Common Fallacies about Guitars

Everyone who loves to listen to music dreams of playing the guitar, even if they never do. Those who do take a giant leap towards becoming professional musicians.Guitars can help people express themselves. People have a lot of misconceptions about playing a guitar.Here is the myths and realities about guitar playing:

Myth: You should learn on an acoustic guitar.
Reality: It’s better to start on an electric guitar because it’s easier to play, has lighter strings, lower action, and a smaller neck. It’s also more interesting for younger players as you can add distortion and effects and keep the learner more interested in the process.

Myth: The best way to ‘get’ a famous player’s sound is buy a pedal that has player presets.
Reality: Although some multi effects DO have some famous presets, it is far better to learn the correct technique to make the sound rather than trying to copy it. Musicians make good sounds because of their talent. You hardly ever find these guys using digital effects

Myth: You have to have a big amp to get a big sound
Reality: Some of the most huge sounds that have been recorded have been done with smaller amps10 -20 watt, tube cranked up loud. Many famous bands have stacks of amps on stage that are empty of speakers and a small amp hidden behind the stack that is mic’d up into the PA system. Some players are also using digital recreations (POD, Digitech) of their amps in the studio but most purist players still use a real amp and analogue pedals.

Myth: You should use lots of ‘string wrap or turns’ around the machine (tuning) head to get stable tuning.
Reality: Although B.B. King does use this method, a better way is to have about 3  ‘turns’ of string on the machine head and about 3-4 turns on the higher strings. However, the best way is to have NO turns of string at all and instead use locking machine heads such as spertzel or grover machine heads where the string is literally locked into place without any string wrap.

Myth: Single coil pick-ups sound the best but they are too noisy.
Reality: While this may be true, there are many ways around this problem. The best way to do this is to use a hum canceling single coil pickup.” The other way is to put a “dummy load” pickup in the guitar i.e. a pick up that is wired in the guitar (sometimes under the scratch plate of a strat guitar) but does not produce any sound, it just cancels the hum and noise.

Myth: Cheap cables are just as good as expensive ones and I save money.
Reality: It is way better to buy a good quality cable that has, quite often, a good guarantee. It will last longer and there will be a big difference quality, which will produce better sounds. It's no good having a great guitar but poor quaility cable. It's like buying an expensive car and using cheap tires. Get the best cables you can purchase. Quite often you end up buying one good cable instead of cheap ones every 6 months, making this a much cheaper long term investment.

Myth: There is nothing you can do about strings rusting and losing their tone so may as well buy cheap ones or no name brands.
Reality: There are several ways to make your strings last longer. The simplest method is to always clean your strings after playing with a lint free cloth such as a handkerchief and use a string product such as finger ease or fast fret, which coats the string with a protective chemical.

The other way is to use long life strings, which Teflon coating to prevent string corrosion and loss of tone. These guitar strings last much longer and break much less often.

There are a lot of myths about learning the guitar. Hopefully this article convinced you they aren't right and you can play on a new or used guitars, acoustic or electric and still have a good time with the guitar.

Commong Fallacies People Have About Learning a Guitar

Everyone loves music and dreasm of playing a guitar. Those who do take a giant leap towards becoming professional musicians.Guitars are a great way to relax. However, people have many wrong ideas about how to learn to play a guitar.Here are commons myths about playing the guitar and why they are wrong:

Myth: You should learn on an acoustic guitar.
Reality: It’s better to start on an electric guitar because it’s easier to play, has lighter strings, lower action, and a smaller neck. It’s also more interesting for younger players as you can add distortion and effects and keep the learner more interested in the process.

Myth: The best way to ‘get’ a famous player’s sound is buy a pedal that has player presets.
Reality: Although some multi effects DO have some famous presets, it is far better to learn the correct technique to make the sound rather than trying to copy it. Musicians make good sounds because of their talent. Rarely do these guys use digital effects to create their sounds

Myth: You have to have a big amp to get a big sound
Reality: Some of the most huge sounds that have been recorded have been done with smaller amps10 -20 watt, tube cranked up loud. Many famous bands have stacks of amps on stage that are empty of speakers and a small amp hidden behind the stack that is mic’d up into the PA system. Some players are also using digital recreations (POD, Digitech) of their amps in the studio but most purist players still use a real amp and analogue pedals.

