Electric Guitar Anatomy 101 with tips on instrument care & electric guitar setup.
Alexander Cortés www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com ...
Electric Guitar Anatomy 101 with tips on instrument care & electric guitar setup
Alexander Cortés www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com
Electric Guitar Anatomy 101 Overview This short eBook will help you get better acquainted with your beloved 6-string. It will also give you valuable information on how to take better care of it. Lastly, it will teach you how to setup your guitar so that it sounds exactly like you want it to sound: awesome!!! At the very end, I included a FAQ section covering miscellaneous topics. All this information will also prove valuable when buying an instrument, whether new or used. Or it could help you out in your lessons, if you ever teach electric guitar to a beginner. Enjoy!
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Headstock Your tuning pegs and posts need cleaning every now and then. Use an old toothbrush and lighter fluid to gently brush the pegs and machines (preferably at a time when your guitar has no strings). Add a drop or two of sewing machine oil every now and then to keep the whole thing running smooth. The truss-rod (more on it below) should not be messed with just for the hell of it. If it needs adjusting, find a competent guitar techie to help you out, as you run the risk of ruining your guitar’s neck. The frets can also be cleaned using lighter fluid and a tooth brush. Be very gentle, as you don’t want to ruin the fretboard! Rub the fretboard with a few drops of almond oil from time to time to keep the wood moisturized and healthy.
The Neck, inside out The truss rod is a very important component of steelstring guitars. It gives additional strength to the neck, so that it can resist the enormous tension of steel strings. They were first used by Gibson, as a way to add or decrease neck tension. Nylon and carbon string guitars do not need a truss rod, since the tension is much less. The truss-rod should be adjusted in such a way that the neck is straight, and not bent backwards or forwards: this can not only make playing uncomfortable, but can also generate fret buzz, and may even harm your instrument permanently... The truss-rod shown at right is that of a bass-guitar, in construction.
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Single-coil pickup Single-coil pickups are the most basic kind. When the metal strings vibrate, they make the magnetic pole-pieces vibrate. This generates an electric current in the copper coil, by electromagnetic induction, which is then amplified and transformed into sound using a loudspeaker.
Hum-bucker pickup Hum-buckers are a little more sophisticated. Yet, in essence, a hum-bucker is nothing but two single-coil pickups put together. The reason is that singlecoils generate noise due to the electric current in the circuit. The two singlecoils in a hum-bucker are set at opposite polarities so that the two phases cancel each other out. While hum-buckers tend to have a cleaner sound, they can also sound a bit opaque. If you’re after a brighter tone, then single coils may just be the choice for you. Some pretty sophisticated guitars allow you to choose between single-coil and hum-bucker function, even using the exact same pickup: part of the circuit is blocked off, and that’s that. Another option is to get active pickups: these need power, usually from batteries mounted somewhere in the guitar, and give you additional oomph. It’s like having a little amp inside the pickup... the sound is amplified even before it gets to the amp itself. Other, more specialized guitars have different kinds of transducers (a transducer is something that turns movement —vibration in this case— into an electric current). Some guitars have piezometers, or midi pickups, instead of, or in addition to traditional pickups.
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Electronics Choosing a guitar with good electronics is very important All else being equal, good electronics can make or brake your sound. In any case, electronics are fairly simple to repair, or even replace. But don’t just run to the techie whenever you get a buzz in your amp, or cracking noises when you turn the volume or tone knob (the fancy name for these graduated switches is “potentiometer”): the issue may be simple to fix... Loosen your guitar’s strings and unscrew the pick-guard. Gently pull it out: you don’t want to damage a cable, right? Take a can of compressed air, the kind you get to clean your keyboard, and blow the whole thing clean of dust. Unscrew the output jack: then use an ear cotton doused in lighter fluid to wipe it clean of grime and dust. Do the same to the potentiometers: just be gentle with them! If this doesn't fix the issue, it may be best to take the sick girl to the quack... you just never know! In most cases it will be something fairly simple, like the ground cable having come loose. Many guitar makers’ websites have wiring diagrams, in case you want to customize or fix your guitar yourself.
If you want to go deeper down the rabbit-hole, head over to Guitar Theory Secrets and subscribe to the free eZine (e is for electronic, zine is for magazine). Every now and then you will get some cool free tips and information straight to your inbox. This is also the best way to find out as soon as I publish anything new on the fretboard and related topics...
