In the late nineteen thirties a cowboy musician called Bob Willis introduced the electric guitar to his audiences. Nobody knows whether they noticed this historic innovation but ten years later a whole generation sat up and took notice when Arthur Smith released his recording of “Guitar Boogie”. This hit instrumental established the electric guitar as a musical force to be reckoned with. While the world of rock and roll moved to the music of Stratocasters it took a while for country musicians to move from the more restrained tones of the Gretsch archtop to the more “biting” Fender sound.

Many guitarists play their country solos on the Fender Telecaster with a Fender tube “Twin”, Super Reverb or Deluxe Reverb amplifier. On the other hand, if they are on a tight budget they have been known to settle for a Peavey tube amp. One piece of equipment you will not need is the whammy bar. It is not used in playing country music.

In contrast to other musical genres that use the electric guitar, country music does not employ a wide variety of electronic effects in guitar solos. Alot of country guitar players use a strictly clean sound, maybe sprucing the music up with a little reverberation. The only effect consistently utilized by country guitar soloists is compression which enforces limits on the sound waves produced by the guitar. This effect enhances the volume of the softer notes, and slightly mutes the louder notes. This makes the overall volume seem more even.

When it comes to technique you can start off as a flatpicker but many country guitar players will use a thumbpick in combination with the index and ring finger. This naturally increases your level of versatility more than somewhat. There is a technique called “chicken pickin” which involves popping the guitar strings with your fingers. It is a little hard to describe in writing but you can see plenty of examples on YouTube, but to get the general idea, try this experiment: hold your right hand over the guitar strings, then mute your E (sixth) string by resting your index finger on it down towards the bridge. Next, pluck the string with your thumb. This will give you a “thuck” sound. To complete the chicken pickin move, pluck the open string with the nail of your index finger. This move is repeated until it comes naturally.

Country solo playing can easily begin in the first position on the guitar. When you begin to play country guitar solos just play over the chords. Do 1000 not go looking for a “country scale”, although the blues scale is quite handy in country guitar playing. The trick is to practice with whatever chord shapes you have at your stage of playing and see what kind of riffs, licks and tricks you can get out of each of them. It is a very interesting way to learn because every chord has its unique character. Start with your basic chords like C, D, E, G, and A.

So if you want to learn to play country guitar solos which guitar players do you listen to? Listening to Chet Atkins will teach alot to a guitarist in any genre. He is largely responsible for the smooth Nashville sound which is so attractive to many music lovers. Chet owes his style to Merle Travis, using his thumb to pick bass notes and other fingers to play the melody and fills. And do not forget to look for music recorded by Merle Travis himself. Another guitar great is Jerry Reed. A guitarist with boundless energy and enthusiasm, he played on the Elvis Presley single of his own compositions “Guitar Man” and “US Male”. This list could go on and on, so let us finish by mentioning Albert Lee, a British guitar player admired by many other famous guitarists.

By: Ricky Sharples

101 Doggone Good Country Guitar Licks in the Honky Tonk Style

This book is a new 2007 reissue of Larry McCabe’s 101 Nashville Guitar Licks, formerly published by Mel Bay. Prerequisite Ability. Ambitious early intermediate guitarist who wants to learn to play country lead guitar licks.

Ricky Skaggs honors the old country songs | Features

Kentucky Thunder’s lineup includes fiddler Andy Leftwich, lead guitarist Cody Kilby, bassist Mark Fain, singer/guitarist Paul Brewster, and banjo player Jim Mills. Also on the bill are soulful N.C. act The Carolina Chocolate Drops, … At age three, Hobert Skaggs began teaching Ricky to play folk and country tunes on the mandolin. Soon thereafter, Ricky started harmonizing with his parents, learning chord changes, and jamming with elderly mountain music masters at local.

How to Play Country Lead Guitar : Learn To Play Acoustic Guitar

In contrast to other musical genres that use the electric guitar, country music does not employ a wide variety of electronic effects in guitar solos.

Fender Guitar Amplifiers » Blog Archive » How To Play Country Lead

How To Play Country Lead Guitar. In the late nineteen thirties a cowboy musician called Bob Willis introduced the electric guitar to his audiences. Nobody knows whether they noticed this historic innovation but ten years later a whole.

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But beyond all that, the first really important choice to make is whether to go with a solid state amp, or a tube amp.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both - and that discussion is for another day. But if you decide to go with a tube amp, you will want to be aware of the differences between the two predominant tube types that are available.

Within every tube amp there are typically two tube classifications - pre-amp tubes, and power amp tubes.

Pre-amp Tubes:

These are the smaller tubes and there can be anywhere from 2 to 4 or more of them. These tubes power the “pre” section of the amp and are responsible for producing the boost or distortion, and adding “warmth” to the tone.

Power Amp Tubes:

These larger tubes carry the load of the amp and are responsible for the main output signal.

