Monday, November 30, 2009

Archtop Guitars

Guitars are among the most, or maybe the most popular of musical instruments the world has ever known. Almost every other teenager you meet, at least in the Western world, plays or wants to learn how to play the guitar. In any campfire you will find someone playing his or her guitar.

Talk about any genre, and there is a big chance that genre would highly involve guitars, in one way or another. Rock and Roll, Heavy Metal, Jazz, Fusion, Country, Blues, Alternative, Speed Metal, Hardcore Metal, Pop, Flamenco, and even Classical, just name it - choose your genre and surely you will find guitars to be in the mix. With origins dating back to 5000 years ago, the guitar has contributed a profound influence on modern popular culture, defining its status amongst the most popular musical instruments in the world today.

Each of these genres has one or several types of guitars most suited for it. The archtop guitar type is mostly used by Blues or Jazz players.

An archtop guitar is, as its name indicates, a guitar with its body arched, violin-style. Typically, it will be an acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar, and it will have "f-shaped" holes, making it strongly resembling the violin. The archtop guitar will also have steel strings, which are usually thicker than the regular acoustic guitars, and humbucker pickups.

Although the first archtop guitars were pure acoustic guitars, since Gibson guitars introduced in 1951 the first semi-acoustic archtop guitar, most archtop guitars today are acoustic-electric, and include humpbucker pickups. Their hollow body make them suitable to playing in both ways Making an archtop guitar(acoustic and electric), and give them a distinct rich sound.


Archtop guitars are manufactured today, besides by the big guitar companies, also by many small private manufacturers. Their special carved look makes them popular to make by many guitar artists.

Although archtop guitars are normally hollow, in the last few years some guitar manufacturers refer to their solid-body guitars with carved belly as “archtop guitars”, in order to distinguish them from the regular flat-belly solid body guitars.



Saturday, November 21, 2009

Left Handed Bullseye Electric Guitar Review

There was a time when all types of guitars were made just for the right-handed players because the market for left handed musicians wasn’t so wide back then. But this did not stop the left-handed greats such as Jimi Hendrix to pick up the electric guitar. He did not see it has a hindrance for his musical career; instead he took it on as a challenge and came up with his own style on how to play a right-handed guitar. And this is what gave him his unique technique that made him famous the world over. In fact, his mad skills in playing the right-handed electric guitar are still being talked about even decades after his death.

But nowadays, if you’re a left handed guitarist, you don’t have to live through this compromise any longer as the major guitar names such as Fender, Gibson, Jackson and Ibanez have all gotten into the business of manufacturing their own line of special left handed guitars. We all know these brand names for their high-class quality and style and also for the hefty price tags that their guitars command as well.

If you’re just starting to learn how to play the electric guitar, most guitar aficionados will tell you that it’s acceptable to start of with a reasonably priced guitar. If it’s too cheap you will have to compromise the sound of the strings and the durability of the body while a too expensive guitar may just collect dust in the corner if ever you easily get tired and bored with it. The bottom line is you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars for an electric guitar that will be able to give you the performance you will be happy with. As long as you make sure that the guitar you choose can produce a sound that can compare to its more expensive counterparts, you will be all set. Just look around, do your research, canvas a bit and you will be able to find just what it is you’re looking for.


left handed bullseye electric guitar

Enter the Left Handed Guitar Place Zakk Wylde inspired electric guitars series, labeled “Zamir” (Zamir in Hebrew means nightingale). Just by looking at it, it’s like you’ve entered a psychedelic dream and you’re the main rockstar in it. These guitars simply command attention with their design that is inspired by the great electric guitarist Zakk Wylde, famed for his role as guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. The bull’s eye graphics was used to merely differentiate himself from the other guitarist, but then it became so well known that electric guitar aficionados all over the world started to want the design on their own guitars as well.


These guitars are the perfect choice for first left handed guitar. Take a look at the Zamir E1021 guitar. It is made of the finest woods such as maple, chunwood and basswood combined. Also, with a fingerboard that is made out of rosewood, this guitar is set to last you quite a long time if taken care of correctly. As for the overall sound, expect to hear a vintage tone to it that can perfectly suit most musical genres such as rock, metal and grunge. With an immaculate paint job and the fact that it was very well made, this guitar is a steal at the price that it goes for nowadays. If you’re serious about getting a guitar that will be able to serve you well for many years to come, a Zakk Wylde Bullseye inspired left-handed electric guitar should definitely be a top pick for you.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Left Handed Guitars from the Left Handed Guitar Place

If you're left-handed and love to play the guitar, there's absolutely no need for you to force yourself to play on a right-handed guitar. There are left-handed guitars out there, so don't compromise or settle! With our left-handed guitars made especially for left handed people, you don't have to bother learning to play on a traditional right-handed guitar! To top it off, the left-handed guitar won't cost you a fortune either! We have some left handed guitars that are amazing, top-quality musical instruments at a price you can afford.


Made in China, our left-handed guitars won't break the bank. And don't worry about the "Made in China" label - our guitars are made of the finest quality materials, so there's no chance you're getting a shoddy instrument. Our left handed guitar line is so inexpensive because the labor is cheap. Just remember that cheap labor does not mean cheap products! A left-handed guitar from the left handed guitar place is truly an amazing instrument that you will have for years to come.


You may be thinking to yourself, "Why do I need a left-handed guitar when I can play on a right-handed guitar just fine?" The answer is simple. If you are left-handed, you may actually find that you feel much more comfortable playing a left-handed guitar. It is all too often that left-handed guitarists simply settle for right-handed guitars. Sometimes, they just learn to play that way while other times they modify the right-handed guitar to fit their needs. Many left-handed guitarists actually pick with the left hand while holding the right-handed guitar upside down.


