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Can I really build a bass guitar using a kit?

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

Among those who like playing guitar, there is a significant percentage which would rather use self made instruments. There are numerous reasons that this is an increasing trend. Price is a consideration but many people buy guitar kits for the pure enjoyment og building the guitar themsleves, this and they have total control over the feel and look of the instrument. They get the required guitar kits and then build the instruments without the need to build the guitar from the ground up. One of the instruments that one can build is an electric bass guitar. To successfully build a bass guitar you can choose to use a bass guitar kit. These kits include a neck, hardware, body, pick guard assembly, tuning machines, bridge and the obligatory electronics.

The best kits to use are those whose holes are pre-drilled and whose hardware includes nickel plated electronics.For exact tuning, the bass guitar kits are usually 14: 1 ratio geared. This implies that the person playing the guitar will be in total control of the sound produced because it will be possible to tune the guitar exactly. The bridge of the guitar is also entirely adaptable. This implies that the user can simply and precisely adjust and intonate the guitar for better quality of sound produced.

The body shapes are sometimes diverse and therefore one can choose their favourite option according to their tastes, preference, cost and convenience. Furthermore, one can paint their guitar into their most ideal color.

Bass guitar kits are available in different music instrument stores and from online providers where there’s a variety of kit models to choose from. Bass guitar kits are generally sold with detailed instructions. This means that on following the provided instructions, it is possible to assemble and build a complete guitar.

The instructions are usually easily followed and therefore you don’t require any previous experience in assembling guitars. Hence virtually anyone can build a guitar for themselves employing a bass guitar kit and following the instructions provided.

For more information on guitar kits feel free to visit eguitarkits.com. We have reousrces and informaiton to help get up and running with your first electric guitar kit in virtually no time.

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Tags: electric guitar, Electric Guitars, Guitar Kit

Guitar Compressor Sustain Effects Pedals – 5 of the Most Popular Used

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

Compressor Sustain pedals are possibly the most owned Effects Pedal, owned by guitarists. Although the most useful, these pedals can also be the most difficult to use, due to its ability to produce either a bland, or at the other extreme, noisy performance.

The main function of the compressor is to enable the guitarist to perform possible extremes of playing, from loud solos to calm backing rhythms, while at the same time maintaining a constant output volume level from the guitar Amplifier. This ensures that the overall balance is maintained throughout the song.

Another great function of this type of pedal is the ability to produce long sustained notes, so typical in rock music.

Five of the most popular and best selling Compressor Sustainers are briefly described below.

Electro Harmonix Black Finger

The Black Finger is a dual photocell opto-isolator incorporating two light sources. The design is such that one light source controls the compression, while the other, Gain. As a mixture of Valve Preamp, Compressor and Booster, this pedal is ideal for both Bass and Electric Guitar.

By use of five individual controls, the Blank Finger is capable of producing a wide range of tones. A drawback to this however, is that the pedal can be quite difficult to master properly. The rewards of persevering with the settings though, is well worth the effort you put into it, thus making the Black Finger the best loved compressor among many guitarists.

MXR M102 Dyna Comp

This is a very simple to use pedal and is great if you are on a budget. There are only two controls for output and sensitivity, and although the Dyna Comp does not have the tone shaping capabilities of the Black Finger, this compressor produces a nice clean infinite sustain and can be easily controlled live.

With a high average rating of 5 out of 5, this makes the MXR M102 very popular indeed. Two rubber caps are supplied with the pedal, which makes it possible for the guitarist to change the compressor settings by using their foot.

The MXR M102 is an extremely simple to use pedal, ruggedly built and reliable. This compressor is ideal for cleaning up hiss and noise from other pedals, and is great for live use.

Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer

The CS-3 has four controls to adjust Attack, Sustain, Level and Tone. As with the Boss, this pedal can also be a bit more difficult to use effectively without effort, and has been commented as such by musicians who have used it. However, this level of control does enable the compressor to boost clarity and punch, plus deliver a smooth sustain.

However, the Boss CS-3 still manages an impressive 4 out of 5 average rating, as musicians who persevere with the settings, end up loving the performance of this good value for money compressor.

When using this pedal, always use your effects power supply, as the battery consumption is high. The CS-3 is brilliant at cleaning and tightening up your sound. Also, when used in conjunction with your distortion, you are able to produce some awesome feedback.

The Boss CS-3 is good value at under $100, and is reliable and rugged. For those that have persevered with the settings, this compressor has become quite popular and is ultimately a very nice pedal.