Today we are looking at the differences in the two main types of “power amp” tubes, 6L6’s and EL84’s.

There are significant differences in the sound produced by power amp tubes labeled “6L6″ and “EL84″ - and when shopping for a guitar amp you will want to consider these carefully according to the style of music you are playing.

6L6 Tubes

If you are playing blues, country, southern rock and some rock music - 6L6’s may be your best choice. They produce a cleaner, warm “vintage” tone that is suitable for these styles of music. These tubes are closely associated with the “Fender” sound and are stock tubes on most of these amps.

EL84 Tubes

These will produce a boosted mid range tone and have a history of “breaking up” earlier for a distinct distortion sound. They are preferred by many guitarists that lean toward a heavier rock or metal style. EL84’s are closely associated with the “Marshall” sound and are stock tubes on most of these amps.

One or the Other

In most cases, a guitar amp is built to accept either 6L6’s - or EL84’s, and you will need to be aware of which, and the nuances of each before making a decision.

There are, however, some boutique amps, such as some of the Mesa Boogie models, that come with both. These come with a switch that allows you to change between the two, and opens up a whole new range of tonal possibilities. Of course, you’ll also have to open up your wallet because they don’t come cheap.

Forget the Rules

Even though we have discussed the two power amp tube types according to the style of music that they are most suited for, ultimately every guitarist is unique in their approach to playing. As a result, like most anything relating to the art of interpreting music, there are absolutely no rules.

I have known blues and southern rock players that got killer tones out of Marshall amps with EL84’s. And, conversely, there have been plenty of players using Fenders loaded with 6L6’s playing hard rock and heavy metal.

The point is, a serious tube amp can be a pricey investment, and the key is to be aware of the power amp tube differences going into it so you can make an informed decision based on what works best for you!

For Free Video Guitar Lessons designed for Active Adults go to http://www.adultguitarlessons.com/amember/learn-guitar-today.php?id=ez800

Keith Dean is founder of http://www.AdultGuitarLessons.com and a 30 veteran of stage and studio. He toured extensively as a road musician throughout the US and Europe, was a former lead guitarist for Jason Aldean, and has shared stages with Little Big Town, Wild Rose, Winger, Confederate Railroad and more. He is a published songwriter, owned and operated a successful music store, and has instructed numerous students in guitar.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Dean

Author: Keith Dean

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Kevin O’Connor of London Power has created a series of books under the main title of “The Ultimate Tone.” These books are truly unique and carefully tailored for the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) guitar tube amp hobbyist and boutique amplifier builder. The books have a home-made ‘feel’ as well… all the illustrations are done by hand and the books are photocopy-printed on 8.5″x11″ paper and bound with plastic spines and clear plastic covers. There are six books in the series now with the most recent being released in the late spring of 2008. You may want to buy the entire series all at once and get a modest savings, but I think you should consider buying them one at a time and digest as you go, building projects along the way. A key point though… you don’t necessarily want to buy them in numerical order. I recommend the following sequence:

1. The Ultimate Tone Volume 3 - Generations of Tone
2. The Ultimate Tone Volume 5 - Tone Capture
3. The Ultimate Tone Volume 2 - Systems Approach to Stage Sound Nirvana
4. The Ultimate Tone Volume 4 - Advanced Techniques for Modern Guitar Amp Design
5. The Ultimate Tone - Modifying and Custom Building Tube Guitar Amps
6. The Ultimate Tone Volume 6 - Timeless Tone Built for the Future Today

The Ultimate Tone Volume 3 - Generations of Tone

This is the most important book in the series for the beginning tube amp builder.

Chapters 2 through 4 lay down the foundation of good DIY tube amp construction, filling you in on good electrical connections, grounding technique, lead dress and other wiring techniques, and mechanical layout including assembly methods like terminal strips, turret and eyelet boards.

The subsequent chapters each pick a particular ‘iconic’ amplifier, each iconic amplifier being a prototypical example of amplifiers of its class, and they are examined in detail as to the circuit topology, peculiar tonal characteristics that result and fatal flaws that the product is notorious for. Kevin provides the original schematics and then shows how you can apply the techniques detailed in the earlier chapters to improve the performance and reliability of the icon without harming the tone. The schematics are redrawn, layouts are provided and mechanical solutions are worked out to make each chapter a complete, self-contained, build-it-yourself amp project.

This process is repeated for several variations of the Champ in chapter 5 (this chapter greatly influenced my own single-ended amp project), then in quick succession: the Bassman, Plexi, 800, Bull Dog, AC-30, Portaflex, SVT, Bass Master, Custom Special, Guitar Mate, Herzog and Laney amplifiers are dealt with.

If you can only buy one book for your DIY guitar amp hobby I’d heartily recommend this one.

