Hammond Music

Posts Tagged ‘fender’

Over the years guitar names have come and gone, but there are some that certainly stand out from the rest. These are the brands that big name guitarists seek because they enjoy playing them and they are the ones that beginners aspire to. From Fender to Gibson, depending on what you are looking for in a guitar you can usually find it in the most popular and famous guitar brands.

Among the leaders in the modern “mass market” for guitars is Yamaha.They produce a wide range of styles in electric and acoustic guitars featuring original designs and copies of popular retro models.  Many of the most famous guitarists in the world will play nothing but Yamaha instruments  and renowned Yamaha players include reggae great Bob Marley, jazz master Al Di Meola, Stax/Volt house guitarist Steve Cropper, Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music), Paul Barrere (Little Feat) and Al McCay (Earth, Wind & Fire). Yamaha is also one of the most common brands for beginners.

If you judge fame by popularity and iconic status, then not many electric guitars can compete with Gibson and Fender. Gibson dates back to the late 1890’s and is one of the most revered makers whose range includes the famous Les Paul electric guitar.  Fender also has a long history that began in the early 1950’s and saw the introduction of guitars  that are cultural symbols like the Stratocaster, much beloved by Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix,   and  the Telecaster embraced by Jeff  Beck and Keith Richards. If you are the lucky owner of one of the early Stratocaster’s then you not only have a beautiful guitar, but you’ve also got an item worth a huge amount of money.

Ibanez may  sound like it ought to focus just on Spanish guitars, but it has achieved popularity by producing reasonably priced copies of popular electric guitars. With models inspired by the Les Paul and Stratocaster, they make guitars that are affordable and look great. Now Ibanez are doing their own thing incorporating more unique elements into their original designs like new body shapes, slimmer necks and bright colourful finishes.

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.

Most music has always had a bass line be it written or implied, today the bass part is fundamental to most of the music we listen to. From the pedal board for the bass notes of an organ, the orchestra double bass, contra bassoon or tuba, bass instruments serve as a needed harmonic reference point and a bass foundation for the music. We tend to notice the emptiness of when music lacks a bass line or implicit bass line. With styles of popular music changing and evolving, plus the increasing demands of the working musician for portability, playability and loud volume, there was a strong need for a new type of bass instrument. This is when the bass guitar came into play.

Bass guitars have been around since the 1930’s though not quite in the exact same form as the Fender bass guitars that we know today, but you could say that their predecessors, the acoustic Basses, have been around for many years longer.  With it’s range of tone, techniques and amplification the bass guitar offered a bass sound that was different from any other that had been heard before from more traditional bass instruments. Held and played horizontally like a regular guitar, the electric bass differed from it’s predecessor, the upright bass not only in it’s orientation during playing but also in it’s ease of use and portability. Electric bass players were no longer burdened with a huge lumbering akward instrument to carry and protect. With the exception of a longer neck and having 4 strings instead of 6, the electric bass guitar looks very much like the electric guitar as they both have a solid body that is often shaped the same. Also, unlike an acoustic guitar which is hollow, with a sound hole to allow for amplification, the sound of a Fender bass guitar is amplified by plugging it in to an amplifier and speaker. A bass guitar typically has four strings which are tuned an octave lower than the lowest strings of a regular guitar. While guitars are primarily strummed and picked, the bass can be played with a variety of techniques as well including, fingering, picking, slapping,thumb play, muting thumping and more. Because of it’s close relationship to the drums and the pulse of the music, the bass guitar is considered to be a rhythm section instrument.

The almighty Fender Stratocaster- the guitar most people think of when they hear the word ‘guitars‘. The Strat guitar is as inconic a guitar as they come since they were first produced in 1954, as have gone from strength to strength. Lets look at the players who made this axe the legendary guitar that it is today.

• Iron Maiden. All three members of Iron Maiden have at one time or another played with a Fender Stratocaster. Other than Steve Harris, Dave Murray is the only other founding member of Iron Maiden that is still with the band. He used Paul Kosoff of the band ‘Free’s guitar up until 1990 when he switched to his signature series model. Murray has his own signature model with Seymour Duncan pickups and Floyd rose system on it -both a rarity for a Fender guitar, let alone a Strat. The two other guitar players in Iron Maiden, Janick Gers and Adrain Smith also play Strats, yet Smith seems to always be photographed with a different guitar in his hands.
• Eric Clapton. Ol’ ’slow hands’ as hes known, has played as many guitars as most people have had hot dinners, using everything from a Gibson Les Paul from his days in Cream and a Telecaster when he was in the Yardbirds. But he is most famous for using a Strat, namely the infamous ‘blackie’, which he used up until its retirement in 1985. Blackie was sold at auction to help fund the Crossroads centre for drug and alcohol addictions, and sold for $959,500 in 2004. Clapton made the switch to Strats in 1969, and hasnt looked back since.
• Jimi Hendrix. The man who redefined guitar playing and considered to be the greatest guitar player ever. Hendrix started playing the guitars in 1966, and then started to use them exclusively for recordings and live performances. Although like Clapton, he had been seen playing many different instruments, it is the strat which he settled on. He was left handed, so he played right handed guitars upside down and strung them in reverse order. Eric Clapton’s birthday present to Jimi was supposed to be a left handed Strat, which Jimi never received due to his death. he 1969 Monterey international pop festival performance.

After a Fender guitar now? Look no further.

What is it that makes the Stratocaster such an individual guitar is the unique, intimate sound that comes from the three single coil pickup configuration. Although they can be a little noisy at times and need time to learn to handle at high volumes, they do have a raw sound  that is perfect for that rock n roll sound. They have a distinguished fit and finish, with great attention to detail. I’m know others would agree I’m sure that the Fender Strat holds tuning very well. The action on my Fender Stratocaster was setup great for me, which is an added bonus as well. you will sometimes find the factory settings on some guitars higher than you may want it to be. I decided to go with a maple board for my Fender Stratocaster as it seems to glide smoothly, and a satin neck which is nice and slick. They comein a number of wood finishes, but obviously its all about your own preference. The American Standard Stratocaster includes a new bridge, with improved bent-steel saddles for an increased resonance and sustain. The saddles maintain that classic look and tone, but with a few modern improvements for example spacing, slot elongation as well as height screw length.The bridge is designed to complement the 22 medium jumbo frets and rolled edges which allows more space for your fingers . They have also elongated the string slot to reduce friction and string breakage, while improving the string break angle over the primary contact point. Besides all this the fact the Fender Stratocaster is one of, if not the most sought after guitar tells you a lot in its self.

I ordered my Stratocaster on the net from Music 123, which is a great site not just because of their prices, but the fact they are so honest with their reviews. The products they sell are of the highest quality. My Stratocaster was available with various finishes which include the wood finishes and colors as well as a number of different knobs, tips and pickup covers.