Monday, September 30, 2013
Simple Tone Switch
In this post I will show you, how to mount in your guitar a simple, but useful tone switch.
This circuit can help you cut-off a little bit of high-end (high frequencies) from the guitar signal. It means, that your guitar tone will be a little bit fatter and more round after using the switch. It will not work just like a classic, potentiometer based tone control. It's more subtle, and it can be switched only on and off, by a toggle (there's no pot).
The circuit is based on one SPDT on-on mini toggle switch and one capacitor.
Diagram:
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Pickup Selector Switch Connections 3 way
This is about how 3-way guitar pickup selector switches works.
The diagram shows pin-out and terminal connections, according to toggle or lever positions. There are four examples of popular 3-way pickup selectors. These switches are used in Fender Telecasters, Gibsons and many other 2-pickup electric guitars.
Posts about other kinds of switches are coming soon.
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
Pedal Effects VS Multiple Effect
Hi,
I was asked by a friend, which one is better, Indvidual pedal effects(FX) or Multiple Effect(MultiFX).
In this kind of issue there are good side and bad side of both. Thats y some people are prefer to use the pedal FX rather than the MultiFX. Let see:
FOR Pedal FX.
The good thing about PEdal FX is we can tweek the knobs there and then to get the feel and the sound we want to. Moreover its easy to understand how it works and flows. Some people said that the sound come out from the Pedal FX are more determine and big, u know. It sounds really Original ALIVE and beautiful... Thats y many multiFX try to immitate the pedal FX sound.
The bad thing is if need to use a lot of pedalFX in a line from your guitar to your amps, then the problem starts. 1st, economically it is expensive to buy a bunch of pedal effect. THen you will get power supply problem, I dont think most people like to use battery all the time. Even if we use power adapter and daisy chain the power wont stable is certain situation. Even a lot of PEdal FX in line will create some unwanted buzzing sound. I tell you!!! Its irritating.
For MultiFX.
The good thing about MultiFX we can get as many built in effect as we want and change from to another at no cost. Relatively cheaper then a bunch of Pedal FX. Some multiFX has more than 60 effects. So you can get as many sound as we want to. The features that very significant is we can store the setting into many patches. I believe 30 patches is consider alot. Even extra features like amp simulator, built in tuner, drum machine, metronome or many others give a lot of advantage.
The bad thing: I met a person that just bought his MultiFX after a week he got a headache. He doesnt know to do his own setting. Thats the problem, it takes time to do some setting according the sound that we want. I think a must to read the manual, if not u will be lost. Unlike the pedal FX with out manual u can just tweek-tweek and rotate-rotate the knob and done. To tell you the truth some guitarist takes about a month to make use and completely store their desired sounds.
Ask your self with one suits you.
I was asked by a friend, which one is better, Indvidual pedal effects(FX) or Multiple Effect(MultiFX).
In this kind of issue there are good side and bad side of both. Thats y some people are prefer to use the pedal FX rather than the MultiFX. Let see:
FOR Pedal FX.
The good thing about PEdal FX is we can tweek the knobs there and then to get the feel and the sound we want to. Moreover its easy to understand how it works and flows. Some people said that the sound come out from the Pedal FX are more determine and big, u know. It sounds really Original ALIVE and beautiful... Thats y many multiFX try to immitate the pedal FX sound.
The bad thing is if need to use a lot of pedalFX in a line from your guitar to your amps, then the problem starts. 1st, economically it is expensive to buy a bunch of pedal effect. THen you will get power supply problem, I dont think most people like to use battery all the time. Even if we use power adapter and daisy chain the power wont stable is certain situation. Even a lot of PEdal FX in line will create some unwanted buzzing sound. I tell you!!! Its irritating.
For MultiFX.
The good thing about MultiFX we can get as many built in effect as we want and change from to another at no cost. Relatively cheaper then a bunch of Pedal FX. Some multiFX has more than 60 effects. So you can get as many sound as we want to. The features that very significant is we can store the setting into many patches. I believe 30 patches is consider alot. Even extra features like amp simulator, built in tuner, drum machine, metronome or many others give a lot of advantage.
The bad thing: I met a person that just bought his MultiFX after a week he got a headache. He doesnt know to do his own setting. Thats the problem, it takes time to do some setting according the sound that we want. I think a must to read the manual, if not u will be lost. Unlike the pedal FX with out manual u can just tweek-tweek and rotate-rotate the knob and done. To tell you the truth some guitarist takes about a month to make use and completely store their desired sounds.
Ask your self with one suits you.
These are my MultiFX
Friday, September 27, 2013
Are You Going to Listen to Your Teacher or Your Friends
Beware of your well meaning friends
Once a beginner starts learning to play guitar, there are all kinds of advice being given by well meaning friends. They have your best interests in mind, but most of them dont teach and therefore the advice you get may not be all good. A good guitar teacher will steer you in the right direction, make sure you dont pick songs that are beyond your skill level and help you make steady progress. Your friends will suggest what they learned, try to help you, but not remember how hard it was in the beginning. Ive had students who got conflicting advice, ideas that would do harm than good, and shown songs, riffs and licks that were way beyond their current abilities.
Pick a teacher thats right for you
There are lots of guitar teachers available, many of them quite good, some not so good, and some good but not for you. The best advice is to ask questions, make sure your teacher has experience with beginning guitar students, and can play and teach the music you like. It doesnt have to be the only style he or she is interested in, but at the minimum a basic understanding is needed. For example, Ive had students that wanted to learn classical guitar, flamenco guitar, slack key guitar and other types of music that Im not comfortable teaching, so I helped them find a teacher that would be more helpful. A good teacher will be up front with you and tell you if you should find someone else.
