[Guitars and Amplifiers] The Basics and FAQs

Lifehouse

New member
Update: I've decided to create an update thread to replace the thread that I created nearly 5 years ago since many questions posted over the years have been similar. I will also expand the topic to include amplifiers as well as acoustic guitars.

Hi all, especially for starters. This will be a thread to talk about buying guitar for those with a limited budget and some general explanations on both the electric and acoustic guitars, as well as providing a new section on amplifiers. I'm no expert though I've been playing on and off for about 12 years, so kindly take everything with a pinch of salt. I will update this thread as much as I can. So PM me anything you think we could add here.
 
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[size=+1]Headstock[/size] - A typical electric guitar will hold 6 tuner pegs either 6 in a line (seen on a Strat or Tele style guitar) or 3 + 3 (3 tuners on each side, like what you'll see on a Les Paul or SG or PRS). There are other variants, such as (4 + 2 on a Musicman guitar).

[size=+1]Tuning Pegs[/size] – These are basically gears that tightens or loosen the individual strings to ensure vibration in accordance to the accurate pitch. Tightening the tuner will result in the pitch being raised. Likewise, loosening will result in the pitch being lowered. Popular gear ratios are 12:1, 14:1, 16:1, 18:1 and 20:1 though more precise models are also available. Two major variety exist for tuning machines. Locking or non-locking tuning machines. Locking tuning heads that will lock the strings prevent it from slipping and hence going out of tune. These are very effective for fixed bridge guitars. Popular brands include Sperzels, Grovers, Schallers, Gotoh.

[size=+1]Nut[/size] - The nut is located at the top of the fretboard. For a 6 string guitar, it will have 6 groove to sit the strings and allow the individual strings to pass through from the bridge to the tuning peg. Nut can be composed of the following materials, bone, plastic, ebony, graphite (TUSQ) or metal alloy. The different materials will result in a difference in tone, such as an increase or decrease in bass and/or mid and/or treble.

If your guitar has a floating bridge such as a Floyd Rose (both OEM and Ibanez's), Kahlers or other similar whammys, chances are it already comes with locking nuts. The main purpose of locking nuts is to ensure that the guitar stays relatively in tune irregardless of how hard you are abusing the floyd rose. There is also little or no reason to install locking tuning pegs on such guitar as well.

If your guitar goes out of tune easily, usually on the “G” string, it can be often be attributed to a badly cut nut. Replacing/upgrading is a costly job and should only be attempted by a good luthier. A bad nut is usually more prevalent in cheaper guitars as opposed to the more expensive ones.

I am against changing the nut of a guitar, which coincides with the view of one of the best luthier in Singapore. The only exception to the rule is:
1.The nut is really badly cut.
2.You have too much money to spend.

On an electric guitar the same money would yield you better tone if you spent it on better cables (not the $3 cheapos), better tubes or even a new amplifier. On an acoustic guitar, the difference in tone is more evident. I currently use a Gibson Hummingbird VOS and the difference is frankly negligible for most people unless you are nitpicking. The stock bone nut on most acoustic guitar is plenty excellent for most if not all application.

Disclaimer: I have personally had nuts changed on a couple of my electrics and acoustics but it is up to you to decide if you want to believe me or not. Tone is somewhat subjective as many might say.

[size=+1]Neck[/size] – When we refer to neck we generally do not refer to the fretboard. Guitars neck are usually maple or mahogany. There are other varieties such as rosewood. The wood used will define the tone of the guitar. How the neck is joined to the body will decide the tonal outcome as well. There are 2 ways of joining a neck to the body. Set-neck or bolt on. Les Pauls, SGs are generally, set necks, meaning the necks are glued to the body. Strats, Teles and Superstrats (Ibanez RGs, Jackson Dinkys/DKs and the likes) are most often bolt on where the neck is bolted to the body with 3 or 4 bolts. Other kind of necks includes the neck through design where the neck is derived from the same wood as the body. The pickup and bridge are on the same piece of wood.

Advantages of Set Neck:
Set neck guitars tend to have more sustain than bolt on.
The tone is warmer, more midrange.

Disadvantages of Set Neck:
Neck replacement or neck reset is next to impossible and if possible, is incredibly expensive.

Advantages of Bolt-On Neck:
Cheaper neck reset.

Disadvantages of Bolt-On Neck:
Tone is not as warm as set neck or neck through design. This is highly debatable though.

Advantages of the Neck-Through Design:
Great upper frets access.
By virtue of the design, the neck is sturdier and more reliable in the long run.

Disadvantages of the Neck-Through Design:
If you ever mess up the neck, be prepared to buy a new guitar.​


[size=+1]Fingerboard[/size] - The fingerboard is also referred to as the fretboard. There is not much difference between in this aspect between acoustic and electric guitars. They are normally made of either ebony, maple or rosewood. Ebony is very hard, smooth and fast feeling while having a bright, long sustaining tone. The wood does not lose moisture (dry up) easily and generally low on maintainence. Maple is a dense, strong and hard wood offering great sustain and stability while maintaining a bright tone. Rosewood is a hard and dense wood, has great clarity and individual note is articulated in tone. Smooth feeling but tends to lose moisture if not properly maintained. Fingerboards should be maintained regularly (6 months is a good gauge) using lemon oil but it should not be cleaned too fanatically. Too much lemon oil will kill your fingerboard.

