A Great Guitar For Rock - What Should I Be Looking For?
There are many aspects of an electric guitar that make it ideal for the heavier styles of rock music. Below are three of the more important points to take into account if you are picking a guitar for this music genre, or maybe upgrading your current one to make it more acceptable.
1. The initial thing to consider (this applies when purchasing a brand new guitar as opposed to upgrading your existing instrument) is the wood that the guitar is made from. The sound resonates from the strings, through the hardware and the wood. Great quality dense wood will sustain much better than a lighter wood. Over the years popular heavy rock guitars have included the Gibson SG model also the legendary Flying V. Both of these models had a solid mahogany body and neck, without the Maple top that Les Pauls had. You can find alternative great woods utilised but solid mahogany is indeed a fantastic selection for sustained heavy rock.
2. The next significant consideration is the hardware used in the guitars construction. The quality of the materials used for the bridge, tailpiece, tuners, nut and perhaps the tremolo unit are all vital. The cheap metals used on a number of budget guitars undoubtedly do not help achieve the crunching sound required for heavy metal. The hardware is pretty straightforward to replace and there are some fantastic aftermarket upgrades.
3. The upgrade that gives the most obvious sound change is one of the more easy changes. This specific boost involves replacing the original guitar pickups with aftermarket variations. The important thing to consider when looking for pickups that will provide you with the tone you desire is not only the investment, but also the pickup's overall performance specification. If heavy rock or metal guitar is your thing, then you are almost certainly playing a guitar with humbucking pickups as opposed to the thinner sounding single coil designs. All guitar pickup manufacturers will have their own take on what makes the ideal pickup for metal guitar. You will be faced with a variety of specifications including the type of magnet utilised, the type of coil wire used, the total number of coil winds and whether or not the pickup is built wax potted. Various makers are adamant that ceramic magnets are a more beneficial choice than alnico, as well as a massive coil resistance of around 16 ohms is a prerequisite of a great rock pickup.
You will see that there are usually sound samples on the seller's website which can help to some extent. Numerous aftermarket pickup makers will permit you to return any pickups that you are not 100% pleased with, so there is some security when making your selection.
So there are the 3 parts of a guitar to pay attention to if you're specially trying to achieve a great heavy rock sound. If you can only have the funds for one change then go with a set of replacement pickups. This will be your quickest route to the right sound.
About the Author
The author has played in various bands throughout the years and owns a variety of electric guitars. He loves to customise his instruments and highly recommends visiting: http://www.tubguitarpickups.co.uk for excellent replacement guitar pickups.
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