Though adapting a right-handed guitar may work for many players, it doesn't work for everyone. And it may not work for you, which is why investing in a left-handed guitar is most likely your best bet. There is no reason that you should play the guitar uncomfortably when you don't have to. If you're still not sure if a left-handed guitar is the best choice for you, simply head to the nearest guitar store and try one out. You may just be surprised!


So, how do you know if you're a left-handed guitar player? Remember, it isn't always about which hand you use to write. It all comes down to what feels best to you - if you feel more comfortable picking and strumming with your left hand, then you are left-handed. This may be a surprise to you, but there are plenty of left-handed guitarists out there. You may not know that the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Billy Ray Cyrus, Paul McCartney, and Paul Simon are all Southpaw guitarists. All of them learned to play on right-handed guitars but made the switch to the left-handed choice once it became an option.


Once you decide to buy a left-handed guitar, make that guitar a left-handed guitar from the Left Handed Guitar Place. Our left handed guitars won't let you down! At a fraction of the cost, you will get a guitar of the finest quality and best materials that will last for years to come. You can only win with a left-handed guitar. The feel, look, and sound of the guitar is comparable to those more expensive models but without the big price tag. So go ahead, treat yourself to the guitar you deserve.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Online Guitar Lessons

There are so many ways for one to learn how to play the guitar. And if you are into computers as well, then this just might be something you’d be interested in. True, there is always that reliable alternative of learning to play the guitar from an instructor or a tutor. But let’s face it: learning how to play the guitar online is indeed a faster option. You won’t have to pay for your instructor’s time. You won’t have to come up with a schedule for your lessons. And you can learn at your own pace! This is quite the perfect option for people who are already working.

Thus, online guitar lessons are indeed more convenient for just about anyone. Now, the Internet is a very vast source of information. And you can indeed have access to a lot of online guitar lessons with just one click of your mouse. But what should you look for from these online guitar lessons? This would actually depend on you, you know. What do you need from these online guitar lessons? Would you prefer seeing these lessons in video format? A lot of online guitar lessons actually offer this. The instructor would be shown placing his fingers accordingly. Getting a visual of this can indeed hasten the learning speed of the student. And these online guitar lessons have indeed very efficient when it comes to these videos.

But when it comes to the videos that online guitar lessons offer, there is something you should remember about these videos. There is a need to look for videos that offer step-by-step instructions. There are some videos that do not give that much detailed information and this can just add to the frustration, as a student. Thus, choose high-quality video lessons for you to tune into.

Another advantage online guitar lessons have is that the sites that offer such also offer forums. This way, you can converse with other interested users online. You can ask for advice on how to go about learning a particular chord, way of strumming, or even a whole song. And when the time comes that you will have improved considerably, you can also request from the users chords to songs that you want to learn. There just may be times when you cannot get such chords from the sites that offer online guitar lessons. But there are so many sites that you can check out all over the web. Chances are, you will still be able to get these chords from another site that will most likely offer online guitar lessons as well.

Jamorama Online Guitar LessonsAn excellent online guitar lessons resource is Jamorama. They offer very good free step-by-step online guitar lessons. Check them here.

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Guitar Neck

Not only living animals have a neck. String instruments, like guitars, have one too. The string instruments neck is most comparable to the neck of the giraffe: They have a long and narrow neck, starting from the larger body and ending in the smaller head (or actually headstock, in the case of the musical instruments).

What is the role of this guitar neck?

The guitar neck is the part on which the strings are stretched, and the guitar player determines what notes or accords are played by pressing the strings in various positions on the guitar neck. When pressing a string in a certain point, the length of the free part of the string is changed, and thus a different note is produced from the guitar.



A guitar neck is composed of several parts: The actual neck itself, and the fretboard with the frets. The frets are the metal strips on the neck, dividing the positions for each note. The neck itself, and the fretboard are made of wood. The fretboard will typically be made of a different wood than the rest of the neck. The neck wood strongly influences the tone of the guitar. The main part of the neck should be strong and stable, having low reaction to environmental changes so that it will resist bending and give a consistent pitch of a particular key. Common woods for a guitar neck would be maple, mahogany, and rosewood (though of course other woods may be used too). A fretboard will typically be made of maple, rosewood, ebony or pao ferro.

The guitar capo is a clamp that is put on the guitar neck in order to get a different pitch, or key, out of the strings. The principle of the capo is like the general principle of fretting: By claA Capo on a Guitar Neckmping the strings you change the length of the free string. The capo moves the whole set of strings to a different scale. Each fret on the guitar neck corresponds to half a step on the regular octave, so putting the fret for example on the first fret will move all the notes produced from the guitar half a step higher. Why is this needed? Sometimes the chords for a certain song will be awkward and difficult to produce on the regular structure of the guitar. Using the capo will change the pitch of the guitar, making these chords easier to play.

Two other important things to consider about a guitar neck are the way they are attached to the guitar body, and their shape. The guitar neck joint should be strong, since it has to withstand the pressure induced when the strings are installed or changed. The way the neck is joined to the guitar will affect the tone of the guitar. There are three primary ways to attach the guitar neck to the guitar body: (a) Set-in neck, meaning the neck is glued into place. (b) Bolt-on neck, meaning the neck is attached by bolts screwed, and (c) neck through body – a method that is exclusive to solid-body guitar, in which the peace of wood used for the guitar is extended through the entire length of the body, making it the core of the guitar body, and the 2 side parts of the body are glued to it.

The shape of the guitar neck will affect how easily you can move from fret to fret, and is highly individual. The most common shape is a “C” shape, with varying degrees of the “C” curve – from the oval shaped till the other end, the “U” shaped neck. A different category would be the “V” shaped neck, with a comfortable groove down the middle.