Hammond Music

Posts Tagged ‘electric guitars’

Whilst a child is studying at school it is proven that learning a musical instrument is very beneficial. This is the first year that the UK Government have decided to launch this incentive. Professor Susan Hallam who works at the Institute of Education for the University of London analysed various scores and tests on behalf of researchers’ studies on the benefits of music to children. This discovery led to a group of researchers to believe that learning a music instrument of any kind enlrages the left side of the brain which apparently leads to kids being able to remember a fifth more information than someone who had not decided to try and learn a musical instrument. This research was commissioned by the Government in an effort to try and get more children to start learning musical instruments and partake in extra curricular activities outside of school. By 2011 the Government wants to try and introduce and incentive for kids of 7 to 11 to learning how play a musical instrument. Apparently, music lessons increase a students IQ by seven points compared to 4.3 points for drama lessons. Other similar tests have been run in America and they have also found that playing a musical instrument such as Electric Guitars, Digital Pianos & Grand Pianos helps improve a child’s behaviours and commitment to school. This is mainly due to the fact that working in smaller music based groups requires trust, respect and compromise. When a student is young, music makes a major contribution to help that child develop his own self-identity and is seen as really valuable source of support to help them feel accepted into society. It gives them something they can feel happy about. Some of the country's most popular artists such as Jamie Cullum is a supporter of the program and has been taking regular visits into schools to help them start to learn musical instruments.

Arguably the most famous band on the scene, The Beatles are set to re-release a vast amount of their music backlog accompanied by a bran new computer game. The new video game which is entitled, ‘The Beatles: Rockband” which is released on Wednesday 9th September.
On the game you can see visual simulations of the band performing some of their most famous tracks at some of the most popular venues from around the country. This coincides perfectly with their record label EMI’s scheduled release of 14 of their new digitally enhanced albums which will available in early 2010. Also, from October 19th people who have bought the video game will be able to download the great Abbey Road album either through their XBOX or Playstation 3 for roughly £10. Or alternatively, you can download them individually for about 99p each. This is part of the master plan to get the Beatles back on the scene and get their music re-released to today’s modern generation. There is no doubt that these new CD’s will sell like hotcakes in the shops and I bet EMI are licking their lips!
I have been a fan of the Beatles for as long as I can remember. I am very intrigued to hear how they managed to re-master their tracks so well. I do hope they have not laid digital pianos over their grand pianos or added a hoard of electric guitars to replace the older sound. Plans on how to get the Beatles’ back catalogue implemented into the digital world has been widely discussed between all the parties involved. The various record companies involved will also be offering the most famous album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for sale in November which is definetly going to be huge with fans from all over the world!
You can watch game play trailers and get more information at The Beatles: Rock Band official website. By the time you read this the game should be out! I will definetly be buying this video game!

Mark Knopfler talks about a Fender Stratocaster

There can’t be many people who’ve not fantasised about becoming a guitar hero. Standing onstage, legs apart thrashing out power chords and blistering guitar solos loud enough to make peoples ears bleed. And there are a number of truly great electric guitars that have stood the test of time.

One of the most famous electric guitars is the Fender Stratocaster. Originally designed way back in 1954 the Fender Strat was the instrument favoured by the late, great Jimi Hendrix. It’s also the instrument chosen by the likes of Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend of the Who. The Fender Stratocaster continues to be as popular today as it ever was and a whole new generation of guitarists are discovering this great, iconic instrument.

Another well known guitar from Fender is the Telecaster. This beautifully simple instrument was first introduced as the Broadcaster in late 1949 and has been in continuous production ever since. There are many talented and well known guitar players who prefer to play Fender Teles. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is probably one of the most famous guitarists who chooses to play Telecasters.

If we are talking about classic guitars we must of course mention the fantastic Gibson Les Paul. This is another truly great electric guitar, first made back in the 1950s and in continuous production ever since. Jimmy Page, of Led Zeppelin and Yardbirds fame, is just one guitarist who loves the Gibson Les Paul. Another great guitarist who made the sound of this instrument famous in the song ‘Alright Now’ was the lat Paul Kossoff of the band Free.

Since I’ve given a mention to two Fenders its only fair that I should talk about two great Gibsons. I could have chosen the fantastic ES335, a favourite with many great guitarists, including BB King but instead I have chosen the exceptional Gibson SG. This great electric guitar with its distinctive looks was first introduced in the early 1960s initially to compete with the popular Fender Stratocaster. This is the guitar used by Angus Young of Australian rock band ACDC for all of their well known rock anthems. This great instrument was also the guitar used by Tony Iommi, guitarist with seventies rock band Black Sabbath.

