Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Theneckchartshowsaschematicoverviewofwhatpitchcanbefoundwhereon
theguitarneck,presumingthestingshavebeentunedtheordinaryway.
Theharmonicsofastring(fageolets),withtheirlight,almostwhistlingsound,
canbebroughtoutbylightlytouchingitatanodalpoint.Thefrstharmonicis
theopenstring,theroot.Thenodeforthesecondharmonic(octaveharmonic,
alsoknownasfrstovertone)isfoundathalfthestringlength(12thfret).The
third harmonic is found at every third of the string length (7th and 19th fret).
Below you fnd an example, that shows in which positions (up to the octave
position) one can fnd the 2nd through 10th harmonics of the low E string.
Thesecanbebroughtoutclearlybyanelectricguitar.Theotherstringswork
similarly,althoughhigherharmonicsonunwoundtreblestringscanbeharder
toproduce.Thenumbersdisplayednexttothesoundingpitchindicatewhich
harmonicismeant.Notethatthenodesforthehigherharmonicsarenotfound
exactlyonthepositionsfret*.
Aleverthatdecreasesorincreasesthetensionofallofthestrings(andthe-
reforethepitch)bymovingthebridgetowardsorawayfromthebody***.
Notethatnotallelectricguitarshaveone!ThefamousGibsonLesPaulisa
guitarwithoutavibratoarm.Oneargumentagainstthevibratoarmisthatit
(slightly)reducestheguitarssustain.
Therearethreemaintypesofvibratoarms:
1.theBigsby.Foundmostoftenonsemi-hollowbody(Gretsch)guitars.
Thisvibratoarmisabletomodestlydecreaseandincreasethestringtension
thoughlesssowhenincreasingtension.Thechangeintensionisnotuniform
acrossallsixstringsasthelowerstringswilldetunemorethanthehigher
strings.Notethatinthiscase,itisthepointwherethestringsarebeingat-
tachedtotheguitar,thatisbeingmoved,notthebridge.
2.theStratocastervibratoarm(wrongfullymarketedastremoloarmbyFen-
der).ThemostcommononehasawiderrangethantheBigsby,butdramatic
useofthisrangerisksdetuningthestringsintheirneutralposition.
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
neck chart/fretboard diagram
harmonics
sound example 5: 1st through 10th
harmonics on low E string
vibrato arm (whammy bar/
tremolo arm)* *
sound example 6: open strings with
Bigsby
sound example 7: open strings with
Stratocaster vibrato arm
pos. I
f
b
b
e
b
g
#
c
f 1
2
3
4
5
6
II
f
#
b
e
a
c
#
f
#
III
g
c
f
b
b
d
g
IV
g
#
c
#
f
#
b
e
b
g
#
V
a
d
g
c
e
a
VI
b
b
e
b
g
#
c
#
f
b
b
VII
b
e
a
d
f
#
b
VIII
c
f
b
b
e
b
g
c
IX
c
#
f
#
b
e
g
#
c
#
X
d
g
c
f
a
d
XI
e
b
g
#
c
#
f
#
b
b
e
b
XII
e
a
d
g
b
e
XIII
f
b
b
e
b
g
#
c
f
XIV
f
#
b
e
a
c
#
f
#
XV
g
c
f
b
b
d
g
XVI
g
#
c
#
f
#
b
e
b
g
#
XVII
a
d
g
c
e
a
XVIII
b
b
e
b
g
#
c
#
f
b
b
XIX
b
e
a
d
f
#
b
XX
c
f
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XXI
c
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(XXII)
d
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a
d
*alsosee:variousextendedtechniquesforartifcialharmonics,squeezeharmonicsandmultiphonics
** Thesoundpossibilitiesofthevibratoarmaredescribedinthesecondpartofthisbook,chapter
vibrato/bending/glissandi.
***TheBigsbyworksabitdifferent:theattachmentspotofthestringsisbeingmovedbythelever
T0 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
3.FloydRose,stoplock.Thisisusedforso-calledheavymetalguitars.A
completereleaseofstringtension(sometimescalledfulldive)ispossiblewit-
houtdetuningtheinstrumentinitsneutralposition.Becauseofthestoplocks,
thatkeepthestringsfxedatthenutwithascrew-system,ascordaturachange
duringaconcertisalmostimpossible(willtakeaverylongtime).