The Ultimate Tone Volume 5 - Tone Capture

Volume 5 picks up where Volume 3 left off, with a project-oriented approach and some sophisticated DIY tube amp solutions for guitar and bass.

The book starts off with a chapter overviewing vacuum tube operation called ‘tube tone,’ followed up by a chapter on guitar electronics and pickup characteristics.

The next two chapters are small projects: Sigma for effects switching and Triple-X for amplifier switching.

Chapters 5 & 6 are on transformers… important components but it made me yawn, sorry.

Starting with chapter 7, all the stops are pulled out and you are in project heaven… Major (200W), Soma 84 (EL84 amp), Standard (the London Power Standard Preamp from 1995 coupled to a 50W amp using four power tubes), Doppelsonde (mixing power tube types), AX84 (discussion on the original goal of a very low output power amp), Kelly (50W from 4 6V6s), and several other projects of lesser scope.

One favorite project I did was based on Kevin’s reworking of the HotBox tube preamp pedal from Matchless in chapter 16. I built this pedal in a truly “true point-to-point style” (meaning terminal strips) in a tube pedal enclosure from Doug Hoffman, substituting a Baxandall tone stack and reworking the preamp values to be more Dumble-esqe (non-HRM type).

What would you do to match an amplifier to Yngwie Malmsteen’s style? See chapter 18, ‘Swede.’

The Ultimate Tone Volume 2 - Systems Approach to Stage Sound Nirvana

Volume 2 is not project oriented. The bulk of the book, chapters 2 through 5, deals with power supply tricks and a comprehensive overview of power amplifiers, including tube, solid-state and hybrid power amps. Chapter 3, on tube power amplifiers, has some very practical information on mods and fixes to Marshall and Fender bias circuits.

I like the 1st and last chapters of Volume 2 the best. The first chapter is a short discussion of sound stages and how you might setup your gear on stage for the best audience/band experience. The last, chapter 6, is called “Pillars of Tone” and in this chapter the major contributors tone at the block-level of a guitar tube amplifier system design are discussed one by one and Kevin provides some very valuable insight into tone shaping throughout the preamp/amplifier.

The Ultimate Tone Volume 4 - Advanced Techniques for Modern Guitar Amp Design

This is the book you’ll want to buy if you feel the need to get deeply involved with the power scaling technology that Kevin has developed. Power Scaling, coined and trademarked by Kevin, is the way you can get aspects of power amp distortion (as opposed to preamp distortion) into your tone at bedroom volume levels. Volume 4 is not DIY project oriented but explores the issues, including attenuation, power scaling (both down and up), sag, and power management, tackled by modern guitar tube amp designers.

That said, the second-to-last chapter in Volume 4 might be important for a broader group of enthusiast builders… design philosophy. In this chapter Kevin provides a hierarchical design process that could be used to make key decisions on how you approach your next project.

The Ultimate Tone - Modifying and Custom Building Tube Guitar Amps

There is no volume number in the title of this book, it was the 1st. Personally, I bought it for completeness. I specifically wanted to have the ‘perfect effects loop’ information, although the loop itself is incorporated into a project in Volume 5. TUT also has some excellent material on reverbs and signal switching methods that is not explained in the other volumes. The first half of TUT introduces/overviews tube amp systems, power supplies & grounds then focuses on preamp and power amp modifications to commercial amplifiers (e.g. Marshall / Fender)… if you are totally new to tube electronics you may want to buy this 1st volume at the same time as Volume 3.

The Ultimate Tone Volume 6 - Timeless Tone Built for the Future Today

In many ways, Volume 6 is a continuation and extension of the material in Volume 4, where Power Scaling is introduced.  In Volume 6 a new ‘direct control’ version of Powerscaling is featured which was introduced in Vol 4 but flushed out with comprehensive circuits and applied to ’sag’ and sustain control as well in Vol 6.  The new scaling circuits have many advantages for a DIY builder like greater noise immunity and less sensitivity to layout, etc.

I applied the new DC Power Scaling to a Trainwreck clone project and was really impressed with the improvement in ‘playability’ at lower volumes… the unmodified Trainwreck Express circuit is just too loud for domestic use, needing to be cranked to get the sweet tones it is renowned for.

One of the chapters in Volume 6 is dedicated to the Dumble amplifiers… something I was really looking forward to since many of my hobby projects focus on those circuits.  I found this short chapter to be a good introduction to the overall architecture of the Dumble amps, written from the point of view of the evolution from the early modified standard amps that Alexander Dumble started out doing, but I felt the chapter fell short in discussing some of the more important subtleties of the later Dumble models.

Volume 6 also has lots of other material in it, including a great tutorial on designing really high output power amplifiers and a great chapter on high gain amplifier designs with real-world circuits referenced and detailed.

