Guitar FAQ - everything you probably wanted to know

[Daddy]

Much of this thread has been taken from another thread on guitars. This will mostly deal with electric/acoustic guitars, not electric basses. If theres interest, a section will be put up.

Note: 90% of this information is anecdotal.

What this FAQ is not:
This FAQ will not explain techniques, nor how to play. However, it will explains parts, equipment and the range of tones that can be gained by changing parts. The main exception to this rule is the section of playing positions, which borders on technique but directly affects guitar sound.

Beginners Guide to Picking a Guitar

The commandments
1. You will not base your decision on what your favourite guitarist is playing.
2. You will not buy ceramic magnet (i.e. invaders) pickups unless you know exactly what you are doing.
3. You will not buy a guitar based on it's shape.
4. You will buy a guitar based on how it sounds through the amp you have
5. You will buy an amplifier based on how good it sounds.
6. Buying your favourite artists guitar will only get you 3% of their sound, assuming you use the same pickups.
7. Using the same amp as your favourite artist will get you 95% of their sound. The last 5% is technique and guitar used.
8. You will buy strap-locks.
9. You will not buy guitars made from agathis (plywood) or ash. (Unless you know EXACTLY what kind of ash wood it is)
10. You will practice. Do not buy a guitar thinking that a new guitar will improve your abilities by default.

When choosing a new guitar, try to come prepared with a riff to try through the guitar. Failing to do so will label you a newbie, and you will be treated as such by the assistant.

When trying out a guitar, do a number of things

1. Check the neck for cracks and other damage.
2. Shake the guitar - this is to check that the electronics and such are secure.
3. Wiggle the jack around, to make sure that it is secure and does not 'crack' a lot.
4. Do some research before you enter the store, especially if the store has the guitar you would like to buy. That way, you will know about the guitar and not go in flying blindly. Regardless, ask the assistant what wood the guitar is made of, the pickups it has, etc - just to keep them on their toes.
5. Ask if there are any guitars made of the same wood that is within the price-range of the guitar you are playing.
6. Always look upset with the instrument, even if you are happy with it.
7. Ask if the guitar comes with a case, spare strings, comes set-up, etc. You want to leave that store with as many freebies as possible.
8. Do some research on the stores in your area - many stores will have a website with their catelogue avaliable online.
9. If you don't have a riff to play on the guitar, just try each fret on every string. Check for buzz, etc.

Guitar Brands

Fender: www.fender.com
Daddy: Predominantly use Single-coils. If you know anything about pickups, you'll know they cause a fuckload of noise. Try to use humbuckers, which cancel that noise. Still, there are ways around this noise, and Fenders have a certain 'twang' and punch to their single-coil sound.
Setzer: very average but dependable guitars. They are used for alot of alternative rock and have a nice twang that not all guitars have. They start at $200

Squire:
Daddy: Try to get one of these second hand. Produce A LOT of mains hum, so play it unplugged for a nicer sound.
Setzer: not very good only get if your not sure if you're going to stick with it. they start off around $50

Schecter: www.schecterguitars.com
Daddy: Avenged Sevenfold and Alexisonfire use these. Most of their guitars use Duncan-Designed pickups, which are Seymour Duncan pickups produced in Korea. Personally, their sound is a bit too 'pingy', but thats up to you.
Setzer: very average but dependable guitars. They are used for alot of alternative rock and have a nice twang that not all guitars have. They start at $200

Jackson: www.jacksonguitars.com
Daddy: I use a Jackson KE3 Kelly and I'm very happy with it. Speed necks, and most of their guitars use Floyd Rose bridges. Their lower-models use Duncan_Designed pickups, which aren't too bad on Jacksons, surprisingly. Great for shredders.
Setzer: Personally I like Jackson over Ibanez for metal guitars. They have the nicest necks ever. The is oiled so you can stand and deliver when you play. Only buy the ones that are $300 or more, anything under is just junk

Gibson: www.gibson.com
Daddy: Very good guitars. Aren't as common as Fender Stratocasters, but are up there with PRS and Fender. The SG and Les Paul are their money-makers.
I use a custom Gibson SG Supreme (different pickups, tremolo and headstock. Hate the GS headstocks). Great for Blues to Metal
Setzer: The guitar everyone wants. Gibson is meant for classic rock all the way to metal. They're about $1000 to start but you'll never have to buy another guitar for the rest of your life. They work well for blues, metal, rock and every type of music you could want to play. Pete Townshend of The Who, and the legend Jimmy Page both predominantly played Gibson Les Pauls. These are the ones that go from $1000-3000 depending on your choice of wood, or pickups.


