Guitar Lesson : Acoustic Guitar Parts
Acoustic Guitar Parts
Here is a picture of a typical acoustic guitar with its parts marked. Scroll down for detailed information on the acoustic guitars parts.
There are three main sections zoomed in the picture; the Headstock, the Neck, and the Body. The headstock holds the Tuner Posts around which the strings are wrapped and terminated. The Tuners are knobs that increase or decrease the tension on the string wrapped around the tuner posts (tuning the sound made by the strings). Note that some acoustic guitars may have different looking tuners, and some may even have all six tuner keys on the same side. Even though they may look different, they work in the same manner. The Nut guides the strings to the tuner posts and maintains the height of the strings. The length of the Neck depends on the scale of the guitar and the number of frets it has. The back of the neck could be "C" shaped, or "V" shaped (sideways < if you compare it to the letter C). The front of the neck is the Fingerboard or Fretboard, that contains the Frets embedded in notches along its surface. The Strings run down the neck over the frets. The height of the strings over the frets is called the Action; if the action is too high the strings are harder to press down, if the action is too low the strings may rattle against the frets muffling the notes. The neck usually has "dot" markers on the top and the side facing the player, showing the position of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (which has two dots) and 15th fret.
On standard acoustic guitars, the large body makes it difficult to use any frets above the 12th fret. Some guitar (some call it a GAT) s have a Cutaway section to allow your hands to reach the 14th fret easily, however this does affect the sound as it disrupts the shape of the guitar. You strum (or pick) the strings over the Soundhole, which is where the vibrations from the strings are acoustically reflected out providing the sound from the instrument. Acoustic-electric guitars have an Pickup inside the soundhole, note that you can also buy add-on acoustic pickups and turn any acoustic guitar into an acoustic-electric. Most acoustic guitars have a Pick Guard, that protects the finish on the top of the guitar body from mis-directed picking. The strings terminate in the Saddle which is glued onto the top of the guitar body. The Bridge raises the strings and establishes the Action of the guitar. Note most acoustic guitars have "fixed" bridges, the only way to lower the action is to shave or cut down the saddle (or replace the bridge) - there is no way raise the action. Some newer models provide adjustable bridges simliar to electric guitars.
Note that , you know, as an acoustic guitar ages, a pronounced "belly" or bump will appear on the top of the body, just below the saddle. Since the strings are constantly pulling on the saddle, over time and with humidity changes the wood will begin to bow where the pressure is being applied. There are "ribs" or "struts" inside the body to prevent the saddle from being ripped out, so a small belly is perfectly normal as the guitar (normally having six strings) is broken in. If the belly gets too large you will have to have the ribs inside the top repaired, they may have popped out or broken. Many musicians claim the belly improves the sound of the guitar, which may contribute to the theory that acoustic guitars sound better as they grow older.
Guitar Types<<<Previous
So you want guitar lessons, start with Electric Guitar Effects
Electric Guitar Effects
When Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in the 1950's - blues musicians immediately embraced the new contraption. Since electric guitars require an amplifier (amp) to produce the sound, it is an easy matter to electronically alter the signal to change the sound. They recognized the possibilities of being able to make funky sounds with it. Click for Electric Guitar Types information. One of the first "effects" to be invented was the Reverb effect, essentially an electronic echo that like diminishes rapidly. Many guitar amps today have reverb built in, it is a simple and elegant sound effect that adds a warmth to the guitar sound. Effects for electric guitars are usually created by plug-in devices, these usually take the form of a "Pedal" (as they are stomped on to activate the effect, or control it). Rock and metal guitarists often use several effects pedals connected in a daisy-chain. Newer models of effects pedals are computerized (digital) and a single device can create all possible variations of effects by itself.
All present western music (rock, jazz, R&B, rap, etc) has evolved from blues, and the ability to alter the sounds of an electric guitar have been passed on to each new genre. Heavy metal, for example, almost exclusively uses the Distortion effect with electric guitars. The distortion effect does exactly what its name suggests, it distorts the original guitar sound and produces a completely new sound - bordering on screeching. Jimi Hendrix has created mind bending wails from his guitar with distortion. Many amps today have distortion effects built in, it is a very popular effect used in rock and blues music. While many variations of distortion exist, most are are "Gain" control effects. Two controls, "Pre-Gain" and "Post-Gain", alter the sound on the pre and post edge of the sound wave. This can create sounds ranging from a flat "thunk" (bluesy), to a screeching "wail" (metal).
The Wah Wah effect was made popular during the sixties by bands such as Cream. The Wah Wah effect is activated by the guitarist's foot (by rocking the effect pedal), and alters the tone of the sound (going from low treble to high treble) - this creates a voice-like wah-wah-wah effect. New digital wah wah effects devices also have "Auto Wah", in which no pedal pressing is required - the computer in the device automatically varies the sound for you. Some popular rock songs use a wah wah pedal, but it is kept stationary in halfway position - this makes a unique funky sound. Many other effects are also available; such as producing an acoustic guitar sound from an electric guitar pickups, signal duplication (sounds like two guitars are playing), rotating speaker modelling (mimics rotating cone speakers used by some musicians), and many more effects. Electric Guitar Types<<<Previous
Guitar Lesson : Acoustic Guitar Parts
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