
Yamaha
Well known as a musical company, Yamaha isn''t just a keyboard brand. They also turn out some great guitars that are sturdy and well suited to the life of a musician. Many of their designs are actually copies of more popular designs from the US, but they also have some original designs of their own that sell very well. It''s a brand name that is trusted, so many new musicians opt for this brand.
Ovation
These guitars are quite distinctive in how they look. With a rounded back and fibrglass body, Ovation guitars can''t be mistaken for any other brand. Besides the bowl-like back of the instrument, the sound holes are also different. Rather than one large hole, as other guitars have, these instruments tend to have groupings of smaller holes. Despite the odd looks, they are considered precision and provide great sound.
Martin
This brand is also known for its superiority in the world of guitars. Martins are usually more affordable than the top of the line guitars, but still produces excellent instruments. These guitars tend to be larger than the average acoustic guitar and are very popular among players who enjoy playing acoustic.
Alvarez
When it comes to acoustic guitars, Alvarez is certainly one of the first guitar brands that comes to mind. With over 60 years of experience in making precision instruments, Alvarez actually comes from a long Japanese line of well made classical instruments.
Jackson
Best known for the unique design of their guitars, Jackson instruments were originally meant to look like the Fender Strat, but quickly became a hardcore version made for rockers. The Jackson guitar line is usually associated with rock and metal music.
Guild
While perhaps not as well known as some of the above guitar brands, this is a good, solid company with years of excellent guitar making behind it. Guild is 100% American and has been around since the 1940''s. They are best known for making jazz guitars, but have since expanded into other areas, providing distinctive musical instruments and guitars.
There are plenty of different guitar brands to choose from, but if you want an instrument that will give you the quality of sound that you want and something that will last for a good long time, then it''s worth looking at the best in the business. The brands above are all top of the line and excellent guitars.
Music School offering Grand Pianos Toronto, voice, guitar and voice lessons Oakville and the GTA area. Visit our music store to find new and used pianos in Toronto.
Music School offering voice, drum and Voice Lessons Oakville, and in the GTA area. Visit us to learn more about Grand Piano Toronto.
Copyright (c) 2009 Free Online Library
This article can be reproduced subject to these terms. Syndicate this article. More free articles for syndication
Friday, 6 November 2009
All Amped About Guitar Amps: Which One Goes Where?
An important part of creating your own home recording studio requires understanding how the amp works, but more importantly, what job each type of amp has. This is, however, a simple concept to understand. For example, electric guitars require the use of an electric guitar amp whereas electric bass guitars require the bass amp. Acoustic-electric guitars use acoustic amplifiers, and, of course, acoustic guitars do not use amps. This basic information, however, is not all that is needed for a successful amp set up. Let's take a closer look.
Amps are a very tricky subject as there are just so many out there. The basic idea of them is to take the ultra low voltage coming from the pickups and bring them up to line level. Seems simple, but there is a lot that goes into how that signal is boosted.
The main two types of amps are tube and solid state. Tube amplifiers are the grand daddies of amplifiers and use vacuum tubes as their main amplifier. Solid state amplifiers use modern chips in place of the tubes. The difference is that tubes tend to add a warmth and smoothness to the sound but can also add a good amount of noise too. Solid state amps are more clean and solid, but can sound cold. All amps, whether for guitar, bass, or acoustic work the same but differ in where they focus their characteristics. This is not to say that you should plug a guitar into a bass amp. Sometime it will work, and sometimes it just won't.
The Relationship between Electric Guitars and Electric Guitar Amps
Electric guitars work on pickups. A pickup works by using a magnet that is wrapped in wire. The magnetic field rides just through the strings so when the string is strummed or plucked, it alters the magnetic field and produces an electrical signal at the same frequency as the note being played. The "tone" of the pickup is determined by how many times the wire is wound around the magnet. A standard electric pickup is wrapped around 5000 times, which is nothing to sneeze at.
A Humbucker pickup uses 2 of these wrappings to reduce the amount of noise that can be produced by the pickup. This, obviously, increases the quality of any guitar using Humbucker pickups.
Bass Electric Guitars and Their Amps
Bass guitars work pretty much the same way that an electric guitar does. The reason for a bass sounding so deep is the fact that they use thicker strings, which vibrate at a lower frequency by nature. Specifically, a bass amp is specially designed to focus on the lower frequency spectrum and boost it. A normal guitar amp focuses more on the mid to high frequency spectrum.
Furthermore, a guitar wire is wound around 5000 times using #42 wire. The more times it is wound, or the more tightly wound it is, the more the lower frequencies get tapered off. To exaggerate this effect, a bass uses thicker wire as well. Sometimes the pickup is split so that it looks like a z on the body. This way the two higher strings have a boosted sound and the lower ones produce a thicker sound because of the unique shape.
Acoustic-Electric Guitars and Acoustic Guitar Amps
Acoustic-Electric guitars and their amps work entirely different from electric guitars and amps as they use what is called a "piezo pickup."