Ibanez: www.ibanez.com
Daddy:I usually consider these a step down from Jackson in terms of the lower models. Joe Satriani uses a signature model from them. Pretty good for metal and shredders. Manufacturer of the legendary Ibanez Tube Screamer.
Setzer: Good for hard rock and metal they have bigger frets, because you must be fast if your playing metal. Starts at $150-200

Rickenbacker: www.rickenbacker.com
Daddy: Ihaven't personally heard a lot of about these, nor have I used one. However, they are the oldest manufacturer of guitars. Steve Howe used these. John Lennon used these in a Hamburg tour when he was still unknown.
Setzer: A guitar widley used in the 60's. It is a hollow body, meaning that it sounds like an acoustic, when not plugged in but when it is it gives this tone that's akwardly fantastic. John Lennon is the first person to make it popular. The guitar has 2 plugs. Theres the normal sound and theres another whole the is supposed to change the sound to a thicker tone. They're very prestigious, except that they'll run you $1000 plus

Epiphone: www.epiphone.com
Daddy: Used to be it's own company, but after WW2 their sales slumped and were bought by Gibson. They now serve as GS' low-end guitar model manufacturer. The PResidents of the United States uses these in their weird setups (Guibass anyone?)
Setzer: A knock version of Gibson, they're pretty good, but i'd still recomend a fender over it. They start off around $200

Godin: www.godinguitars.com
Daddy: Fairly reputatable and good quality-control. I've never used one, but a lot of my friends say they're more useful as firewood. Canadian-based.

Maton: www.maton.com.au
Daddy: I don't believe their produce Electrics, but they are very good for acoustics.

Martin: www.mguitar.com
Daddy: The best for acoustics..Electrics too.
Setzer: The elite acoustic guitar, it stands alone in wood and quality, and durability
Yamaha: I really don't like Yamahas, but they're good for beginners.

PRS: www.prsguitars.com
Daddy:Stands for Paul Reed Smith. The best electrics in the business. A rich low end that is very clear and a great high end that does not 'twang. A great archetype between Fender and Gibson. If you can afford a PRS, get one. You'll never look back. Carlos Santana uses his own sig. model straight off the rack. And that guitarist dude from Linkin Park uses them too, I think (so all your Linkin park ****s should love that)

B.C. Rich:

Danelectro: www.danelectro.com
Setzer: Popular during the 60's in the time of psychodelic music, they aren't that popular anymore, but it gives a nice warm tone off when played. They start off at $100-150

Takamine: www.takamine.com
Setzer: very average but dependable guitars. They are used for alot of alternative rock and have a nice twang that not all guitars have. They start at $200

ESP: www.espguitars.com

Musicman: www.ernieball.com

Gretsch:

Cort:

Nik Huber:

Taylor:

Peavey:

G&L:

Monterey:

Washburn:

Ashton:


Custom Guitars
This section is for tips and such. Notable luthiers, etc. Work in Progress.

Parts of the Guitar

Bridge Types

Floyd Rose aka Floating Bridge aka Locking Trem
The Floyd Rose bridge combines a lock behind the neck bridge (the "nut") of the guitar, which prevents the tuning ("machine") heads from being used and holds the strings taut, with a "floating bridge", where the other ends of the strings are also vise-locked (hence, "double-locking"). The locking system helps to keep the strings in tune while the strings are slackened to a degree which wasn't possible with older tremolo systems, such as those found on Fender's Stratocaster, allowing "dive bombs" (i.e. rapid lowering of the pitch of a note). Since the tuning heads are ineffectual with the lock in place, the Floyd Rose bridge has heads for fine tuning; the guitar is tuned before the lock is put on, then fine tuned afterwards. This system allows the use of lowering and raising the tremolo bar without going out of tune over time.