Keeley Compressor

You will be hard pushed to find any criticism about the performance of this award winning compressor sustainer. However, you may see some comments over its price, as the Keeley is at the higher end of the market.

The Keeley compressor incorporates an innovative circuit design, which eliminates unwanted distortions and produces a perfect compressed signal. This is due in part to the high spec resistors and capacitors, which are matched to within 1% of each other. The sustain is superb, and the pedal is ideal for cleaning up your chord work.

Power consumption is extremely low, only 5mA, so this could be used on battery, only if you wanted to. The pedal is also great for studio use, and very effective in use with other instruments such as Keyboards, Drum Machine etc.

Simple to use – only two controls – rugged and reliable, the Keeley is a very high quality compressor which is popular with guitarists, despite the higher price.

Electro Harmonix Freeze

Although not a compressor, the Freeze can definitely sustain, and that is its purpose in life. Unlike the method of sustaining of other sustainers, the Freeze is more like a real time sampler.

A way of describing the use of the Freeze would be like adding a piano type of sustain pedal to your guitar. Pressing the footswitch after producing a chord or note, will hold that note for as long as you keep the switch pressed down. A nice by product of this, is that you can play a chord – then while sustaining that chord via the footswitch, play another riff over the top.

When using this pedal, many musicians have commented that it’s like having an extra musician join the band. From the first time that the pedal is turned on, it seems to inspire the creative juices within you. So for songwriters, the Harmonix Freeze is a boon.

This simple to use rugged pedal has a level effects control, plus a 3 position switch which is used to select slow or fast delay, plus the means of turning the momentary footswitch into latch mode. This is a popular pedal which produces a clear and crisp sound

Conclusion

So there you have it, five of the best selling Compressors on the market. Of course, many more are available, but hopefully this article gives you some insight into these five, and helps in choosing the right pedal for you.

If you would like any more information on Compressor Pedals then please visit Electric Guitar Effects Pedals for Videos, Reviews and price comparisons. This article, Guitar Compressor Sustain Effects Pedals – 5 of the Most Popular Used is available for free reprint.

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Tags: compressor pedals, effects pedals, electric guitar, electric guitar effects pedals, Electric Guitars, Guitar, guitar compressor, guitar effects, guitar playing, guitar sustain, music, Musician, sustain pedals

Guitar Pedals Strengthen The Rock And Roll Sound

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

Rock and roll owes its soul to the electric guitar. Yes, there are various other musical instruments that make up the rock and roll style however the foundation lies in the sound of the electric guitar. Movies like “Wayne’s World” and “Bill and Ted’s Adventures” paid a fairly irreverent homage to the musical genre and lifestyle. Both of those movies put the guitar in the forefront of the movies. The unmistakable hot licks of Chuck Berry’s Gibson 335 right up to Metallica’s shredding wall of sound, the guitar has defined them both.

The unsung heroes of the rock and roll community that provide every single band and guitar player a special but unmistakable rock sound are the guitar pedals. These particular devices produce the sounds that clearly define rock and roll. These technical marvels have not only defined the guitar sound that is rock and roll but the musicians themselves. Pedals have furthermore developed subcategories of rock and roll. These sonic wonder devices have often gone unnoticed while at the same time defining the electric guitar.

The rockabilly sound was defined by overdriven amplifiers and heavy echo machines which gave Scotty Moore and Luther Perkins the revolutionary sound of the rock guitar. Today the music and the sound lives on with a lot more mobile devices of delay and echo found in stomp boxes compact enough to put in your pocket. The prior versions of echo machines were so substantial that a lot ended up being placed outside of the studio. Today exactly the same sound developed during the genesis of rock and roll may be placed inside of a compartment of a guitar case along with others plus the guitar.

That specific overdriven sound was found in the earlier rockabilly manifestations of rock music. Tube screamer and overdrive pedals allow contemporary solid state amplifiers that very same sound. That broken up sound became the archetype sound of rock music. The sixties and seventies saw the morphing of this particular sound from fuzz to complete distortion. Fantastic Rock anthems of all sorts ended up being defined by these kinds of sounds and guitar pedals. “Smoke on the Water,” Canned Heat’s “Spirit in the Sky” and “Voodoo Child” all put the crunch into rock music.

Jimi Herndrix turned the sonic world of rock music upside down. His use of these sonic manipulators found at his heel and toe redefined the guitar, the music, and the boundaries that were permissible to investigate as a guitarist. The “wah” and fuzz took the rock and roll guitar into fresh areas of expression and opened up the door to other sonic possibilities.