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The Bridge
The bridge is one of the most important elements of any guitar, electric or acoustic. In acoustic guitars, and hollow-body electric guitars, it’s main function is to transfer the vibration of the strings to the top of the sound box, as this is the part that plays the most important role in amplifying the strings’ vibrations. In the case of solid-body electric guitars it is not half as important to transfer vibration down to the body. But intonation is very important, and in contrast to most acoustic guitars, electric guitars have an independent string saddle for each string. This means you can adjust the intonation by moving the saddles backwards or forwards. The reason the saddles aren’t all just a straight line is simple: each string has a gauge of its own, so if the portion of the string that vibrates (the length between the nut and the bridge) were the same for each, the guitar would be out of tune, particularly after fret 12. Whenever you change your guitar’s strings, it is important to set the intonation, as string tension may vary. It is also important to adjust the truss-rod, so as ti avoid buzzing sounds and guitar-neck injury.
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Trem bar The whammy-bar, or trem-bar, is part of the bridge, of course. Many variations of it have been invented throughout the years, Floyd Rose trems being perhaps the most recent. Unless you really want the extreme notebending that comes with trem bars, I would discourage getting a guitar with one. There are many reasons: the most obvious is that unless you get a really expensive guitar with a pretty sophisticated string locking mechanism, your guitar will get out of tune when you use your tremolo bar. The second reason is that guitars with trem bars are harder to set-up. Before getting on with the actual setup, the whammy-bar must first be blocked from behind. Floating bridge and Floyd Rose bridges in particular are a pain in the ass to block for setup purposes.
A further disadvantage of floating bridges (Floyd Rose and other such 2 way trembars) is that using alternate tunings becomes really uncomfortable, if not impossible. Many guitarists and guitar enthusiasts I know who bought such guitars have ended up blocking their Floyd Rose bridges altogether for that reason. The setup tutorial gives instructions on how to block tremolo bridges for setup purposes. If you want to block yours in a semi-permanent way, you’ll need some tools: measure the gap between the base of the bridge and the wood of the guitar. Then cut a wooden wedge of the desired width. Slide it in, and presto! Your tremolo bridge has been blocked.
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Setup to Sound Like a Pro in 4 Easy Steps 1 Adjust the truss-rod 2 Set the action 3 Set pickup height 4 Intonation
Learning to setup your electric guitar yourself is important for many reasons. The first is that unless you’re a star and can afford a full-time techie to take care of your instruments, it’s the only way to ensure you guitars always sound great. Moreover, if you want to customize your sound, and make your guitar sing, the best way is to do it yourself. Only you know what you really want. And even if you don’t, this will give you the ability to explore possibilities and find out.
The third reason is that getting to know guitars, in and out, will help you develop an eye for opportunities: you may spot a really cheap used guitar that needs only minor tweaking to sound great! Or maybe someone is trying to rip you off, and you just wouldn’t know it unless you really know electric guitars in and out. This tutorial will be useful to setup electric guitars, but also 4, 5 and 6 string bass guitars. It is advisable to change your strings before you start, though this is not absolutely crucial. In all explanations, the headstock is pointing to your left.
You are now almost ready to start your setup! But before that, you need some tools... If your guitar has a tremolo bridge or a Floyd Rose... ...you need to block it before proceeding. The most practical way, if you don't have tools at your disposal, is: 1. Remove the plastic cover at the back of your guitar. 2. Place thin coins or picks between the part of the bridge that protrudes downward and the body, stacking them until the distance between the flat part of the bridge (just below the bridge pickup) and the body is 6/64". 3. Loosen the springs using the sliding screws and tune to A-440. 4. If your guitar has a Floyd Rose, add coins or picks till the top of the bridge is parallel to the body, then remove the springs and tune to A-440. The idea is simply to get the part of the bridge that protrudes downwards to be at the same distance from the body as it would be with the springs in place. If you have tools, you can make a wooden wedge of the right size and slide it in. www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com
What you’ll need • Screwdrivers • Allen keys • Capo • Spark-plug gap gauge • Electronic guitar tuner • 6” ruler with 1/64” increments
These items are shown in order in the picture below. You can get the screwdrivers, allen keys, spark-plug gap gauge, and 6” ruler at your local hardware store. The capo and tuner you can get at any decent music retailer. Some guitars need extra-small allen keys to set the string saddles. These can be hard to get, in my experience: however, if this is the case, your guitar most likely came with such a key included.
