Best Acoustic Guitars - Top 5 Martin Acoustic Guitars
By Calvin Walton | Submitted On June 13, 2012
The Top 5 Martin Acoustic Guitars have finally been gathered here for you to learn more about. These models include the D-28, D-18, HD-28, D-35 and D-45. The popularity data for these particular instruments were gathered over a six month time frame.
1. D-28, this particular model is unmatched for it's popularity, especially among many celebrities now and in years past. It has long been a favorite among country music musicians like George Jones and Hank Williams. Even Elvis enjoyed playing this guitar. It's no wonder why because of it's big rhythmic sound. Incorporating Brazilian Rosewood for the sides and the back, and trimmed in herringbone gives the D-28 a style like no other.
2. D-18, this guitar made it's debut in 1931 and is still on the production line today. This model initially used rosewood for it's back and sides, but later was constructed using mahogany. The use of mahogany is less expensive but don't let this sway you. The tone is brighter, making it an excellent instrument for leads and not solely for standard rhythmic accompaniment.
3. HD-28, the original model was constructed with a Brazilian rosewood frame that was reddish in color. The current instrument possesses a darker and brownish Indian rosewood hue. The HD-28 plays greatly and creates a firm roaring bass tone that is distinctive for rhythm and flat picking guitars. Whether simply fingerpicking or flat picking, this model is ideal.
4. D-35, this instrument is handmade and uses both natural and solid woods. Fortunately the neck is compact enough for just about anyone to feel comfortable while making music. Originally marketed in 1969, the D-35 has only gotten better over time. Being a dreadnought guitar makes it an excellent choice for professionals and permits the sound to be naturally amplified throughout the room.
5. D-45, originally made for singing star Gene Autry, this model is available in two natural wood styles, Indian Rosewood and Koa Wood. Either way there is a guarantee of superior rich sound which only improves with time. It greatly strikes a balance between treble and bass tones. With impressive resonance and easy playability, you would be hard pressed to find another guitar to match it's overall appeal.
So there you have it. The Top 5 Acoustic Guitar Models. Choosing the right instrument that feels comfortable for you is indeed a personal decision and only by playing, touching and holding will you be able to find the right guitar for you.
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Types of Guitar - A Brief Overview
By Paul Anthony Hornsby | Submitted On February 01, 2013
The Guitar is probably the most popular musical instrument in circulation today played by music lovers of all ages. From young children to O.A.P.s anyone with the desire to learn and patience to practice can learn to play. Choosing the right kind of guitar is fairly straightforward. There are several basic types each of which are suited to a particular genre or group of musical styles. All a budding guitar player needs to do is identify the kind of music he would prefer to play and select which type is best for him.
Modern day guitars can be divided into two distinct categories, acoustic and electric:
Acoustic guitars
Within the acoustic guitar group there are several subcategories of instrument: classical and flamenco, steel-string, or twelve-string; and the arched-top guitar. Also the acoustic bass can be included in the acoustic guitar group.
Renaissance and Baroque guitars
Renaissance and Baroque guitars are basically the first generation standard classical guitar. Being generally smaller and more delicate in design than the classical variety, they tend to generate a quieter softer sound. These early guitars were strung in paired courses similar to the modern 12-string model, but with only four or five courses of strings as opposed to six, and were more often used in a rhythm role. The two styles of guitar are easily distinguished, the Renaissance guitar being very plain in appearance and the Baroque being very ornate, often decorated with ivory and/or wood inlays to most parts of the neck and body.
Classical guitars
The modern day Classical guitar has nylon strings which give it a unique and colourful sound, and are plucked with the fingers. Normally played in a seated position these guitars have been used for many years in many genres are still used to play a wide variety of musical styles today including obviously classical music. The wide, flat neck of the classical guitar is more conducive to playing arpeggios, scales, and chord forms typical of classical styles of music more easily and with less interference from the other strings than on other styles of instrument such as the modern electric guitar.Finest quality Classical guitars are made with spruce or cedar tops.
Flamenco guitars
Similar in appearance to the classical guitar the flamenco guitar has a lighter construction, with a cypress body and spruce top. Traditionally tuning pegs similar in design to the violin would be a distinguishing feature on this instrument although many modern flamenco guitars have machine heads. Another stand out feature of all flamenco guitars is the tapping plates fastened to the table, in order to protect them against the taps with the fingernails that are typical of the flamenco style.
Flat-top guitars
Flat-top or steel-string guitars on first seeing them are again similar to the classical guitar, but generally the body is normally a lot larger than that of a classical type, with a stronger structural design and a more narrow, reinforced neck that allows easier fingering typical of many different styles of music such as folk, country, bluegrass, pop, jazz, and blues. The steel strings on this range of guitars produce a brighter more crisp tone, and according to many players, a louder sound.
Resonator, resophonic or Dobro guitars
Although resembling the flat top guitar in general appearance, the bodies of these guitars were often made from brass, nickel-silver, or steel as opposed to wood. One or more aluminum resonator cones would be mounted in the middle of the top of the resonator guitar and this produced the very distinct signature sound unique to this design of guitar. The original purpose of the resonator was to produce a much louder more amplified sound, in effect the principle of the resonator guitar is similar to the loudspeaker.; There are two main types of resonator guitar, one with a neck with a square cross-section-called "square neck" or "Hawaiian"-which is normally played face up, on the lap of the seated player, these were most often played using a metal or glass slide to fret the strings. The more standard round neck resonator guitars are usually played much the same way as any other guitar, although many styles, in particular blues still often use slides.