A piezo pickup is essentially a dynamic microphone that only reacts when the string is plucked. This creates a more natural sound in relation to the actual acoustic sound. Today, even some electric guitars have piezo pickups added to them because they are so unique.
Now that you have the know how, you should also know that some amps are inter-compatible between guitars. What you can't know, however, is how well one guitar type, like a Fender, will be compatible with a different brand, like Line6, as I mentioned above. As Soundetta.com has suggested many times, ample amount of research can benefit you in decision making but I still insist that there is nothing better than pulling up a seat in your local guitar store with your girl in one hand and line into one amp at a time. Rock on.
For more information about guitar amplifiers and guitars, visit my blog Soundetta.com: Your Music Arena!, which is all about music!
Amps are a very tricky subject as there are just so many out there. The basic idea of them is to take the ultra low voltage coming from the pickups and bring them up to line level. Seems simple, but there is a lot that goes into how that signal is boosted.
The main two types of amps are tube and solid state. Tube amplifiers are the grand daddies of amplifiers and use vacuum tubes as their main amplifier. Solid state amplifiers use modern chips in place of the tubes. The difference is that tubes tend to add a warmth and smoothness to the sound but can also add a good amount of noise too. Solid state amps are more clean and solid, but can sound cold. All amps, whether for guitar, bass, or acoustic work the same but differ in where they focus their characteristics. This is not to say that you should plug a guitar into a bass amp. Sometime it will work, and sometimes it just won't.
The Relationship between Electric Guitars and Electric Guitar Amps
Electric guitars work on pickups. A pickup works by using a magnet that is wrapped in wire. The magnetic field rides just through the strings so when the string is strummed or plucked, it alters the magnetic field and produces an electrical signal at the same frequency as the note being played. The "tone" of the pickup is determined by how many times the wire is wound around the magnet. A standard electric pickup is wrapped around 5000 times, which is nothing to sneeze at.
A Humbucker pickup uses 2 of these wrappings to reduce the amount of noise that can be produced by the pickup. This, obviously, increases the quality of any guitar using Humbucker pickups.
Bass Electric Guitars and Their Amps
Bass guitars work pretty much the same way that an electric guitar does. The reason for a bass sounding so deep is the fact that they use thicker strings, which vibrate at a lower frequency by nature. Specifically, a bass amp is specially designed to focus on the lower frequency spectrum and boost it. A normal guitar amp focuses more on the mid to high frequency spectrum.
Furthermore, a guitar wire is wound around 5000 times using #42 wire. The more times it is wound, or the more tightly wound it is, the more the lower frequencies get tapered off. To exaggerate this effect, a bass uses thicker wire as well. Sometimes the pickup is split so that it looks like a z on the body. This way the two higher strings have a boosted sound and the lower ones produce a thicker sound because of the unique shape.
Acoustic-Electric Guitars and Acoustic Guitar Amps
Acoustic-Electric guitars and their amps work entirely different from electric guitars and amps as they use what is called a "piezo pickup."
A piezo pickup is essentially a dynamic microphone that only reacts when the string is plucked. This creates a more natural sound in relation to the actual acoustic sound. Today, even some electric guitars have piezo pickups added to them because they are so unique.
Now that you have the know how, you should also know that some amps are inter-compatible between guitars. What you can't know, however, is how well one guitar type, like a Fender, will be compatible with a different brand, like Line6, as I mentioned above. As Soundetta.com has suggested many times, ample amount of research can benefit you in decision making but I still insist that there is nothing better than pulling up a seat in your local guitar store with your girl in one hand and line into one amp at a time. Rock on.
For more information about guitar amplifiers and guitars, visit my blog Soundetta.com: Your Music Arena!, which is all about music!
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Taming High Gain Distortion Noise
Noise is a demon that plagues all high gain distortion pedals. It's a fact of life that there's just no escape from... or is there?
Before we begin lets take a moment to define the word 'noise' as we use it in this article. When we use the word noise we're referring to the hum & hiss you hear when you are not playing. The moment you strike a note, the noise is 'gone', but in reality it is simply overcome by the note having been played. The note is passing trough the distortion circuit and being amplified in the same way the noise is, but being that the note is intentional and, as such, a much louder source than whatever is causing the noise in the first place. As the struck note decays the noise slowly becomes more apparent until it overcomes the decaying note, as the noise never left, it was simply overpowered by the note.
Why are distortion pedals noisy?
Many distortions use cascading gain stages to create their sound. While this creates some great distorted tones, each gain stage also amplifies all background noise.
Not all distortion pedals use this design, but the long and short of it is that a distortion pedal will amplify and distort any signal it is fed; even if you can not hear the noise causing signal source before activating the pedal.
What could be causing the noise?
Many times, the noise accentuated by distortion pedals can be tracked to environmental issues. This is why professional recording studios are so expensive to design and construct. Painstaking measures are taken to ensure that every power source is pristine, ever power line is shielded and kept far from physical audio paths, all of the walls are shielded against stray radio frequencies, and so on.