Myth: You should use lots of ‘string wrap or turns’ around the machine (tuning) head to get stable tuning.
Reality: Although B.B. King does use this method, a better way is to have about 3  ‘turns’ of string on the machine head and about 3-4 turns on the higher strings. However, the best way is to have NO turns of string at all and instead use locking machine heads such as spertzel or grover machine heads where the string is literally locked into place without any string wrap.

Myth: Single coil pick-ups sound the best but they are too noisy.
Reality: While this may be true, there are many ways around this problem. The best way to do this is to use a hum canceling single coil pickup.” The other way is to put a “dummy load” pickup in the guitar i.e. a pick up that is wired in the guitar (sometimes under the scratch plate of a strat guitar) but does not produce any sound, it just cancels the hum and noise.

Myth: Cheap cables are just as good as expensive ones and I save money.
Reality: It is way better to buy a good quality cable that has, quite often, a good guarantee. It will last longer and there will be a big difference quality, which will produce better sounds. It is useless to get a good guitar and amp set up but then use a low quality cable. It's like buying an expensive car and using cheap tires. Purchase the best cable you can. Quite often you end up buying one good cable instead of cheap ones every 6 months, making this a much cheaper long term investment.

Myth: There is nothing you can do about strings rusting and losing their tone so may as well buy cheap ones or no name brands.
Reality: There are several ways to make your strings last longer. The simplest method is to always clean your strings after playing with a lint free cloth such as a handkerchief and use a string product such as finger ease or fast fret, which coats the string with a protective chemical.

Products that coat strings in teflon help prevent string corrosion and tone loss. These guitar strings last much longer and break much less often.

There are a lot of myths about playing the guitar. Hopefully this article convinced you they aren't right and you can play on a new or used guitars, acoustic or electric and still have a good time with the guitar.

My Highschool Band's First Time

When I was 14 years old, I was in a band (I had a used guitar) as we all like to think we were, even if we couldn’t really play anything. We rehearsed once a week and made a lot of nolse rather than music!! We were enthusiastic and loved the notion that we were now rock stars.”

We never really thought about gigs or anything serious, we just plodded along rehearsing in my mates lounge with our 10 watt amps when his parents were at work and we were skipping school. We had no idea how bad we were and I thought I could play anything, anytime, anywhere. Nobday was aware that we had to play in a key or in some sort of scale!! I just played any music!!!

Eventually, we found our way to the year 10 leaver’s dinner/social at the local memorial hall. The enterainment was always live back then. DJs didn’t really exist (yes, it was that long ago!) and so bands were hired. By some miracle, we got to be that band.

The band that was performing was rather lame, performing songs not really suited for a bunch of hormonally challenged 14 – 15 year old youths. In fact, they reminded me of the scene in the “American pie” movie where the band is doing an awful version of ‘don’t you forget about me’ and all the kids are bored.

A few of friends at school knew my friends and I had ‘a bit of a band going” and suggested we get up and play. All of a sudden our self assurance disappeared and we got all shy. We’re not ready we said. We just jam for fun. Fright entered all of us and none of us wanted to go. 

However, next thing we know, the “tough boys” who played football and were athletic heroes came over and told us we should play. We didn't want to play but they insisted. We pushed back. Then they said "get on stage or we will beat you up.".” It appeared we didn’t have a choice.

So with the prospect of our heads being smashed heads and loss of any degree of cool we ever thought we had, we trundled toward the stage. It never feels right playing someone else's instruments- it is like wearing someone elses's underwear!!! But we got up there any way, ready to be booed off the stage and into the dark recesses of the hall. Everyone was singing and dancing and yelling while we played. Once we got on stage, it wasn't so bad. No one really seemed to mind. Everybody loved it. We kept going and going. The tough boys applauded and the girls smiled. My guitar solos still not in any scale or key but hey, there we were a real band on a real stage!! We were suddenly too cool for school and the “it” thing at school.

What we thought was hell turned out to be heaven and we ended up getting a gig with the other band. It was the start of a long musical career that still continues to this day.

