Downbeating describes the technique whereby natural harmonics are used in tuning guitars. This is a very effective way to tune guitars that can be more accurate than just tuning by ear. It is also a great way of fine tuning once your have approximated tuning with standard techniques.
A prerequisite technique you must learn before you can use downbeating is hitting natural harmonics. Natural harmonics are produced by picking the string while lightly touching the string over the fret wire. You don’t need to push the string down against the fret wire. Natural harmonics sound like a ringing chimed tone. The easiest place to practice natural harmonics is the 12th fret, but you can produce a natural harmonic at nearly every fret. It is easier to hear them when your guitar is plugged into an amp and even easier when using the overdrive channel.
Once you have mastered hitting natural harmonics downbeating is quite simple. You can use this technique to tune every string except the B string (the 2nd string). The reason for this is because the interval between the G and B string is 4 half steps rather 5 half steps like all of the other strings.
Here’s how to do it. Start at the E and A string and work your way up. Simply hit the natural harmonic on the 5th fret on the lower string followed by the natural harmonic on the 7th fret of the higher string next to it.
They should produce the exact same tone. For example, if you are tuning the E and A strings, hit the natural harmonic on the 5th fret of the E string followed by the natural harmonic on the 7th fret of the A string. You need to have both natural harmonic tones sounding together at the same time.
If the strings are not in perfect tune together, what you will hear is the tone oscillate back and forth between the two strings. The faster the oscillation the further off tune the strings are. As you adjust the tuning peg you should hear the oscillation slow down until you only hear one non-oscillating tone.
This is called downbeating.
You may have to resound the harmonics a few times while you are adjusting the tuners. Once you hear only one non-oscillating tone the strings are in perfect tune with one another. Repeat the steps for all of the strings (except the B string) and you’ll find your guitar in perfect tune. This technique will work with any guitar acoustic or electric but is much easier to hear with an electric through the overdriven channel.
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Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
How to Maximize Your Guitar's Performance
Like any precision instrument guitars will perform their best when they are properly set up. By setting up your guitar properly you can maximize your guitar’s potential and also customize how it will feel, play, and sound to your liking. There are some adjustments that are best left to a professional but you can do a lot yourself with just a few simple tools. Here are 3 easy steps you can take to adjust your guitar’s action, intonation, and pickup output.
The action of a guitar refers to how easy it is to fret (push down on) the strings. A guitar set up with good action will play effortlessly. The easiest way to affect the action of a guitar is by adjusting the string height at the bridge. Most electric guitars will have an adjustable bridge to allow this. Most guitar bridges will have either a hand-turned bridge height adjustment knob (like on Les Paul type guitars) or a hex-wrench driven mechanism (like most Strat-type guitars). Simply turn the screws to lower the string height. The goal is to go as low as you can before the strings start to ‘buzz’ meaning they are resting on a the fret wire. There are some instances where you may want a higher string height, for example if you play slide guitar, but in general the lower the better. Other adjustments that affect string height and action such as height at the nut, neck angle, and truss rod adjustments may be better left for the professional.
Intonation of a guitar refers to the relationship of the frets to the precise string length. A guitar that is intonated correctly will sound ‘in-tune’ at all neck positions. Poorly intonated guitars will sound ok at one neck position, but will sound ‘out-of-tune’ at other neck positions. The length of a guitar string from nut to bridge needs to be exactly bisected at the 12th fret. In other words the 12th fret must divide the string exactly in half. Here the adjustable bridge comes into play again. Most bridges will have individual saddles for each string that can be moved to adjust intonation. Moving the string saddle, in effect, changes the length of the string. You will need a good electronic tuner to adjust your intonation. The goal here is to precisely match the tone of the fretted 12th string to the tone of the 12th string natural harmonic. A natural harmonic tone is achieved by only lightly putting your finger over the fret wire (the 12th in this instance) and picking the string normally. Natural harmonics will ring like a chime. They are easier to hear when the guitar is plugged into an amp and even easier when using the overdrive channel of your amp. Use your tuner to match the tone of the 12th string harmonic to the fretted 12th string tone by incrementally moving the string saddle one way or the other. Do this for each individual string, and your guitar will be intonated.