[size=+1]Frets[/size] - Metal wires (Fret wires) that are place in the neck. This is usually hammered in with a piece of wooden block and chisel by a skilled luthier. A typical electric guitar will have 21, 22 or 24 frets. A typical acoustic guitar has 20 frets. Materials of fretwires are usually nickel or stainless steel. Frets also comes in different width and height. The larger one give a feel similar to a scalloped neck.

[size=+1]Inlays[/size] – The marker on the fretboard and the side of the neck that reminds you which fret you are playing on. Comes in dots, birds, , skulls, dolphins, crosses, donkeys, apes, dinosaurs and maybe even unicorns in both the mother-of-pearl or good old plastic variety.

[size=+1]Pickups[/size] - Pickups are essentially microphones used to pickup the vibrations of the individual strings. Pickups are essentially a piece of wires wound many many times around a magnet.

There are two types of pickups - Single coils and humbuckers (Double coils). Pickups are responsible for picking up the vibrations of individual guitar strings and transmit to the amplifier which will amplify and shape your tone at the same time. Humbuckers has two single coils which serve to cancel the "hum" of the individual coils. A cover is sometimes placed on top of the pickups to reduce dirt and dust, but will also alter your tone. The perceived output of individual strings can be determined by adjusting the pole piece of the pickup.

Pickups also involve two varieties, active and passive. Most pickups are passive as stated above. Active pickups, on the other hand, uses circuitry to modify the signal. Most active pickups are higher output by nature. Active pickups also require batteries and will not function if the batteries are dead.
 
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[size=+1]Bridge[/size] - Often described as the most the saddles are small grooves where the individual strings sit. There are numerous bridge designs. Tune-O-Matic (TOM), hardtail, wrapover, Floyd Rose, Tremolo. I will update this part at a later date as it is essentially a topic on itself.

[size=+1]Body[/size] - The two most popular shape is the Les Paul shape and the Strat style shape (Pic above). There are of course immensely popular alternatives such as the Doublecut, SG, PRS style, Superstrat (RGs/Soloist), and of course not forgetting the Telecaster. Generally, wood used on the body are either alder, ash, mahoghany. Other less common wood would be basswood, swamp ash, koa, walnut etc. Maple is often used as the top of the guitar for visually striking figuring while bringing some good high end to the guitar. Maple veneers do not add any tonal benefits to a guitar however, unlike a good maple cap.

[size=+1]Pickguard[/size] - Serves to protect the guitar from wood or finish damage in an area where strumming or intense picking tends to take action. Not always present, especially on the more expensive guitars.

[size=+1]Volume Control[/size] - 0 for total silence. 10 for maximum output. Adjust your amp's volume as well so you don't go deaf. Quick tip: When you are in the drive channel, dialing your volume control yields you cleaner tone. This is useful if your amp is single channel or does not come with footswitch.

[size=+1]Tone Control[/size] - Lowering it will taper/lower the treble giving a more mellow tone. A very good way to decrease your treble on a very bright amplifier. Stratocasters usually have individual tone controls, one for the neck pickup, one for the middle pickup and none for the bridge.

[size=+1]Toggle Switch[/size] - Selects the pickup or pickups combination to be activated. Eg: On a 3 way toggle, flipping towards you will select the neck pickup. In the middle, both the neck and bridge pickup will be activated. Flip away from you and you'd have activated the bridge pickup.

On a stratocaster:
  • Position 1 (all the way up): activates only the neck pickup. Humming is normal.
  • Position 3 (middle): selects the middle pickup. Humming is normal.
  • Position 5 (all the way down): activates the bridge pickup. Humming is normal.
  • Position 2 (between 1 and 3): activates both the neck and middle pickups. No humming.
  • Position 4 (between 3 and 5) activates the middle and bridge pickups. No humming.

Why position 2 and 4 does not hum.
In position 2 and 4, there is no humming since the middle pickup is reverse wound and as such, the activation of the neck or the bridge pickup in conjunction with the middle pickup creates a hum canceling effect.​

[size=+1]Output Jack[/size] - Using a regular 1/4" male end plug on both ends of a three-wire cable, you can plug in to any compatible audio output, such as an amplifier or a mixing board. Some guitars have XLR or Midi outputs but the concept is similar, which is to transmit a signal to a signal receiving device.
 
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Amplifier Section:

One of the most common questions being posted on the forum for the past ten years is "what amplifier should I be buying"? Two kind of amplifiers exist in the market for the masses. Solid state amplifiers and tube amplifiers.

Solid state amplifiers (SSA) are among the most common type of amplifiers out there. Since most if not all of the circuitry can be printed onto PCB boards, the amplifiers can be mass produced easily and which allows manufacturers to bring the cost down.