The pickup is a device that basically consists of a magnet with a wire coil
wrappedaroundit.Whenthedistancebetweenpickupandstringchanges,
avoltageiscreatedinthecoilthatisproportionaltothevelocityofthestrings
motion.Thebasicprincipleissimilartoanordinarymicrophone,butapickup
needsametalstringtofunctionandsoundsmoredirectandcompact.
Almost every electric guitar has more than one pickup. One is located near
the bridge (often called treble pickup), one near the neck (rhythm pickup).
Sometimesathirdpickupislocatedin-betweenthetwoothers(middlepickup).
Everypickuppositionbringsitsownmixtureofovertones,comparabletothe
effectsofsulponticelloandsultastoplaying.Thisisbecauseofthemorecom-
plexovertonestructurenearthebridgeresultinginasharpersound,andless
complexovertonesneartheneck,resultinginadarker,fullersound.
Thetwomaintypesofpickupsare:
1.Singlecoilpickups.Theseproduceathinandclearsound.Ahummayoccur
whenusednearotherelectronicdevices.
2.Humbuckerpickups.Theseproduceamorefullandroundedtoneandare
designedtoavoidtheabovementionedhum.
There are many other types of pickups, including the more microphone-like
soundingpiezopickup.Thisisusedmostoftentoamplifysteelstringacoustic
guitarsbutappearonsomeelectricguitarstoo.
Most electric guitars come with a toggle switch, which selects the output of
oneofthepickupsoracombinationofpickups.Eachcombinationhasitsown
soundcharacteristics,somerathernasal,otherthinandsharp,othersthinand
darker.*
Avolumeknob(potmeter)controlstheamountofoutputsignalfromthepickup(s),
atoneknobcontrolstheamountofhigherfrequenciesinthesignal.Justlikewith
anordinarystereoset.
pickups (microphones),
switches and knobs
sound example 8: bridge pickup, ordi-
nario, ponticello, tasto
sound example 9: neck pickup, ordina-
rio, ponticello, tasto
sound example 10: combination of both
pickups, ordinario, ponticello, tasto
*alsosee:http://www.till.com/articles/PickupResponse/,byJ.DonaldTillman
TT
Theamplifer(oftenreferredtoasamp)isagenuineinstrument,liketheguitar
itself. At least to many guitarists, the sound they identify themselves with, is
createdasmuchbythetypeofamplifertheyuse,asbythetypeofguitaror
stringstheyuse.Anampliferconsistsofapre-ampandapower-amp.Thepre-
amp* amplifes the voltage that comes from the guitar pickup and equalizes
it. This means that certain frequencies are amplifed or attenuated according
tothesettingsoftheequalizingcontrolswhichmaybetreble/mid/bassknobs
and/oragraphicequalizer,whichcontrolsalargernumberofnarrowerfre-
quency bands. The high voltage that comes out of the pre-amp controls the
waveformofthesignalofthepower-amp,whichhassuffcientpowertodrive
theloudspeaker**.
Therearetwotypesofamplifers***:
1.Tubeamps,alsocalledvalveamps.Thisclassictypeofamphasacertain
amountofsmoothdistortionandcompressionofthesound-justbecauseofthe
wayitworks-thatisverypleasingtomostears.
2.Transistoramps,alsocalledsolidstateamps.Thesearemoreprecise,stable
andlessnoisy(hissandsuch),buttomanyperformerstheysoundsharp,espe-
ciallywhentheampgoesintooverdrive.
Nowadays,onecanalsofndamixofthetwotypesinonesetup.Thechoice
ofacertaintypeofampliferisamatteroftasteoftheperformer.Theincreasing
use of digital amp-simulators**** makes the whole discussion about which
ampshouldbeusedevenmorecomplicatedandlessrelevant.Thecomposers
questionwhattodowiththedesiredcharacteristicsofcertainamplifersounds
will be addressed in the clean guitar sound, distorting and sustaining the
tone,andnew mediachaptersofthesecondpartofthisbook.