Strat style
The name comes from the Stratocaster line of guitars, and is the standard bridge found on them. These bridges can be set to float (means they can be moved) or locked. The most popular type of vibrato bridge ever.

Fixed
This bridge has the strings in a solid connection to the body.

Piezo-loaded electric bridge
This is where a bridge has piezo transducers. Guitars that have this setup give you the option of running piezos on their own or with magnetic pickups. Good for blues sounds from an electric.

Stop-tail bar
This type of bridge is most commonly used with Gibsons, but can be seen on thousands of other guitars. Similar to the fixed bridge type, but instead of going through the body, it is connected to a solid bar. A popular brand of stop-tail bar is made by TonePros - which supposedly improves sustain and tone.

Brands of bridge
A number of brands are avaliable for guitar bridges - many will offer their parts as aftermarket, or their parts come avaliable on guitars already. The most visible brands range from Gotoh, Schaller, Graph-tech, Tonepros, Floyd Rose, Fender, Wilkinson (but Gotoh produce their works),Ibanez , and Licensed Floyd Rose (as the name suggests, these are bridges licensed by Floyd Rose to particular companies such as Ibanez, Jackson, Kramer, etc)

Headstock

Frets

Truss Rod

Fretboard

Body

Neck
When referring to the neck of a guitar, it is often meant to include the fretboard, frets, machineheads, headstock, and truss rod. Guitar necks are always made from a type of hard, tone-wood. Typically, the wood used for the fretboard will be different from the main neck material, but if it is not, the fretboard will be carved out of the neck itself. The stress placed upon a neck by a guitar with steel strings is often immense (700N/85Kg at standard tuning), so a truss rod is slotted through the center of the neck to counter-balance this tension and keep the neck straight. The neck 'profile' (the shape of the neck) is an important factor, and is often described through language. For example, if the neck is in the shape of a "U", it will be called a 'U-neck profile', or 'thin U profile', depending on the depth of the neck.

The most popular profiles include V-shaped necks, U-shaped necks, C-shaped necks, TF (Thin, flat) profile and SV (slim V) profiles.

Neck Joint

Inlays

Binding

Electronics

Nut

Pedals / Effects units

Dynamic pedals
Compressor: The gain of the amp is varied to reduce the dynamic range of the signal.
Tremolo: Tremolo produces a periodic variation in the volume of the note.

Tone pedals

Overdrive and distortion: The signal is raise up the limits of the amplifier, resulting in a clipping of the sound. (image a sine wave with the tops cut off and replaced with flat lines from point to point at the top). Valve-amps tend to make distortion/overdrive warm, while solid-state amps make it more thrashed.

Wah-wah: An effect that give the guitar an almost vocal effect. For example, Jimi Hendrix's solo in All Along The Watchtower.

Ring Modulation: Produces an 'organic' effect. Weird noises, basically.

EQ: Adjusts the frequency reponse in a number of different bands of EQ. There are Parametric EQ's, which instead of flatly boosting and cutting frequencies, it curves the frequency response to include changes in similar frequencies.

Clean boost: Kicks your guitar's signal up a notch. Generally used to prevent signal loss through long chains of effects.

Time Based

Delay: First used by Les Paul (yes, he is a person, not just a guitar). This involves sound waves being converted from analog to digital signals, and clocked through large banks of RAM, resulting in a delay of the sound.

Echo: Uses delays to simulate an echo.

Chorus: Usually short delays to simulate more than one person playing. e.g. you can turn a shit 6-string into a 12-string without paying the extra cash.

Flanging: Uses very short variable delays to cause a changing comb effect.

Reverb: Simulates the echo experienced in a stadium, hall or other large performance area. Sometimes, surfaces such as metal and such are simulated.