That being said; let's take a quick look at what might be causing your noise and a few things you can do to clean up your signal.
Power
The first thing to look at is how you're powering the unit. Batteries will deliver a quieter performance, as they are not subject to some of the issues that affect AC power, but they have a downside as well. Batteries will steal your tone as they die, at such a subtle rate, you might not notice until your tone is truly not the same anymore.
AC power eliminates the gradual tone theft caused by dying batteries but they open the door to other noise causing possibilities. AC power directly from the wall is wrought with noise. The power is not delivered in a conditioned or filtered manner which is perfectly acceptable for most worldly applications, but not in the audio realm. If you rely heavily on pedals of any kind to create your tone, we highly recommend investing in a good power supply for them. Here in our shop we use the PA9 power supply from Godlyke, but there are many others on the market.
Another power distribution possibility could be that you have too many pedals on your power supply's chain. Noise occurs when you overload your power supply's capacity. The rated output of your power supply might indicate it can handle 4 or 5 pedals (after doing the math of course), and in fact it can- it just can't handle it well. That output rate is there to tell you where the failure point would be, not where the optimum operating level is. To keep your pedal board sounding clean stay well under your power supply's rated output. Some pros suggest you cut the rated output in halve and use that as your load guide. I say use your ears. If you hear degradation, even while within the specs of your power supply, ease back on its load.
Cables
Why are you plugging your $1000 guitar into your $1500 amp with a $9 cable? And DO NOT get me started on those $3 patch cables you're using in between each pedal on your board. C'mon guys... your cables are essential to your tone, so skimp someplace else.
Our good friend Mark Stoddard over at Lava Cable chimes in with this angle:
"Noise or microphonics is caused by cable movement or contact as small voltages are generated from this that interrupt the signal path. If the cable does not have the correct amount or type shielding the noise will be greater. Also, the lower in capacitance a cable is, the easier the noise will be heard as more signal is passed. Typically, with static cable such as pedal jumpers noise is not an issue as there's no movement. It's important for cable jumpers to be solidly built as a loose solder connection or loose solder-free connection can cause noise when the pedal or cable is moved."
This is good info, lets expand on it a bit- pedal jumpers or patch cables actually take some serious abuse if you're a heavy footed pedal user. Every time you're stepping on the switch you're causing that whole unit it shift, unless your using mounting screws to keep your pedals on your board, and that slight shift with each stomp causes your patch cables to move and flex as well. So each time you engage your boost pedal for a solo, lets say once per song multiplied by 10 songs a set, thats 20 stomps... that can add up to some sizable movement over the course of the evening, not to mention the movment your cable plugging your axe into your pedal board is seeing. So you want to be sure that these are well constructed.
The other topic Mark touched on is capacitance. Over at Lava Cables web site they have a great write up on capacitance, and cables in general, I encourage you to check it out. But in a nut shell, capacitance sucks the high end out of your signal. The longer the cable the higher the capacitance, which is why 40 foot cables sound dark and muddy. So, stick to the correct cable length. If you're a bedroom rocker, a couple of 5-8 foot cables is probably all you need. If you're gigging try 12-15 footers, they'll probably do you well for most venues.
Shielding
Do you have any quiet spots in the room you currently play in? Meaning- if you move around in the room do you have spots that are less noisy? If you do that tells us you've got something floating around in the air which might be quieted by shielding your guitars cavities.
Shielding the cavities of your guitar is not all that difficult, it can be time consuming, but not hard; however, the end results can be amazing. What shielding does is it prevents radio frequencies and other 'noise' from entering your pick ups. The shielding doesn't make the 'noise' signals bounce away, it actually absorbs the noise. The conductive material in the cavities attracts the signal and sends it to ground rather than letting it float around your pick ups. There are a lot of different methods to shield your guitar, so do your research. You can probably start and stop at GuitarNuts.com. GuitarNuts has been offering tips and guidance for shielding and pickup re-wiring for years, and they're a great resource. I've rewired more than my fair share of instruments using their diagrams, check them out!
Pedal board config
Heres a real example from a customer that had horrible noise issues with his Body Rot II. His pedal signal chain was a GE7 EQ to 'scoop' his tone, then running into the Body Rot II, then some reverb and delay. Here is exactly what I told him via Email:
One thing I would recommend right off the bat- put the GE7 at the end of your chain (before your delay or reverb) to sculpt your entire tone. If not at the end, certainly after the BRII. Essentially the BRII will take the boosted signals produced by the GE7 and distort it. Causing noise when there otherwise not be any.
With the tone 'scooped' by the EQ, the highs are boosted, then feeding those boosted highs into the BR2 to further boost and distort, caused hellacious noise. Simply moving the EQ cured his problems.
