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| Guitar |
| 09.03.07 (1:24 am) [edit] |
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Guitar
The guitar is a musical instrument with very old roots, used in a wide range of musical styles, and it is also a solo classical instrument. It is predictable as one of the primary instruments in blues, country, flamenco, rock music and many forms of pop. The guitar generally has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, and twelve string guitars also exist. Guitars are made and repair by luthiers. Guitars may be played acoustically or they may rely on an amplifier that usually allows for electronic manipulation of tone. The electric guitar was introduced in the 20th century and continues to have a profound influence on popular culture.
Electric guitars
Electric guitars can have solid, semi-hollow, or hollow body, and create little sound without amplification. Electromagnetic pickups convert the shaking of the steel strings into electrical signals which are fed to an amplifier through a cable or radio transmitter. The sound is frequently modified by other electronic policy or the natural distortion of valves in the amplifier.
There are two main types of pickup: single coil and double coil, each of which can be passive or active. The electric guitar is used extensively in jazz, blues and rock and roll, and was commercialized by Gibson together with Les Paul and independently by Leo Fender of Fender Music. The inferior fretboard action and its electrical amplification lend the electric guitar to some techniques which are less frequently used on acoustic guitars. These techniques include tapping, extensive use of legato through pull-offs and hammer-ones (also known as slurs in the traditional Classical genre), pinch harmonics, volume swells and use of a Tremolo arm or effects pedals. Seven-string solid body electric guitars were developed in the 1980s. right through the late 80's and 90's the seven strings was popularized by the creation of the Ibanez Jem. The Jem was developed by Ibanez with close specifications and a specific feel that Steve Vai helped develop and master. Vai popularized the seven string and the seven string is heard in much of the rock music these days (earlier in jazz) to achieve a much darker sound through extending the lower end of the guitar's range. They are used today by players such as James "Munky" Shaffer, Dave Weiner, John Petrucci, Jeff Loomis, Steve Smyth, and Steve Vai. Meshuggah, Dino Cazares, Rusty Cooley & Charlie Hunter go a step further, using an 8 string guitar with two extra low strings. Although the most commonly found 7 string is the variety in which there is one low B string, Roger McGuinn (Of Byrds/Rickenbacker Fame) has popularized a variety in which an octave G string is paired with the regular G string as on a 12 string guitar, allowing him to incorporate chiming 12 string elements in standard 6 string playing. Ibanez makes many varieties of electric 7 strings.
However, the most common method of achieving a darker, deeper sound is to tune the 6th string (E) to a low D, known as a 'drop D tuning'. Many of today's 'Dark Metal' and 'Nu Metal' bands use this tuning to add extra heaviness to their sound. Devin Townsend uses an 'open G' tuning to achieve his particular heavy sound. Eddie Van Halen sometimes uses a device known as a 'D Tuna,' the patent for which he owns. It is a small lever, attached to the fine tuner of the 6th string on a Floyd Rose tremolo, which allows him to easily drop that string's tuning to a D.
The electric bass guitar is similar in tuning to the traditional double bass viol. Hybrids of acoustic and electric guitars are also common. There are also more exotic varieties, such as guitars with two or three[7] necks, all manner of alternate string arrangements, fretless fingerboards (used almost exclusively on bass guitars, meant to emulate the sound of a stand-up bass), 5.1 surround guitar, and such.
Some electric guitar and electric bass guitar models feature piezoelectric pickups, which function as small microphones to provide a sound closer to that of an acoustic guitar with the flip of a switch or knob, rather than switching guitars.
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