Once a beginner starts learning to play guitar, there are all kinds of advice being given by well meaning friends. They have your best interests in mind, but most of them dont teach and therefore the advice you get may not be all good. A good guitar teacher will steer you in the right direction, make sure you dont pick songs that are beyond your skill level and help you make steady progress. Your friends will suggest what they learned, try to help you, but not remember how hard it was in the beginning. Ive had students who got conflicting advice, ideas that would do harm than good, and shown songs, riffs and licks that were way beyond their current abilities.
Pick a teacher thats right for you
There are lots of guitar teachers available, many of them quite good, some not so good, and some good but not for you. The best advice is to ask questions, make sure your teacher has experience with beginning guitar students, and can play and teach the music you like. It doesnt have to be the only style he or she is interested in, but at the minimum a basic understanding is needed. For example, Ive had students that wanted to learn classical guitar, flamenco guitar, slack key guitar and other types of music that Im not comfortable teaching, so I helped them find a teacher that would be more helpful. A good teacher will be up front with you and tell you if you should find someone else.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
D minor6
Weve featured a few different minor chords in previous posts, and played a C minor6 chord with the root on the E string here, todays chord is a D minor6 with a root on the A string. Minor6 chords are constructed by taking a minor triad (1, b3, 5) and adding a natural 6th. They are normally used as chord I in minor keys.
Play the root note (marked as a square on the diagram) on the A string with your middle finger, the G string with your first finger, the B string with your first finger and the D string with your little finger.
Minor 6 chords can be played in the place of some minor chords and can replace chord i in minor keys. Minor 6 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, b3, 5, 6
D minor6 uses the notes: D, F, A, B
Our inversion uses the notes in this order: D, A, B, F
Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.
Minor 6 chords can be played in the place of some minor chords and can replace chord i in minor keys. Minor 6 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, b3, 5, 6
D minor6 uses the notes: D, F, A, B
Our inversion uses the notes in this order: D, A, B, F
Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Want to Improve Your Playing Be a Positive Thinker
Sending negative messages to yourself.
It never fails to amaze me how many students start off a song with a phrase like "this is the one I always screw up." Or, "I just cant get that part to sound right." Theyll then proceed to experience the self-fulfilling prophecy and screw the song up or complain, "see, that part doesnt sound right."
What causes these problems?
In many cases its not lack of practice, but lack of confidence. Do negative thoughts or statements instill confidence? Absolutely not. How do you develop the ability to play confidently? Start off by listening to yourself play the song. Isolate the trouble spots, and concentrate on smoothing them out. If you continue to think a part doesnt sound right, listen to a recording of it. Dont try to play along at first, just listen several times so you know exactly what it sounds like. When you can hum it or sing it, then go back and fix your mistakes.
Theres plenty of help available, do some research.
With You Tube videos, guitar teacher websites, recordings, and all types of instructional material available, theres really no reason to struggle on your own. Find a guitar teacher, watch videos of the song youre trying to play, or any combination of those.
Change your attitude and your outlook.
Ive talked a little about this in other posts, but it bears repeating. Think positive thoughts, focus on what youre playing, and try to improve each time you play. Practicing the parts you already do well doesnt help. Work through the difficult passages, playing them slowly at first, then build up the parts around them. I tell my students to work on the hard part, then add a measure or two that lead into that part, and then on the measure or two after it.
It never fails to amaze me how many students start off a song with a phrase like "this is the one I always screw up." Or, "I just cant get that part to sound right." Theyll then proceed to experience the self-fulfilling prophecy and screw the song up or complain, "see, that part doesnt sound right."
What causes these problems?
In many cases its not lack of practice, but lack of confidence. Do negative thoughts or statements instill confidence? Absolutely not. How do you develop the ability to play confidently? Start off by listening to yourself play the song. Isolate the trouble spots, and concentrate on smoothing them out. If you continue to think a part doesnt sound right, listen to a recording of it. Dont try to play along at first, just listen several times so you know exactly what it sounds like. When you can hum it or sing it, then go back and fix your mistakes.
Theres plenty of help available, do some research.
With You Tube videos, guitar teacher websites, recordings, and all types of instructional material available, theres really no reason to struggle on your own. Find a guitar teacher, watch videos of the song youre trying to play, or any combination of those.
Change your attitude and your outlook.
Ive talked a little about this in other posts, but it bears repeating. Think positive thoughts, focus on what youre playing, and try to improve each time you play. Practicing the parts you already do well doesnt help. Work through the difficult passages, playing them slowly at first, then build up the parts around them. I tell my students to work on the hard part, then add a measure or two that lead into that part, and then on the measure or two after it.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Low Output Pickups for Heavy Music
Many metal and hard rock guitarist are using electric guitars with some high-output humbuckers. However, we shouldn't forget also about those guitar players, who are using some low-output pickups, even single-coils, to get heavy tones.
Do you know Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian May or Paul Gilbert? They've got quite „weak” p-ups in their gear collections.
As examples, here are some cool videos:
Paul Gilbert with his Ibanez Fireman guitar
Yngwie Malmsteen - Seventh Sign
Brian May Band - Love Token
Monday, September 23, 2013
D minor 13
Todays Guitar Chord of the Day is D minor 13. This chord sounds nice and is great practice for the left hand as it involves quite a stretch. If the stretch is a little too much to start with, play the chord higher up the neck of the guitar and move the chord lower down the fretboard as you get more used to the stretch.
Minor 13 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, b3, 5, b7, 9, 11, 13
D minor 13 uses the notes: D, F, A, C, E, G, B
Our guitar inversion uses the notes in this order: D, F, B, C, E, A
To solo over this chord, try the D dorian mode, the D blues scale or the D melodic minor scale for added harmonic tension.