Another common noise causing problem the fact we use the volume knob on our distortion pedals as a master volume. Yes its handier to use the volume control on your pedal to turn your amp up and down, but its causing more noise than you need to hear. Let the amp do the heavy lifting. Set your pedals volume to the same level on or off (unity gain-ish) and use your amp to give you more volume when you need it, this will clean you up greatly.
The obvious
Do you have any computer monitors in the room- the older big monitors, not a flat panel? If so, you're probably going to get noise.
Any fluorescent lighting in the room, either overhead or on a wall? If so, you're probably going to get noise. Even the new compact fluorescent bulbs that are going to be the only types of bulb we can buy in the near future are noisy. The best cure for both the old monitor noise and the fluorescent light noise is to shield your guitar, but even the best of shielding can't eliminate the noise those sources cause.
One last thought- noise gates are always useful in high gain situation. Sometimes there's just no way around them.
Dennis M.
Dennis Mollan is the founder of Pro Tone Pedals. With 20 years experience as a practicing guitarist coupled with his formal education in music theory and audio engineering Dennis has become a noted resource in all things rock guitar related. Pro Tone Pedals was founded in 2004 to provide hand built high quality guitar effects to modern hard rock guitarists. In the five years following, the Dallas Texas based company has had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in modern rock music.
Pro Tone Pedals have been on tour and in the studio with Velvet Revolver, Alice In Chains, Camp Freddy, Flickerstick, Ministry, Peter Murphy, Rusty Cooley, Richie Kotzen, Jeff Loomis, Nevermore, Prong, Mission UK, Poison, Overkill, Fear Factory, Mob research, and the Cult.
Website: http://www.ProTonePedals.com
Blog http://blog.ProTonePedals.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Mollan
Before we begin lets take a moment to define the word 'noise' as we use it in this article. When we use the word noise we're referring to the hum & hiss you hear when you are not playing. The moment you strike a note, the noise is 'gone', but in reality it is simply overcome by the note having been played. The note is passing trough the distortion circuit and being amplified in the same way the noise is, but being that the note is intentional and, as such, a much louder source than whatever is causing the noise in the first place. As the struck note decays the noise slowly becomes more apparent until it overcomes the decaying note, as the noise never left, it was simply overpowered by the note.
Why are distortion pedals noisy?
Many distortions use cascading gain stages to create their sound. While this creates some great distorted tones, each gain stage also amplifies all background noise.
Not all distortion pedals use this design, but the long and short of it is that a distortion pedal will amplify and distort any signal it is fed; even if you can not hear the noise causing signal source before activating the pedal.
What could be causing the noise?
Many times, the noise accentuated by distortion pedals can be tracked to environmental issues. This is why professional recording studios are so expensive to design and construct. Painstaking measures are taken to ensure that every power source is pristine, ever power line is shielded and kept far from physical audio paths, all of the walls are shielded against stray radio frequencies, and so on.
That being said; let's take a quick look at what might be causing your noise and a few things you can do to clean up your signal.
Power
The first thing to look at is how you're powering the unit. Batteries will deliver a quieter performance, as they are not subject to some of the issues that affect AC power, but they have a downside as well. Batteries will steal your tone as they die, at such a subtle rate, you might not notice until your tone is truly not the same anymore.
AC power eliminates the gradual tone theft caused by dying batteries but they open the door to other noise causing possibilities. AC power directly from the wall is wrought with noise. The power is not delivered in a conditioned or filtered manner which is perfectly acceptable for most worldly applications, but not in the audio realm. If you rely heavily on pedals of any kind to create your tone, we highly recommend investing in a good power supply for them. Here in our shop we use the PA9 power supply from Godlyke, but there are many others on the market.
Another power distribution possibility could be that you have too many pedals on your power supply's chain. Noise occurs when you overload your power supply's capacity. The rated output of your power supply might indicate it can handle 4 or 5 pedals (after doing the math of course), and in fact it can- it just can't handle it well. That output rate is there to tell you where the failure point would be, not where the optimum operating level is. To keep your pedal board sounding clean stay well under your power supply's rated output. Some pros suggest you cut the rated output in halve and use that as your load guide. I say use your ears. If you hear degradation, even while within the specs of your power supply, ease back on its load.
Cables
Why are you plugging your $1000 guitar into your $1500 amp with a $9 cable? And DO NOT get me started on those $3 patch cables you're using in between each pedal on your board. C'mon guys... your cables are essential to your tone, so skimp someplace else.
Our good friend Mark Stoddard over at Lava Cable chimes in with this angle:
"Noise or microphonics is caused by cable movement or contact as small voltages are generated from this that interrupt the signal path. If the cable does not have the correct amount or type shielding the noise will be greater. Also, the lower in capacitance a cable is, the easier the noise will be heard as more signal is passed. Typically, with static cable such as pedal jumpers noise is not an issue as there's no movement. It's important for cable jumpers to be solidly built as a loose solder connection or loose solder-free connection can cause noise when the pedal or cable is moved."