In Summary…

Kevin’s books have a very empirical approach. He encourages you to set aside convention in some instances or not be afraid to try combinations of tubes or even pulling tubes and in all cases clearly explains why it is o.k. and points out any reasons why it wouldn’t be o.k. All the examples in the books are very practical and he certainly has the DIYer in mind as he is writing.

Kevin’s body of work is truly encyclopedic in nature, and considering that, one feature sorely lacking from his books is any kind of indexing… this is aggravated by the fact that Kevin constantly refers to previous writings rather than repeat himself in a new volume, and it is very difficult to put your finger on the reference even with the other book in hand. Perhaps search engine technology, like Google’s ability to search protected content, could be put to good use in this case and provide a kind of ‘auto-index’ on the web of all of Kevin’s books without actually giving away the book itself. Or better yet, how about an e-book format of Kevin’s entire collection of TUT books… I think all of the e-book readers include searching capabilities… and Kevin’s hand-drawn schematics would probably scale adequately and be very readable on the e-paper displays these devices feature.

Meanwhile, how do you get Kevin’s books today? The best way to get the books is to directly order them from London Power Press. They now have a shopping cart on http://www.londonpower.com.

About the author: Mark Roberts blogs on DIY tube electronics at TubeNexus.com. He is avidly involved in guitar electronics as a hobby and dabbles in boutique effects pedals as a business with Cause & Effect Pedals. Please visit the TubeNexus Blog at http://tubenexus.com for more articles and book reviews about DIY Guitar Tube Amplifiers and Effect Electronics.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Douglas_Roberts

Author: Mark Douglas Roberts

Technorati Tags: fender guitar amplifiers

First and foremost, like good wine, a quality guitar can mature with age. Overall, the tone of the guitar will usually mellow, as the wood the instrument is constructed from continues to harden over time.

Scarcity is also a big factor when deciding if a guitar should be considered vintage or not. Certain manufacturers such as Martin, were famed for producing very short production runs of individual designs. As certain designs were found to age very well, the scarcity of the actual units produced made them instantly vintage.

For some models, such as the famed Les Paul Gold Top, it is the actual finish of the guitar, which makes them desirable. This particular model used bronze as part of the dye to turn the top of the guitar golden in color, and with age, the bronze content takes on a greenish tint.

For other models, such as the Fender Stratocaster, the vintage models date back to a certain era of the corporation which manufactured them, back to a time when manufacturing and quality control processes were deemed to be far better, this produces a superior instrument.

Lastly, we have short run, often termed “signature” guitars. These are often endorsed by a well-known musician, and will incorporate design concepts upon the advice of said musician. Fender in particular is noted for the number of signature series guitars they produce, and although not all of these can currently be considered vintage models, there is no doubt that they will eventually be seen as such.

An offshoot of the whole vintage guitar scene is that of vintage amplification. Certain amplifiers, such as the VOX AC30, and the Fender Bluesbreaker, along with many of the older Marshal amplifier heads and speaker cabinets, are noted for their particularly rich sound reproduction capabilities. Almost always, these amplifiers will use older tube-based circuitry, which give a much warmer sound. Although some of the early MOSFET amplifiers are also become desirable.

Many vintage guitars are to be found in the hands of collectors; quite often, these owners will not even be capable of playing the instrument with any great expertise. Instead, they take pleasure from owning a little piece of music history in the form of the instruments which produced all of those classic sounds which we still hear today.

Vintage guitars not only offer the musician a better playing experience, they also allow the owner to take loving care of a piece of history. Many of the vintage instruments we see today, have been entirely restored, at great expense, to make them look, sound and play as close to the original manufacturing specification as possible.

Learn Music Articles, tips and lessons on how to sing, play guitar, piano or band. Overcome stage fright. Write your own songs! Be a better musician. http://www.simplemusicsecrets.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Kernodle

Author: Bill Kernodle

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eBay is the answer! Yes, it’s true.

You can trust people on here, just look at their score on eBay and if it were in the 98%-99%, I’d say you were good to go. That’s what I trust anyway. Then you can click on their username and find out what items they have sold previously.

This way, if they say they are selling vintage fender guitars or Fender custom shop guitars, you can see if this is true.

The Selection Just Can’t Be Beat

Many stores only offer a handful of truly vintage Fender Strats. Not eBay. You’ll find Strat makes and models, even Fender Custom Shops, relics and Masterbuilt Stratocasters. Not bad huh? If you love Vintage Fender guitars but can’t afford one right now, check out the Fender Relics or Custom Shop guitars. PLUS, the Masterbuilt ones are incredible, right down to the original specks of that ‘57 Fender Stratocaster you’ve been eying.

Oh, and another tip: You don’t want to buy a Vintage Fender Strat or Vintage Fender Telecaster from a guy selling comic books, right? So pay attention to their quality score next to their name on the top right and click their user name to see what else they have sold. Good luck finding YOUR perfect guitar!

