Buying Your First Guitar

Buying Your First Guitar

Buying your first guitar shouldn’t be too difficult. It would be difficult for you if you don’t know what to find in a guitar. Today I will give you some guidelines on how to choose your first guitar effectively. The truth is you can’t just go inside the music store and pick up just any guitar. You might not like it and it is important that you should feel the guitar that you would be using since it would be your tool for learning. What good would it be if you don’t like it, right? So listen closely while I give you the lowdown on it.

Buying Your First Guitar

What to find in a guitar? First, you need to check the specific stuff that you need. If you are buying an electric guitar, you must need the following:

-          Electric guitar – Nuff said

-          Amplifier – needed to amplify the sound from the electric guitar.

-          Cable – needed to plug the guitar to the amplifier

-          Guitar Strings – what would you play?

-          Guitar Pick – I tell you, you would need this too.

These are the obvious requirements if you are going to buy your first electric guitar. However, if you are buying an acoustic guitar, all you need is the acoustic guitar, pick and strings.

Buying Your First Guitar – Effects

There are various effects pedal in the market. Some of the basics are the distortion pedal, chorus pedal, delay pedal, overdrive pedal and the flanger pedal. There are many more effects pedal existing but these are the basics. Now, if you still don’t know how to use these effects, you better settle down with the amp first. For acoustic guitars, you don’t need these. All you need is the guitar. That is why it is important to know these things before buying your first guitar.

Guitars are definitely the most popular instrument in the whole world, you can see it anywhere. Actually, guitars can be divided into two types

1. Acoustic guitars
2. Electric Guitars

Acoustic guitars are not depending on any external amplification. It has the natural ability to create acoustic amplification. Thanks to the shape and resonance of the acoustic guitar. However, there are some acoustic guitars that are fitted with a pick up. This is to avoid using a microphone which produces a lot of feedback. We don’t call it the acoustic guitar anymore if this is the case, it is and electro acoustic or acoustic electro guitar. It is not the same with semi – hollow electric guitars because it is more acoustic than electric.

Electric guitars, however, are way cooler in my opinion. These are solid and semi – hollow guitars that are powered by a pickup and amplifier. It is however, dependent to amplifiers and electronics. But don’t let that discourage you; electric guitars are the most played instrument in the world and the coolest. You could plug it in on a gadget and you could start rocking out. But of course, you have to learn it firs.

Accuracy is important when playing the guitar, especially in your guitar solos. This is because playing the guitar needs to be as clean as possible and inaccurate would result to dirty guitar playing. So if you want to know more about this subject matter, you have come to the right spot. This is the place to be if you want to learn something useful. This would definitely save you from the trouble of playing inaccurately. And by the time you have finish reading this article; you will have an idea on how to play in an accurate way. So sit back, relax and enjoy the post while it last.

First, you need to know that you have to play note for note. You should only pick the note that you intended to play. You could practice alternate picking with this. While doing alternate picking, pick a note that you intend to play and play accurately. You could practice this skill by running through different scales and patterns repeatedly until you play it clean enough. Accuracy develops your speed as well. Playing inaccurately gives you a sense of speed but actually it is a false sense of speed. That is why learn to be accurate in your guitar playing.

If this is your first time to hold that guitar, you should know a few things before you start. Guitar playing is one of the coolest thing ever and also one of the most difficult to learn. But if you have the right approach and attitude, it wouldn’t be that difficult at all. So if you want to know more about these things that you should first consider, you came to the right place. Ice old tells the things that you need to think about before you start your journey in the world of guitar playing. By the moment you finish reading this, you will be enlightened about this and your guitar learning would be running smoothly. So sit back, relax and enjoy reading.

Where to learn?

1. Private Lessons – you could always hire or pay for a guitar instructor to teach you personally. This is very effective and a bit expensive too. However, learning is guaranteed with this method as long as your teacher is really good.
2. Online guitar lessons – this is the easiest method to learn guitar. All you have to do is find a decent online guitar lesson website and register and you are on your way to learning.

It is really a sad year for musicians and fans all around the world as we receive the news about Michael Been’s death. if you remember, Been was the front man for the band, “The Call” ho was big back in the 80’s, popularly – known for the global hit “the walls come down” in 1983. He was also a regular with regards to the bands who played for Harry Dean Stanton. He died of heart attack, back stage on the 19^th of August. He was at the Pukkelpop Music Festival, doing sound engineer work for his son Robert Levon Been of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. He’s not the only one who lost his life on the Pukkelpop, Charles Haddon of the Ou Est Le Swimming Pool also killed himself by jumping from a tower, on that very event. Weird.