This is good info, lets expand on it a bit- pedal jumpers or patch cables actually take some serious abuse if you're a heavy footed pedal user. Every time you're stepping on the switch you're causing that whole unit it shift, unless your using mounting screws to keep your pedals on your board, and that slight shift with each stomp causes your patch cables to move and flex as well. So each time you engage your boost pedal for a solo, lets say once per song multiplied by 10 songs a set, thats 20 stomps... that can add up to some sizable movement over the course of the evening, not to mention the movment your cable plugging your axe into your pedal board is seeing. So you want to be sure that these are well constructed.
The other topic Mark touched on is capacitance. Over at Lava Cables web site they have a great write up on capacitance, and cables in general, I encourage you to check it out. But in a nut shell, capacitance sucks the high end out of your signal. The longer the cable the higher the capacitance, which is why 40 foot cables sound dark and muddy. So, stick to the correct cable length. If you're a bedroom rocker, a couple of 5-8 foot cables is probably all you need. If you're gigging try 12-15 footers, they'll probably do you well for most venues.
Shielding
Do you have any quiet spots in the room you currently play in? Meaning- if you move around in the room do you have spots that are less noisy? If you do that tells us you've got something floating around in the air which might be quieted by shielding your guitars cavities.
Shielding the cavities of your guitar is not all that difficult, it can be time consuming, but not hard; however, the end results can be amazing. What shielding does is it prevents radio frequencies and other 'noise' from entering your pick ups. The shielding doesn't make the 'noise' signals bounce away, it actually absorbs the noise. The conductive material in the cavities attracts the signal and sends it to ground rather than letting it float around your pick ups. There are a lot of different methods to shield your guitar, so do your research. You can probably start and stop at GuitarNuts.com. GuitarNuts has been offering tips and guidance for shielding and pickup re-wiring for years, and they're a great resource. I've rewired more than my fair share of instruments using their diagrams, check them out!
Pedal board config
Heres a real example from a customer that had horrible noise issues with his Body Rot II. His pedal signal chain was a GE7 EQ to 'scoop' his tone, then running into the Body Rot II, then some reverb and delay. Here is exactly what I told him via Email:
One thing I would recommend right off the bat- put the GE7 at the end of your chain (before your delay or reverb) to sculpt your entire tone. If not at the end, certainly after the BRII. Essentially the BRII will take the boosted signals produced by the GE7 and distort it. Causing noise when there otherwise not be any.
With the tone 'scooped' by the EQ, the highs are boosted, then feeding those boosted highs into the BR2 to further boost and distort, caused hellacious noise. Simply moving the EQ cured his problems.
Another common noise causing problem the fact we use the volume knob on our distortion pedals as a master volume. Yes its handier to use the volume control on your pedal to turn your amp up and down, but its causing more noise than you need to hear. Let the amp do the heavy lifting. Set your pedals volume to the same level on or off (unity gain-ish) and use your amp to give you more volume when you need it, this will clean you up greatly.
The obvious
Do you have any computer monitors in the room- the older big monitors, not a flat panel? If so, you're probably going to get noise.
Any fluorescent lighting in the room, either overhead or on a wall? If so, you're probably going to get noise. Even the new compact fluorescent bulbs that are going to be the only types of bulb we can buy in the near future are noisy. The best cure for both the old monitor noise and the fluorescent light noise is to shield your guitar, but even the best of shielding can't eliminate the noise those sources cause.
One last thought- noise gates are always useful in high gain situation. Sometimes there's just no way around them.
Dennis M.
Dennis Mollan is the founder of Pro Tone Pedals. With 20 years experience as a practicing guitarist coupled with his formal education in music theory and audio engineering Dennis has become a noted resource in all things rock guitar related. Pro Tone Pedals was founded in 2004 to provide hand built high quality guitar effects to modern hard rock guitarists. In the five years following, the Dallas Texas based company has had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in modern rock music.
Pro Tone Pedals have been on tour and in the studio with Velvet Revolver, Alice In Chains, Camp Freddy, Flickerstick, Ministry, Peter Murphy, Rusty Cooley, Richie Kotzen, Jeff Loomis, Nevermore, Prong, Mission UK, Poison, Overkill, Fear Factory, Mob research, and the Cult.
Website: http://www.ProTonePedals.com
Blog http://blog.ProTonePedals.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Mollan
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
The History of Fender Guitars
Fender® is currently one of the premier electric guitar manufacturers out there. The instrument manufacturing aspect of the company had its beginnings in 1946 when Leo Fender began building them. However, the company actually started in 1938 and was called Fender’s Radio Services. He was actually a skilled technician who repaired radios, phonograph players, amplifiers, and other electronic instruments.
His experience repairing amplifiers actually marked the beginning of the Fender® manufacturer as we know it today. As a technician he had first hand knowledge of the design problems and issues. He began building his own amps in an effort to solve some of these problems.