The only item that can be a bit costly is the electronic tuner: make sure to get a good one! If you don’t you’ll never get your intonation right. In any case, this is a one-time investment, which in my opinion is much better than having to keep paying a techie to do it over and over again! I suggest you get a chromatic tuner, not a “guitar tuner”. The reason is that guitar tuners are very limited: they only help you tune up using the standard tuning system, and perhaps a few other ones. A chromatic tuner, on the other hand, is much more versatile: with it, you could even tune a piano or an austrian sitar, if you were so inclined! Granted, most likely you’ll never tune a piano, but if you ever want to set your intonation using a custom tuning, you’ll need to get a chromatic tuner just for that. So the investment is well worth it. Avoid tuners with digital screens: they tend to be less accurate than their analog-dial counterparts.
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Electric Guitar Setup Step 1: Adjust the truss-rod This is done in order to avoid the strings from hitting the frets —-and buzzing— as they vibrate. Put the capo on the first fret, and press down the 5th string at the 17th fret with your finger. At the same time, lift up the 6th string and place it so it presses against the fingernail of the finger you’re pressing the 5th string down with. This frees the rest of your fingers. Use the spark-plug gauge to measure the distance between the top of the 12th fret and the bottom of the 5th string. The following are all fairly standard measurements. Pick one you like as your point of departure, and experiment: • Vintage guitar: 0.012 • Telecaster: 0.012 • Gibson: 0.004 - 0.006 • Bass guitar: 0.014 • Floyd Rose: 0.012
Note: if your guitar’s truss-rod access is below the last fret instead of by the nut, invert directions. This is most common in 5 and 6 string bass guitars.
The spark-plug gauge should fit snugly between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret as you slide it in. Adjust the truss-rod with the appropriate allen key until it is just right. Turn clockwise (toward the 1st string) to loosen, or counterclockwise (toward the 6th string) to tighten. If you want to understand the technical aspects behind this a bit more, here it goes: The strings oscillate in an elliptical pattern. The depth of this oscillation is less, or almost null at the harmonic nodes of the string, and maximal at the midpoint between nodes. The truss-rod is there so that you can adjust the curvature of the neck to match the elliptical pattern of the strings’ oscillation and minimize fret buzz while maximizing playing comfort...
Electric Guitar Setup Step 2: Set the action This means adjusting the height of the strings relative to the fretboard. You’ll want a height that is fairly comfortable, but still minimizes buzz. With the capo still on the 1st fret, measure the distance between the bottom of the strings and the top of the 17th fret using the 1/64” increment ruler. Again, use the table below as a general guideline: explore different possibilities till you find the height that suits your playing style best. • Vintage guitar: 4/64" • Telecaster: 4/64" • Floyd Rose: 4/64" • Gibson: 3/64" or 4/64" • Bass guitar: 6/64"
Remove the capo and tune to A-440.
Check to see if any of the strings buzz, playing fret by fret on all six strings, and adjust as needed. Eliminating fret buzz completely is neither possible nor necessary: in most cases, minimal buzz will not carry over to the amp. Set so that your guitar is comfortable to play, with no undesirable noise. www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com
Electric Guitar Setup Step 3: Set pickup height Using the 6 inch ruler in 1/64” increments, measure the distance between the top of your pickups and the bottom of strings 1 and 6, while pressing down the string you’re working on at the very last fret. Adjust the pickup height screw as needed using the table below as a reference point. The closer the strings are to the pickups, the greater the output signal, obviously. If you get too close it can get noisy and also uncomfortable to play... • Vintage guitar: 6th; 8/64", 1st; 6/64" • Telecaster: 6th; 6/64", 1st; 5/64" • Gibson: 3/64" or 4/64" • 4 string bass guitar: 4th; 8/64", 1st; 6/64". Or 4/64" on both sides. • 5 / 6 string bass guitar: 6th/5th; 7/64", 1st; 5/64" • Floyd Rose: 6th; 8/64", 1st; 6/64" (If it has hum-buckers: 6/64" on both sides)
The general idea is that all pickups should have an output signal that is the same, in terms of intensity, regardless of pickup or string. Otherwise, you will have to readjust your amp or pre-amp volume when you’re playing onstage whenever you want to switch pickups.
Electric Guitar Setup Step 4: Intonation Tune your guitar with an electronic tuner, using the natural harmonics at the 12th fret. Once you’re done, compare the harmonic at the 12th fret with the note you get by pressing (12th fret again): both should give you the exact same pitch. If that is not the case, adjust. If the tuner the note you get by pressing is too flat, then shorten the vibrating portion of the string by adjusting the string saddle. If it's too sharp, elongate the vibrating portion. After each time you lengthen or shorten the vibrating segment, tune again using the natural harmonic at the 12th fret, and only then repeat, until it’s spot on.