Subscribe to the RSS feed and tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Brian Mays Red Special Wiring Diagram
Brian May's Red Special has got some great futures as a 3-pickup guitar. All p-up configurations are possible, you can reverse the phase of every coil, and there is also a classic volume+tone control. It means a lot of cool tones to reach. All of them can be useful, there's no mambo-jumbo waste of space.
The original May's RS guitar wiring was made from quite „vintage” parts. Fortunately, today you can also build something similar, with modern electronics.
This is my Red Special wiring diagram:
Saturday, September 21, 2013
The Fire Starter
Hi, all, thanks for visiting.
I creat this blog as suggested from my closed frend @ band vocalist. He said to me that I should share my knowledge and experience in playing music especially electric guitar for years since the age of 13; now I am 33.
So, first of all i would like to say that there are a lot of things that I need to learn about blogging but thats a minor issue.
As I started to play guitar during my teenage time with my friend while sitting on a bench every body were taking turn to play the accoustic guitar. Thats a boring process of waiting coz imagine I had to wait my turn to play, furthuremore I was in 5th que. Each person plays about 20 minutes. AArgghh!! Thats so .... F**king boring Man.....
Since that incident I decided to have my own guitar. Just any guitar that i can afford, and I did got it some time later. I solved my taking turn problem, i had my own. not a good one, coz it was belonged to my elder brother not being taken care. even left in the rain once. its ugly. but i was proud to had it, though.
So u guys, u should begin to be a guitarist by having ur own guitar.
Have fun
I creat this blog as suggested from my closed frend @ band vocalist. He said to me that I should share my knowledge and experience in playing music especially electric guitar for years since the age of 13; now I am 33.
So, first of all i would like to say that there are a lot of things that I need to learn about blogging but thats a minor issue.
As I started to play guitar during my teenage time with my friend while sitting on a bench every body were taking turn to play the accoustic guitar. Thats a boring process of waiting coz imagine I had to wait my turn to play, furthuremore I was in 5th que. Each person plays about 20 minutes. AArgghh!! Thats so .... F**king boring Man.....
Since that incident I decided to have my own guitar. Just any guitar that i can afford, and I did got it some time later. I solved my taking turn problem, i had my own. not a good one, coz it was belonged to my elder brother not being taken care. even left in the rain once. its ugly. but i was proud to had it, though.
So u guys, u should begin to be a guitarist by having ur own guitar.
Have fun
Friday, September 20, 2013
12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords Number 2
Yesterdays guitar chord of the day post started a new mini-series of guitar chords. Today well continue our mini-series of 12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords you should know, with our second dominant 7th guitar inversion.
This chord and the next two chords are all played on the top four strings of the guitar.
This inversion is in root position. Thats to say, it has the root note of the chord as the lowest note. This is a G7 chord but try moving this around to other positions too.
Check back in tomorrow when well be continuing our series of 12 dominant 7th guitar chords you should know.
This chord and the next two chords are all played on the top four strings of the guitar.
Heres the fingering for this guitar chord:
This inversion is in root position. Thats to say, it has the root note of the chord as the lowest note. This is a G7 chord but try moving this around to other positions too.
Check back in tomorrow when well be continuing our series of 12 dominant 7th guitar chords you should know.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
D69
Todays guitar chord of the day can be substituted for almost any major chord. As the name suggests, its an ordinary major chord with an added 6th and 9th.
This chord is moveable and has its root note on the A string (indicated by the black box in the chord diagram). This chord is fingered by playing the A string with your middle finger and barring across the D and G strings with your first finger.
69 chords can be played in place of major chords. It can replace chords I, IV and V in major keys.
69 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9
D69 uses the notes: D, F#, A, B, E
Our inversion uses the notes in this order: D, F#, B, E, A
Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.
This chord is moveable and has its root note on the A string (indicated by the black box in the chord diagram). This chord is fingered by playing the A string with your middle finger and barring across the D and G strings with your first finger.
69 chords can be played in place of major chords. It can replace chords I, IV and V in major keys.
69 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9
D69 uses the notes: D, F#, A, B, E
Our inversion uses the notes in this order: D, F#, B, E, A
Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Wiring for P90 Pickups Soapbars Dog Ears
This guitar wiring is designed for use with P90 and similar, hot output single coil pickups. To my taste, it's especially good for crunch and hi-gain drive tones.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Em7 G6
Two guitar chords for the price of one! Todays guitar chord is Em7, this has exactly the same notes in as G6. The Em7 chord has its root note on the B string of the guitar:
This guitar chord can be created by modifying some of the 4 string Dominant 7th Guitar Chords we looked at in previous posts.
To create a minor7 chord from a Dominant 7th chord, lower the 3rd of the chord one fret. Comparing the minor 7 chord above with this Dominant 7th inversion you can see weve changed only one note.
As this guitar chord can also be thought of as a Major 6th chord, we can also easily change 7th chords into a 6th chord by lowering the 7th one fret. Compare the above inversion with this G7 guitar chord and you can see that again only note has changed.
Minor 7 chords use these scale degrees: 1, b3, 5, b7
E minor 7 uses the notes: E, G, B D
Minor7 chords can be played in place of most minor chords and as chords ii, ii and vi in major keys
Major 6 chords use the scale degrees: 1, 3, 5, 6
G6 uses the notes: G, B, D, E
Major 6 chords can be played in place of almost all major chords and as chords I, IV and V in major keys.
As you can see the notes of G6 and Em7 are the same, this means were learning two guitar chords for the price of one. There are lots of guitar chords like this that can be used in multiple situations. In future posts well look at these chord synonyms in much more detail.
Subscribe to the RSS feed and tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day
To create a minor7 chord from a Dominant 7th chord, lower the 3rd of the chord one fret. Comparing the minor 7 chord above with this Dominant 7th inversion you can see weve changed only one note.