There are just so many great guitars but these four are, without doubt, at the top of the list of great electric guitars of our age.

How to Play Guitar for Beginners

The internet is a truly wonderful resource. Young people today don’t all appreciate how lucky they are to have the worlds knowledge and skills at their fingertips via the internet.

I started playing in the 1970s with the famous Bert Weedon’s ‘Play in a Day’ book. I could never afford guitar lessons so I would take every opportunity to obsessively study the playing techniques and styles of every guitarist I managed to see.

Modern technology has revolutionised the way that people learn to play the guitar. There are so many excellent guitar tuition DVDs that can be played over and over again, unlike a face to face guitar lesson. And the internet provides an ideal medium for the delivery of some great guitar tutorials.

There are an abundance of guitar teaching websites but my favourite place for guitar tutorials is Youtube. You can find instructional videos on everything from choosing guitars to making your own electric guitar. There are plenty of videos that will help those who are just starting out with the guitar and lots more that are ideal for people like me, who’ve been playing for a while but want to learn more techniques and tunes.

Learning some new techniques, tunes and licks has become my favourite hobby. If the weather is bad then you will generally find me learning a new tune or two from Youtube. I think that my guitar playing skills have improved more in the past five years, thanks to Youtube, than it did in the prior twenty years.

What’s more, its interactive. If I find a video of someone playing a piece that I like I can easily make it one of my favourites and maybe leave a comment for the performer to see. Also, I will often ask the presenter a question or two and they always come back with a positive answer. It’s a bit like having every online guitarist in the world available as a personal guitar playing consultant.

I can’t help but feel a little envious of the young people who are just starting to learn today. I like to think that if I’d been born later, at a time when all of these great learning resources were available, I’d have been playing better than Eric Clapton by now.

Amoung the headliners of the VH1 concert this year is Adele and Leona Lewis who are looking forward to applying themselves into the American market.

Kelly Clarkson and Miley Cyrus will also perform at the music channel’s event who is actually returning after a five year hiatus. A VH1 spokesman said to a local newspaper that the four women involved in this year’s event are an amazingly talented group of singers and this is one of their most exciting years of the event.

The show is a fundraiser for the ‘Save the Music Foundation’ which will be live on the music channel in the US on 17th September. The non-profit organisation was initially created to promote musical education for young kids in school. The entire event takes place at Brooklyn Academy of Music and local kids from school get free entry.

The concert has always played host to some of the biggest Diva's in the world and has always generated a lot of money and interest into the local musical community. This is easily the most crucial time in Leona Lewis's career and it is a very exciting time. She recently won the notorious hit music TV program, X-Factor and since then her popularity has really gone out of control (in a good way).

The local VH1 concert has been a regular contributor of musical instruments to local schools which has been fantastic for the younger kids.3m have been donated to numerous schools in over 100 cities. Anything from acoustic guitars, electric guitars and classic guitar.

Many schools across the world have always benefited from this concert and people have since developed a lot of interest in the yearly show. This year's line up is slightly different now that two British girls are involved in the line up.

This has always been a big event for any rising music super star and it is a fantastic way to help raise awareness for schools and the younger generations passion for music.

What would you think is a fair price for a good electric guitar?You’ll get a decent Fender Telecaster for anything from £550 to just under £1,000 and you’d probably have to fork out between £3,500 to £5,000 for a Gibson Les Paul.How does £25,000 sound?You read right, twenty-five thousand pounds.That’s the asking price on what is undoubtedly a beautiful instrument – the PRS Paul’s 28.Paul Reed Smith is hand producing only 28 guitars, of which 20 are for the US and only eight will be available for the rest of the world.The only guitar in the UK is exclusively available through a company called Digital Village.

PRS electric guitars are the creation of the eponymous Paul Reed Smith, who made his first guitar at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and he continued to build guitars after he finished college.He made them one at a time, one every month.Smith would often tout his guitars backstage at concerts, and eventually got his break when Derek St. Holmes, of the Ted Nugent Band, agreed to try out #2, the second guitar Smith had ever made. Smith then contacted Ted McCarty, former president of Gibson and creator of the Explorer, ES-335 and Flying V guitars, who became his business advisor.  The result of their collaboration is reflected in the current line up of PRS guitars, which includes electric guitars utilising a vast range of exotic materials such as elaborately figured tone woods and intricate shells for inlays.