If your guitar has a tremolo bridge or a Floyd Rose... ...put the tremolo springs back in place and tighten them —slowly— using the sliding screws, until the coins or picks fall out. Place the plastic cover back in place, and you're set! Try to practice this on as many different guitars and bass guitars as you can. Tell your friends you’ll setup their guitars for free, whatever. Just try to apply this as often as you can until you really learn it. This will teach you more than you can imagine about guitars. Once you get decent enough at doing setups, you can even start charging... Hey! This new skill could even save you from starvation when in a pinch! ;-)
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Guitar FAQ These are all actual questions I’ve been asked. I’ve grouped them by topic to make it easier to get to what you need. Some are super basic, some not so much. Even if the specific issue you’re trying to deal with is not covered here, these questions and answers may still set your issue in context, and help point you in the right direction. These are the topics:
Choosing a guitar Issues with sound Cleaning your guitar Decoration Practice Strings Technical issues Recording your music
Choosing a guitar... “What's the difference between a bass guitar and a guitar?” A bass guitar is basically a guitar with only its four lowest strings, tuned an octave lower. The six strings of a guitar, from low to high: E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 The four strings of a bass guitar, from low to high: E1 A1 D2 G2 (U.S. index numbers)
“What kind of guitar should a beginner buy?” “I’ve never touched a guitar in my life, but I want to learn. What guitar should I get?” That depends on the kind of music you want to play. The first question is: electric, or acoustic? If the answer is “electric”, then the question is: single-coils or hum-buckers? Hollow-body or solid-body? If the answer is “acoustic”, then the basic question is: steel string, or nylon? I always suggest trying out different instruments out before purchasing. And avoid the pitfall of going just for looks. Many beginners get conned out of their hard earned cash by crafty salesmen because of this. If you really can’t play a thing, then try hanging out with people who can: you will learn heaps, and maybe you can get someone to help you pick a good instrument to start with. With regard to starting out with an electric or an acoustic: many people will say “start with an acoustic, then learn electric guitar”. But there is no real reason to start that way, unless you are so inclined. They are very different instruments with regard to sound production. So technique is very different too. Pick whichever motivates you most. You'll learn faster. Later, learn the other. If you care to. That will broaden your scope. But neither is better nor worse as a starting point: they are just different. www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com
“What’s the best electric guitar for someone just starting out?” It's really important to get an instrument that will help you rather than slow you down. Otherwise, its easy to lose motivation... A key point to understand about electric guitars is the difference between hum-buckers and single-coil pickups. Hum-buckers "buck the hum", which is to say, they reduce noise signal. Gibson became famous for their almost noiseless hum-bucker pickups back in the day. They are great for more subdued blues and jazzy stuff. Lots of heavy metal players also use them, because hum-buckers give the player enhanced dynamic control in pinch harmonics and whatnot. The risk with hum-buckers is that the cheaper ones usually sound boring... Single-coil pickups have a "hotter" output (quite literally, in terms of what goes on at a molecular level in the cables). Think classic Stratocaster sound: Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan. So think about what kind of sound you prefer, and about how much you can afford to spend on a guitar. Try different instruments: if you can't play very much, get a friend who can to go to the store with you and try a few out. Pay close attention to sound! If you want to play blues, you might want to get a Les Paul or something of the sort. Or maybe you like Jazz, in which case a hollow-body would be best. Maybe you like a rockier sound: a Strat or a Tele might do the job. Or if you like metal an Ibanez might be the one for you... And remember that an instrument is a long term investment. If at all possible, try to avoid cheaper, crappier guitars and get something decent...
“Are semi-hollow guitars good with distortion? I like the way they look, but I want to play heavy stuff on the guitar I buy...” Distortion does not depend so much on the guitar’s body as on pickups, your amp, and OD (over-drive) unit. If your pickups give out a nice tight signal, your hollow-body will lend itself nicely to overdrive. (Distortion is nothing but intentional overheating of the circuitry of your amp, hence the term OVERDRIVE). So look at which pickups are on the guitar you want to buy: different kinds of pickups respond differently. But unless you're talking really sophisticated pickups, a pickup is nothing but a transducer: a coil and a magnet. Nothing much to it. So test. Plug into an amp you like and test! An issue you may encounter, again, depending on the quality of your pickups, is feedback. Given the additional vibration within the body of hollow-body guitars, you may end up with bad feedback unless you get good quality hum-buckers built specifically for distortion.
