Sunday, 15 March 2009

Eastwood Guitars - Old Styles With Modern Sounds

Eastwood Guitars have brought the guitar style of the 60s right back. The hippie era has a romantic memory for many, even if you were too young to be there. The guitars were special sporting some highly original styles that have never quite gone out of fashion. That's why Eastwood Guitars are enjoying such success.



It all started with Michael Robinson who set up his Canadian company of Eastwood Guitars in the year 2001. The vision that Mike had was to capture the styles of the classic guitars of the 1960s. Not only that, but he wanted to produce guitars that not only looked good, but sounded good and felt good to play too.



That's no mean feat, but it's exactly what Eastwood Guitars have achieved. They also have achieved the modern quality and ease of playing that today's guitars enjoy, all in a 60s image. It's no wonder then that Eastwood Guitars have developed something of a cult following, not only with guitar enthusiasts, but with serious professional musicians too.



Eastwood Guitars can be found all over the world now. The company has loyal followers in more countries than it can keep up with almost. The appeal is fairly obvious when you think about it. Classic guitars are becoming rarer every day. Special models that are no longer being produced go for many thousands at auction.



The real shame of it all is that these rare guitars snapped up by collectors are rarely ever played again. They are placed in glass cases and kept under closely controlled environments like museum pieces. Guitars are meant to be played, and this is the main reason why Mike Robinson created his range of Eastwood Guitars to give back the classic 60s guitar to anyone who wants it.



Do you need a Fender Stratocaster or a Gibson Les Paul? Perhaps an acoustic Martin D-28 or a semi-acoustic Gibson E175? Maybe you'd prefer a Gretsch, a guitar loved by the late, great legendary guitar virtuoso, Chet Atkins, or maybe a Rickebacker V64 12-string is your thing. Well, if you can't find or afford an original, Eastwood Guitars may be the very place to look for a close replica.



When David Love of the Burton Cummings Band decided to get Eastwood Guitars for their live performances because he thought the visual impact would be just right, he only expected a really good looking guitar that he could just about play. What he got surprised him though. "I got 110% of both!" he exclaimed in delight. "These guitars have exceeded my expectations on every level."



Eastwood Guitars have at least 20 models that they produce. The guitars have received praise from musicians all over the globe and glowing reviews in many music and trade publications. Their products are not confined only to lead and rhythm guitars however, they also produce classic bass guitars as well.



The vision that is Eastwood Guitars is solely down to the company's founder, Michael Robinson. Guitar player, Matthew Sweet says: Mike is infinitely knowledgeable on cool and neglected guitar treasures." Not only that, but he knows how to make cool copies of them and let those who appreciate the styles have their own models.




David A Robinson

Information on Eastwood guitars



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_A_Robinson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Eastwood-Guitars---Old-Styles-With-Modern-Sounds&id=2017592

Sunday, 21 December 2008

How to Best Reduce Guitar Feedback

How to Best Reduce Guitar Feedback
By Tony Olegro




Intentional feedback is an effect that's a very expressive and musical part of an electric guitar
, something that can't be recreated in a plugin. However, uncontrollable feedback is bothersome and is undesirable in recordings. Feedback is the high-pitched sound that comes from your speakers, usually when your guitar is right in front of the amp or a microphone is too close to the speakers; it can also be a consistent hum. It severely reduces the quality and professionalism of your recordings, and not many people would want to listen to a song with annoying sounds in it.



Knowing how to best reduce guitar feedback will make your recordings more professional and listenable, not to mention protect your ears during guitar recording if the feedback gets too loud. So, if you are having trouble with this nuisance called feedback and want to know how to effectively minimize it, our guide on how to best reduce guitar feedback will show you how...



What Causes Guitar Feedback



Before knowing how to best reduce guitar feedback, it's a good idea to know what causes feedback; that way, you'll better understand how to prevent it.



Feedback typically occurs when the guitar is right in front of the amp or a microphone is too close to the speakers. What happens is that a loop between an input and output becomes closed, and in this case the microphone or vibrating guitar strings are the input and the speakers are the output (the string vibrations are happening at particular frequencies, usually in the low end around 100-200 Hz or lower). Basically, the sound from the speakers reaches the input and is amplified again, hence causing an endless loop. This results in uncontrollable feedback.



Also, on an electric guitar, coils of the pickup degrade with time, eventually becoming microphonic. One of the reasons that coils degrade is that adjacent turns of the coil are insulated by lacquer, and even without external damage or poor treatment, it wears down over time, cracking and causing very tiny short circuits, thus creating feedback. Also, if the winding isn't uniformly tight, it loosens some turns of the coil that then vibrate and cause a lot of uncontrollable feedback.




Sounds great but how the heck do you stop this feedback? Visit our site to find out!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Olegro
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Best-Reduce-Guitar-Feedback&id=1783741

Sunday, 23 November 2008

Evolution of the Guitar

Evolution of the Guitar
By Steve Krenz




Throughout the period of evolution of the guitar, a lot of famous musicians like Beatles or Gibson Les Paul have made very valuable contributions to perpetuate this category of stringed instruments and to promote this art form. In order to learn and master guitar, you need not compulsorily learn about these great guitarists and their contributions but familiarizing yourself with the history of guitar does make it a lot more interesting to learn & master guitar.



Stringed instruments came into existence during the ancient Egyptian civilization when people used bowl harps and tanburns for generating music. Similar instruments were also found in the ancient relics of Sumerian, Babylonian, Persian, Mesopotamian and Indian civilizations. Some of the instruments of this period such as Turkish saz, Balkan tamburitsa, Iranian setar, Afghan panchtar and Greek bouzouki have in fact survived all these years and are still used today.



During the same period, ancient guitar-like instruments have originated. As per available archaeological records, Egyptian singer Har-Mose used a guitar like instrument during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut some 3,500 years ago. From then onwards, these guitar-like instruments became widely popular and were introduced to the European community by Egyptians and Mesopotamians. During early days, guitars used to have a four-course arrangement containing 4 unison-tuned pairs of strings. Four-course guitars were widely used all over the Europe during the late medieval and early renaissance period. In the 16th century, the four-course arrangement gave way to a five-course arrangement. These renaissance-era guitars were much similar to a modern day 12-string guitar and had a richer sound. Gradually, a sixth-course was added in the 17th century that was later replaced by six-string instruments.



The credit of inventing modern and classical form of guitar goes through Antonio Torres, a Spanish guitarist who had introduced the revolutionary fan-braced guitars in Spain. Later, steel strings became available in around 1900. These strings offered more sound but had increased tension. Archtop guitars were introduced at the end of 19th century by Orville Gibson. And finally, electric guitars came into existence in the late 1920s.



There are also different theories regarding the origin of the word "guitar". While some consider the word as an adaptation from Spanish "Guittara", others consider it to have been derived from the Greek word "Kithara". However, the fact is that the name "guitar" has been derived from the ancient Sanskrit language where "guit" means music and "tar" means string or chord. In fact, many stringed instruments originating from Central Asia and India have the word "tar" as a suffix.




Stop wasting money on 1-on-1 guitar lessons! Check out Steve Krenz's Learn and Master Guitar, it beats the pants off anything out there. It's the most comprehensive and thorough instructional guitar course available today. Advanced guitarists should check out http://www.madguitarlicks.com for 35 killer licks to add to their arsenal.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Krenz
http://EzineArticles.com/?Evolution-of-the-Guitar&id=1397083