Buying a new instrument is one of the most important periods in the musical life of a guitarist. Guitar is not a cheap pleasure. She will serve you more than one year. Therefore, the choice must be approached very carefully. In this article we will discuss what characteristics you should pay attention to, and how they will affect the sound of an electric guitar.
Body shape
To begin with, it catches the eye in the first place - with the type of case. The sound does not depend on it, but the convenience of the game depends. Maybe, Flying V or Randy Rhoads They look cool, but sitting on it is not very comfortable. Decide why you need a tool.
For performances on stage? Then you can move convenience to the background and think about your image. For rehearsals, homework and sound recordings? Comfort and sound come first.
The most universal is the form Stratocaster. It is convenient to play on it and standing and sitting. It fits perfectly into the style of any direction - from neoclassic to Black Metal. And there is always a choice to choose from. The lines of such guitars are in each manufacturer. If you choose your first tool - do not hesitate, take Stratocaster.
Electric Guitar Material
First of all, the sound of the guitar depends on the tree from which it is made. Each type of wood has not only a unique appearance, but also its own "voice". And the weight of the instrument and its price depend on the material.
- Alder (Alder) - the most common material. Light wood with balanced sound at all frequencies. An ideal choice for those who have not decided on the style.
- Poplar (Poplar) - The characteristics are similar to alder, but much easier.
- Linden (Basswood) - gives a very bright lower middle. Perfect for heavy music.
- Ash (Ash) - heavy tree. Gives a bright upper middle and high sustain (duration of the note). Good for blues, jazz and funk.
- Maple (Maple) - heavy material with good "tops", but weak "bottoms". Has the highest sustain.
- The Red tree (Mahogany) - an expensive heavy tree, much loved by Gibson. Gives an amazing middle, but a little weak "top".
Most of all, the sound is influenced by the deck (body). The material of the neck and the lining on it also contributes to it, but it is very insignificant. Beginner musicians can not pay attention to it.
Neck mount
Note Duration - Sustain - A very important characteristic for an electric guitar. Especially if you are going to work closely with bands and vibratto. Rapid attenuation of the sound can spoil your music.
This indicator directly depends on the point where the neck connects to the tool body. Guitar makers use 3 mounting methods:
- With the help of bolts (Bolt-on) - The easiest, cheapest and most common way. It has a minimum fit and rigidity, and therefore the weakest sustain. Plus, this design - easy to replace the neck when it breaks.
- Glued in (Set-In, Glued) The neck is attached to the deck using epoxy resin. Provides excellent rigidity of a design that guarantees longer sounding.
- Through bar (Neck-Through) passes through the whole body and is part of it. This is the most expensive type of attachment. It occurs infrequently, mainly in the exclusive artisan tools. With such a connection, the fretboard actively participates in resonating, therefore its material greatly influences the sound of the guitar. Has the highest sustain. In case of trouble, repairing such a tool is almost impossible.
If you are willing to spend more than a thousand dollars on a tool - look for Neck-Through. You can even used y. With such a guitar, you do not want to part after 10 years of playing together.
When choosing an electric guitar with a neck on the bolts, always pay attention to the tight fit. There will see gaps and irregularities - safely pass by. You won't get a good sound here. It should be noted that the quality made bolted neck will be slightly worse than glued.
Sound pickups
Here we come to the most interesting part of the tool. That pickups provide the power of an electric guitar, the readability of its notes. Poor electronics creates a background that spoils all the music, mixes notes into a "mess", reducing the readability of the melody. Along with the body material, the sounds also affect the timbre of the sound.
On modern guitars you can see 3 types of pickups:
- Single (Single) - Pickup, which is based on 1 coil. It better captures the vibration of the strings, due to which the sound is brighter. Minus single - high background. With overload, playing it is very uncomfortable.
- Humbucker (Humbucker) - 2 coils included in antiphase. Less fonit, but it sounds more "dry." Perfectly shows itself when playing with distortion and overdrive.
- Humbucker with cut-off coil - expensive transformers pickups. They have a switch, so you can turn Hamkaber into a single during the game.
Both types of pickups can be either passiveso and active. Active battery-powered, reduce noise, increase sustain and output loudness. But their sound is less lively, as the guitarists like to say, plastic. In some kind of music (Death metal) it fits well, in another (Funk, folk) - not so much.
The sound depends not only on the pickup model, but also on its location. Placed near tailpiece (Bridge) and near neck (Neck) humbucker or single will give completely different sounds.
Now about the choice. Singles cheap guitars immediately. They sound awful and very fonit. A budget humbucker is better than a budget single. If finances allow, look for pickups with cut-off coils - they are very convenient. Guitarists who are going to play a lot on a pure sound, it would be nice to have at least 1 single. Who needs a "fat" sound with overload - that one should look for humbuckers.
Mensura and Strings
Different types of strings and their effect on sound are described in this article. Strings - consumable material. You still change them in a month, so do not dwell too much.
And here it is worth paying attention to the working length of the string - the scale. The most common are 25.5 and 24.75 inch scales. The greater the length - the more comfortable it will be to play with thick strings. This is very important if you are going to play on low pitch.
It is impossible to explain all the nuances in one article. You need to listen to different guitars and combine different pickups to figure out which combination suits you personally. It is unlikely that you will find 2 instruments that will sound identical. Try playing the guitar, listen to how the professionals play it. Connect different pedals to it - in any music store of this good is always in abundance. Only this way you can choose an electric guitar with which you will be comfortable.
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