Electric Guitars

[Valkyrur]

I'm asking out of curiosity.

... That, and I might actually go learn how to play the electric guitar some day.

The simple question is:

... Different electric guitars have different sounds? Are they like all unique or something -- no one electric guitar sounds similar?

I was watching this this video and I was pretty inspired. That, and the comments below started me thinking about this question. I had all along thought that all electric guitars can be tuned to sound similar.... >.>

Am I making sense?

 

[Sultan]

Electric guitars vary in number of frets, neck sizes, neck types, type of body and neck wood that affects tone, and most importantly pick ups. Pick ups are those rectangular boxes just where the guitartist picks the strings, and they act as "microphones" to pick up the sounds from the strings carry them over through your cable and into your amplifier. If you're going to start playing guitar in general, it is advisable to play an acoustic first since the strings on acoustics are generally thicker and this would help strengthen your grip and in turn, strengthen your notation. If you do want to skip the acoustic and go directly to electric, that's fine too. My advice is as follows:

1) Pick a cheap guitar, and a standard one. Don't be fooled over by pretty designs or cool shapes, you're only learning and you don't know if you're actually going to stick with it. I personally recommend a stratocaster for starters: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...ratocaster-HH-Electric-Guitar?sku=H61567#used

Or a pack that contains a cable, a strap and a mini amplifier, so you wouldn't have to go through the hassle of buying everything else: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...HSS-and-GDEC-Junior-Amp-Value-Pack?sku=512577

2) Learn what you can, not what you want. A certain technique might appeal to you more than others, and you're just dying to learn your favorite song. If you're getting a private teacher, chances are they don't care and might humor you and do what you want. Big mistake. Learn all you can, and don't neglect the boring over the fun. They're all important.

3) Don't copy anyone. A lot of us grow up with a favorite guitarist and we admire them so much, we want to be them. All your songs will sound exactly like theirs and that limits creativity as well as developing your own style.

4) Fucking practice. Devote 2-3 hours a day practicing the exercises given to you by your teacher, and recite the lessons. Make sure you know these things by heart.

5) Don't just practice, play.




Regarding the sound, there are many things that influence how a guitar sounds, But the primary ones are the pick ups, the amplifier and the effects. Effects can come in racks, or in pedals. Let's say you want to have that rock sound, known as Overdrive, or Distortion. They could included in your amplifier or you're have to buy a Distortion effect pedal. It's an effect you can turn on and off to switch from distortion and clean. That's in terms of effects. When it comes to tone, it can be a little more complex, as it factors with the type of pick ups and the setting on your amplifier. Also, there are sound compressors that like the effects, come in racks or pedals. These are all things you will learn when you take up guitar lessons.

 

[L]

Different electric guitars have different sounds? Are they like all unique or something -- no one electric guitar sounds similar?

yes and no

guitars can sound similar but some of their tones are better. for example, my SX I bought for 100 USD is better for songs with lighter chords (think jrock, some nirvana) Univox Hi-Flyer is just better in general for songs with heavy chords. there are also many effect pedals that can change the sound of your gutiar, like the ZVEX Fuzz Factory. That one is actually kind of expensive so I wouldn't suggest, but you know its hot when your guitar's tone sounds like a dirtbike

My friend personally loved playing that song and played it with a Jaguar Fender, but it would sound a lot better on a Les Paul.

and yes, musiciansfriend is a good site. back in the day my friend bought a Fender Amp for 300 bucks. We couldn't even set it's volume to 3 without making the windows shake.

 

[blakstang98]

Well, yes and no, like Derek said. You can play the same song on 2 different guitars and they'll sound the same, even when they're plugged into the same amplifier. The differences in sound are slight, at best. You'll notice that different genres of music tend to use a certain type of guitar. You usually won't see a Gibson Les Paul in metal because even though the tone is great, it's a beefy guitar that's tough to move quickly across frets with. Whereas you will see the Les Paul strive in a blues or jazz environment. Not to mention, harder rock music generally likes to incorporate a whammy. That's not to say you can't make a guitar of a certain genre work in another genre, but the kinds of guitars tend to be used in certain genres for some playing advantage.

With all of that being said, for the most part, a player picks out a guitar because its most comfortable to them. Of my 2 electric guitars, they're basically polar opposites, and I tend to play my PRS more often because I like how it feels. My PRS is more like a Les Paul while my Ibanez is sort of like a Fender Stratocaster. I tend to play harder music, which would mean the Ibanez would be better for me, but I tend to have a better knack with my PRS. So probably a bigger factor than the slightly different tones or the speed of the guitar, would be the preference of the play of the guitar to the player.