Pickup output can greatly be affected by the proximity of the pickup to the string. The easiest way to adjust this is by adjusting the pickup height. The closer the pickup is to the string the higher the output. Most pickups will have a height adjustment screw on either side of the pickup housing. Simply turn it to raise and lower the pickup. Fret the strings at the highest possible fret and raise the pickup so that it’s about 1/8” from the string. This should produce a good high output sound. From here you can customize your sound by either raising or lowering the high E or low E side of the pickup to enhance or subdue the treble or bass response. Make sure that you match the output between all of your pickups so that you won’t get a big volume change when you change pickups.
With these tips your should be able to improve and customize your guitar and maximize the its performance. Remember that a properly set up guitar has a great impact on how it will play. It can be the difference between a guitar that plays good or one that plays great. Visit www.2ndstringguitars.com for the best value in new and used guitars, factory 2nds, and refurbished instruments at cheap guitar prices.
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The action of a guitar refers to how easy it is to fret (push down on) the strings. A guitar set up with good action will play effortlessly. The easiest way to affect the action of a guitar is by adjusting the string height at the bridge. Most electric guitars will have an adjustable bridge to allow this. Most guitar bridges will have either a hand-turned bridge height adjustment knob (like on Les Paul type guitars) or a hex-wrench driven mechanism (like most Strat-type guitars). Simply turn the screws to lower the string height. The goal is to go as low as you can before the strings start to ‘buzz’ meaning they are resting on a the fret wire. There are some instances where you may want a higher string height, for example if you play slide guitar, but in general the lower the better. Other adjustments that affect string height and action such as height at the nut, neck angle, and truss rod adjustments may be better left for the professional.
Intonation of a guitar refers to the relationship of the frets to the precise string length. A guitar that is intonated correctly will sound ‘in-tune’ at all neck positions. Poorly intonated guitars will sound ok at one neck position, but will sound ‘out-of-tune’ at other neck positions. The length of a guitar string from nut to bridge needs to be exactly bisected at the 12th fret. In other words the 12th fret must divide the string exactly in half. Here the adjustable bridge comes into play again. Most bridges will have individual saddles for each string that can be moved to adjust intonation. Moving the string saddle, in effect, changes the length of the string. You will need a good electronic tuner to adjust your intonation. The goal here is to precisely match the tone of the fretted 12th string to the tone of the 12th string natural harmonic. A natural harmonic tone is achieved by only lightly putting your finger over the fret wire (the 12th in this instance) and picking the string normally. Natural harmonics will ring like a chime. They are easier to hear when the guitar is plugged into an amp and even easier when using the overdrive channel of your amp. Use your tuner to match the tone of the 12th string harmonic to the fretted 12th string tone by incrementally moving the string saddle one way or the other. Do this for each individual string, and your guitar will be intonated.
Pickup output can greatly be affected by the proximity of the pickup to the string. The easiest way to adjust this is by adjusting the pickup height. The closer the pickup is to the string the higher the output. Most pickups will have a height adjustment screw on either side of the pickup housing. Simply turn it to raise and lower the pickup. Fret the strings at the highest possible fret and raise the pickup so that it’s about 1/8” from the string. This should produce a good high output sound. From here you can customize your sound by either raising or lowering the high E or low E side of the pickup to enhance or subdue the treble or bass response. Make sure that you match the output between all of your pickups so that you won’t get a big volume change when you change pickups.
With these tips your should be able to improve and customize your guitar and maximize the its performance. Remember that a properly set up guitar has a great impact on how it will play. It can be the difference between a guitar that plays good or one that plays great. Visit www.2ndstringguitars.com for the best value in new and used guitars, factory 2nds, and refurbished instruments at cheap guitar prices.
Read More..
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Simple Steps to Better Guitar Tone
Great guitar tone is something that every guitarist wants. The quest for tone is one of the biggest reasons guitar players drop so much money on amplifiers and effects.
If you've found yourself spending a lot of money lately on various 'sound tweaking' gadgets, take note: the solution to your sound problems just might be closer (and cheaper) than you think!
Whether you want killer distortion or country-twang, the secret of great tone begins with a pure, clean signal.