Great Unknown Guitar Legends

Classic Rock is a term used to describe the rock bands that came out of the 1970s and have become legends and hence classics.”

Most of the musicians were very original and have become a big influence on subsequent generations. No matter what era you were born in, almost any band you listen to has been influenced by artists and bands from the 1970s. Moreover, even if you are only in your teens and you think your favourite band is “totally original,” chances are they were influenced by a musician or group from that era, even if they don’t consciously know it.

This was a ground breaking time for rock. Nothing was copied or rehashed and everyone had their own sound. The 1970s represented a culmination and expansion of sounds that were experimented on in the 1960s. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Free, Allman Brothers, Queen, Black Sabbath, Cream, David Bowie, Status Quo are all examples of acts who made their start in the 60’s but found their sound and style in the 70’s, and therefore gave rise to many other bands who then added their own flavour to these styles. All of these acts were guitar legends.

Lesser known bands such as Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Grand Funk Railroad, Scorpions (who became quite huge in the 80’s), and Thin Lizzy are worthy of mentions but would not necessarily legends, where as other acts such as Queen became absolutely huge and remain so to this day.

It is the same with other rock bands. While everyone knows the greats like Clapton, or Hendrix, or Jimmy Page, there are plenty of other musicians who deserve to be legends. Two such examples are Richie Blackmore from Deep purple and Michael Schenker from UFO. Michael Schenkar has influenced many people but most people do not know who he is because they only know his more famous contemporaries.

I could go on for hours about classic rock and there are hundreds of excellent albums that are still available today but some songs and albums deserve special mention for their guitar prowess and are worth your time to have at least a quick listen. Here’s a quick list of four lesser known gems of classic musical genius that are worth a listen:

Deep purple:
Guitarist: Richie Blackmore:
Choice albums:  Made in Japan and Deep Purple in Rock
Songs: Highway Star, Child in Time.
Some of the most blistering guitar work you will ever hear recorded in the early 70’s and held the Guinness Book of Records title as the loudest recording ever made!

UFO:
Guitarist: Michael Schenker.
Choice Albums: Phenomenon and Force It.
Songs: Rock Bottom
Only 18 when it was recorded, he produced one of the most exciting and dynamic solos ever!

FREE: (later to become” bad company” another excellent act!!)
Guitarist Paul Kossof
Album: Best of Free.
Songs: All Right Now, Fire and Water, Mr. Big [live]
It had a simplistic and slow natural style!!! A Les Paul plugged straight into a marshal, no pedals and no tricks.

WISHBONE ASH:
Guitarists: Andy Powell & Ted Turner.
Choice albums: Argus and There’s The Rub.
Excellent melody and twin harmony lead breaks, copied by many acts since! Very complex arrangements.

How to Change Guitar Strings

Guitar Strings should be changed whenever they start to look or feel rusty, start breaking, lose their tone and sound, or look dull. It is difficult to know how long strings will last as factors such as climate, how often (or not) you play your guitar, whether you are working in a band or just playing at home, all effect the longevity of your strings. In general, when playing a full night, guitar strings will only last about 6 gigs. After that, you risk the embarrassment of snapping a string during one of your glorious solos.

When changing strings leave enough slack to ensure that there is going to be 3 – 5 turns of string around the tuning head. Do no not use too many turns or wraps as this leads to tuning instability and constant string stretching. Make sure you stretch the strings with care. Keep pulling and streching the guitar string while you are connected to your tuner. Remember that nylon strings will always take a great deal of stretching to remain in tune.

There are many interesting products which can assist in tuning stability and make changing strings easy. Two good ones are the Spertzel or Grover locking machine heads. They don't require turns or wraps as they lock the string into the head.

A good idea on electric guitars with tremelo bridges such Floyd Rose types and also on Gibson style ‘tune o matic’ bridges is to change the strings one at a time. This stops the tremolo going completely out of adjustment and, in the case of the tune o matic, from falling off the guitar and losing the whole set up.

