A Little Electric Guitar History

Though inventors and engineers have been creating electric instruments like music boxes and player pianos since the 1800’s, the first amplified instruments were not created until after the development of the radio in the 1920’s. The first instruments considered for electric amplification were stringed instruments like the viola and string bass. Lloyd Loar, an engineer with the Gibson Guitar Company, designed an electrical pickup that registered the vibrations of the strings with a magnet and coil on the bridge. This electrical signal was then passed on to an amplifier, which rendered the sound.

Oddly enough, Gibson was not the first company to produce a commercially advertised electric guitar. It was actually the Stromber-Voisinet Company who mimicked Lloyd Loar’s design to create the fist commercial, amplified electric guitar in 1928. Though this was a working model of an “electric” guitar, the signal was very week, and it was not until a new innovation came about that the electric guitar we know today actually arrived. The magnet and coil located in the bridge was not direct enough to receive full vibrations from the strings, so engineers began creating pickups that registered the vibrations directly from the strings. In 1932, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker produced the first, successful electric guitar, known as the “Frying Pan.” This innovative Hawaiian model was designed to be played flat on the lap, and it was an immediate success with Hawaiian musicians. However, this instrument continued to be used for a similar Hawaiian instrumental style. It was not until the electric guitar was captured by the imagination of Charlie Christian in 1939, that the electric guitar took on a unique style, all its own.

Over the next ten years, many artists and guitar makers alike began experimenting with new electric guitar designs. Most of these designers continued with the same pickup devices but experimented with mounting the pickup differently. A widely known acoustic guitarist known as Les Paul, built an electric guitar on a four by four piece of pine wood, and he called it “The Log,” and soon thereafter, Leo Fender introduced a solid wood body electric guitar in 1950. The guitar grew in popularity and only two years later, Gibson created a similar styled guitar that was endorsed by Les Paul. These guitars had fantastic sustain and fewer feedback problems, and they quickly grew to extreme popularity.

From there it can be said that the rest was history. Guitarists from the 50’s and 60’s mastered this new instrument, making it an everlasting icon of American music and culture. New models and designs are virtually limitless, countless musicians have made the electric guitar sing in so many different ways, and it is truly a symbol of American innovation and exploration.

About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, the best electric guitar dealers Austin has to offer. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.

Acoustic Versus Digital Pianos

Depending on the size of your home or living situation, making the decision to by an acoustic or digital piano may involve several factors. There are of course benefits and disadvantages to each, so having a little background knowledge of both varieties will help you decide what is right for you and possibly your family too.

Approximately twenty years ago, digital pianos were invented to provide a smaller, home piano alternative at an affordable cost that would truly simulate an actual piano. However, in these early days, the digital piano was extremely limited and pretty poor by comparison. The keys were considered extremely light-weight and had a strange spongy attack quality. Not only did it feel extremely different than a real piano, but the sound was also dramatically worse. The tone was very bright with poor sampling, and thus the sound was almost agitating. However, with the technological advances of the last 20 years came a whole new era of digital pianos. The digital pianos of today take advantage of incredible tone sampling from some of the world’s finest instruments, and the keys are weighted to perfection to mimic those of an actual piano.

Acoustic Pianos were invented with a different reason in mind. Created in 1709 by an Italian named Cristofori, pianos were developed as an improvement on the harpsichord. This parlor size instrument had only a four octave range, thus did early upright pianos, but the harpsichord had a very limited dynamic range. Cristofori invented the acoustic piano to increase the dynamic potential in a parlor-sized instrument. Since then, pianos increased in range to the full 8 octaves and are now produced in countless shapes and sizes to accommodate living space, matching furniture, and quality sound.

The advantages of digital pianos in the home include factors like being able to use headphones for private listening, easily adjusting the volume, easy recording abilities, many different sounds, light-weight, compact, no tuning required, and you can even download new songs or files. However, the most common reason consumers choose a digital piano is because of the price. You must also consider the draw backs to digital. Because technology increases so rapidly, the value of an electric piano falls rapidly, but if you are just looking for something to use and not an investment, digital might the a consideration for your home.
Unlike digital pianos, actual pianos have a much better retention of value because the mechanical technology has few changes throughout the years, and acoustic piano soundboards can even grow richer in tone. Real pianos are made from sturdy wood or MDF, repairs are easily made by piano tuners, and the touch and tone of a real acoustic instrument is unrivaled by most digital reproductions. However, you must also consider their larger size, less versatility, and the cost. Acoustic pianos will cost from 5 to 20 times what electric pianos might be worth.

Deciding which is best for your home should not be a light consideration. Such an investment should be carefully chosen in order to obtain the best instrument for you and your family to enjoy for years to come.