In other words, no matter how many effects you intend to use, you've got to make sure the basic, unadulterated “dry signal” coming through your amp sounds just as good as anything else.
The reason for this is simple:
every effect you add to that signal brings in a little bit of noise. So, you need to start with as clean a signal as possible so that the cumulative impact of noise and signal degradation from your effects is kept to a minimum.
The first step :
here is as easy as proper maintenance of your guitar. Not only do you need to keep your strings fresh, and your neck in alignment, you also need to eliminate any sources of buzz or hum coming from faulty cords or poor electrical wiring in your pickups or input jack.
The second step :
is to run the same maintenance check on your amplifier. Now, the fact is, some amps are just noisier than others. If you can find nothing physically wrong with your amp, it may just be that you need to do upgrades for better tone.
For example, your amp's factory-installed speakers are probably not top-of-the-line. In the case of tube amps, especially, this can make a HUGE difference.
Along similar lines, you might also consider upgrading your tubes and/or the transistors used in the pre-amp stage.
Why?
Because your amp's sound is greatly influenced by the way each of these components responds to the guitar signal. Cheap parts have a slower dynamic response, and can also add unwanted coloration to the signal. This is one reason why some amps will sound great at a lower volume, but start to break up and distort as soon as you turn things up.
Last, but not least, take a look at the effects pedals you currently have in your arsenal. Maybe you've purchased 2 or 3 different distortion pedals, for example, in an elusive quest for that perfect 'crunch'?
There's nothing wrong with owning multiple pedals for the same type of effect; but, if you still aren't getting the sound you desire, it could be that you need to add something very basic into the mix, like an EQ pedal.
A good EQ pedal will allow you to shape which frequencies are emphasized. You can, for example, cut the mid-range for a heavier tone, or boost the highs so that your treble notes punch through.
Try mixing and matching EQ and Volume pedals in different places along your effects chain in order to boost or limit the characteristics of other effects. You'll be amazed how many different sounds you can create with a little experimentation!
by: Beth Miller
Read More..
If you've found yourself spending a lot of money lately on various 'sound tweaking' gadgets, take note: the solution to your sound problems just might be closer (and cheaper) than you think!
Whether you want killer distortion or country-twang, the secret of great tone begins with a pure, clean signal.
In other words, no matter how many effects you intend to use, you've got to make sure the basic, unadulterated “dry signal” coming through your amp sounds just as good as anything else.
The reason for this is simple:
every effect you add to that signal brings in a little bit of noise. So, you need to start with as clean a signal as possible so that the cumulative impact of noise and signal degradation from your effects is kept to a minimum.
The first step :
here is as easy as proper maintenance of your guitar. Not only do you need to keep your strings fresh, and your neck in alignment, you also need to eliminate any sources of buzz or hum coming from faulty cords or poor electrical wiring in your pickups or input jack.
The second step :
is to run the same maintenance check on your amplifier. Now, the fact is, some amps are just noisier than others. If you can find nothing physically wrong with your amp, it may just be that you need to do upgrades for better tone.
For example, your amp's factory-installed speakers are probably not top-of-the-line. In the case of tube amps, especially, this can make a HUGE difference.
Along similar lines, you might also consider upgrading your tubes and/or the transistors used in the pre-amp stage.
Why?
Because your amp's sound is greatly influenced by the way each of these components responds to the guitar signal. Cheap parts have a slower dynamic response, and can also add unwanted coloration to the signal. This is one reason why some amps will sound great at a lower volume, but start to break up and distort as soon as you turn things up.
Last, but not least, take a look at the effects pedals you currently have in your arsenal. Maybe you've purchased 2 or 3 different distortion pedals, for example, in an elusive quest for that perfect 'crunch'?
There's nothing wrong with owning multiple pedals for the same type of effect; but, if you still aren't getting the sound you desire, it could be that you need to add something very basic into the mix, like an EQ pedal.
A good EQ pedal will allow you to shape which frequencies are emphasized. You can, for example, cut the mid-range for a heavier tone, or boost the highs so that your treble notes punch through.
Try mixing and matching EQ and Volume pedals in different places along your effects chain in order to boost or limit the characteristics of other effects. You'll be amazed how many different sounds you can create with a little experimentation!
by: Beth Miller
Read More..
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