Lawton Chiles runs http://www.fenderguitarvault.com and highly recommends his FREE Tone report, full of famous guitarists amp and tone settings, plus their equipment detailed Get your free TONE report today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lawton_Chiles_IV

Author: Lawton Chiles IV

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Tom Delonge has always contributed a great guitar sound to Blink 182 that has become his signature. Lucky for you, creating a tone for your guitar Blink 182-style is fairly simple.

By taking some of Tom Delonge’s secrets and implementing your own tweaks, you can create a solid punk rock sound. Here are a few of Blink 182’s signature guitar secrets.

1. Use compression on your tone from a pedal or a rack piece.

When Blink 182 plays live, Delonge gets a good amount of attack on his guitar. A nice compression pedal will even your strumming and also boost your attack power a couple notches.

2. Shop for guitars with extra mid tone like Fenders.

Tom Delonge started his Blink 182 career playing Fender guitars because of their versatility of genres. For a similar sound, play either a Fender or another guitar that has a natural boost in its mid range.

3. Give the mid range on your amplifier a little boost.

Sometimes when guitarists are configuring the knobs on their amps or guitars they tend to cut out the mid range. Mid range is essential to a round guitar sound like Blink 182’s so give that knob a few clicks.

4. You don’t need amplifiers with too much distortion.

Even though amplifiers like Marshalls supply a huge amount of distortion, it’s not really what you should aim for with a Blink 182 guitar sound. Average distortion amplifiers like Fender, Mesa Boogie, and Orange supply smooth tones.

5. Keep your bass and high tone levels on the guitar amplifier around 50%.

A common mistake for beginning guitarists is to pull up the high and low ranges of the guitar amp while lowering the mid range substantially. To keep your tone meaty, you’ll find that you need a nearly even spectrum from all ranges.

6. Distortion pedals or rack pieces are not necessary.

Too much distortion can create ugly white noise that covers up your melodies and causes fans to not like you. Keep you tones pure like Blink 182.

7. Use a pure guitar sound without many effects or processors.

Tom Delonge has his moments when he’ll use a delay or reverb pedal for a certain section of a tune, but it’s tasteful and rare. Follow his practice and keep your effects to a minimum.

The goal to reach with getting a Blink 182 guitar sound is to find that balance between distortion and clean to give just enough bite without compromising the tone quality. Put your own personal touch on the mix after you execute these tips.

Author: Kyle Hoffman

Guitar Blink 182 - The Secrets To A Blink 182 Guitar Sound

Guitar Blink 182 - The Secrets To A Blink 182 Guitar Sound | ArticlesBase.com. Tom Delonge of Blink 182 is doing things to his guitar sound, but it might be difficult to figure out what he’s doing.

Guitar – Blink 182 – The Secrets to a Blink 182 Guitar Sound

great guitar sound to Blink 182 that has become his signature. Lucky for you, creating a tone for your guitar Blink 182-style is fairly simple. Read the original post: Guitar - Blink 182 - The Secrets to a Blink 182 Guitar Sound.

Guitar - Blink 182 - The Secrets to a Blink 182 Guitar Sound

Tom Delonge has always contributed a great guitar sound to Blink 182 that has become his signature. Lucky for you, creating a tone for your guitar Blink 182-style is fairly simple. By taking some of Tom Delonge’s secrets.

Technorati Tags: Blink 182 Guitar, blink 182 guitar lessons, fender guitar amplifiers

An electric guitar can have any number of a range of extra features, accessories and gadgets used to adjust, distort and affect the sound that it produces. But one item is an absolute necessity: no electric guitar can be performed or make any decent sound without an amplifier. A good quality amplifier can make a huge difference, and if you are looking to buy an electric guitar, or perhaps move on from a basic starter model, then a good quality and flexible amplifier unit to match the guitar will make all the difference. After all, it is the guitar which produces the signal, but the amplifier which makes the sound. It would be the same as considering a choir and the conductor. Both are important, but no matter how good the conductor, it is the choir which ultimately make the sound, and have the greatest impact on the eventual quality of sound heard.

Amplifiers that were created specifically for an instrument were first developed as part of the electric guitar development, and it was these instruments which first benefited from any kind of external amplification. These early units were developed in the 1930s, and it was the advent of more advanced electrics that enabled amplification units to be built that were both economic and of good quality. Of course, the amplification of guitars had been around for much longer, but simply for acoustic guitars, with microphones set up. The combination of electronic amplification units coupled to electric guitars gave rise to a whole new sound of music, originally popularised by the steel stung sound of the Hawaiian guitar.

Early amplifiers were fairly basic, and although they often had a range of controls, these didn’t provide a wide range of controls to improve sound quality. Generally the early amplifiers were very good at boosting the treble signal, but the bass notes were poor, and the response was slow. As these early models developed, extra features were included such as reverberation effects and tremolo units.