The PRS Paul’s 28 Electric Guitar is the is first guitar for almost a decade that has been hand made by Paul Reed Smith himself, hence the price tag of £25,000.It’s got one of the curliest tops PRS have ever made and a rare tiger -striped mahogany back that was hand-selected from an entire warehouse of wood.  An extremely rare Pernumbuca Neck combines with an exotic black Rosewood Fretboard, a dark Mexican Rosewood Headstock veneer, and solid-shell rippled Green Abalone, Paua Heart, and Mammoth Ivory “Celtic Cross” inlays.

Paul Reed Smith spent several years refining all of the parts and processes that went into this instrument:  the wood drying methods, the colour “Burnt Gold” (PRS has been working on this stain method for the last two years), the very special paper-thin nitrocellulose finish, the pickups (PRS proprietary 1957/2008 pickups made from PRS’s rare magnet and wire supplies), the nut, the tuning pegs, the frets, the glues…everything.He even spent two years researching the materials for the case. Paul Reed Smith personally supervised the work picking out all the woods, re-carving the body, carving the neck by hand, stained it, played and adjusted it until it was perfect.  Run of the mill (if you can use that phrase) guitars from PRS usually range from £300 – £6,000

The replica or tribute phenomena in music can be taken either way.Some tribute bands are manned by decent musicians, in a few cases probably better than the originals they mimic.  That’s almost certainly true with the dozens of Status Quo tribute acts out there!  Replica guitars are also a burgeoning business.  Some tribute acts take things to the extreme of insisting on using their hero’s original instruments if they’re still available, or getting replicas if they’re not.

Guitars are more than just a musical instrument.They are also cultural symbols, fashion statements and emblems of personality and attitude.Replica guitars have a varied reputation and many people can’t see further than the logo stamped on the headstock.Cheap Chinese copies have flooded the market and their quality is certainly questionable.  However, very high quality replicas of vintage guitars do exist. Fender is a favourite target for these lovingly created copies, based on the 1951 Telecaster (nee Broadcaster) and the 1954 Fender Stratocaster.
In its heyday, the Stratocaster had a contour body of swamp ash, one piece maple neck and three pickups.In 1960 Fender bodies changed to alder as standard and the slab board necks were manufactured up until 1962 when a curved board was offered. In 1964 the curved board was replaced with a veneer when the CBS Corporation purchased the company leading to wjhat most agree was a decline in quality. So replica Fender guitars made today may actually be better quality than post 1964 originals!

The Tanglewood RVB-2  60s Beatles style violin bass is another good example of just how good replicas can be. Based on Hofner’s 500/1 ‘Beatle Bass’, The RVB-2 recreates a vintage semi-hollow tone ideal for ’60s style pop/ rock, blues and jazz, without breaking the bank! It has the same vintage features as the Hofner: rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays, maple neck, floating wooden bridge and pearloid pick guard. Of course, the pickups aren’t the Hofner stamped ‘Staple’ humbucking pickups, but the two toaster appearance mini-humbucker pickups work just as well in achieving that Beatles un-EQ’d classic pop sound.  So don’t dismiss electric guitars just because they are replicas.  Just like the tribute bands, sometimes they can be as good as, if not better than, the original.

Yamaha guitars have been made for over 60 years and the company itself is more than a century old.Yamaha started out making organs, pianos, harmonicas, even furniture before they got round to making their first acoustic guitar in 1942. It was only in 1965, a year after the Beatles broke in the USA on the Ed Sullivan Show,  that Yamaha began to make solid body electric guitars with electric bass models appearing a year later.

By 1970 Yamaha was being noticed by major exponents of guitars as the lead instrument of a generation such as Carlos Santana and Bob Marley.  That same year they introduced the dovetail neck joint to their guitars which provides the best neck to body contact and helps to resonate vibrations from the neck to the body, producing the balanced tone and response that Yamaha electric guitars are famous for.

Blending different kinds of wood is also extremely important to produce a great sound where the guitar player has complete control of the note texture.  Another important factor in the construction in Yamaha guitars is the types of lacquer they use so the guitars can look great and have a chance to breathe.