“Exactly why does a Gibson guitar cost more than an Epiphone?” “How different are the sound and durability of these instruments?” Gibson acquired Epiphone at some point as their entry-level guitar manufactory. Up until then, Epiphone was an independent instrument maker. What this means is that both these brands make similar models, but Epiphone guitars are made of cheaper materials, and are assembled by less qualified instrument makers. www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com
If you buy a Gibson, you will get premium woods and electronics, as well as expert craftsmanship. Having said that, each instrument is different. You may find an Epihpone you just love, and the equivalent Gibson at the store just sucks... so test!!! Squier is to Fender what Epiphone is to Gibson.
“Can you play country songs with a classical guitar?” “I have an old classical guitar, but I want to play country. Will this guitar do?” No reason why not. And if you are on a tight budget, why waste money on an other guitar? Sure, it won’t sound the same. But you can get pretty good sound from a classical guitar just playing three chord songs. Later, when it really makes sense to buy one, go get one!
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Issues with sound... “Why does my A major chord sound bad?” “Whenever I play an A major chord on my acoustic guitar it sounds terrible, unless I press really hard. My fingers are bleeding because I kept on trying to get it to sound right: I have to press so much harder than any other chord, and it still doesn’t sound right. My guitar is in tune and all of the other chords I use sound perfect. This chord always sounds a little too sharp. I cant figure it out!” To really know for sure I'd have to take a look at your instrument. Anyway, these are the steps I follow in such cases. If something doesn’t work, move on to the next step. 1. Place your fingers always exactly by the fret, as far down the string as you can before you start damping the sound. This will reduce the pressure needed to produce any notes and chords. 2. If that doesn't help, try using lighter gage strings. This will reduce the tension, and consequently the pressure needed to get sound you’re after. 3. If that doesn't help, there might be an issue with your truss-rod (nylon string acoustic guitars have no truss-rod). The truss-rod is a metal bar inside the neck of electric guitars and steel string acoustic guitars: this might be affecting the curvature of your guitar's neck, hence the excessive pressure needed and the bad intonation. Adjust with an allen key, or get an expert to do it for you (might be wiser, as the truss-rod is rather delicate). 4. If that doesn't help, you may need to adjust the action of your six-string. “Action” is the fancy term for string height. Adjusting the truss-rod may help with the action, but you may further have to adjust the height of the bridge using the bridge adjustment screws. If your bridge has no adjustment screws, you would need to file it down somewhat. You can also adjust the height of the nut by filing. If you ever need to make it higher, you can always place strips of card under it. 5. Unless you’re 100% certain that you know what you’re doing, please take your guitar to an expert rather than trying to make these adjustments yourself, especially if you've never seen any of it done before. The truss-rod is extremely delicate and can brake if moved too brusquely, and you might ruin the nut if you file it down wrong or too much. Most instrument retailers have in-house techies you can consult. Or just google something like "guitar technician" + "your locality". 6. If your guitar has no truss-rod, things may be a little harder, and you would have to take it not to a techie but to a luthier. And depending on how bad the damage is, you may have to get a new instrument... sorry ‘bout the bad news!
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“Why do my pinch harmonics sound bad?” “I’ve almost got the technique down, I get a sort of squeal, but it’s too weak. I’ve tried using my thumb, but it damps the string. Is it me or my amp?” There may be one or several different causes to your issue: 1. You're not placing your right-hand finger/thumb at the exact right spot. Harmonics are only produced on certain specific spots, called harmonic nodes, which are to be found on certain proportional subdivisions of the vibrating portion of the string. In other words, if you don't hit the sweet spot, you ain’t getting no harmonic... 2. Your strings may be old and grimy. Or maybe just plain crappy. In either case, they will have a lot less "zing" to them, hence no harmonics. If so, change them. If short on cash, wipe them clean with lighter fluid. 3. Is your tone pot (potentiometer, knob) turned to 10? 4. Is your pickup selector on the bridge (a.k.a. "lead") pickup? 5. Is your amp EQ "hot"? This means having your highs high. All previous three points have to do with the same general issue: the overall brightness of your tone: make it bright first, to get the harmonics, then you can play around until you find the right balance between wail and fail. 6. For screaming pinch harmonics, overdrive is an absolute must. It shouldn't matter whether it's built into the amp or not. But good OD is key. 7. Is your guitar properly setup? What about intonation? If your setup is wrong, you will get bad intonation, hence less resonance, and less harmonics, whether natural or artificial. Learn to setup your guitar, or have a pro do it for you... 8. Are you leaving your thumb on the string after having plucked it? If you leave the finger you are using to produce the harmonic on the string, it will kill the squeal. The technique for artificial harmonics is basically the same as that of natural harmonics. Touch the string lightly, on the right spot, then quickly remove your finger. The only difference is you use your right hand instead of your left hand. If in doubt, try playing natural harmonics (frets 5, 7 12) until you get them right, then move on to pinch harmonics. 