In fact, Fender introduced an amplification unit which included a tremolo effect, although through an error of misunderstanding this was labelled as ‘vibrato’, with the lever included on the Stratocaster guitar which actually produced the vibrato effect labelled as ‘tremolo’. These incorrect labels stuck, however, and today the most popular way of referring to the tremolo effect is through the word vibrato, and the vibrato effect is usually referred to as tremolo. This is why music written for electric guitar has these words used quite differently from music written for other instruments.

Many of these earlier models of amplifier could be reasonably easily overloaded, and some guitarists took to deliberately achieving this effect, creating a range of distortion effects. Indeed, it was Dave Davies, guitarist with the Kinks who first introduced a distortion effect which involved him connecting the output from one of his amplifiers into the input section of a second amplifier. This distortion effect created a unique, wailing sound, and was one which, whilst the designers at the time could never have imagined, was later introduced by many other performers and amplifier designers. Distortion effects today are so prevalent that it almost seems a requirement that a guitarist can produce such a sound within many genres of music.

Author: Victor Epand

Fender Guitar Amplifiers » Blog Archive » Electric Guitars

Amplifiers that were created specifically for an instrument were first developed as part of the electric guitar development, and it was these instruments which first benefited from any kind of external amplification.

Guitar Amps

A guitar amplifier is simply an electronic amplifier designed for use with an electric guitar. An electronic amplifier, in turn, is a piece of gear designed to increase energy and amplitude of a signal. In this case, that signal that is … Guitar amps have been around since the early 1930’s. In the 1940’s, Hawaiian music was all the rage and amplifiers were used primarily with the guitar Hawaiian lap steel guitar. Then in the mid 1950’s, thanks to the revolution of rock.

Investing in Vintage Electric Guitars

Decades ago, when vintage guitars were new, the technology to produce them was in its early stages and many of the electric pick-ups had to be hand-wound or if they were machine made, each was just a little different.

The Early Design Of The Electric Guitar

This was officially the first electric guitar, but falling short of those we see today. Although there have been used and popular right now, the first documented record an electric guitar that was used early in a public performance.

Technorati Tags: acoustic electric, electric guitars, fender guitar amplifiers

Most new guitarists aren’t sure of what kind of guitar they should buy when they decide to purchase. Myself, I spent months and thousands trying to find the right guitar. Here is a list of things to look at when trying to decide which guitar to choose.

Tone

This is probably the single most important thing to look at in a guitar. Whether you are playing electric or acoustic, country, rock, blues, or jazz, you need to have a tone that fits your musical genre. You wouldn’t want to play a guitar that is perfect for country music in a heavy metal band. Which guitars have the right tone for you?

Blues

If you are playing blues, you need a guitar that has a bluesy tone. That being said, there are a few guitars that are perfect for that style: Semi-acoustic electric guitars with “soapbox” humbuckers sound great, as do Fender Stratocasters. The other important thing to achieve a blues tone is your strings. In blues, the heavier the string, the better the sound. You can’t achieve the right sound using extra light gauge strings. They won’t have the resonance, the bottom end or the mid range of the heavier strings.

Also playing electric guitar blues, your amplifier will make a difference on your tone. If you are using a vintage amplifier, preferably tube amp, you will notice a BIG difference in the tone.

Country

Country music needs a brighter tone from the electric guitar. To get the brightest tones, it is best to use a guitar with single coil pickups. The two best guitars for this category are Fender Stratocasters and Fender Telecasters. Using a Tele, it is as easy as plugging in and playing really. On the Strat, there is a secret that a lot of guitarists don’t know that I am going to share with you.

A lot of Nashville guitarist call it the ‘Nashville Sound’. Simply put your toggle switch all the way to the bridge pickup. Then start sliding it back to the next position toward the neck. In between the bridge position and the second position, you will find a sweet spot. The switch will not be locked into place on either pickup but the sound is awesome. It takes only a minute to find it and when you do, the sound is incredible.

Again, the amplifier plays a big key on the sound of an electric guitar as well. A lot of Nashville musicians use a Peavey Classic VT/Series Tube amplifier or the newer Peavey Classic. Behringer also makes a great amplifier that is used in country music.

Jazz

For jazz guitarist, a good semi-acoustic electric guitar is almost vital. The pickups on these guitars are usually humbuckers. For tone, a medium gauge set of strings is suggested.

As far amplifiers go, just about any ‘natural’ sounding amplifier will work. My personal recommendations are Mesa Boogie, or Peavey. They recreate a good sound.

Rock

Last but not least, let’s look at rock and roll. Getting the right tone for rock and roll is tricky. Maybe you want a heavy sound that a standard 6 string can’t give you so you get a 7 string guitar. The best 7 string guitars are made by Ibanez. Since the conception in the late 80’s or early 90’s, Ibanez has perfected the tone from the instrument.