About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, with the best selection of Austin pianos for sale. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.

Types of Pianos

If you are in the market for a new or used piano for sale, it is a good idea to know a little bit about the different shapes and styles of pianos that are most common, so that you can pick the best type of piano for you and your home. For many people, the size and shape are very important factors depending on the floor space available in the home. According to shape, horizontal and vertical are the two most basic categories of pianos.

These terms refer to how the piano’s soundboard is arranged. The soundboard on a horizontal piano is built parallel to the floor. These are also known as grand pianos, though they take up the most amount of space, they are considered to have the most full and lush sounds as well as dynamic range. Amongst the horizontal, or grand, pianos are several different subcategories of piano designs. The Petite Grand is the smallest horizontal piano design, and it ranges from four to five feet in length, but it is still a quite a powerful instrument. The Baby Grand is perhaps the most popular of fine household pianos. These range from one to two feet longer than Petite Grands. Baby Grands can produce a marvelous sound without taking over an entire room. The next most well known horizontal piano is the Concert Grand. This piano is considered the finest in tone, key response, and action, and it consumes a whopping nine feet in length. It is the most commonly used piano for professional music productions such as symphonies and operas. Between the Concert grand and the Baby Grand, there are a host of other sizes, such as the Medium Grand, Parlor Grand, and Ballroom Grand, each with its own unique shape and sound.

Vertical piano designs are much more common in the home for a couple of reasons. Because the soundboard is arranged vertically, the piano takes up less space and also requires less material for manufacturing, thus they are less expensive than most horizontal varieties. There are four basic types of vertical pianos. Spinet pianos are approximately 36 to 38 inches in height and around 60 inches in width, and they are the smallest of vertical pianos. For those that live in extremely limited quarters, the Spinet is an ideal solution, however, the power and accuracy are somewhat compromised due to the size. The Console piano is taller than the Spinet at 40 to 43 inches and very similar in width. Console pianos are designed to compliment interior design, so they come in many different shapes, finishes, and designs. A Studio piano is the most common vertical piece found in music schools around the world because it has a larger soundboard while still a vertical design. This creates a great tone quality due to the longer strings. However, the tallest of vertical pianos is the actual Upright piano. These range from 50 to 60 inches in height and are most common amongst the grandparent generation. There are many of these built fifty years ago that have maintained a very rich tone and rival some horizontal designs in quality.

Take the time to see and play several of these types of pianos before you decide on the right one for you. This largely depends on your budget, the amount of space you have, and how you plan to use it. If you are opening a new concert hall, the answer is simple. The concert grand is your only option. However, if you are a student learning to play for the first time, you might consider on of the vertical varieties.

About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, with the best selection of Austin pianos for sale. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.

Setting Up Your Drum Kit

So you took the leap and bought your first drum kit, and now you are ready to get it all set up and start practicing for hours, or perhaps you have been playing the same old kit for years and are getting a little bored. What many drummers don’t realize is that setting up your drums is a fundamental part of becoming a great drummer. The mechanics of the human body, though somewhat flexible, cannot alter in shape completely, but your drum kit can. That is why it is important to build your kit around the most effective and comfortable mechanics of your own body while still creating a sound that really hits. Why not mold the sound formation completely to your body’s natural motion? It will increase your stamina, technique, and even your enjoyment.

There are several basic shapes that most drummers utilize when setting up their drums, but each of them are susceptible to change. These basic geometrical shapes greatly impact the way a drum kit’s sound is structured. The ‘buckets’ of shapes on a kit may form lines, triangles, or even more complex shapes such as a Rhombus. It is important to research these various configurations by listening to other drummers or reading recommendations. As you improve, you will be able to deduce how different geometric patterns will impact your sound. This structure also makes keeping track of patterns and songs easier and has a great impact on how you create beats and fills.

Once you have figured out your basic sound structure, the task of building that structure so that it molds to your personal body motion begins. This facet of kit building has much more to do with organization, reach, and mechanics. In other words, it is the utilitarian aspect of configuration and will actually determine how much you enjoy playing your drums. This is especially true for the avid learner who spends hours per day practicing (which is what you really need to become a great drummer). Anything that might discourage practicing should be rearranged. Your specific dimensions such as height, arm span, actual arm strength, flexibility, and sitting posture all affect how the kit should be built.

As you continue to play, new ideas for configurations will come to mind, and experimentation is healthy. The more you experiment, the more versatile you will become as a drummer. Shaping your drum kit should be one of your favorite rituals as a drummer. This is the time you spend considering how you will merge these mechanical drums with the motion of your body to produce a fresh sound that you love playing.

About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, the best of drum set stores in Austin TX. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.