Advantages:
Inexpensive.
Good tone can be achieved easily at bedroom or practice levels.
Negligible maintaining required.
Modeling amplifiers can get you really close to tube amplifiers territory these days.

Disadvantages:
Sterile tone when compared to tube amplification. Tube amplifiers are generally warmer in nature.
A significant number of solid state amplifiers on sale in the market sound bad. This is attributed to a lack of effort by most manufacturer in trying to creating good sounding SSAs.

Tube amplifiers derive its tone through vacuum tubes. I will explain more when I get down to work but I will list the advantages and disadvantages for now.

Advantages:
Analog/Warmer tone. Most of the recordings done in the 1960s and 1970s used tube amplifier since SSAs were not as common.
Tube tone not fully replicable by SSAs. They can come close but the nature of the frequencies of SSAs are inherently different from tube.

Disadvantages:
Constructing a tube amp is more expensive than a SSA.
Maintaining a tube amp is more expensive than SSAs simply due to the fact that tubes must be replaced every now and then. Tubes are getting cheaper though.
Most tube amps are too loud for bedroom practice without the use of an attenuator.

Work in progress.

Sub-topics:
Solid State vs Tube Amplification
Modeling amps

Preamp tube, power amp tube..
Types of tube, eg. 6L6, EL34, EL84, 6V6
Tube adapters

Attenuator for tube amplification..
 
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Amplifiers Suggestion:

IF YOU THINK AN AMPLIFIER SHOULD BE LISTED HERE, PM ME!

Disclaimer: I have not have the opportunity to test all the amplifiers stated here. But if an amplifier has enough recommendations over here in SOFT and over at TGP, I will list them. You should however test them out before buying. DO NOT BUY ANY AMPLIFIER WITHOUT HEARING IT! If you are going to pay for an amplifier, you have every right to test drive the amplifier. Common sense applies though. For love sake don't go test drive a $5,000 tube amplifier if you only have the intention of spending $150 and especially if you don't know how to operate a tube amp. I won't be surprised if the music store refuse to let you try it. It is only prudent and wise on their part. If you destroy the amplifier by accident, do you have the money to pay or will your parents be the one paying for it? So before accusing store "XYZ" as elitist, snobbish or being a jerk, please consider what I've said. Over the last 10 years (I'm in my mid/late 20s and had a short stint in a guitar store), I have never had a negative experience with any Singapore music store in regards to testing equipments and guitars after I stated my budget.

Solid State Amplifier:
Vox Pathfinder 10
Vox Pathfinder 15
More to be added...

Tube Amplifiers under S$1,000
Vox AC4TV

Tube Amplifiers (I do not have the SG price at time of post).
Marshall Class 5
Blackheart HT-5
Vox AC15
Vox AC30
Fender Twin Reverb
Fender Blues Junior
Fender Hot Rod
Port City Twelve Combo
Orange Tiny Terror
 
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Effects Section:

Work in progress.

Sub-topic:
Types of effects. Links to how each effect sound like.

Digital effects vs Analogue circuitry.

Multi-effects.
 
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Acoustic guitar further explained:

Work in progress.

Solid top vs laminated top.
Solid side and back.

Body style.

Piezo/pickups.

How to maintain an acoustic guitar properly.

Recommendations if applicable.
 
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Everything else not covered, eg. picks, cables, bags, cases, overseas traveling tips, checking in guitar, humidity......
 
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yea nice work seeing alot effort put in here :D
would be great to check it again when all the various sections are up and running :D
 
Thanks. I am still working on it, it's going to be awhile before I get everything down. The amplifier section is actually quite tricky. Guitars haven't changed much over the last couple of years, just a rehash of what we seen before. The amplifier scene, on the other hand, have seen many new boutique makers emerging from nowhere and many new affordable yet good sounding tube amplifiers being developed.

I am actually quite out of touch with budget amplifiers for a while. I would greatly appreciate if anyone can point me towards any good budget amplifiers apart from the Marshall MGs and Roland Cube.
 
Budget amps:I believe the Ibanez Valbee is also popular as a budget tube amp. Can look at the Sound Drive series of 15-30W amps too. Line 6 Spider IVs are pretty good for the price, though i'm not exactly sure they fit the definition of 'budget'.

Might be good to have a section on the tonewoods too, i can do that if you want.
 
Hi,

I'm looking for a descent 15W guitar amp.
I want to use it for practicing at home.
I using a LP Epiphone and a Strat Charvel, with Jackson Pickups.
Can you recommend a brand and store to buy it?

Thank you.
 
Evidence Lyric Instrument Cable

Hi folks,

I've recently bought a 2nd hand set of Evidence Audio Lyric instrument cables. Prior to this, I was using Bullet guitar cables with no problems. I am not sure if it is a coincidence, or bad luck, but it seems that since switching to the Evidence Audio, I've had to replace my fuse every 3-5 times I operate the amp.

The Evidence Audio cable is an instrument cable, and seems to be a microphone cable more than a guitar cable. However, I've asked around and it seems to be ok for guitar usage. Has anyone here heard of amplifiers getting blown by certain types of cables?

Thanks all!
 
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