My thoughts: well, Been’s death was natural that was his time, condolence to his family. But Haddon is a bit, subnormal in the way he killed himself so I don’t think that counts. But what is weird is that both front men died on that festival, makes me want to think about Asian horror movies about curses that kills people.

Bending is a lead guitar technique that is capable of enhancing your overall guitar playing capacity and ability. It is a very essential technique if you want to put more life in your guitar playing. This is how you put accent and emotion in your guitar solos. This is an essential guitar technique. There are two aspects that are important in bending:

1. Finger Strength – this is how strong you could push the strings up. Bending needs a good amount of strength to reach those intended notes. Light gauge strings are nice for bending. So be sure you have light gauge strings.
2. Ear Training – bending would be sucky if you don’t know how to listen carefully. You should know which note you are shooting for. To practice this, try alternating between the bended note and the regular note to be accustomed to it.

Bending is common with rock and blues and almost on any genre. If you really want to have a superb guitar solo, and not a lifeless one, you should learn how to do a bend properly. That is how it is. Practice this together with your daily routine and time will come that you will get used to it and perfect it.

If you had one chance of getting a guitar and having it customized to your own preference, what would it be? This is pretty interesting because I have a lot of guitars in my head that I want mutilated. So, here’s my list:

1. Fender Stratocaster – there might have been a custom superstrat like this one but still I wanted to do this. I wanted a wider one piece maple neck to cater seven strings and I want it to be 24 jumbo frets. I know, it would be huge. Then, instead of the traditional three single coils, I want 2 atomic humbuckers on the neck and the bridge and a single coil on the middle. I don’t want tone controls, I just wanted a single volume control on the top and a pick up selector, a solid one. Traditional bridge, and a chrome finish. Can you picture it out?
2. Gibson Les Paul SG – I always wanted to do something evil with this guitar because it looks mean already. Well, I want a lighter body if possible, if not, that’s ok. Then I wanted EMG active pickups on it, two of it plus a single coil on the middle. I want a 24 fret neck and a Floyd rose bridge. How you like that?

Before I move forward and explain you what is alternate tuning, I would like to warn you that I am no expert when it comes to alternate tunings.  But I do know that what I know about alternate tuning is sufficient enough to teach people.

There is plenty of alternate tunings, and some of it I know you are familiar with an example is drop D tuning and modal D tuning or what is popularly known as DADGAD. But the question is why do we need to do alternate tunings? The answer to that is this: some songs are more comfortable to play with on certain tuning especially when the chords of the song need a certain open chord or open notes. But of course, it is always dependent to the song creator. It’s up to him, if he created the song using a certain tuning, well, people have to play it like that if they want to cover it or it would never sound right.

An example is the song “You Stand Here with me” by Creed. It is on drop D. the reason to this is they want to hit a certain low note, lower than E. Drop D allows them to have a low Eb and Low D.

This month, we celebrate the anniversary of Stevie ray Vaughn’s tragic death.  And there is nothing more better to give him honor then to devote the entire week to legendary guitar player’s music of choice.  And Of course I am definitely talking about the blues…

For your information, today is the 20^th anniversary of Stevie ray Vaughan’s death.  He is one of the most influential blues guitar players in the whole world.  And he contributed a lot in the world of blues music.  He used a fender Stratocaster in all of his performance.

He was born October 3, 1954.  A Grammy award winner for his guitar playing and song writing skills.  He has released 18 albums which are all buzz worthy.  She hears the man behind the band double trouble and later on when successfully solo.  He is very much recognized for using the fender Stratocaster which now has several models under his name.  Because of its contribution and works, he became part of the blues hall of fame which was held in Washington, DC.  He was inducted on February 22, 2000.

Stevie ray Vaughn has influence a lot of guitar players of today and it’s clearly one of the most influential guitar player of all time.

You know which part of being in a band it more difficult than anything else?  I don’t know about you but this is only my opinion, one of the biggest challenges of being in a band is coming up with the name.  Yes because, you don’t just pick any name, you have to come up with the name that would stick and something that you could live with.  It might take you hours or even days just to choose a name that you would be satisfied.  Remember, that the band name that you would choose is the most important part of being in a band.  You want to know why?  That is very simple, that is what your fans and other people would call you.  If somehow you eventually become famous, you would be called by your band name and you’ll be remember by your band name.  So if you’re called “chicken wings” make sure that you could live with it.  The choosing a band name, it should be a something original, something people would easily memorize.  Something very memorable and applicable to your type of music and your personalities.  In short, it should be you.  If you are punk rock band, you should have a punk rock name.