Frequency based

Pitch Shifter: Changes the pitch of your guitar up one notch, basically.

Vibrato: Variation in frequency of a note. For example, an opera singer holding one note for a long time varies the frequency up and down. Do not confuse this with a 'vibrato unit' on a guitar, which actually produces tremolo. A 'tremolo arm' produces vibrato on a guitar. However, a 'finger vibrato' is a genuine vibrato.

Other effects

Rotary Speaker Simulator: Emulates a Leslie Speaker setup.

Defretter: Simulates a fretless guitar

Acoustic Guitar Simulator:

Pickup simulator:

Guitar & Cabinet Modeller:

Noise Suppressor

Pedal manufacturers

BOSS - www.bossus.com
Digitech - www.digitech.com
Behringer - www.behringer.com
Line 6 - www.line6.com
Electro-Harmonix -
Yamaha -
Zoom -
MXR -
Morley -
Analog Man -
Visual Sound -
Seymour Duncan -
EBS -
Ibanez -
Frantone -
Bad Cat -
Danelectro -
Brown Sound -
Fender -
Dunlop -
Hughes & Ketner -
Marshall -
Carl Martin -
Voodoo Labs -

You can make your own effects pedals too. They are called 'boutique pedals'. They are generally thought to have better quality and more expensive than the top-tier manufacturers. But thats usually myth.

Boutique Ped part suppliers

LIST STARTS HERE
Mains Hum
Mains hum is the noticable level of sound noise that ranges in the 40-50Hz frequency ranges. THis noise is undesirable, so many efforts are placed into limiting or eliminating it, such as humbucking pickups.

Mains hum is NOT the buzzing you experience from your frets - that is either you not holding them down hard enough, or other problems such as your guitar's action being set too low.

Pickups Types

There are four different kinds of guitar pickup. Single-coil, humbucker, optical, and piezo-electric. I'll describe each here.

Single-coil: These are the most common type of pickup. They are most commonly seen on fender stratocasters and telecasters or in a humbucker/single coil combination. The pickup consists of a permanent magnet wrapped with many turns of fine copper wire. The pickup is mounted on the body of the instrument, close to the strings. One problem with electromagnetic pickups is that—along with the musical signal—they also pick up mains hum.

Humbucker: To overcome the effect of single coil mains hum, the humbucking pickup was developed, originally by Seth Lover of Gibson. A humbucking pickup is two single-coil pickups wired together in series. However, the magnets of the two pickups are reversed in polarity, and the windings are also reversed. Thus, any hum noise that is picked up is cancelled out, while the musical signal is reinforced. This results in a duller (some consider it warmer) tone.

Piezo electric: In recent years, semi-acoustic, acoustic and even electric guitars have been fitted with piezoelectric pickups instead of magnetic pickups. These have a very different sound which some prefer, and also have the advantage of not picking up mains hum. Though used to attempt to mimic acoustic instruments, the sound can be said to be about half that of acoustics.

Optical pick-ups: These pickups have complete insensitivity to mains hum and also have a very wide and flat frequency response unlike magnetic pickups. In addition, they are a fairly recent development that work by sensing the interruption of a light beam by the string. Like piezo electric pickups, they produce their own, distinct sound favoured by some but not in wide use.

Active & Passive Pickups
The most obvious difference between 'active' and 'passive' pickups is the need for batteries. 'Active' pickups typically have a lower number of coil windings. This results in a low output, low impedance and very clean unchanged sound. The output is boosted by an on-board preamp (hence the need for batteries) to maintain the low impedance. Low impedance pickups (with or without a preamp) can drive long cables without noticable treble loss.

Magnetic Properties of Pickups
The magnetic properties of your pickups also affect tone. Alnico II magnets produce a sweet, vintage tone while Alnico V's produce a stronger, brighter, agressive sound (natural for rock). Ceramic magnets have a 'harder' sound, ideal for metal guitarists. Strong magnetics also have a habit of reducing the sustain of your strings. Therefore Higher Output = Less Sustain.