He then partnered with Clayton Orr Kauffman to form a company called K & F Manufacturing Corp. which specialized in various electric devices and instruments (they made and designed them as well as sold them). Together they created an electric Hawaiian steel guitar. It was shortly after this that Fender and Kauffman had different visions for the business. Kauffman wanted to focus more on repair and Fender wanted to focus on the design aspect. This is when Fender started his company, the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Corporation and is now called the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
Fender® played a huge role in creating solid body guitars and making them widely available. One of their most popular models, the Fender® Stratocaster, or “Strat” for short was the first electric guitar with a solid body. Each year, they expand on their current guitar line while still making those old favorites available.
Now, there are over 26 styles of Fender® electric guitars available. The Stratocaster line has expanded to include special series modeled after celebrity artists such as David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Other models include other Stratocaster models, the Toronado, the Jazzmaster, the Bronco, and the Mustang. For a complete list, visit the official Fender® website.
Fender® also boasts a list of artists who play their electric guitars. These include Sting, Eric Johnson, the late Stevie Ray Vaughn, Yngwie Malmstein, Roscoe Beck, and Robert Cray. For a complete list of artists and their profiles you can visit the Fender® website.
Here is what some users have to say about their Fender® guitars:
Fender ’62 Stratocaster Reissue
The tone is fantastic. you really get those screaming highs and the piano like projection of the low strings is gorgeous. through my line 6 flextone II amp it's just a HUGE tone. great looks. great neck, great pickups, no shoddy parts anywhere! refreshing at this price. its an utterly brilliant package and it's the business. epiphone, ibanez...they cant rival this. great super 250's strings. oh yeah...free deluxe gig bag too...winner!
Fender Deluxe Fat Strat
I love the array of sounds. The texas special pickups are hot, and between the 5 pickup combinations with a little tweaking on the tone adjustment, i can't think of a tone you can't get out of this guitar. The neck is smooth, and construction is solid. The Floyd Rose tremelo is easy to make quick tune adjustments with…
Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Visit our site for over 60 Free Guitar Lessons and Information about playing Guitar.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_McRea
His experience repairing amplifiers actually marked the beginning of the Fender® manufacturer as we know it today. As a technician he had first hand knowledge of the design problems and issues. He began building his own amps in an effort to solve some of these problems.
He then partnered with Clayton Orr Kauffman to form a company called K & F Manufacturing Corp. which specialized in various electric devices and instruments (they made and designed them as well as sold them). Together they created an electric Hawaiian steel guitar. It was shortly after this that Fender and Kauffman had different visions for the business. Kauffman wanted to focus more on repair and Fender wanted to focus on the design aspect. This is when Fender started his company, the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Corporation and is now called the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
Fender® played a huge role in creating solid body guitars and making them widely available. One of their most popular models, the Fender® Stratocaster, or “Strat” for short was the first electric guitar with a solid body. Each year, they expand on their current guitar line while still making those old favorites available.
Now, there are over 26 styles of Fender® electric guitars available. The Stratocaster line has expanded to include special series modeled after celebrity artists such as David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Other models include other Stratocaster models, the Toronado, the Jazzmaster, the Bronco, and the Mustang. For a complete list, visit the official Fender® website.
Fender® also boasts a list of artists who play their electric guitars. These include Sting, Eric Johnson, the late Stevie Ray Vaughn, Yngwie Malmstein, Roscoe Beck, and Robert Cray. For a complete list of artists and their profiles you can visit the Fender® website.
Here is what some users have to say about their Fender® guitars:
Fender ’62 Stratocaster Reissue
The tone is fantastic. you really get those screaming highs and the piano like projection of the low strings is gorgeous. through my line 6 flextone II amp it's just a HUGE tone. great looks. great neck, great pickups, no shoddy parts anywhere! refreshing at this price. its an utterly brilliant package and it's the business. epiphone, ibanez...they cant rival this. great super 250's strings. oh yeah...free deluxe gig bag too...winner!
Fender Deluxe Fat Strat
I love the array of sounds. The texas special pickups are hot, and between the 5 pickup combinations with a little tweaking on the tone adjustment, i can't think of a tone you can't get out of this guitar. The neck is smooth, and construction is solid. The Floyd Rose tremelo is easy to make quick tune adjustments with…
Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Visit our site for over 60 Free Guitar Lessons and Information about playing Guitar.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_McRea
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
The Electric Guitar - How To Buy The Right One
One of the most challenging tasks facing any guitarist is selecting the right electric guitar for their musical needs. Whether you are young or old, a beginner or a master musician, there is no sound in the world like a finely tuned electric guitar. The thing is that it can be overwhelmingly difficult to choose the right guitar.
The basic construction for a guitar is the same for almost all of the different types of guitars. All electric guitars are comprised of the same parts: a body, a neck, a head stock piece, electrical pickups and a bridge.
Unlike an acoustic guitar, electrical guitars require an amplifier to broadcast the guitar's sound. The sound for an electric guitar is generated when a musician plucks the strings and the vibration of the strings is transmitted through the pick-ups to the amplifier.