Always keep your new strings as clean as possible by wiping them down after each playing and using string life products such as Fast Fret or Finger Ease before and after each playing session. It makes a HUGE difference on the life of your strings and length of a good string tone. You can greatly extend string life by also using strings brands such as Elixir strings, which add about 8 times to the life of strings. However, they are about 3 times more expensive than normal strings.

A essential tool to have is an all in one string crank or winder or string cutter and bridge pin remover such as those made by Planet Waves or similar.

Your First Music Gig

A young band’s first gig is always an exciting time. Many hours slogging it out in the garage or rehearsal room finally come to fruition with the offer of your first gig.

These days, bands usually get a school or party gig or a shared bill with a few other bands or even a band competition as their first gig. Either way, the experience of the first gig should be enjoyable and exciting. You don’t want it to turn into a nasty experience with everything going wrong, which it will if you are not prepared.

Like Murphy’s Law says “what can go wrong, will go wrong.” Every musician in the world can remember the first time they performed on staged, so make it a good experience not a frightful mess.

First, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! No matter how many times you have performed your songs in the garage, when you get on stage it will all sound different, and, if you don’t know your part 110%, you will get it wrong. In the garage, you are in one small room and quite close to your fellow band mates. On stage, you can be separated a lot and you may not be able to hear the other guys or what they are playing. If you know your songs very well, you will be able play no matter what sound problems you have.

Second, be confident. Rehearse your songs in the order you will perform them especially if you are doing a short set. If you are playing the whole night, rehearse the whole set beforehand. This will alert band members of any problems that happen on stage.

Make sure your guitars have new guitar strings (but put them on at least two hours before you play and stretch them in), your drums have at least a new snare skin, check the condition of the kick drum skin too.

Make sure you us new batteries for pedals, tuners, or wireless systems you use. And don’t forget a guitar stand or two!! Have a spare lead close by even if you are using wireless system as it is a good back up.

If you are doing a gig with a bunch of other bands, make sure your accessories such as leads,  tuners , and microphones are clearly marked with your name or at least some special markings, it is strange how much gear goes “walking” at these gigs.

Make a song list for all those involved, including the lighting and sounds guys. Make notes if you want any special effects done for you by the sound man. Each member should write notes on his or her list if they need to remember certain things such as pedal adjustments or guitar changes. Singers can use a cheat sheet and write down parts of a song to jog their memory. Rehearse well and you won't have to do that!

Go to the gig early so that you are not rushed. Audiences generally have a ‘sheep’ mentality and if they see or hear a bunch of people making a lot of favourable noises they too will go along and get the vibe.

Enjoy your self and get the whole thing recorded on audio and visual mediums so you can show it to your family and friends and to your grand kids when your old! You will never forget your first gig!

Vintage Electric Guitars Are Collectible

When going about purchasing a vintage electric guitar, one should be aware of some things to look for in the instrument.  Especially when you are dealing with a guitar that has been in use for some time, there are always questions that should be raised.  Vintage electric guitars have many uses today.Even guitars that have been knocked around a bit can be valuable.  Some are purchased because brand new instruments are too expensive so second hand guitars are the better choice.Just like antiques, vintage electric guitars are becoming rarer. 

There are many kinds of guitars out there.  Some of the more popular vintage guitar brands are Gibson, Fender, Epiphone and Rickenbacker.  A vintage Gibson electric guitar could cost anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 depending on the model and year it was manufactured.  The value of a guitar can be determined by its age, model number, and in some cases who played it.  For example, if you had a vintage Fender electric guitar that was played and maybe even signed by someone like Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton, it is highly likely that the guitar could be sold for thousands and thousands of dollars. 

Vintage electric guitars can fetch extremely high prices.  Investing in a hobby like this could take you to various guitar shops, shows, and events across the country.  The main thing that you should consider when starting out as a collector of vintage electric guitars is that not all guitars are worth what you think.

Research your instrument before you purchase or you may be stuck with a guitar that is worth more in a junkyard than in your display case.  Ask around people that know about guitars and their values.  There are people who have been collecting for years and years and they would love to help you.

For more information about finding out the value of vintage electric guitars, try looking at http://vintageelectricguitarsite.com There you will find information about vintage Gibson electric guitars, as well as information about investing in the buying and selling of vintage electric guitars.