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US $385.00
The Basics Of An Electric Guitar
Electric guitars are musical instruments that give off a sound through vibrating strings that are converted to electrical currents through the pickups and then amplified. The first electric guitars were produced in the 1930s and consisted hollow-arch top acoustic guitars with electromagnetic transducers attached. The modern 'solid-body' electric guitar made its debut in the 1940s with the invention of the Fender by Les Paul.
The BodyThe standard electric guitar design has a solid wood body that has mounted pickups and controls (although some do have resonance chambers that are semi-hollow). The type of wood used in the body's construction is just as important as that of an acoustic guitar (acoustic guitars use wooden soundboards, which is the wood of the body through which sound is vibrated). Note: the right handed and left handed acoustic electric guitar both use soundboards in their sound reproduction. The electric guitar's body wood will establish the resonation. Dense woods produce rich sounds, such as ash, mahogany, and alder.
BarA metal bar attached to the bridge varies the string tension be moving the bridge backwards and forwards. This bar is also known as the Tremolo, Whammy, Vibrato, or Wang Bar.
Fingerboard and NeckMaple-wood is the standard material used in the electric guitar's neck construction. The fret or fingerboard is usually made of maple or rosewood is attached to the front of the neck. When the musician wishes to change the pitch of the sound, he or she will press the strings into the fingerboard which changes the vibrating-length. Bright pitches come from maple fingerboards. Timbres that are dark are produced by rosewood fingerboards.
The PickupsThe 'voice' of the electric guitar comes from the pickups. These are magnets wrapped in wire and their purpose is to capture the vibration of the strings and convert them to an electrical signal that can be amplified. Each string vibration disrupts the pickup's magnetic field, which creates the electrical current.
Pickups fall into two basic categories:
The Single Coil PickupSingle coil pickups consist of only one coil and they tend to create a bright sound. The drawback to using a single coil pickup is that it is susceptible to having a background 'hum.' Ambient sound and signal created by electronics that is caused by changes in the magnetic flux of the pickup is the root cause of this hum.
Humbucker PickupsBecause of the hum distortion of the single coil pickup, the Humbucker, or dual coil, pickup was created. These pickups have a thick sound and consist of two coils wound in a mirror image of each other. The polarity is opposed within the six magnetic-coils. All of this cancels out the ambient sound or hum before it is amplified. Some guitars have the option of switching between single coil and Humbucker.
The Guitar StringsGuitar strings can produce various sounds based upon the combinations of alloys, windings, and gauges. Electric guitar strings are made of metal and are strung as such: high E, B, G, D, A, low E. The left handed electric guitar is strung the exact opposite.
The Guitar String AlloysBy far the most commonly used, steel strings have a brilliant tone with immense volume and incredible sustainability. Nickel plated strings are composed of stainless steel that is plated with nickel. They are subdued in tone. Nickel strings are made entirely of nickel and are the mainstay of rhythm and jazz musicians because of their less vibrant, round sound.
The Guitar String's GaugeThe string's gauge refers to its thickness. Thin gauge is easier to bend and is preferred by lead guitarists because they can be played fast. The medium gauge stings create great volume and are ideal for strummers and pickers. Full sound can be had with heavy gauge strings but they can be rather hard to play.
The String's WindingThe winding of the string comes in four different styles: flat, ground, round, and any of the other three but nylon taped. Fast guitarists usually prefer not to use the most common winding because round windings tend to 'grab' the fingers. Flat windings, also known as ribbon strings, have a smooth, oily surface and are the pride and joy of fast guitarists that like subdued tones. Only electric bass guitars have ground windings. Ground windings are round wound with a machine polish. Any of these three windings can be coated with nylon to produce a sound like that of an acoustic bass guitar. This is the definition of 'nylon taped.'
Finding an electric guitar for sale should cause the prospective buyer to do his or her homework to determine if the instrument is the right buy based upon the comfort level and the type of music that will be played. An electric guitar's sonic character varies due to the diverse combinations of string, wood, and pickups.
Can somebody explain to me the difference between light and heavy gauge bass strings?
I play an Ibanez GSR200.. i dont think that really matters. But I'm just wondering what the difference between light, medium, and heavy guage is. Right now I'm playing D'addario EXL170 Nickel Wound Regular Light Guage (.045, .065, .080, .100) strings. What's the difference in sound?
A heavier string, played by strong hands, will give more sustain.
A lighter string will allow for more slap string sounds and generally will yield a less sustained but more immediately bright sound.
The choice of wound and unwound is significant as well. An unwound string will allow you to slide without making undue noise... so if the bass playing required a lot of large slide moves, that would be the way to go.
Really its a combined matter of style and personal choice.
My preference would depend on the kind of music I was playing at a given gig.
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