Posts Tagged ‘Acoustic’
The acoustic guitar is a highly popular starter instrument. It’s affordable, easy to transport, quiet enough not to disturb others during practice, relatively easy to get a nice sound, and doesn’t need any additional equipment like amplification.
It can also been seen as a more ‘serious’ instrument to learn on first if a child ultimately wants to play electric guitar, as the skills and techniques can be transferred.
There are two types of acoustic guitar; classical (or ‘nylon strung’) and’ steel strung’ which is what is most often meant when someone refers to an acoustic guitar.
The classical guitar is considered to be best for beginners as it uses nylon strings, which are much easier to play than steel – the lighter string tension makes it much easier to press the string down onto the fretboard to sound a note.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
1. Guitars come in a variety of sizes and a full size one is generally suitable for ages 10 – 12 and upwards. Smaller sizes are available for younger students.
2. If you are a beginner ask the advice of your tutor and don’t buy the cheapest, spend a little more and get a quality one with a solid top if possible.
3. Take a guitarist with you when you go to buy it, someone who will be able to tell a if it’s a good one or not.
4. You should buy the guitar that plays, sounds and looks the best for you. The expertise of the maker and the degree to which an instrument is hand made are of major significance for the development of tonal quality.
5. Visit several music shops before you buy and find the people who are enthusiastic, helpful and knowledgeable.
6. Take your time, don’t rush out and buy the first one you see, you have to live with it for years so make sure it is the right one.
7. Buy guitar magazines that have reviews or get catalogues on the models you are interested in to research thoroughly
8. If there is a music trade show or convention in your area visit it, as there will be a variety of products to see and there will be people there with a wealth of knowledge you can talk to.
A question we regularly receive is………….. “I am looking to buy a capo but I don’t know what the differences are between an acoustic and an electric capo?”
The short of it is that there is no difference between electric and acoustic capos. As you well know there is quite a difference between acoustic and electric guitars but when it comes to using a capo it would be hard to go wrong. That being said one thing to consider may be the shape of the neck. Some guitars have a very flat neck while other have “C” or “V” shaped necks. This could make a difference if the capo you chose has a notch that that neck indexes into. This won’t be a huge issue if your guitar is a fairly standard model.
Essentially Capos are capos. There’s no such thing as an “electric guitar capo” vs an “acoustic guitar capo”. The difference is that some guitars (acoustic or electric) have flat fingerboards, while some others (acoustic or electric) have “radiused” or slightly curved fingerboards, and you need to choose your capo accordingly.
Another issue that may be worth thinking about is the gage of your strings. If you use really heavy strings you may want a go with a capo that has slightly stronger clamping power. If on the other hand you use supper light gage strings any capo should do you fine.
So, all and all don’t worry about if you need specially an “acoustic guitar capo” or an “electric guitar capo” instead be thinking about what you like to use and if it works you will be fine.
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What You Have to Know Before Buying a Used Piano……………
Use the following tips when shopping for a new or used acoustic piano:
Moving an Acoustic Piano, especially a Grand Piano requires tecnical expertise (and insurance cover)!
Sample As Many Pianos As You Can -
One piano does not fit all! You need to discover your own musical preferences before deciding on a piano; test out different piano brands, styles, sizes, and ages to appreciate the different timbres, key weights, and levels of quality among them.Don’t settle for the first piano available; give yourself enough time to visit at least five pianos before deciding on one, and never buy a piano without first having played and inspected it.
Adorning electric guitars with artwork is something many fine artists have done. Strangely, however, the same cannot be said about acoustic guitars. In that sense, Louis Yanez is a pioneer.
A self-taught amateur artist who lives in Queens, New York, Yanez makes his living as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. Five years ago, at the request of his guitarist/friend Godfrey Townsend, he painted five Gibson acoustics for use in the touring Beatles tribute show, “A Walk Down Abby Road.”
Today, an example of his handiwork is on display in the home of Ringo Starr, while two of his other painted guitars fetched $11,000 in a charity auction.
“I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, and I’ve always had this artistic side, where I’ve been able to draw well,” says the 51-year-old Yanez. “When I met Godfrey, he had some acoustic guitars he needed painted, and he asked me if I would be interested. I thought, ‘Wow. That would be a cool way to combine my two interests.’”
With help from his son, who is fluent with Photoshop software, Yanez created several designs he felt would work well on acoustics. After painting the guitars for Townsend, he contacted other guitarist-friends, asking if they had any instruments — often just cheap acoustics — that he could use to hone his art skills.
Over time he developed a portfolio of snapshots of his work, which is often based on classic album covers and other familiar images from the ’60s.
“When you look at my work, you sort of feel like it belongs there, on the guitar,” says Yanez. “That’s a product of the thought that goes into the work before the painting begins. It’s in the designing and the composition. How do I place this image? Do I add somethin
g to it? The design part of the process is what’s most fun — figuring out what will work. The second step is actually doing the artwork. I can reproduce a photograph or a painting pretty Louis Yanez Pink Floyd Guitarclosely, so that’s a useful ability to have. If someone sees a familiar image, and it doesn’t look quite like the original — say, the proportions are off — that’s noticeable. So I really try and nail it every time.”
An obvious consideration is whether or not the application of paint changes the tone of the guitar. Yanez says any such change — if it occurs at all — is negligible.
“People tend to assume that a guitar’s sound has to change when
an artist paints it,” Yanez says. “That’s because artists who paint them tend to slap on lots of gesso, as a primer, and then they use heavy coats of paint. I’Louis Yanez Bob Dylan Guitarm conscious of the desire to maintain the sound, so I use the materials very lightly. There’s still sustain and so forth.”
Yanez has been contacted by several prominent musicians — among them Kip Winger and Al Kooper — who’ve been impressed with his work.
As regards the guitar that belongs to Starr, that particular instrument was commissioned by an art-dealer friend of the former Beatle, who presented the instrument to Starr as a birthday gift.
“He tells me Ringo loves it,” Yanez says, adding, with a laugh, that the art dealer forgot to take a photograph of Starr with the guitar. “
He keeps telling me, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get it.’”
None of Yanez’s work has been done for profit, but when he retires from his civil service position, he would like to affiliate himself with a major guitar manufacturer. Meanwhile, he’s proud that — by painting acoustics — he’s following a path few have taken.
“It’s like I opened up a door that no one had opened before,” he says. “There’s no tradition behind it. It’s an open frontier that no one’s explored in the way I’ve been doing.”