If you’re going to buy new guitar, you should not just by any guitar.  Remember that not all guitars have the thing specification, prices, and Brands.  Depending on your level of guitar playing, there is a guitar that is perfect for you.  Let’s say you are still a beginner, and you still don’t know much about playing guitar.  In your case, purchasing a very expensive fender Stratocaster is not a smart thing to do.  These types of guitars are very expensive.  So if you are a beginner, should firs get a guitar that is not expensive but still would sound good.  There are lots of guitars out there that are very much perfect for beginners.  Say, if you want a fender Stratocaster, you could always start with a Squier Stratocasters standard.  It has the same specifications and tonal quality of the fender strat but it is relatively cheaper.  Course they have cut corners just to achieve this low price, but it is worth it and its sufficient enough for a beginner like you.

Another option that you could consider is buying an acoustic guitar.  Acoustic guitar is best for learning since you can bring it anywhere you want and you could learn anywhere you want.  So that’s it.

Now this is some good news!

All of you avenged sevenfold fans and metal heads out there now has a reason to watch MTV this week the cost of their seven full will be taken over the program called ” head bangers’ ball” as well as ” rock the deuce”.

Finally, MTV would be showing something worth it.  We just wish that they will do is forever because type could not stand watching those synthetic music that they’re showing right now.  This is really a good treat.  And that is absolutely not all, avenged sevenfold recently announced on their website that they will be performing live on a concert via webcast.  It’s just a little something for the fans.

They are doing this because they would like to thank all of the fans who supported them, enabling them to push through this very difficult year and the rest of their careers.  The live webcast will be broadcasting live this Saturday, July 31, at exactly 7:00 PM eastern standard time.  The concert will be held at Syracuse, New York.

For more information check their web site at www.Avengedsevenfold.com

What is a rake? It is a simple contraption used for removing weeds and other leaves on the garden.

Oops, wrong definition.

Rake is a guitar technique. It is used to put a percussive effect to the notes that you play. It is done by adding a clicking sound before you play a note. Just a quick and sudden click. On tablature, it is written like this:

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -7 – - – - – - – - – - – -

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -x – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -x – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Mute the 2 strings that has x indicated on them. Then pick down until you reach the 2^nd string. That’s it. That’s how easy it is. Just let your pick sweep across the muted strings and let the note sound when you reach the designated note. It creates a raking sound. Pretty cool for blues music. You can hear John Mayer use this lot.

Going out to buy your first guitar? Let me tell you this; buying your first guitar is one epic move to your music career. But you couldn’t just go out and buy a guitar. You will have to consider a lot of things before you do so. Electric guitars are much more preferred by aspiring guitar players than acoustic guitars. The reason behind this is because electric guitars are simply much easier to play with, much softer on the hands than the conventional acoustic. It is also more fun to play with. That is from the beginner’s point of view.

Determining which equipment you need to have is also essential. You should know the thin line that divides necessity and overkill. You should also know that it varies from a lot of different factors. Some have higher prices, different brands and millions of specifications differences. For beginners, this might be a bit confusing but with a little research, you could manage.

Buying your first guitar is simple. Make sure it is not too expensive. Make sure that you are comfortable with it when you hold it and make sure that the quality is checked. Of course, if you choose to buy an electric guitar, you should pair it up with an amplifier.

For most beginners or non – electric guitar players, they might disagree with the thought of using vacuum tubes on guitar amps because knowing vacuum tubes, it’s pretty much obsolete. Indeed, these tubes are obsolete when it comes to computers and techno stuff but in the field of guitar amplification, especially the modern and high – end ones, tubes are the “in” thing. And this is primarily the reason why manufacturers still create them. Almost all of the Amps that you’ll see on a music store have glass tubes in it.

The main reason why Amps with tubes are the front runner and the elite in the fields of guitar amplification is because of its distancing sound characteristics. Tube amps have a distinct superior sound compared to solid state amps. Modern amps have circuit boards to connect their internal components and parts however, when it comes to boutique amps which are a bit expensive, connections are hand – wired, and only select high – quality components are used. This is how they do it back in the 50’s and 60’s, the reason why vintage amps have sweeter sound compared to modern amps. This technique also allows easy maintenance and easy modification. Try and compare a solid – state to a tube amp and you will definitely know the difference.