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
amplifers
*Schneider,John.TheContemporaryGuitar.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,c1985,page53
**Schneider,John.TheContemporaryGuitar.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,c1985,page54
***hereisamorein-depthdiscussionofthissubject:http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/amptypes.htm
****see:effectgearandnewdevelopments
T2 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
Thenaturaldistortionofthetubeampliferinspiredguitaristsinthesixtiesofthe
lastcenturytoexperimentwiththeirsound.Itwasthebeginningofwhathas
becomeanimportantpartoftheelectricguitarasaninstrument:electronicef-
fectsthateitheralteroraddtotheoriginalsignalofthepickup.
Manyeffectsarenotstatic--theyaffectthesoundasitdevelops.Theycaneven
changethelengthofhetoneorremovetheattack.Mostguitaristsuseoneor
moreeffectpedals;someusemanypedalseachwithanindependentfunction,
some use multi-effects processors, which contain many effects within a single
unit.Iwillrefertobooksandwebpagesthatgivemorein-depthdescriptions
ofthetechnicalitiesandhistoryoftheeffects.Forinstrumentationpurposes,it
istheperceptionofsound(theendresultoftheeffectchain)thatseemsmost
important.
Severalattemptshavebeenmadetoputtheeffectsintocategories.Itturnsout
thatthesecategoriesoftenoverlap,nomatterwhatcriteriaareused.Thisbook
distinguishesfvegroupsofeffects:
1.volume
2.distortionandsustain
3.soundspaceandrepetition
4.soundmodulation
5.flters
6.addingtones
Therearetwomaincriteriaforthisdivision,thefrstisthemusicalperception,
thesecondisadistinctionbetweenalteringthetoneandornamentingit.
Itisimportanttoknowthatmanydigitaleffects(especiallyinmulti-effectspro-
cessors), like the ones found in the reverb section, the phaser section, pitch
shiftingsection,andfltersectionhaveamixfeature:meaningthatthebalance
betweentheoriginalguitarsoundandtheaffectedsoundcanbeadjusted.
Thesecondpartofthisbookdealswithhoweffectscanbeusedandwhatthey
soundlikewhentheyareusedincombinationwitheachother.
Thesoundexamplesforthissectionareintendedtogiveageneralimpression
for the kind of sound being discussed, not to display all the different sound
possibilities!
introduction to effects
T3
Thereareseveralplacesonthechainfromstringtoloudspeakerwherevolume
canbecontrolled:ontheguitar(someplayersarevirtuosicinusingtheirpinky
fngertoturnavolumeknobwhileplaying),viaafootpedal(volume-orswell
pedal),orattheamplifer.Thevolumepedalistheeasiesttomanipulateduring
performance.
Atremoloeffectisanalternatingvolumeonandoff(orhighandlowvolume)
effect. The speed and depth function controls the length and loudness of the
lowvolumestage.
Noisegatesareusedtoelectronicallyturnthevolumedownwhentheguitarist
isnotplayinginordertohidethenoiseproducedbyothereffects.Effectswith
highgain,suchasoverdriveandcompression,canbeparticularlynoisy.To
workeffectivelynoisegatesmustbeplacedafterthoseeffectsproducingnoise.
Noisegatesworkbydetectingthesignallevel,andrespondbyslowlyfading
down the volume as the playing level fades away. This prevents notes that
fadenaturallyfrombeingcutoffdead.Panningismuchliketwotremoloeffects
controllingastereosetup,onecontrolstheleftchannelandtheothercontrols
therightchannel.Theyarelinkedsothatwhenvolumeishighinonechannel
itislowintheother,andvice-versa.Whenconnectedtoastereosystem(like
twoguitarampsoranamplifcationsystem),thesoundmovesfromoneside
totheother*.
Boost,saturation,overdrive,distortionandfuzzareallbasedonthesameprin-
ciple.Bycompressingthesignalwave,thusclippingthepeaksofthewave,
thesoundismaderough.Theeffectsmentionedhereeachdothisindifferent
waysandgradations.