Yamaha have achieved anm enviable reputation in the electro-acoustic field as well as in bass guitars. The Yamaha RBX170 for example is amazing value for money yet the quality is everything you would expect from a decent bass. The solid agathis body, sleek, wide-cutaway contours allow easy access right to the top of the 24-fret, full-scale neck.

Yamaha is the guitar of choice for many famous artists, and one of the most popular makes for session men in the recording studio. John Denver, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Brian May, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, Bob Seger, Billy Sheehan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen have all gigged with Yamaha at some time in their careers.

If you’ve decided that you want to take up the guitar, but prefer to live in the engine room of any band by playing the bass, then you are obviously a lover of rhythm and the groove. The bass guitar, together with the drums, forms the rhythm section of a band and so it will be important to develop a good sense of timing and beat.  Choosing the correct instrument is important, as is dedication to practicing in order to become an accomplished bassist.

Iconic bass guitars like the Fender Precision not only drove many a jazz, rock and surf band but became as recognisable as the screaming lead instruments.  Unlike lead guitars, where most novices are advised to start out with an acoustic, prospective bass players will probably go straight to a four sting electric bass guitar. Great brands for starters include Washburn, Squier and Epiphone. These companies produce guitars that look good and play great for the price. Fretless, acoustic and five-string basses each have their own type of sounds and can be very powerful and sonorous, but they are very hard to learn compared with the four string electric bass. Most tutorial books or tuition CDs for beginners are written with the four-string fretted bass in mind.

You can buy a cheap, second hand bass guitar.Most used equipment drops in price over the years and can offer better quality and sound for the same price as a new bass.Many other used instruments have poor sound quality and setup with unreasonably high action, or simply do not hold tune correctly.  Always check a used instrument for damage, and play it (or have someone else play it) before buying it.   The time and effort you would have to put into carefully selecting a used bass guitar is substantial, and it’s probably safer to look at some of the quite reasonably priced electric guitars and bass starter packages from well known brand names.

The Behringer bass guitar pack for example includes the guitar and a bass guitar amplifier, padded gig bag, cable, an adjustable strap and picks. The Ibanez GSR190J 4-String Bass Guitar Pack also includes a 10 watt amplifier and accessories at a very affordable price.Or you could move straight to Squier Precision bass guitars.They are the worlds best-selling bass guitar because of excellent value. They feel good, sound good and fit the needs of any starting-out bass player on a budget.

Whichever route you take, always try before you buy.Most guitar shops will let you plug in and play around with any instrument so you can check how it sounds, looks, and feels in your hands. Do not buy something used without playing it first unless it comes from a reputable source you trust and has some sort of return policy. There are very reputable and well established Internet-based music stores that can generally offer better deals than high street retail but be very cautious about buying instruments on Internet sites such as eBay.  Bring someone along who is an experienced bassist and let them play any instruments you are considering buying.

There are mixed feelings in the guitaring community about signature models -they are customised for another person, not you, and cost alot more because of the name on them. Heres a few of the signature guitars out there for the ‘metallers’.

The Dimebag range from Dean Guitars. The average guitarist will have one guitar made for them -Dimebag has a range of 33 guitars made in his memory. The Pantera guitarist died tragically in 2004, and since then Dean have supplied us with a whole range of Dimebag guitars, shaped as flying Vs or Explorers. When the guitar was made will determine which pickups you get in it -either the ‘Dimebuckers’ in the newer models, or ‘EMG’s in the older ones. So select your choice of pickup and decide which of the 33 looks best to you and enjoy hours upon hours of metal. If you love Pantera then there is no question- buy this guitar. And with prices from £219 upwards -one of those thirty three has to appeal to you.

Kerry King’s BC Rich series. Also having his own range of signature guitars is Slayer’s own Kerry King. Available as either a flying V or Explorer shaped guitar as well, painted with tribal designs to match his head tattoos, these guitars look as mean as their owner, but how do they sound? They certainly help you to achieve the brutality of guitar tone needed to play any Slayer song.The range has BC Rich’s own brand of pickups in them to give the guitar a little added kick.

Jackon’s Phil Demell guitar. Created with help from Machine Head’s lead guitarist Phil Demell, the Jackson guitar has one hell of a kick to it. A classic flying V shaped guitar with EMG pickups, this guitar is going to rip your head off the minute you plug it in. Expensive at £1100m but if you’ve got your money and love your metal its the guitar to go for, and it comes tuned to drop B as well.

Looking for electric guitars? Or maybe you prefer acoustic guitars? Go no further.