As this guitar chord can also be thought of as a Major 6th chord, we can also easily change 7th chords into a 6th chord by lowering the 7th one fret. Compare the above inversion with this G7 guitar chord and you can see that again only note has changed.
Minor 7 chords use these scale degrees: 1, b3, 5, b7
E minor 7 uses the notes: E, G, B D
Minor7 chords can be played in place of most minor chords and as chords ii, ii and vi in major keys
Major 6 chords use the scale degrees: 1, 3, 5, 6
G6 uses the notes: G, B, D, E
Major 6 chords can be played in place of almost all major chords and as chords I, IV and V in major keys.
As you can see the notes of G6 and Em7 are the same, this means were learning two guitar chords for the price of one. There are lots of guitar chords like this that can be used in multiple situations. In future posts well look at these chord synonyms in much more detail.
Subscribe to the RSS feed and tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day
Monday, September 16, 2013
Are You a Settler
Do you practice the same songs over and over?
Have you settled into a practice routine thats in your comfort zone? Is playing the same old songs keeping you from learning new material? While its a good idea to review and not lose the skills you have, you also can improve your guitar playing by working on newer, more challenging songs. I see students who pretty much refuse to move forward once theyre comfortable with their repertoire. Or, sometimes they get so hung up on a song they end up in a rut.
Become a pioneer instead of a settler.
While its not easy to pioneer new sounds, stretching out and playing other kinds of music, listening to different genres, and exploring the fingerboard are all ways to improve your guitar playing. Not sure what kinds of music youd like to play? Have your guitar teacher play some different styles for you, listen to some of the best guitar players and keep an open mind. There are fantastic guitar players regardless of the type of music they play.
How many of these names do you recognize?
Heres a list of guitar players you may or may not have heard of. Spend a little time listening and learning about them and you just might be surprised as well as inspired. In no particular order and in no particular style:
Have you settled into a practice routine thats in your comfort zone? Is playing the same old songs keeping you from learning new material? While its a good idea to review and not lose the skills you have, you also can improve your guitar playing by working on newer, more challenging songs. I see students who pretty much refuse to move forward once theyre comfortable with their repertoire. Or, sometimes they get so hung up on a song they end up in a rut.
Become a pioneer instead of a settler.
While its not easy to pioneer new sounds, stretching out and playing other kinds of music, listening to different genres, and exploring the fingerboard are all ways to improve your guitar playing. Not sure what kinds of music youd like to play? Have your guitar teacher play some different styles for you, listen to some of the best guitar players and keep an open mind. There are fantastic guitar players regardless of the type of music they play.
How many of these names do you recognize?
Heres a list of guitar players you may or may not have heard of. Spend a little time listening and learning about them and you just might be surprised as well as inspired. In no particular order and in no particular style:
- Chet Atkins
- Doc Watson
- Eric Clapton
- Jimmy Paige
- Tony Rice
- Joe Pass
- Django Reinhardt
- Carlos Santana
- Jerry Garcia
- Andres Segovia
- Julian Bream
- Les Paul
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Buying your guitars
Hey guys! How are u doing?
I got a question from a guy withnick name Stephen of Ibelin:
"Dude , where to get a cheap and reasonable electric guitar, been wanting to jam for along time but dont know how much or what kind of electric guitar need to get , thnx,"
So, i like to answer the question here hence hoping it also helping you guys.
Actually there are a lot of music store that sells a lot of guitar at a lot of price range. I totally believe that as normal people like us we want something cheap and but with good quality of making and sound.
Before we start going to buy a guitar I suggest you need to know what guitar specification that u need.
I m more talking about to choose electric guitar. Let say you are more playing ryhthm guitar with less solo and less playing the tremolo. THen, u dont need the floating bridge and locknut. Also, 3 single coil pickup will do. I believe u dont need 24 frets fingerboard. Just get the 21 or 22 frets will be sufficient. This kind of guitar normally suits u if u play sone kind of light and easy type of song.
But if you play some rock, or heavy metal, or do some critical solo from top to bottom neck, with bone crushing power chords, and whack the tremolo like hell. I believe u need a 24 frets fingerboard with floating bridge doesnt matter it is floydrose underlicensed with lock nut. The pick up might have humbucker. this is my choice too. with humbucker-single-humbucher types of pickup..
The brand?
There are a lot of brand. I believe different brand has different characteristic with with different value. Also with the brand we know the average price.
But if, talking about cheap guitar with reasonable brand and quality. I suggest Ibanez. coz there are also made in CHina. The price is cheaper due to currency rate and also cheap labour cost, also due to less transportation charges etc etc. may be in malaysia we can go to Bentley for easy reference. Or CK Music for Craftman guitar. or BCRICH and Samick at DOREMI. or YAMAHA for YAMAHA guitar, they sells others though.
Sometimes any other brands also quite okay, depends on your preference, the name like Squire, Epihphone, SX, or whatever la... gives u a good choice.
Any other place? yes... I like to go for second hand guitar for some reason, I found some consider good second hand guitar at the place like Cashconverter and Buy,sell&trade. The reason is some times i can find a good guitar with a good sound that i can afford. but the problem is sometimes it has a little defect but still we can do some maintenance to make it better. The good thing is we can bargain, the more problem and defect with that second hand guitar the lower price we can get. If you are lucky u can find the brand like FENDER, Ibanez, GIbson, Kramer, Jackson, Hamer.... and more.
I got a question from a guy withnick name Stephen of Ibelin:
"Dude , where to get a cheap and reasonable electric guitar, been wanting to jam for along time but dont know how much or what kind of electric guitar need to get , thnx,"
So, i like to answer the question here hence hoping it also helping you guys.