Simplyput,thehigherthepreampoutputthemoredistortionitwillcreatein
the power amplifer. This is how it started. Even by playing with the volume
knobontheguitaronecaninfuencetheamountofdistortion.Overdrive-type
effects are designed to affect the pre-amp by boosting the signal going into
thepreampandcausingittooverdrive,whereasdistortionpedalscreatethe
distortedsoundwithintheunititself.
Thefuzzpedalisthemostextremevariantofthesetypesofeffects,compres-
singthesignalinsuchawaythatitbecomesasquare-wave**.
Compression effects are designed to do the same, but without distorting the
signal.Thesedevicesareactuallycompression-expandermachines,whilethey
softentheattackandamplifythesignalasitstartstodecay.Thismayresultin
theamplifcationofnoiseratherthanpitchasthesounddecays.Thesecompres-
sorsaresometimesreferredtoassustainpedals.
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
1. volume
volume/tremolo/noise gate/panning
sound example 11: volume pedal,
taking out the attack
sound example 12: tremolo
2. distortion and sustain
boost/saturation/overdrive/distor-
tion/fuzz/compression/sustain/
feedback/E-bow
sound example 13: overdrive
sound example 14: distortion
sound example 15: fuzz
sound example 16: compressor
*alsosee:http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-desc.htm
**DaveHunter,Guitareffectspedals,thepracticalhandbook,publ.BackbeatBooks,pages24-30
T4 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
Another way of sustaining a tone is to create a feedback circuit, often using
distortionorfuzz.Whenaguitarspickuppicksupsoundfromthespeakeritis
connectedto,theampliferwillamplifythatsoundandthespeakerwillturnthat
into soundwaves again, which in their turn will move the guitar body, which
movesthestring,whichgivesasoundthatwillbepickedupbythepickup-etc.
Onecanalsostartthisprocessbyplayingatoneandholdingtheguitarbody
closetothespeaker.Acriticalvolumeisneededtocreatethiseffect.Itiseasier
tocreatefeedbackwithhollowbodyguitarsbutitisverydiffculttocontrolthe
exactpitchofthefeedbacksound.
YetanotherwayforsustainingatoneiswiththeuseoftheE(nergyorelectronic)-
bow.Thishandhelddevicecreatesamagneticfeldthatexcitesthevibrationof
asinglestring(onlyonestringatatime)untilthedeviceisremoved.
Reverb/delay/loops/sampling are four effects based on a principle of re-
cording or copying the sound signal and reproducing it at some time inter-
val after the original. If the time between the original and the frst (of many!)
reproduction(s) is less than 1/20th of a second, we perceive it as reverbe-
ration. A reverb unit creates artifcial acoustic spaces of various sizes (small
rooms, large halls) and shapes (square-round) made from different materials
(wood, concrete, metal). It is often possible to adjust the length and type of
reverbwithgreatdetail.
When the time between the original signal and its frst reproduction is more
than 1/20th of a second the ear hears it as a separate attack and thus we
perceivethesoundasanecho(delay).
When the time between original and copy becomes much longer, like more
thanacoupleofseconds,itiscalledaloop.Digitalsamplingtechniqueshave
madeitpossibletomakeloopsthatareaslongas10minutesorevenmuch
greater.Notethatatthispointintime,machinesthatproducereverb,digital
delay and shorter loops are more common than long recording-time sample
machines.Tappingfeaturesonsomemachinesallowtheperformertosetthe
tempoforthedelayortoalterthespeedofa(pre-recorded)loop.Somemachi-
nesallowforseveralsimultaneousdelays,eachwithauniquedelaytime.Sub-
sequentrepititionsmayalsofeedthedelayunit,meaningnotjusttheoriginal
signalmaybeaffected.
*Electricguitars,effectpedalsandampliferschangemuchfasterintheirdesignandlooksthanforexampleviolins
andgrandpianos.Theyarepartlyevensubjecttofashion-hypes.Therefore,itisnotsurprisingthatthewordvintage,
alsousedforselectedsecondhandclothes,isusedforoldguitarsandsuch,thatarenolongerinproduction,or
nowadaysoflessqualitythantheirfrstgenerations,madedecadesago.Thevintagebusinessispartlyaboutquality
ofsoundandpartlyaboutfashion.
**alsoseenewmediainpart2ofthisbook.