Now, there are two very important considerations when purchasing the perfect electrical guitar: price and sound.
Electrical guitars can be priced as low as ninety-nine dollars all the way up to twenty thousand dollars, so knowing your budget is crucial. A beginning guitarist should look for starter kits that will include a guitar, amplifier and some instruction books.
Electric guitars are divided into four different categories: Acoustic-Electric, Electric, Hollow Body Electric and Steel Electric and each one is designed to generate a different sound.
Acoustic-electric guitars are acoustic guitars with pick-ups installed so that they can be wired into an amplifier or a public address system. These are some of the most popular types of guitars for touring bands as they are well built and last a long time.
An electric guitar is typically made of a solid wood body and sound is only generated through the pick-up system. An amplifier is required to increase or decrease volume. These are the most popular models of guitars for beginning enthusiasts and prices can range from $99 and up. Most manufacturers like Fender and Gibson have beginner electrical guitar kits that come with a guitar, an amplifier and training manuals to get started.
A hollow body electric guitar is constructed in the same way as a traditional electric guitar with one exception. A hollow-body guitar has 2 chambers cut out of the body. The end result is that the guitar generates additional sonic resonances because of the chambers and delivers a completely unique sound. These guitars are most often played by Jazz enthusiasts and are available in many different sizes and tones.
The last type of electrical guitar is the steel guitar. Steel guitars are so different in design from traditional guitars that it requires many years of specialized training to learn to play them properly. The steel guitar was made famous by Jeff Healey and is played on its back as opposed to being strung around the player's neck. The strings are often elevated above the fret board and allow for the use of a 'tone bar'. A tone bar is a cylindrical tube that is worn over the middle finger of the fret hand, and provides the classical steel guitar 'whine'. The steel guitar is most often used with country and western style music.
Regardless of whether you are looking to purchase an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar it is always advisable that you research thoroughly. Speak with employees of guitar shops and test every guitar you may be buying. Search the internet to decipher between the different manufacturers and models available until you are certain you have found the electric guitar of your dreams and then buy it!
If you're considering buying an electric guitar, then have a look at the esteban electric guitar To learn more, visit our as seen on tv music site.
Copyright 2007. You may reprint this article on your site provided you include author's resource box and active links.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jay_G
The basic construction for a guitar is the same for almost all of the different types of guitars. All electric guitars are comprised of the same parts: a body, a neck, a head stock piece, electrical pickups and a bridge.
Unlike an acoustic guitar, electrical guitars require an amplifier to broadcast the guitar's sound. The sound for an electric guitar is generated when a musician plucks the strings and the vibration of the strings is transmitted through the pick-ups to the amplifier.
Now, there are two very important considerations when purchasing the perfect electrical guitar: price and sound.
Electrical guitars can be priced as low as ninety-nine dollars all the way up to twenty thousand dollars, so knowing your budget is crucial. A beginning guitarist should look for starter kits that will include a guitar, amplifier and some instruction books.
Electric guitars are divided into four different categories: Acoustic-Electric, Electric, Hollow Body Electric and Steel Electric and each one is designed to generate a different sound.
Acoustic-electric guitars are acoustic guitars with pick-ups installed so that they can be wired into an amplifier or a public address system. These are some of the most popular types of guitars for touring bands as they are well built and last a long time.
An electric guitar is typically made of a solid wood body and sound is only generated through the pick-up system. An amplifier is required to increase or decrease volume. These are the most popular models of guitars for beginning enthusiasts and prices can range from $99 and up. Most manufacturers like Fender and Gibson have beginner electrical guitar kits that come with a guitar, an amplifier and training manuals to get started.
A hollow body electric guitar is constructed in the same way as a traditional electric guitar with one exception. A hollow-body guitar has 2 chambers cut out of the body. The end result is that the guitar generates additional sonic resonances because of the chambers and delivers a completely unique sound. These guitars are most often played by Jazz enthusiasts and are available in many different sizes and tones.
The last type of electrical guitar is the steel guitar. Steel guitars are so different in design from traditional guitars that it requires many years of specialized training to learn to play them properly. The steel guitar was made famous by Jeff Healey and is played on its back as opposed to being strung around the player's neck. The strings are often elevated above the fret board and allow for the use of a 'tone bar'. A tone bar is a cylindrical tube that is worn over the middle finger of the fret hand, and provides the classical steel guitar 'whine'. The steel guitar is most often used with country and western style music.
Regardless of whether you are looking to purchase an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar it is always advisable that you research thoroughly. Speak with employees of guitar shops and test every guitar you may be buying. Search the internet to decipher between the different manufacturers and models available until you are certain you have found the electric guitar of your dreams and then buy it!
If you're considering buying an electric guitar, then have a look at the esteban electric guitar To learn more, visit our as seen on tv music site.
Copyright 2007. You may reprint this article on your site provided you include author's resource box and active links.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jay_G
Monday, 2 November 2009
Where to Find Cheap Electric Guitars?
