There are many ways to modify guitar sound that have been talked about in this site, but most of these have been concerning custom guitar parts and other customizations that you can do to the actual guitar. Although these are great things to do, the most effective way to modify guitar sound is to use an effects pedal. One of the first types of these that everyone gets is a guitar distortion pedal. This pedal can change your whole tone and playing style by adding an overdriven distortion to your sound.
This is an important point because changing your guitar sound can actually change the way that you play. You react to the sounds you play on the instrument, so it follows that different sounds will force you to have different reactions. This can be valuable for exploring different playing methods and styles. The more you can go through different playing experiences the better, because you will be able to adapt to more situations. This will make you a more flexible player.
Along with the distortion pedals there are similar pedals that give you guitar overdrive effects. This is like distortion but a little more mellow and natural sounding. Guitar overdrive is simulated in pedals by making the same sound that a tube amp makes when the tubes are overdriven. Where distortion is traditionally used more in hard rock, guitar overdrive is used more in blues and any lighter styles. It also has a history in jazz guitar. These are both great ways to customize and modify your guitar sound however.
The great thing about using effects pedals to do the customizing is that pedals do not require any construction and work with whatever guitar setup that you have. However, you should keep in mind that pedals use your natural guitar tone and modify it to make the new tone, so if your guitar setup has poor natural tone you will not end up with the greatest distortion or overdrive.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Why Bother With Guitar Mods?
Most people leave their guitars the way they buy them from the store, and while this may seem normal, it may be worth it to take a look at some simple guitar mods that you can do yourself and for little money.
Most of the best guitar mods involve switching out the stock parts of your guitar for more high quality wooden guitar parts. The tone and volume knobs, pickup rings, and truss rod covers on guitars usually come as plastic afterthoughts. By simply replacing them with some wooden ones that match the materials and colors of your guitar, you can really improve its appearance.
These improvements are not just visual though. One of the best parts about guitar modification with wooden parts is that it will also improve the natural sound of your instrument. Wood is a better material for the vibrations that go through your instrument, and having all wooden parts instead of cheap plastic ones is the best mod you can do for your guitar without spending a lot of money or getting into any complex construction. The wooden parts should improve your sound to a noticeable degree, and the fact that they look better is great too.
All of these guitar mods can have a great effect on your guitar playing that is worth the time and money spent. When you have an instrument that you enjoy playing more, you will practice more, and this means that in the end you will be making better music. You will be spending more time with the instrument, which means getting better at sight reading and everything else. Guitar modifications are not just for visual effects, they can help you produce better music. So if you are unsatisfied with parts of your guitar, think about what some simple and effective guitar modifications and customizations can do.
Most of the best guitar mods involve switching out the stock parts of your guitar for more high quality wooden guitar parts. The tone and volume knobs, pickup rings, and truss rod covers on guitars usually come as plastic afterthoughts. By simply replacing them with some wooden ones that match the materials and colors of your guitar, you can really improve its appearance.
These improvements are not just visual though. One of the best parts about guitar modification with wooden parts is that it will also improve the natural sound of your instrument. Wood is a better material for the vibrations that go through your instrument, and having all wooden parts instead of cheap plastic ones is the best mod you can do for your guitar without spending a lot of money or getting into any complex construction. The wooden parts should improve your sound to a noticeable degree, and the fact that they look better is great too.
All of these guitar mods can have a great effect on your guitar playing that is worth the time and money spent. When you have an instrument that you enjoy playing more, you will practice more, and this means that in the end you will be making better music. You will be spending more time with the instrument, which means getting better at sight reading and everything else. Guitar modifications are not just for visual effects, they can help you produce better music. So if you are unsatisfied with parts of your guitar, think about what some simple and effective guitar modifications and customizations can do.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Difference Wooden Guitar Parts Can Make
Wooden guitar parts are the best things to upgrade your guitar with. If you have some tone and volume knobs on your guitar that are not made of wood, you should consider changing them for some new ones. Most people do not want to bother with these kinds of upgrades on their guitars, but it can be worth it.
One simple thing you can do is upgrade the knobs into some nice wooden ones that match the color of your guitar. A good example of this is in this guitar warm up exercises video. Wooden parts can add a lot of class to your instrument and make it seem like a custom guitar, when in reality is cost a fraction of a hand made guitar and is almost as good.
Wooden modification parts will also make your guitar look more unique. Most factory guitars will be one of a great many of models out there and you may run into someone who has the exact same instrument. Why deal with this if you can make quick cheap upgrades to your guitar? With some simple customizations that you can do yourself, you can have a guitar that is one of a kind, and you may even increase its resale value.
Customizing your guitar is worth the little effort that it requires and can greatly increase the guitars value in your eyes and in others. Like in this alternate picking video, guitars with well matched wooden parts just look better, so you might as well invest the little time and energy, it will pay off.
One simple thing you can do is upgrade the knobs into some nice wooden ones that match the color of your guitar. A good example of this is in this guitar warm up exercises video. Wooden parts can add a lot of class to your instrument and make it seem like a custom guitar, when in reality is cost a fraction of a hand made guitar and is almost as good.
Wooden modification parts will also make your guitar look more unique. Most factory guitars will be one of a great many of models out there and you may run into someone who has the exact same instrument. Why deal with this if you can make quick cheap upgrades to your guitar? With some simple customizations that you can do yourself, you can have a guitar that is one of a kind, and you may even increase its resale value.
Customizing your guitar is worth the little effort that it requires and can greatly increase the guitars value in your eyes and in others. Like in this alternate picking video, guitars with well matched wooden parts just look better, so you might as well invest the little time and energy, it will pay off.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Guitars in Electronic Jazz
One interesting development in jazz has been the tendency of guitar players to be the ones to experiment more with alternate sounds and effects. This customization of their sound has lead in part to a new sub-genre of the style known as electronic jazz music. It would make sense that guitar players would be the ones to get this started, as the electric guitar has always been an instrument of redefining style and changing sounds.
Since effects come naturally to the guitar, guitar players were the first to really experiment with electronic effects in jazz. This has slowly lead to other types of electronic instruments and effects being used in jazz.
The development of this expansion of acceptable sounds in jazz should been seen as a good thing. It doesn't mean that jazz is being destroyed or changed really, it just means the instrumental pallet of the genre is widening. Not only will this produce more variation in jazz music, but it will draw more listeners into the style that can relate to some of the more electronic elements being used, and more listeners is always a good thing because it means more artists can be supported.
So the customization of guitar sounds has played an important role in the development of jazz, and people should continue to look for ways to customize their guitars and expand their tonal capabilities.
Since effects come naturally to the guitar, guitar players were the first to really experiment with electronic effects in jazz. This has slowly lead to other types of electronic instruments and effects being used in jazz.
The development of this expansion of acceptable sounds in jazz should been seen as a good thing. It doesn't mean that jazz is being destroyed or changed really, it just means the instrumental pallet of the genre is widening. Not only will this produce more variation in jazz music, but it will draw more listeners into the style that can relate to some of the more electronic elements being used, and more listeners is always a good thing because it means more artists can be supported.
So the customization of guitar sounds has played an important role in the development of jazz, and people should continue to look for ways to customize their guitars and expand their tonal capabilities.
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