If you don’t want a 7 string but want that same tone, you can get the same tone from a 6 string using heavy gauge strings. The guitar should have humbucker pickups to get better tone as well. Guitars recommended for this are Gibson Les Pauls and Ibanez.

For a more modern top 40 rock style, the sound would vary. For the retro sounds heard in a lot of today’s alternative music, Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters are used. Sometimes, the Fender Jaguar is played as well. For the heavier sounds, you would need a guitar with the humbuckers and probably two of the best guitars for this would be the Gibson Les Paul and Paul Reed Smith.

To get the tone at the amplifier, it is important to have a good tube or solid state amplifier that can model a tube amp. Mesa Boogie has the leading edge on tone in rock music as does Marshall. Other good amplifiers are made by Peavey, Crate, Behringer, and Fender.

Playability

The way the instrument plays determines a lot on your happiness with it. You can have a guitar that makes the most beautiful sound but you hate to play it. It is said that the perfect guitar will be like an extension of your body. I have found this to be true with my number 1 axe. Whenever I pick it up and play, it feels like a natural extension of my body.

After you pick the guitar that you want for tone, play it and see if it frets right. If the strings are too high, adjust the torsion rod and intonation. This in itself could make the world of difference on your guitar. If you don’t know how to adjust these yourself, call your local guitar shop. It usually costs no more than $15 and takes about 30 minutes to do it.

Think about these things before purchasing your first or next guitar. It may save you a lot of headache and money in the long run.

Author: Scott Daugherty

Logitech’s New Wii Drums And Guitar Ignore Recession

I love me some Guitar Hero, but I’m not sure enough to upgrade to Logitech’s wireless drum and guitar for the Wii. Having the best is cool, but $US20… … Less than my rock band premium drum set thingy, though that also doubles as a midi drum set if you buy a controller for it. This doesn’t look like it has the connections for that. xblindx. September 10, 2009 at 6:14 AM. @andthepickles: i have a squire jazz bass and it’s pretty damn solid. GOD BLESS FENDER. xblindx.

Play Fast Guitar – Blast Your Way To A New Level Of Speed

Luckily, to play fast guitar, you don’t need a lot of beginning talent to get where you want to be musically. Take a look at these easy tips about improving your guitar playing speed. 1. Follow a guitar blog.

New Features of the Guitar Hero 5 Guitar

The Guitar Hero 5 guitar looks nearly identical to its older sibling — and it is identical in shape and size — but there are some key differences if you look closely. guitar-hero-guitars-gh5-vs-world-tour.

TG Daily - Why play a plastic guitar when you can have a real one?

They all play and sound different and if you were to ask any guitarist which one they’d rescue if the house was on fire they’d look at you as if you were asking them which of their kids to save. … I actually bought a new guitar (i had a cheap one from years back) and started lessons after playing guitar hero 3, it re-lit my intrest in playing. When i did get fustrated with the regular guitar i would pick up GH3 and re-insprire my self to continue through the pain.

Technorati Tags: fender guitar amplifiers, guitars, new guitar

So, you’re a guitarist that loves your punk rock, but not sure how to get guitar tone like the sound you’re looking for. Well, there are actually a few factors that come together when figuring how to get guitar tone you want.

Not only do you have to think of the guitar, but the amplifier, how it’s configured, and any pedals that may go along with it. Check out these tips on how to get guitar tone that will satisfy your punk rock edge.

* Use a guitar with a boost in its mid-range.

Most punk rock guitarists create a good tone starting from the instruments they own. Fenders and other “strat” style guitars supply a boost in their mid-range as opposed to Les Paul type guitars that boost the bass range.

* Play on amplifiers that supply less distortion.

Most of the time, punk rock guitar amplifiers are pretty modest with their distortion. How to get guitar tone you want may not be answered with a high-distortion Marshall amplifier. Check out the distortions on Fender or Mesa Boogie amplifiers for something smoother.

* Keep your distortion pure without the use of pedals to beef it up.

Punk rock players do not use a lot of pedals to alter their sound most of the time. Stay away from overdrive, delays, and metal-zone pedals to really keep your guitar tone authentic and thick.

* On your amplifier, boost the mid-level knob.

A lot of the tone for punk music is in how the mid-level is set on the amplifier. Keep your highs and lows floating around 50% and your mid-level closer to 75%.

* Try your sound with a compressor.

Although an overuse of pedals can alter a punk guitar sound a little too much, a good compressor can give it just the right amount of bite. Try hooking your guitar up to a compressor pedal or rack piece to give your guitar more attack on stage.

Figuring how to get guitar tone that you want should come easily when you really explore the spectrum of sounds that electric guitars and their gear have to offer. The main goal however, is to arrive at a guitar style that suits your personality and helps create your signature sound.