9. Are you using good pickups? If you have bad pickups, they will not catch harmonics as they should. For awesome squeals and crazy harmonics, active pickups are best, although not essential. Once you get your artificial harmonics right, you may well run into a new issue: feedback. Play around with EQ and compression until you get your feedback to a point where you can control the screeching to get that wicked sustain you’re after. As a side note: these things are called pinch harmonics in rock, but have been used for centuries by violin players. Paganini, anyone? The fancy term in musical jargon is artificial harmonics, as in harmonics produced on string that has been stopped (a string with a finger on it). In French, the word for them is flageolets. www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com
Cleaning your guitar... “How do I clean the neck of my electric guitar?” “Can I use furniture polish on the neck of the guitar? What can I use for the frets?” Metal: For the frets, use Brasso. Gently apply masking tape to the wood around the frets, so that the Brasso won’t touch it. Do it lightly so that the glue doesn't damage the wood or the lacquer when you peel it off. Apply Brasso with an old tooth brush and wait for a few minutes. Then wipe off the Brasso with a piece of cloth. Done! Shinier than new! Wood: For the fretboard: rub the wood clean with a cloth drenched in naphthalene (lighter fluid). Use an old tooth brush (and lighter fluid) to get at all the grime that builds up by the frets. Then rub the wood with almond oil: a few drops on a piece of cloth will do it. Rub thoroughly until your fretboard shines! It's important to oil the wood from time to time not only so that it looks good, but to make it last for longer. PS. Furniture polish might do the trick, for the body, but you're way better off with special guitar polish that you can get at any instrument store.
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Decoration... “Will stickers affect the sound of my acoustic guitar?” “I’m getting a little bored with the way my guitar looks, and have considered stickers, but I have a hunch that stickers may affect the sound of my guitar...” It's all in the physics of the resonating box, and more specifically, the sound board. Which is presumably the exact place where you are planning to place your stickers on. Unless you really don’t care about your sound, I would strongly advice against doing this. A brief explanation of the physics of acoustic guitar sound: 1. You pluck the strings. 2. The vibration travels to the bridge. 3. The vibration then travels to the sound board: it gets distributed throughout the sound board by a complex, carefully calculated, wooden structure. This amplifies the vibrations of the strings... even the varnish, or lacquer of the sound board, plays a huge role in sound! (The rest of the sound box plays a minimal role in comparison.) So unless care more about looks than sound by sound, beware of stickers, crappy varnish, spray paint, etc. If you really want to re-decorate your guitar, the best thing you can do it take it to a professional luthier who can dye some cool design onto it for you, without sacrificing sound.
“Can I just spray over to change the color of my electric guitar?” “I have a Fender road-worn Stratocaster, and would like to refinish it so that it wears naturally. Could I just buy a can of spray-paint, sand off my guitar's finish and spray? Can I just do that without worrying about clear-coats, sealers, and whatnot? I'm not concerned about the quality of the finish, I just want something thin and different than what I have now.” You could do that, but I would only ever suggest doing it if you really don’t care about the finish at all. In the case of electric guitars, the quality of the finish has less to do with sound than in their acoustic counterparts, yet, I’m not sure I’d subject one of my own babies to such treatment. It might be best for you to find yourself a local guitar techie and get him to do it. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too expensive, and that way you don’t risk ruining a nice guitar!!
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Practice... “I need to practice without bothering my neighbors. What’s the best way?” If you’re using an electric guitar, you can simply plug into your amp or effects pedal and use headphones. You can also get a tiny amp that amplifies the signal just enough for headphones. They are great if you have to travel light. If you’re using an acoustic guitar, practicing silently will only really be of help for technical exercises, and only some of those at best. The best thing you can do is find yourself a secluded spot where you can practice without disturbing your neighbors. A more advanced technique to explore is to study without an instrument: visualize every note, every sound and every motion in your mind’s eye. This is extremely powerful. It's an really hard, but if you achieve it, you can practice no matter where you are, and your memory will become almost super-human. Not kidding here. You will be able to compose stuff in your head, even without your guitar at hand, and then play it, just as you heard it in your brain. You can also perform certain hand exercises to strengthen your muscles without the instrument, although this is no substitute for technical exercises. They will, however, help you save time.