After-market Pick-up Manufacturers
Here are some major pick-up manufacturers you may come across

Seymour-Duncan:
Gibson PAF:
DiMarzio:
EMG:
Fender:
Bare Knuckle Pickups:
Carvin:
David Barfuss:
GFS Pickups:


Playing positions - neck, bridge, middle

Strings

Steel strings vs. nylon strings
Steel strings have a metal ceore and metal wound around them while the lower, unwound strings are plain metal. Nylon strings are either plain nylon line (think fishing line but thicker) or have a core of nylon wrapped in metal. Nylon strings are never used with magnetic pickups, as they are do not affect magnetic fields.

You can string up an electric or acoustic guitar with either kind of string. However, it is a better idea that you leave A with A and B with B to retain the guitar's traditional sound, if you can see my analogy. Electric strings are usually nickel based while acoustics are usually bronze based, giving two different tones and sounds.

However, you cannot string a classical guitar will steel-strings. Classical guitars lack truss-rods that help the guitar neck deal with the intense level of tension (700N at concert pitch) placed on the neck by steel-strings.

String Guages - whats best for your needs
Electric Common gauges
Name - lightest string > heaviest string
Very light - .009 > .042
'Custom' Light - .009 > .049
Regular - .010 > .046
Medium - .011 > .049
Heavy - .012 > .052
Light top, heavy bottom - .010 > .052
'Jazz' - .012 > .054
'Jazz' medium - .012 > .056
'Jazz' medium - .013 > .056

Acoustic-steel common gauges
Super Light - .010> .047
'Custom' light - .011 > .052
Light - .012 > .053
Medium - .013 > .056

Wood Types
Guitars are often not made of one central material. Multiple types of tone woods, originating from different locations, will be used during the construction of any style of guitar.

The most common species of wood include Mahogany, Maple, Rosewood, Ebony (usually for fretboards), Agathis (plywood), Alder, Basswood and Ash.
Each wood imbues their tonal characteristics to the guitar, hence the wood used in the guitar is a very important part of guitar construction and selection.

Full list of woods


Amplifiers, preamps, stacks - what the **** are all those?
I'll write this later. If someone could write a section of various amp manufacturers, etc, that be awesome.

Amp brands
Marshall: www.marshallamplification.com
Mesa/Boogie:
Line 6:
Bogner: www.bogneramplification.com
ENGL:
Orange:
Bad Cat:
Vox:
Hiwatt:
Fuchs:
Atomic:
Peavey:
Soldano:
Fender: www.fender.com
Gibson: www.gibson.com
Randall:
Ashton:
Hughes & Ketner:
Framus:
Krank: www.krankamps.com

EQ - Low, Mid, High and what they mean

Low: This is called the 'bottom end' or 'bass'. This area of frequency has all the 'rumble' of your sound.
Mid: The 'pingy', honky sound of your amp. Think of a trumpet.
High: This is the high-pitched sparkle you hear in a good guitar tone. This is also the first area of hearing you lose if you damage your ear drums.

Equalizers come in a number of forms - Parametric and Graphic. Parametric are represent their changes in the signal 'abstractly', and the value selected will affect frequencies that fall nearby that frequency area. Graphic equalizers look much like a signal, allowing you to visually change the signal. Amps have parametric equalizers, while electronics such as stereos will usually have graphic equalizers, if any.

There are a number of ways of affecting the 'EQ' - such as the Tone control of your guitar, the EQ control of the amp, an Equalizer pedal (whether parametric or graphic) and rack-unit equalizers.

Cable Types

Instrumental: This type of cable is made up of a cable with a centre core that is insulated and wrapped around a shielding of criss-crossed wire. As a signal passes through it, the shielding surrounding the core protects it againsts interferences. This cabling is designed to be used anywhere as long as it is before amplification.

Speaker: Speaker cabling is much different from instrument cable as it is meant to be used after amplification and is capable of carrying much more current. There is no need for shielding since it is intended for use after amplification, and no risk of noise being picked up.