Actually there are a lot of music store that sells a lot of guitar at a lot of price range. I totally believe that as normal people like us we want something cheap and but with good quality of making and sound.
Before we start going to buy a guitar I suggest you need to know what guitar specification that u need.
I m more talking about to choose electric guitar. Let say you are more playing ryhthm guitar with less solo and less playing the tremolo. THen, u dont need the floating bridge and locknut. Also, 3 single coil pickup will do. I believe u dont need 24 frets fingerboard. Just get the 21 or 22 frets will be sufficient. This kind of guitar normally suits u if u play sone kind of light and easy type of song.
But if you play some rock, or heavy metal, or do some critical solo from top to bottom neck, with bone crushing power chords, and whack the tremolo like hell. I believe u need a 24 frets fingerboard with floating bridge doesnt matter it is floydrose underlicensed with lock nut. The pick up might have humbucker. this is my choice too. with humbucker-single-humbucher types of pickup..
The brand?
There are a lot of brand. I believe different brand has different characteristic with with different value. Also with the brand we know the average price.
But if, talking about cheap guitar with reasonable brand and quality. I suggest Ibanez. coz there are also made in CHina. The price is cheaper due to currency rate and also cheap labour cost, also due to less transportation charges etc etc. may be in malaysia we can go to Bentley for easy reference. Or CK Music for Craftman guitar. or BCRICH and Samick at DOREMI. or YAMAHA for YAMAHA guitar, they sells others though.
Sometimes any other brands also quite okay, depends on your preference, the name like Squire, Epihphone, SX, or whatever la... gives u a good choice.
Any other place? yes... I like to go for second hand guitar for some reason, I found some consider good second hand guitar at the place like Cashconverter and Buy,sell&trade. The reason is some times i can find a good guitar with a good sound that i can afford. but the problem is sometimes it has a little defect but still we can do some maintenance to make it better. The good thing is we can bargain, the more problem and defect with that second hand guitar the lower price we can get. If you are lucky u can find the brand like FENDER, Ibanez, GIbson, Kramer, Jackson, Hamer.... and more.
For example, this picture: is the guitar I bought second hand, but its consider 
antique. Ibanez Blazer series, Made in Japan in the year 1982 to 1984. Reasonable price and the sound is good.
antique. Ibanez Blazer series, Made in Japan in the year 1982 to 1984. Reasonable price and the sound is good.So, make ur choice. Hope it helps.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
3 Legendary and Easy to Build Guitar Pedals
If you want to build at home some guitar effect and you don't have enough time or skills for complicated constructions, but you want to make something with an awesome tone, this is the way to go:
- Dallas Fuzz Face
- Dallas Rangemaster – treble booster
- MXR Distortion +
Friday, September 13, 2013
Master One Thing at a Time
Multi-tasking is overrated, I repeat, Multi-tasking is overrated.
Beginning guitar players are understandably excited about learning the instrument, but that can also get in the way of progress. There are so many concepts, techniques, and skills you need to learn, it can be very hard to know what to work on first.
Mastering one thing at a time.
If you have any questions or comments, Id love to hear from you. For more tips about getting the most out of lessons be sure to visit my webpage: www.blguitars.net
Beginning guitar players are understandably excited about learning the instrument, but that can also get in the way of progress. There are so many concepts, techniques, and skills you need to learn, it can be very hard to know what to work on first.
Mastering one thing at a time.
- There are lots of ways to get started on playing guitar, and what you learn first is at least partially decided by what you want to do with the guitar. For example, you may want to play and sing, which means youll work on chords, then strumming techniques and then ways to spice up your playing.
- Jazz or classical guitar? You should start out by reading music, being able to play single notes, and then adding chords.
- Rock or country guitar? Chords, scales and lead guitar techniques. Every style of music has its own sound, but before you can learn that you need to build a good foundation.
If you have any questions or comments, Id love to hear from you. For more tips about getting the most out of lessons be sure to visit my webpage: www.blguitars.net
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Dissonant Chord number 3
Continuing our occassional series of dissonant chords, today we have another guitar chord that has 6 semitone steps.
As with our other very dissonant guitar chords, this will probably only be used occasionally or in special circumstances.
Todays dissonant guitar chord uses these notes:
F# G G# A A# B
Tune in tomorrow for another chord of the day! Dont forget you can use guitar chord of the day as a chord dictionary by clicking on the labels on the right.
Todays dissonant guitar chord uses these notes:
F# G G# A A# B
Tune in tomorrow for another chord of the day! Dont forget you can use guitar chord of the day as a chord dictionary by clicking on the labels on the right.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Pedal Effects VS Multiple Effect
Hi,
I was asked by a friend, which one is better, Indvidual pedal effects(FX) or Multiple Effect(MultiFX).
In this kind of issue there are good side and bad side of both. Thats y some people are prefer to use the pedal FX rather than the MultiFX. Let see:
FOR Pedal FX.
The good thing about PEdal FX is we can tweek the knobs there and then to get the feel and the sound we want to. Moreover its easy to understand how it works and flows. Some people said that the sound come out from the Pedal FX are more determine and big, u know. It sounds really Original ALIVE and beautiful... Thats y many multiFX try to immitate the pedal FX sound.
The bad thing is if need to use a lot of pedalFX in a line from your guitar to your amps, then the problem starts. 1st, economically it is expensive to buy a bunch of pedal effect. THen you will get power supply problem, I dont think most people like to use battery all the time. Even if we use power adapter and daisy chain the power wont stable is certain situation. Even a lot of PEdal FX in line will create some unwanted buzzing sound. I tell you!!! Its irritating.
For MultiFX.