“Should I stick to standard tuning for now, as a beginner?” “I only just started learning guitar a few weeks ago. All I'm really interested in playing is death and speed metal. Most guitarists in such bands almost always have their 6th strings tuned down to C. Is it recommendable for me to learn guitar using that tuning, as this is really the only style I'm interested in, or not? The songs that I'm currently learning aren't going to sound right unless they are played in that tuning... should I stick to standard tuning anyway? There are many ways of tuning the guitar, as you know. None is better than the other. The only difference is what you use each for... so I'd say choose the one that fits your current interests best, and stick to it for a while. Be sure to explore the standard tuning system, though, sooner rather than later, or you will be severely hampered as a guitarist. Bottom line: pick the tuning system best suited to your current interests and stick to it until you're really comfortable with it. Then add more...
“I’m a beginner. How long till my fingers stop hurting?” “My fingers are getting pretty raw! I started playing only a few days ago: I’ve been practicing for around 1 to 2 hours per day. How long will it take before my fingers stop hurting?” That depends on what kind of music you play, how long you study for, and what kind of strings you use. Be brave!!! Keep going for as long as you can, even if it hurts, and you'll have rock-hard calluses in no time. If it hurts too much, then it may be a good idea to check your guitar's action: the height of the strings, from the fretboard up. www.guitar-theory-in-depth.com
Strings... “What kind of strings should I get? What’s the best gage?” “I have a pretty decent acoustic guitar which needs new strings.” I would suggest getting good quality medium gage strings as a starting point. Then you can experiment with thicker and thinner strings, until you find the right feel and sound for you, and your guitar. Different guitars sound best with different strings, so it all just boils down to what you like. Remember that strings need changing every now and then anyway, to keep your sound optimal. Wound strings can be made to last longer by cleaning them using lighter fluid.
“Can I switch the order of strings on a bass guitar?” I've been playing the violin my whole life (4 strings, E A D G), and I want to start learning how to play bass guitar (4 strings, G D E A). I would like to switch around the order of the strings to make it more like a violin. Would it work? No need to invert the strings. That would entail having to change the nut or alter it, and would give you a totally weird note array, with high notes where low notes should be. The violin is tuned in perfect 5ths, while bass-guitars are tuned in perfect 4ths. So even if the notes themselves are different, any tuning system where the strings are tuned a 5th apart will give you what you want: you’ll be able to use all the fingering patterns you already know so well: Having the exact same open strings as on a violin won't be as valuable to you as having the exact same interval patterns as on your violin. One thing you can do is to use regular bass-guitar strings, in their regular order, with an alternate tuning: E B F# C# (low to high), or perhaps D A E B: all perfect 5ths. Note that if you use alternate tunings you will have to redo the setup of your bass guitar, in order to maintain intonation. See the tutorial in this eBook for info on how to DIY.
“My guitar’s strings are too far from the fretboard. What should I do?” If it’s an acoustic guitar, high action might not be all that bad. It does make it harder to play fast passages, but the added tension will also mean your acoustic guitar will have a bigger sound. It it’s an electric guitar, experiment till you find the right height for you. See the tutorial above for instructions. If you want lower action in an acoustic guitar, though, follow these steps. Only move on to the next step if the simpler solution doesn’t work: 1. Change your strings to a lighter gage.
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2. If it’s a steel string guitar, follow the instructions on truss-rod adjustment in the electric guitar setup tutorial. Use a long ruler or other straight object to see whether the truss-rod needs straightening. If you’ve never done this yourself, it might be a good idea taking your guitar to an expert. Ask him to teach you so you can experiment in the future and find your own sound and preferred action. 3. Check the bridge and the nut for shims to remove. If there are none, you can file either , or both, down, or even make new ones. You need proper tools and training for that though. Even if you just want to file the existing ones down, you need precise measurement tools. You wouldn’t want to over-file and ruin your nut or bridge, do you?! What I really wouldn't suggest is using a saw-blade on the wood beneath the nut. It's always better to work on the nut than on the neck. If you ruin a nut, it can always be replaced. Guitar neck repair: not so easy. So easy with the saw and the files... get help from an expert!
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Technical issues... “The cable falls out of my guitar’s output jack. What should I do?” “I have to keep wrapping the cable around my guitar to get the thing to stay in place.” The issue is most likely the jack itself. Here’s what to do: 1. Unscrew the jack, take it apart, and assemble it again, making sure all the screws and nuts are tight. That should do the trick. If the holes in the wood where you fit the screws in won't hold them, insert a thin sliver of plywood and screw right back in. That will make the sucker hold. 2. If this doesn’t do the trick, you may need to change the jack. Replacement jacks are pretty cheap: take your guitar to your local instrument dealer and they should be able to do it for you in no time at all.