XLR Cables: These cables cancel out just about all hum that might be generated in the cable (but it can't cancel a noisey input). In any mono signal cable, there are two wires: hot and ground. An XLR cable has three pins (TRS (tip ring sleeve)) plug like you might have on a stereo lead. One cable is a ground, while the other type make up the hot wire except split into positive and negative. At the jack, the negative is flipped and rejoined with the positive. This cancels out noise that is picked up without cancelling the signal from a mic or DI box.

Guitar Care
Work in progress


As a side note; PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE learn notation. It is a much more accepted language than Tablature. Even if you don't use it, you'll be able to play music without having to hear the song first. Nor can tablature tell you the things that Music Notation can.

Got something to add? POST IT! Check back often since new sections will be added fairly often.

[LocoColt04]

Wow. I'm sticking this shit. This is insane.

Now, if only someone could do the same for bass guitars... because as much as I am in love with the Fender American Vintage '57 Precision Bass, I'm sure you'll tell me there's something better for me to buy.



edit:
...and I absolutely swear to you, I did not notice the fact that you asked for it to be stuck until just now, after I actually stuck it.

[Plastik Assassin]

Just one obvious but yet very important reminder. If you do not have a stand, lay it flat. And keep it away from the heater. Trust me, I spent a small fortune re-tweaking that neck early on.

[Setzer]

If you have guitar, bass, or equipment questions please feel free to AIM me.

[Strong Bad]

Although Notation is much better in the long run, it doesn't hurt to learn some tabbings when you are first getting started. I just thought I'd post this website.. it's got one massive library of tabs.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com

Yeah. Great post Daddy, great.

[Setzer]

I can read sheet music but i'm quite slow at it. I highly recomend that you learn tablature if you plan to take up bass or guitar. Sheet music is good, but i'm not good at it so i prefer using tabs, or figuring things out on my own, which I still like the best. Be for warned that alot of tab you see on most sights will have some parts wrong. Just a warning to look out for, so if you play something and it doesn't sound right, then it probably isn't.

[Archis]

Sheet music is the only way to go, really. If you plan to get 'good' at guitar you're going to be spending a lot of time with arrangements or classical music (well, depending on your interests), I'd recommend learning to read music. I've been doing it for about 10 years now and it comes to me rather promptly.

Also, Music Man guitars and basses (made by Ernie Ball) should be added to the upper echelon of guitars. John Petrucci, Steve Morse, Tony Levins, and Dave LaRue all play those. Very very good instruments with a quality build.

I have a custom design Schecter also that serves me well and has for the past 5 years. It has a custom ebony fingerboard without a diamond crest (shape) inlay An EMG 85 in the neck pickup and an EMG 81 in the bridge spot. I love it, wouldn't trade it for anything.

Otherwise, solid write-up, except I disagree with the entry about Gibson . I hate Gibson.

[Daddy]

ITs funny that you mention MusicMan, since I read about them every other day. Heh, guess I'm an idiot. Flea from RHCP uses his own custom Bass from MusicMan I believe.

[Sir Kenneth]

Maton DOES make electric guitars actually. They are endorsed by The Distillers and Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stone Age.

Also do any of you actually OWN a Gibson guitar? Pardon me for saying this, but if you did, then you wouldn't recommend them so quickly I am afraid.
The custom models are still good, but try picking up a brand new standard Gibson Les Paul or SG. The neck in particular does not exactly leave you with the overall impression of an expensive quality guitar. The SG in particular feels like it is going to break between your fingers any second.
I actually think that the neck on the Epiphone models is far nicer than that on the Gibson. the sound of course is far from the same though.

I had bought myself a new Gibson SG, but eventually I sold it and got an ESP Viper instead.

Oh yeah, I think ESP deserves a mention on your list. They are favoured by a lot of metal guitarists, including prominent names such as James Hetfield, Kirk Hammet, and Dave Mustaine.

[Setzer]

Yeah I've heard that Gibson for the last few years have been lacking, I didn't know if it was true or not, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and kept their good status going, but yeah I guess they'll have to pick it up in the next few years if they want to keep up with Fender when it comes to quality.