The good thing about MultiFX we can get as many built in effect as we want and change from to another at no cost. Relatively cheaper then a bunch of Pedal FX. Some multiFX has more than 60 effects. So you can get as many sound as we want to. The features that very significant is we can store the setting into many patches. I believe 30 patches is consider alot. Even extra features like amp simulator, built in tuner, drum machine, metronome or many others give a lot of advantage.
The bad thing: I met a person that just bought his MultiFX after a week he got a headache. He doesnt know to do his own setting. Thats the problem, it takes time to do some setting according the sound that we want. I think a must to read the manual, if not u will be lost. Unlike the pedal FX with out manual u can just tweek-tweek and rotate-rotate the knob and done. To tell you the truth some guitarist takes about a month to make use and completely store their desired sounds.
Ask your self with one suits you.
I was asked by a friend, which one is better, Indvidual pedal effects(FX) or Multiple Effect(MultiFX).
In this kind of issue there are good side and bad side of both. Thats y some people are prefer to use the pedal FX rather than the MultiFX. Let see:
FOR Pedal FX.
The good thing about PEdal FX is we can tweek the knobs there and then to get the feel and the sound we want to. Moreover its easy to understand how it works and flows. Some people said that the sound come out from the Pedal FX are more determine and big, u know. It sounds really Original ALIVE and beautiful... Thats y many multiFX try to immitate the pedal FX sound.
The bad thing is if need to use a lot of pedalFX in a line from your guitar to your amps, then the problem starts. 1st, economically it is expensive to buy a bunch of pedal effect. THen you will get power supply problem, I dont think most people like to use battery all the time. Even if we use power adapter and daisy chain the power wont stable is certain situation. Even a lot of PEdal FX in line will create some unwanted buzzing sound. I tell you!!! Its irritating.
For MultiFX.
The good thing about MultiFX we can get as many built in effect as we want and change from to another at no cost. Relatively cheaper then a bunch of Pedal FX. Some multiFX has more than 60 effects. So you can get as many sound as we want to. The features that very significant is we can store the setting into many patches. I believe 30 patches is consider alot. Even extra features like amp simulator, built in tuner, drum machine, metronome or many others give a lot of advantage.
The bad thing: I met a person that just bought his MultiFX after a week he got a headache. He doesnt know to do his own setting. Thats the problem, it takes time to do some setting according the sound that we want. I think a must to read the manual, if not u will be lost. Unlike the pedal FX with out manual u can just tweek-tweek and rotate-rotate the knob and done. To tell you the truth some guitarist takes about a month to make use and completely store their desired sounds.
Ask your self with one suits you.
These are my MultiFX
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Is It Possible to Practice Too Much
How much is too much when it comes to practicing?
The law of diminishing returns. While its extremely important to maintain a steady practice routine, there is a point where youve stopped making any progress that day. Usually after 45 minutes to an hour, its time to take a break. Your fingers get tired, you quit hearing what youre playing, and you dont seem to be getting anywhere. Thats how you know you need to do something else for a while.
I practiced that part over and over, but when I went to play it for my teacher I messed it up. Playing at home is a lot different from performing for someone else. Whether its your teacher, your class, or a live performance, its much harder to play in front of people. You need to build confidence in your ability to play the part that gives you trouble and you cant let it get the best of you. My students will say things like "here comes the part I hate", or "heres the part I always have trouble with", and guess what? They immediately have trouble with it! At that point the problem is in your head, not in your fingers.
How do you overcome this? No matter how painful it is, play in front of and with other people. I conduct a "controlled jam session" at the studio where I get students of the same level together so they can all experience playing with others. The first week or two everyones timid, shy and pretty much unable to perform at their normal level. Once they become more comfortable and relaxed the tension slowly goes away and they play much better.
Open mikes, jam sessions and other outlets. Being nervous or scared is a common reaction, so the best thing to do is to learn a few songs that you can play well, record and/or make a video of yourself playing the songs, and play them for friends and family members. Most cities have open mikes or jam sessions, so the best way to get some experience is to just do it. At jam sessions, play along in the background until youre comfortable. Most jammers are very encouraging and youll be surprised at how helpful they can be. At an open mike, its only going to get better if you keep doing it. Again, most of the people attending will be very encouraging and helpful.
Be prepared. Before you leave the house be sure you have everything you need. Extra picks, strings, a capo, a strap and an electronic tuner should all be in your case. If youve never practiced while standing up, youll be surprised at what a difference it makes. When you think youre ready, just go for it.
The law of diminishing returns. While its extremely important to maintain a steady practice routine, there is a point where youve stopped making any progress that day. Usually after 45 minutes to an hour, its time to take a break. Your fingers get tired, you quit hearing what youre playing, and you dont seem to be getting anywhere. Thats how you know you need to do something else for a while.
I practiced that part over and over, but when I went to play it for my teacher I messed it up. Playing at home is a lot different from performing for someone else. Whether its your teacher, your class, or a live performance, its much harder to play in front of people. You need to build confidence in your ability to play the part that gives you trouble and you cant let it get the best of you. My students will say things like "here comes the part I hate", or "heres the part I always have trouble with", and guess what? They immediately have trouble with it! At that point the problem is in your head, not in your fingers.
How do you overcome this? No matter how painful it is, play in front of and with other people. I conduct a "controlled jam session" at the studio where I get students of the same level together so they can all experience playing with others. The first week or two everyones timid, shy and pretty much unable to perform at their normal level. Once they become more comfortable and relaxed the tension slowly goes away and they play much better.