“How can I drop-tune if I have a Floyd Rose trem bar?” “I really want to drop tune it, but I understand that it is not good to drop tune a guitar with a Floyd Rose trem bar.” You can simply block the Floyd Rose system. The trade off, of course, is you will have no Floyd Rose system while it’s blocked! But it’s perfectly undoable, so don’t sweat it too much. Flip back to the electric guitar setup tutorial. Before step 1, there are Floyd Rose-specific instructions using a small stack of coins or guitar picks. The issue it that they may fall off if you don’t stack them up really neatly. So if you want a slightly more permanent —albeit "undoable" solution— then you need a wooden wedge that you can stick between the metal protrusion below the Floyd Rose bridge and the wood facing it. I suggest staring with the coin method. Then measure the combined height of your coin stack, and make a wooden wedge one end of which is to be the exact width. The other end must be thin, so you can easily wedge it in. Remove your springs and you're all set.
“What size screws do I need for the tuning pegs of an acoustic guitar?” “3 of my guitar’s tuning machines have lost their screw, and I can't tune up! I've asked at a couple of guitar shops for replacement screws, but they said to go to a hardware store. So I did, but I didn't see anything quite as small. Replacement tuning pegs are really expensive: what should I do?” Take a screw out of one of the other machines. If you don't have calipers, take it with you to the hardware store, where they should be able to measure it for you and tell you exactly what you need, even if they don’t have it. Then go to an electronics repair shop: they tend to have smaller screws. On second thought, just go straight to the electronics shop... they ought to have calipers there, too!
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“My amp contacts radio!!! What should I do?!” “When I lift up my guitar, I hear radio stations straight out of my amp!!! How do I fix this?” The whole of the circuit, guitar, cable, amp, and power chord is made of just the stuff that can act as an antenna. And your amp is just the kind of thing that can turn a radio signal into sound. Try plugging your amp into a surge suppressor, or just your computer UPS. If that doesn’t help, get a better guitar cable, one with proper insulation. This should do the trick. Maybe you just happen to live close to a radio station, in which case, good luck!!
“Can I use a guitar tuner for my cello?” “I just got a ‘cello as a present, but I’ve never played one before. I can’t seem to get it in tune: can I use an electronic guitar tuner for that?” There are two kinds of electronic tuners, basically. Some are preset to only pick up certain frequencies, or notes. If it's a tuner of this kind then the answer is “no”. If you’re using a chromatic tuner, then you should be able to use it to tune any instrument.
“Will it sound ok if I plug a multi effects processor straight into a PA?” “I have a Line6 floor pedal. I don’t want to spend heaps of money purchasing a cabinet and an amp, too, but I want to be able to get the sort of volume needed for a gig. Would going straight from guitar to pedal to PA reduce the sound quality? If so, how much? Is there a better way to get more bang for my buck? This kind of pedal comes with amp simulation built in. You can adjust reverb, EQ, and other settings to get the sound you want. That makes them great for gigs! They are basically gigready. You can just take your 6-string and your effects processor with you, plug into the PA, and you're all set. Just don’t forget to sound-check and adjust for the acoustics of the place in question! The only issue I see here is that you’ll basically be at the mercy of whatever PA they happen to have where you’ll be playing. When you can afford it, I’d recommend getting all the adequate equipment so that you can be in control of your tone and sound.
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Recording your music... “What equipment should I get for my home studio?” This is a quick list of what you need to really get going: • Recording and Mixing Space • Instrument(s) • Microphones • Headphones • Sound-Card or Audio Interface • Pre-Amps • Monitors • Computer • Recording Software
“How do I plug a guitar amp to my laptop?” “I want to record my playing using my laptop. How can I plug it in?” The best thing you can do is get an interface for recording sound. Just google “audio interface” and find one that suits your needs and budget. Ideally, try to get one that allows for maximum flexibility in terms of inputs, and comes with decent recording software included.
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Electric Guitar Anatomy 101 © 2011 Alexander Cortés All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or reproduced in any way, including but not limited to digital copying and printing. The author, Alexander Cortés has made his best effort to produce a high quality, informative, and helpful book, but he makes no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to the completeness or accuracy of the contents of the book. He accepts no liability of any kind for any losses or damages caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, from using the information contained in this book. All photographs, images and design by Alexander Cortés, except for the truss-rod picture, courtesy of Simnett Guitars.
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