Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Despite the slow start, the electric guitar did find its place. It has
inspired and defined entirely new types of music. The electric guitar
remains the most prominent instrument in rock music, and the most
famous instrument ever to come out of the United States.
In this article, you will learn exactly how the guitar itself works, and
we will also discuss the system that the guitar and the amp create
together. Working in combination, the guitar and the amp can
produce an amazing variety of sounds.
The pickup's coil sends its signals through a very simple circuit on
most guitars. The circuit looks something like this:
The upper variable resistor adjusts the tone. The resistor (typically
500 kilo-ohms max) and capacitor (0.02 microfarads) form a simple
low-pass filter. The filter cuts out higher frequencies. By adjusting the
resistor you control the frequencies that get cut out. The second
resistor (typically 500 kilo-ohms max) controls the amplitude
(volume) of the signal that reaches the jack. From the jack, the signal
runs to an amplifier, which drives a speaker.
• A pre-amp
• A power amplifier
• A speaker
Some amps also include effects and reverb circuits between the
pre-amp and the power amplifier.
The job of the pre-amp is to boost the guitar's signal enough so that
it can actually drive the power amplifier stage. Because an electric
guitar is passive, its signal does not have enough power to drive the
power amp directly.
The goal of these early innovators was to amplify the natural sound of
the guitar, but the signal was too weak. It was only when engineers
utilized a more direct pickup system, in which the electromagnet
registered string vibration from the strings themselves, that the
modern electric guitar became a reality. The first commercially
successful model, the so-called "Frying Pan," was developed and
marketed by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker in
1932.
Diagram from Gibson's original pickup patent, 1937
In the 1950s and 1960s, rock stars secured Gibson and Paul's
designs, as well as Fender's famous Stratocaster, a permanent
place in American culture. Since then, every generation has found a
surprising new way of making the instrument sing. By all accounts, its
potential is limitless.