Open mikes, jam sessions and other outlets. Being nervous or scared is a common reaction, so the best thing to do is to learn a few songs that you can play well, record and/or make a video of yourself playing the songs, and play them for friends and family members. Most cities have open mikes or jam sessions, so the best way to get some experience is to just do it. At jam sessions, play along in the background until youre comfortable. Most jammers are very encouraging and youll be surprised at how helpful they can be. At an open mike, its only going to get better if you keep doing it. Again, most of the people attending will be very encouraging and helpful.
Be prepared. Before you leave the house be sure you have everything you need. Extra picks, strings, a capo, a strap and an electronic tuner should all be in your case. If youve never practiced while standing up, youll be surprised at what a difference it makes. When you think youre ready, just go for it.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Some Quotations About Making Music Basie Hendrix Parker Pavarotti
Count Basie
Its the way you play that makes it. What I say is, for Christs sake, you dont have to kill yourself to sing. Play like you play. Play like you think, and then you got it, if youre going to get it. And whatever you get, thats you, so thats your story.
Jimi Hendrix
I dont really live on compliments. As a matter of fact, they have a way of distracting me. I know a whole lot of musicians, artists out there who hears the compliments and thinks wow, I must have been really great and so they get fat and satisfied and they get lost and forget about their actual talent and start living in another world.
Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.
Charlie Parker
Hey man, its just music. Its playing clean and hitting the pretty notes.
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you dont live it, it wont come out of your horn. They teach you theres a boundary line to music. But, man, theres no boundary line to art.
Youve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.
Luciano Pavarotti
I think an important quality that I have is that if you turn on the radio and hear somebody sing, you know its me. You dont confuse my voice with another voice.
With Wikiquote help.
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Sunday, September 8, 2013
Home Made Guitars Can Be Awesome
In this post, I would like to show you some YT videos of home-made electric guitars.
Some people can make really nice instruments in their homes, garages, etc.
There are a lot of good parts on the market. You can buy a neck with your favourite shape. You can buy a body stylized on some well known guitar construction. You can also buy a lot of different types of hardware. There are tons of pickups to choose from.
All this things means, that building an awesome guitar in your home is possible. ...And it will be completely your own project!
Lets see some DIY guitar projects:
Pine and maple, GFS New York pickups, hard-tail
Warmoth parts based (my fave)
Fretless Tele (Warmoth parts)
Ibanez Jem copy
DIY Tele - making of
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Saturday, September 7, 2013
New Guitar Preamp Project NE5532 Based Buffer Booster
Today I would like to show you my new design. It's a guitar preamp (buffer + booster). It's based on the same technology like MXR MicroAmp or CMOY.
The heart of the circuit is an operational amplifier: NE5532. I was testing also popular TL071, TL072, like in MicroAmp, but it was a little bit colder and less full than the NE5532.
The NE5532 has got much higher power consumption than the TL072/071, so it should work with some stomp-box power supply.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Strength and Independence Part 2
Playing guitar well involves building strength and independence in both hands.
The previous post suggested a left hand pattern to work on, now its time to get the right hand moving as well. Once you can do the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th fret exercise, you can start to build technique with your right hand as well.
Alternate picking and timing exercises.
Play the left hand exercises as before, but now play two of each note using alternate picking. Pick down on the first note and up on the second. While doing that, count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. You should tap your foot and it should follow the same pattern as your picking hand, down on the number and up on and. Practice slowly, with a metronome, and once youre able to play the exercise flawlessly, add a few beats per minute. Beginning guitar players need to be patient, not rush, and build muscle memory.
A new exercise for the fretting hand.
Still using the position playing concept of one finger per fret, now play 2nd fret, 2nd finger, 3rd fret, 3rd finger, 4th fret, 4th finger and 1st fret, 1st finger. Go slow until your fingers land on the right frets, then add the metronome and the down and up picking.
Commit yourself to doing these exercises when you start your daily practice and youll be surprised at how much easier it gets.
The previous post suggested a left hand pattern to work on, now its time to get the right hand moving as well. Once you can do the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th fret exercise, you can start to build technique with your right hand as well.
Alternate picking and timing exercises.
Play the left hand exercises as before, but now play two of each note using alternate picking. Pick down on the first note and up on the second. While doing that, count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. You should tap your foot and it should follow the same pattern as your picking hand, down on the number and up on and. Practice slowly, with a metronome, and once youre able to play the exercise flawlessly, add a few beats per minute. Beginning guitar players need to be patient, not rush, and build muscle memory.
A new exercise for the fretting hand.
Still using the position playing concept of one finger per fret, now play 2nd fret, 2nd finger, 3rd fret, 3rd finger, 4th fret, 4th finger and 1st fret, 1st finger. Go slow until your fingers land on the right frets, then add the metronome and the down and up picking.
Commit yourself to doing these exercises when you start your daily practice and youll be surprised at how much easier it gets.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Why Do Some Guitars Cost Less Than 100 While Others Cost Thousands
A lot of times well get that question and the answer is why does a Hyundai cost less than a Mercedes? In both instances its workmanship, materials and the branding. Martin, Gibson and Fender are all well known brands and while they have cheaper instruments in their lines they can also cost thousands of dollars. If you have an older, more collectible one they can run into 6 figures.
The less expensive the guitar, the more cheaply its made, simple as that. If you buy a guitar at Walmart, Target or Sams Club, you can expect the quality to be in direct proportion to the price. While the lower priced models have gotten better because of competition, theres really no comparison.
In the next blog post Ill describe some of the differences in guitars so you can get the most for your money. Even though I said in the previous paragraph that you get what you pay for there are some good buys out there. Again using the car example, just because the Mercedes is more expensive it doesnt necessarily mean you cant buy a good car for less.
The less expensive the guitar, the more cheaply its made, simple as that. If you buy a guitar at Walmart, Target or Sams Club, you can expect the quality to be in direct proportion to the price. While the lower priced models have gotten better because of competition, theres really no comparison.