The electric guitar is an instrument that is liked by millions of people worldwide. The sound an electric guitar produces is just awesome.
All music lovers want to own an electric guitar, but the price keeps them by purchasing their favorite musical instrument. For all those people, the cheap electric guitar is the solution.
Yes, today any person can buy these guitars at a price that is really affordable.
First, you have to make a decision about the instrument that fits your needs perfectly. There are different kinds of electric guitars like hollow body, solid body and electric-acoustic. Then, there are one-string, four-string, seven-string, eight-string, nine-string, twelve-string guitars. You have to be specific about your choice.
The most important factor while choosing a guitar is the body style. What kind of neck, the number of frets, the pickups, the kinds of bridges and what wood is the instrument made of? So, first do this task before going out to buy a guitar.
About cheap electric guitars, the best part is that a person can buy these instruments from big brands like Ibanez, Fender, Dean, Gibson and Washburn guitars. Yes, all these companies are known for manufacturing quality products at high-end price, but now they also produce cheap guitars. They are able to provide cheap guitars because of the low cost labor and raw material available to them in the Asian countries.
Also, in the cheap guitar market, there are second hand instruments that used for sometime and then sold by the owners. You may find the condition of these guitars very good, though with some obvious signs of usage for a time.
With a little research, you should find your guitar very easily. But, make sure that you do not settle for anything that is less than $150 as below this price, you will get poor quality that won't last even for a couple of months.
Now, the first thing is that where to find these guitars?
Well, you have many options for that. First, hit the local stores. You will find electric guitars from different brands and for different prices. You may check out the ads in daily newspapers and magazines.
Then, internet is the biggest source for looking for cheap guitars. There are hundreds of sites that are selling electric guitars at low prices. These guitars include both new and second hand instruments.
There are some websites that are classified as 'Auction' sites where people bid for their desired guitars at low prices, so you may want to check those sites.
Then, there are sites where people place classified ads. They advertise with the details of their instrument and the price.
One thing is sure that you will find more options on the internet compared to the retails or any other source, as there are hundreds of sites displaying hundreds of offers.
But, whatever you choose, online or any other source, the trick is that you have to search for your electric guitar with some patience and you will surely get your instrument.
A cheap used guitar is a great deal for the beginners. The used instruments will surely have some scratches on them, but the quality and sound in most cases are excellent and that's what really counts.
So, stay patient while you search for your favorite electric guitar at a price that is under your budget.
Get cheap electric guitars for sale from 5k+ electric guitar collection. Know more about where you can get cheap guitars.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amber_Ray
All music lovers want to own an electric guitar, but the price keeps them by purchasing their favorite musical instrument. For all those people, the cheap electric guitar is the solution.
Yes, today any person can buy these guitars at a price that is really affordable.
First, you have to make a decision about the instrument that fits your needs perfectly. There are different kinds of electric guitars like hollow body, solid body and electric-acoustic. Then, there are one-string, four-string, seven-string, eight-string, nine-string, twelve-string guitars. You have to be specific about your choice.
The most important factor while choosing a guitar is the body style. What kind of neck, the number of frets, the pickups, the kinds of bridges and what wood is the instrument made of? So, first do this task before going out to buy a guitar.
About cheap electric guitars, the best part is that a person can buy these instruments from big brands like Ibanez, Fender, Dean, Gibson and Washburn guitars. Yes, all these companies are known for manufacturing quality products at high-end price, but now they also produce cheap guitars. They are able to provide cheap guitars because of the low cost labor and raw material available to them in the Asian countries.
Also, in the cheap guitar market, there are second hand instruments that used for sometime and then sold by the owners. You may find the condition of these guitars very good, though with some obvious signs of usage for a time.
With a little research, you should find your guitar very easily. But, make sure that you do not settle for anything that is less than $150 as below this price, you will get poor quality that won't last even for a couple of months.
Now, the first thing is that where to find these guitars?
Well, you have many options for that. First, hit the local stores. You will find electric guitars from different brands and for different prices. You may check out the ads in daily newspapers and magazines.
Then, internet is the biggest source for looking for cheap guitars. There are hundreds of sites that are selling electric guitars at low prices. These guitars include both new and second hand instruments.
There are some websites that are classified as 'Auction' sites where people bid for their desired guitars at low prices, so you may want to check those sites.
Then, there are sites where people place classified ads. They advertise with the details of their instrument and the price.
One thing is sure that you will find more options on the internet compared to the retails or any other source, as there are hundreds of sites displaying hundreds of offers.
But, whatever you choose, online or any other source, the trick is that you have to search for your electric guitar with some patience and you will surely get your instrument.
A cheap used guitar is a great deal for the beginners. The used instruments will surely have some scratches on them, but the quality and sound in most cases are excellent and that's what really counts.
So, stay patient while you search for your favorite electric guitar at a price that is under your budget.
Get cheap electric guitars for sale from 5k+ electric guitar collection. Know more about where you can get cheap guitars.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amber_Ray
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