Guitarists like Jeff Beck, Zach Wilde and David Gilmour have taken the rock guitar to many different places, yet are all considered rock. They’ve also developed and employed guitar pedals that permitted them to create these exhilarating locales within the sanctum of rock and roll. The guitar is the lord of rock and its foot soldiers would be the pedals making for a conquering ruler.

Are you looking for guitar pedals? Be sure to visit Best Guitar FX Pedals for a Boss ME-25 review and TC Electronic G-System review.

Posted in Electric Guitars | 1 Response »
Tags: arts and entertainment, electric guitar, Electric Guitars, entertainment, guitar effects pedals, guitar pedals, music

If your guitar is looking tired, why not give it a repaint? it isn’t that difficult.

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

Most people incorrectly presume that painting an electric guitar is a task that’s outside their abilities. The truth is it’s actually a comparatively straightforward job provided you have some patience and follow some basic suggestions.

Frequently stripping back the present paint or finish can be the most time consuming aspect of the job, some electric guitar kits feature a seal coat that may be a difficulty if for instance you prefer a stain finish. This may often be very tricky to remove and laborious. You can use a tool like an orbital sander but you will need to use caution and make the finishing touches by hand. Once you have removed the paint depending on the selection of timber used you may need to utilise a grain filer.

Grain filler wont be neccessary if you’re repainting an older guitar but if your guitar is a kit guitar you have only recently bought check the density of the wod grain and utilise a wood grain filer if neccessary. A loose grained timber such as Mahogany or Ash will often require filling however most kits come in bass wood and this shouldn’t be neccessary.

Your next step is to get rid of the surplus grain filler and sand back the guitar till you’ve got a surface ready for painting. Remember you are prepping the body og the guitar for painting at this stage and any problems with the surface will become exagerated with every coat you apply from this point.

Next you need to begin applying your undercoat. Always make certain you apply each coat gently, countless coats isn't a problem and is adviseable to avoid runs. Once you have a good surafece to color on let the guitar dry (usually 12 hours) and then get ready to apply your color.

When applying your colour coats do not forget to spray the guitar from a distance of approximately 2 feet and move quicky over the surface applying light coats. Build the colour up as you go with every coat and avoid runs that are tricky to remove and slow your progress. You must also follow this process with your seal coats. You may need to let the guitar dry fully which can take up to 4-6 weeks before it is possible to start polishing using stell wool or a fine grain sandpaper to actually get a polished look to your guitar.

For extra tips about painting electric guitar kits there’s a great article here on doing the complete job from start to finish.

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Tags: Electric Guitars, guitar kits

Learning Scales for the Electrical Guitar

Saturday, February 25th, 2012

With out doubt the guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments in the world and its simple to grasp why. However there are some challenges you are going to have to tackle, one being the scales of the guitar. Indisputably understanding the guitar scales is an important electric guitar lesson, one that needs to be learned before it’s possible to play properly. It can certainly be confusing initially but as you continue along and progress it will turn into a lot more simpler. If you're thinking about learning to play the guitar, the learn how to play guitar web site is a fairly beneficial resource

For the basic electric guitar lesson regarding how to learn the scales, it;s necessary to know which scales are the most common. That includes the blues scale, entire tone scale and pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale is that which most Western music is based around. This helps to make things faster and keep your intelligence from getting overloaded.

Practicing every major scale in first position is a good way to start. This electrical guitar lesson will provide help to develop finger dexterity, meaning your fingers will get more flexible and move around on the strings more easily. The top number of the time signature is useful as it tells you how many beats are in a measure. You'll find the time signature after the key signature which makes reference to the sharps or flats that follow the clef.

Scales on a guitar move progressively in order or sharps or apartments, and you can spot when you?re playing the major scales properly because they will always follow in the illustration of Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Hence La, Ti, Do. Practice playing thru all the sharp scales beginning with C major. One is to play through all of the pointed scales, beginning with C major. Drills are required to help you gain abilities.

Anybody who?s taking a first look at the scales for a guitar will surely be overwhelmed. However as you practice and continue to work at it, things will seem faster and before long playing the guitar will be second nature to you. Regardless of what age you are you can learn to play the guitar. It?s never too late to learn a new skill and learning the guitar can be extremely rewarding.

If you want to learn to play guitar check out the articles in guitar lessons and some of the Guitar tips here

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Tags: electric guitar, Electric Guitars, guitar tips, learn to play guitar, learning to play guitar

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