In the next blog post Ill describe some of the differences in guitars so you can get the most for your money. Even though I said in the previous paragraph that you get what you pay for there are some good buys out there. Again using the car example, just because the Mercedes is more expensive it doesnt necessarily mean you cant buy a good car for less.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Actually your fretting hand has 4 fingers and a thumb!
Whats so hard about using the pinkie?
Beginning guitar students are way too eager to avoid using the pinkie finger at all costs. It wont stretch that far, its not strong, I cant get it to work right, and who knows what else? Ive watched ______ play and he or she doesnt use it.
Practice stretching exercises and quit avoiding it.
When youre serious about learning and improving your guitar playing, you use all of the tools available to you. Your guitar teacher can give you plenty of stretching and strengthening exercises to get the pinkie moving. Start out on frets 9 through 12, playing them in both directions: 9-10-11-12 and then 12-11-10-9, and be sure to use all 4 fingers. The other secret is to leave the 1st finger down through the whole sequence. When you can do that comfortably on those frets and all 6 strings, move to frets 8 - 11. Youll be pleasantly surprised at your progress.
Should I use my thumb?
While classical purists frown on thumb use, many guitar players use the thumb to fret the 6th string. Youll be in good company joining Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins, Mel Bay, and many others in using the thumb. I use it on some difficult chords as well as in songs when its convenient. Angie, by Bert Jansch and recorded by Simon and Garfunkel is an example of using the thumb. I use the thumb to play the barre chord F at the first fret. Guitar students with smaller hands may find it more difficult, but the best thing to do is try it and see what happens.
Beginning guitar students are way too eager to avoid using the pinkie finger at all costs. It wont stretch that far, its not strong, I cant get it to work right, and who knows what else? Ive watched ______ play and he or she doesnt use it.
Practice stretching exercises and quit avoiding it.
When youre serious about learning and improving your guitar playing, you use all of the tools available to you. Your guitar teacher can give you plenty of stretching and strengthening exercises to get the pinkie moving. Start out on frets 9 through 12, playing them in both directions: 9-10-11-12 and then 12-11-10-9, and be sure to use all 4 fingers. The other secret is to leave the 1st finger down through the whole sequence. When you can do that comfortably on those frets and all 6 strings, move to frets 8 - 11. Youll be pleasantly surprised at your progress.
Should I use my thumb?
While classical purists frown on thumb use, many guitar players use the thumb to fret the 6th string. Youll be in good company joining Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins, Mel Bay, and many others in using the thumb. I use it on some difficult chords as well as in songs when its convenient. Angie, by Bert Jansch and recorded by Simon and Garfunkel is an example of using the thumb. I use the thumb to play the barre chord F at the first fret. Guitar students with smaller hands may find it more difficult, but the best thing to do is try it and see what happens.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Semi Active Guitar Wiring Simple and Effective
Today I would like to present my guitar wiring project based on an active buffer. The wiring is connecting together: a common, passive tone control, and an active buffer with a volume potentiometer.
The target is to get an quite clean signal transport (more transparent tone), a clean working volume potentiometer (no treble losses), and a passive tone control – so there will always be the way to get some warmer tone, typical for passive guitar wirings.
The project can be done basically in every kind of an electric guitar. No matter what kind of pickups and wood it got.
Diagram:
Read more »
Monday, September 2, 2013
Simple Wiring in the Music Man Axis Style
Sometimes simple is best. This is what you can think when you're looking on the Music Man Axis or some Charvel guitars. The MM Axis is a two pickup guitar with a simple, 3-way toggle pickup switch and one pot – volume. This is completely enough if you want to get just clear, distinct signal – especially if your guitar is made from some high-grade wood and got some nice pickups.
This is the wiring diagram for that kind of axe:
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Frequently Asked Questions and What You Should Ask
The most frequently asked questions:
- How much are lessons? Probably the top question and the one that should be much lower on the list. As with any other purchase, you get what you pay for. Do you really want to take lessons or have your child learn from the cheapest teacher? While price is no guarantee of quality its certainly wise to be leery of someone with ridiculously low prices.
- At what age should my child start guitar lessons? Most guitar teachers will start a beginner at age 7 or 8. There are some programs, Child Bloom and Kindermusic that start them younger. The critical decision here is how you as a parent will react when your new student doesnt practice as much as you think they should. The most important part of learning guitar at this age is for the child to enjoy the lessons. Nagging, reminding, and scolding them does much more harm than good.
- Am I too old to learn guitar? In most cases, no. As long as you have desire and time to practice, youll do fine. Setting realistic goals, being patient and finding time are the biggest obstacles adults face.
- What guitar method do you use? Most teachers will start you off with a book of some sort, get you moving around on the guitar, and then gear the lessons more to the style of music youd like to play. Be wary of the teacher that uses the same approach whether youre 7, 17 or 70.
- What kind of music do you play? Lots of teachers advertise that they can teach you any style of music youd like, but be aware that it doesnt mean theyre equally good at all types of music. This is most important if you have a specific style of music in mind. While there is some overlap, there are different techniques, licks, (small musical phrases), and sounds that define the music.
- Have you worked with children before? Some teachers cant or dont want to teach younger students, so be sure you ask if you have a young child.
- Are you comfortable or qualified teaching my special needs child? There have been many instances where weve had parents register their child and then almost as an afterthought mention that they have ADD, a learning disability of some sort, or an emotional problem that well have to deal with. Its very awkward for the teacher to find this out after the fact.
- What qualifications do you have? While a college degree is nice, it shouldnt be the only consideration. When I hire a teacher I look for a combination of education, teaching, performing experience and a genuine interest in teaching. Our students trust that we know what were doing and we cant let them down.
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