Twelve-string guitars
Widely used in folk music, blues, and rock and roll, mainly used in the rhythm section these steel strung instruments comprise 6 courses of 2 strings per course like a mandolin or lute. Twelve string guitars can be acoustic or electric. The highest two courses are tuned in unison, while the others are tuned in octaves producing a much richer and fuller sound than that of the standard six string.
Acoustic bass guitars
Acoustic bass guitars have steel strings and more often than not have the same tuning as an electric bass guitar.
Guitarrón
This very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass is most commonly associated with mariachi bands. With heavy gauge nylon strings it is a fretless guitar, and is normally played by doubling notes at the octave, incorporating the unusual tuning of A D G C E A.
Electric guitars
Electric guitars being the most modern incarnation of this instrument are also far and away the most versatile; they can have solid, semi-hollow, or hollow bodies, and rely solely on amplification to produce sound. Electromagnetic pickups either single coil or the humbucker variety convert the vibration of the steel strings into an electrical signal, this signal is then fed to an amplifier via a cable or by means of a radio transmitter. The steel strings, and its electrical amplification make the electric guitar vastly superior to the more traditional acoustic guitars in terms of the wide array of techniques that can be performed such as tapping, pull-offs and hammer-ons (also known as slurs), pinch harmonics, volume swells, and use of a tremolo arm or effects pedals, as made popular by many modern day virtuoso's such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani the late great Jimi Hendrix to name but a few.
Electric Bass Guitar
The electric bass guitar is the same advancement for the acoustic bass as the electric guitar is for the acoustic guitar utilizing the same pick up technology.
The guitar in its various guises has been around for centuries and has evolved and advanced to suit each new generation of users and genres of music. The modern electric guitar coupled with up to date amplification and digital recording techniques is more versatile than ever before and will no doubt continue to develop in the coming years and maintain its popularity with future generations of musicians.
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Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Paul_Anthony_Hornsby/1315963
Introducing 5 Important Tips For Buying a Good Guitar
By Kyle Hoffman | Submitted On January 08, 2010
Buying a good guitar should be your main focus if you're just getting interested in playing. When you really take the time to look over your instrument thoroughly, that's when you can be sure that you're not buying something of cheap quality.
Making sure that you're getting a guitar that's more specifically tailored to your style can greatly effect whether or not you'll want to continue playing. Take a look at these 5 very important tips to spotting a well-crafted guitar in a guitar store.
1. All of the pieces of the instrument should fit together cleanly and tightly.
There are many expensive guitars out there that are actually not put together very well and one of the things to pay close attention to is wood gaps. When the wood is very tightly-fitted together, the sustain of each note is able to reach its maximum length. Even with minuscule gaps, the sustain can be greatly decreased.
Check to make sure that the guitar you're looking at has no large or small gaps between the neck and the body of the instrument. Even checking around the headstock and hardware is a good idea.
2. Regardless of whether it's an electric or acoustic, it should ring clearly without an amplifier.
A way to check if your guitar has good reverberation by not necessarily checking for flaws is to play it when it's not hooked up to an amplifier. Just sit the thing across your lap, give it a strum, and listen.
Take a cheap guitar and compare it with an expensive one to get a feel of how much natural reverberation is a solid amount.
3. The guitar, case, and amplifier packages are sometimes a good value.
There are all sorts of beginning packages that come with a set of equipment to match your playing style. You may not be able to check what's inside of the box, so see if you can have a look at the equipment elsewhere in the store. It's more likely for sale by itself so you can check it over and be critical.
4. Buy a guitar for its feel and sound and not its brand name.
Buying a good guitar is all about how it sounds and if you're going to like how it looks. It's not about laying down thousands of dollars because of the brand name and because you assume that expensive means better.
Be true to yourself about what you want and get a guitar for the feel and sound.
5. If the strings appear to be too far away from the fret board, either see if they can be adjusted or look at another guitar.
It's more difficult to play very fast on a guitar with the strings raised too far from the fret board. Try to get a guitar with the strings relatively close to the frets so there isn't as much effort to press them down.
However, if you have your heart set on one specific guitar but its strings are high, check if you can have them lowered later on.
After you go through all this trouble of purchasing a guitar, you still might not know how to play it, but there are measures you can take to learn how. You can always go to your local library to check out some guitar books or view some videos on YouTube, but the way to really get down to business is to sign up for some online courses.
Now, not all internet guitar courses are created equally with your best interests in mind and that goes for some of the most popular ones too. The best way to guarantee that you're not getting ripped off is to only sign up for courses that offer the following things:
* Lessons covering skills from beginning to advanced players
* Skills that are in a number of different genres and playing styles
* A money-back guarantee
Like I said before, not all guitar programs are necessarily good ones and not even the popular courses stand strong either. For instance, you can learn why an experienced guitarist absolutely HATES the popular Jamorama guitar system and all of the other Jamorama products.
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kyle_Hoffman/303373