The Essential Things Every Wannabe Electric Guitarist Should Know

Confused about buying an electric guitar? Read this article to know your instrument inside out before you walk into a guitar store confidently.

Playing a musical instrument can be one of the most exciting things for anyone. It is not only satisfying but also lucrative as a career. Although each instrument has its own charm and significance, guitar seems to be one of the most popular choices of all time. For any guitar lover, it must be a treat to watch a person playing guitar and its tune and rhythm is simply overwhelming.

However, it takes a long time for a guitarist to master the art of playing guitar so well. If you ask any guitarist about their preference on the sound of guitars, their unequivocal answer would be electric guitar. Over the years, the popularity of electric guitars has gone up and so has their sale. Even though you have been playing acoustic guitar for some time now, you will need proper guidance while buying an electric guitar.

Take a look at the following points before you hit an electric guitar store:

Budget:

The prices of electric guitars would start from $300 and upward. If you have a shoe-string budget, chances are that you won`t find high-end guitars such as Guild Benedetto Signature Model or Paul Reed Smith Santana II. However, the good news is, due to the computer aided woodworking equipments, even low-end electric guitars sound almost as well as their high-end counterparts.

Types of Electric Guitar:

Electric Guitars can be found in different depending on their body. Most electric guitars are made up of solid wood such as Alder, Ash, Mahogany and Basswood. Semi-hollow instruments such as Gibson`s ES-335 are popular because of their thinness and lightweight. On the other hands, there are electric guitars such as Gretsch Black Falcon which a true hollow-body and f-holes allowing the user to tune the guitar to resonate sounds as well as the acoustic guitars do.

Types of Music:

Whether you would want to buy a Gibson ES-5 or Fender Telecaster depends purely on what music you play most of the time. For instance, if you belong to a country band, you should choose an electric guitar that produces cleaner and brighter twang. Hence, you can pick a Stratocaster or Fender Telecaster to do justice to your county band. On the other hand, go for the Paul Reed Smith McCarty Hollowbody II if you are playing music in a jazz setting.

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Structure of acoustic and electric guitars

 

Of course even now there are several types, but the most common is the six-strings guitar. The guitar is composed of many pieces, starting from the top there are: the headstock together with the tuning keys used to keep tension in the strings and to change the tuning. Here we find the neck, the length can vary depending on the type of guitar, the neck is divided into frets that are used to tighten the strings and get the notes you want. Finally then we find the body with the soundboard and the bridge from where the strings branch off.

 

Of course in electric guitars we will not find the soundboard but a solid body (full body) that, to capture and disseminate the different sounds, uses pickups that are placed where would be the hole for the sound box. It is important to remember that in case of non-electric guitars sound quality and its uniqueness are completely dependent on the type of wood used to build the box and the type of joints inside it.

Even in electric guitars, the wood is very important because the neck is subjected to a much higher tension than acoustic guitars, it also has a metal core; a good neck must be able to withstand the tension and its change when you change your tune and must also be sliding to let the right hand slide. One of the most important part is certainly the strings, that, plucked with the fingers or the plectrum, emit the characteristic sound of these musical instruments.

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Custom Guitars

Custom-built guitars are just a dream for regular guys. You usually have to be famous or rich to get your hand on a custom hand built guitar that is made exactly for your convenience. The world today offers a mass manufacturing and global distribution that you could possibly buy almost everything you want. For instruments like guitar, huge manufacturers are turning out high-quality instruments at very affordable prices and advance production techniques have made it possible for factories to offer options and a point of customization that would have been expensive and impractical in the past. On the other hand, there are also booming cottage industries of individual guitar-makers who can build a completely custom-made guitar suited to your needs.

Some may ask why bother with a custom guitar when there are so many choices available in the market. The primary reason for most is the basic ergonomic needs. You may just benefit from a unique neck geometry that fits your hands better or custom electronics to better capture your live playing style. Any feature or combination of features that you can’t find in the usual stock instrument can easily justify a need for a custom order.

A good starting point would probably be choosing wood for your guitar. You may need to research a little to find out what tone you will get from each of the different guitar tone woods. You should narrow your choices based on the tone that you are looking for.

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Don’t Fall For These Guitar Playing Myths

You are either born with musical ability or not. You should get the best guitar you can afford. Let’s debunk these common myths about learning guitar and more. First, don’t feel like you have to learn acoustic guitar and then move on to bass guitar lessons.

Let’s debunk some of the most common myths about playing guitar.

Myth #1: You are either born with innate musical ability or not.
Clearly, mastering an instrument comes easier to some than others. But anyone that is motivated can learn to play guitar. You might never be as great as a musical prodigy. We can’t be Clapton or Hendrix.  But do you need to be? Everyone can learn to play guitar.  Your level of proficiency will depend on the effort and time you want to put into it, your passion for it and your motivation.

Myth #2: The best guitarists learn and master all guitar styles.
It can take a lifetime to master one style. You might be able to master two styles if you take up two genres that have some crossover potential, such as blues and rock, but that is the exception.

When you are beginning, pick a genre and style you’re passionate about and concentrate on that. Don’t feel like you have to learn acoustic guitar and then move on to bass guitar lessons, then blues, etc. and expect to conquer that genre as well. Don’t get distracted with other music styles. Most guitar legends are that because they mastered a genre. Very few will cross outside of their specialty and excel at more than one.
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Tips on Playing Guitar

Learning the guitar has become a popular activity for countless individuals, whether those interested in playing blues guitar, acoustics, rock and roll, etc. This write up shares some tips on guitar playing that will make you learn to play guitar properly.

Because of the popularity of this musical instrument: a guitar, more and more people would like to learn to play guitar. Learning the guitar is not that difficult, whether playing blues guitar is what you want, strumming an acoustic guitar, and so on. There are various tips on guitar playing that will make you learn the instrument faster. Learn more about them below:

Tip Number One: Make sure that you are serious about this activity.

One of the very first tips for aspiring guitarists is to actually see to it that they are really serious or have the passion for guitars. If you are a moody person who would only be interested in guitar-playing lessons for several days, and then start to lose interest after a few weeks, then, you’ll only waste time if you take some tutorials to learn to play guitar. Learning the guitar successfully requires you to be serious, determined, and truly interested, whether you plan on playing blues guitar, playing rock music, playing mellow tunes on your instrument, etc.

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