Author: Kyle Hoffman

Guitar Learning made EASY: Get POD Farm Free

POD Farm plug-in delivers industry-standard POD® tone to any DAW (digital audio workstation). It provides a comprehensive collection of world-class models inspired by cherished vintage and modern gear. Featured are 42 guitar amps.

25th= Greatest guitar ever made. - Ernie Ball Forums

Today I took a ride up to Guitar Center, and low and behold, on the wall was a 25th with the SICKEST top I’ve ever seen on a guitar. It was like a. … I plugged it into a Dual Rectifier, and without any tweaking, I was in tone heaven. The sound and sustain was unbelievable, it sounded better than my JP . It was so warm and full, it sounded amazing for rock and metal. The neck is awesome too, …. I hope you can get one someday. The 25th is indeed a fantastic guitar!

How To Guitar Tune: How to Get Guitar Tone You Want Without Scooping

Learn how to tune your guitar plus any other tips and skills you might need.

Excellent Line 6 guitar amplifier plug-in

Get the tones you need for pro-sounding recordings. For FREE! POD Farm delivers industry-standard POD® tone to any DAW. Its comprehensive collection of immortal guitar amps, bass amps, stompboxes, studio effects and preamps

Technorati Tags: electric guitar, fender guitar amplifiers, how to get guitar sound

Blink 182 has always had a great signature guitar sound thanks to Tom Delonge. His tastes in a guitar sound are really quite simple and don’t require much tampering to achieve it either.

Finding a good sound for yourself can really make the difference between how well you can control your own instrument. Follow these 7 tips to get a distorted guitar sound similar to Blink 182’s Tom Delonge.

1. Play a Fender or other similar mid-tone-dominant guitar.

Tom Delonge is known for playing fender guitars throughout his career. They’re cheap, easy to learn, and provide lots of mid-tone. If you don’t want a fender, other mid-tone dominant guitars can provide a similar punk rock sound.

2. Stay away from high-distortion amplifiers.

Marshall amplifiers have been the masters of distortion for years and almost everyone uses them. However, they provide a little too much distortion for something that Blink 182 would use. Use a mid-level distortion or country-style amplifier like Fender or Mesa Boogie.

3. Don’t use metal-zone or other types of distortion pedals.

Again, too much distortion can ruin a good guitar tone. Metal-zone pedals provide lots of white noise and aren’t suitable for those clean tones that Tom Delonge creates in each Blink 182 song.

4. Keep your guitar effects to a minimum.

Blink 182 doesn’t use a lot of effects on their guitars, yet. If you want to play by the book, turn down your reverbs and put away your delays. All you’ll need is your simple tone of a guitar and amplifier.

5. Don’t “scoop the levels” on the amplifier.

“Scooping the levels” on your amplifier means you’re boosting the high and low ends while pulling the mid-range way down. This is never a good thing to do. With experience, you’ll begin to realize how important it is to keep everything relatively close.

6. Use an adequate amount of mid-range on your amplifier.

Tom Delonge’s guitar tone is very mid-range based. His amplifier doesn’t have much high-end and his guitar isn’t a metal axe of any kind either. Use that mid-range knob to boost your tone into a more punk feel.

7. Use a high-compression pedal.

Have you noticed how much awesome attack that Delonge gets on his strumming when Blink 182 plays live? That’s probably due to a compression pedal. A nice compression pedal can really kick the power of your guitar up a couple notches.

Finding a well-rounded guitar tone is difficult to do. Blink 182 has a very nice balance between a clean and distorted tone to give just enough edge to their songs. Put these tips into effect and make sure to use your own personal touch on the mix.

Author: Kyle Hoffman

Guitar – Blink 182 – The Secrets to a Blink 182 Guitar Sound

Tom Delonge has always contributed a great guitar sound to Blink 182 that has become his signature. Lucky for you, creating a tone for your guitar Blink 182-style is fairly simple. Read the original post: Guitar - Blink 182 -.

Guitar Blink 182 - The Secrets To A Blink 182 Guitar Sound

Guitar Blink 182 - The Secrets To A Blink 182 Guitar Sound | ArticlesBase.com. Tom Delonge of Blink 182 is doing things to his guitar sound, but it might be difficult to figure out what he’s doing.

Tom DeLonge Interview with Guitar Center

Blink182fans.nl The site for blink-182 fans since 2003. All about Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker & Tom Delonge.

182 The Small Things: Blink 182 Guitar - 7 Tips to Get That Blink

Blink 182 doesn’t use a lot of effects on their guitars, yet. If you want to play by the book, turn down your reverbs and put away your delays. All you’ll need is your simple tone of a guitar and amplifier.

Technorati Tags: Blink 182 Guitar, blink 182 guitar lessons, fender guitar amplifiers