Nancy asks…
Is the Fender Squier Bullet Stratocaster a good electric guitar for beginners?
I’m a beginner and I want a Fender Bullet Stratocaster, but I’m wondering if it has good tone and everything. Thanks!
NydiaMccartney answers:
Hello there,
Good for beginner? Yes. Absolutely.
Under the Squier name, Fender makes models of their main line guitars that are not constructed as well as the Fender originals, but they are priced for the beginner and casual player. They are decent quality guitars and quite suitable for a beginner.
Of course a Squier Bullet will not be as high a quality as a Fender American Stratocater. The Squier Bullet costs $120 new. The Amercian Standard Strat costs $1000. You would expect that any $120 guitar will not be as good as a $1000. Beginners do not want to spend $1000 or evern $500 on a first guitar. That is why Fender makes the Squier models. They are built to be suitable to the needs of a beginner.
There are several models of Squier Strats. The price increases with the quality of construction. But even the lowest end of the Squier line (the SE Strat) is suitable for the beginner. Yes, the Bullet is not the low end of the Squier Line. The SE is below it.
The Bullet has a nice feeling Strat neck. It has a basswood body and it lighter weight than a Fender body (alder or ash). Basswood is a good light weight wood for guitars. Ibanez and Jackson use basswood for their bodies also.
Later,
Susan asks…
How to fix buzzing noise on electric guitar?
Hello, i bought an ESP LD V-50 2 days ago and the bass or low E started to buzz :(
Is there anyway i can fix it? thank you! and is there anyway i can prevent my string to buzz thanks again
NydiaMccartney answers:
Preventing string buzz permanently is easier said than done. You can, but then you will need to raise the action quite a bit. You will have to remember that a guitar is made of wood, and it will inevitably move and change (from climate changes as well as string tension).
If you brought the guitar to another place, than that may be enough to bring out changes in the neck – causing the buzz.
Typically, strings might begin to buzz when you change the gauge from heavier to lighter. This affects the neck relief which again lowers the action.
The truss rod is used to compensate for the string tension and any changes to the neck. Do not try to adjust the truss rod yourself until you know exactly what you’re doing. Bring it to a qualified tech and let him/her take care of it – it’s a simple procedure.
Once the relief is set, then you may adjust the action (string height) at the bridge and nut. The bridge adjustment is easy to do, the nut adjustment is not.
You should also be aware that newer strings tend to buzz more easily than older and worn-in strings.
The easy answer is to bring the guitar to a qualified repairer or guitar tech – do not attempt to fix things yourself. It is commonly easy stuff, but you can go very wrong, very fast. If you’re lucky, the guitar tech will show you how the basic adjustments of truss rod and bridge action is done.
Some times, raising the action just a bit at the bridge is enough. How this is done depends upon the instrument and the bridge construction, so I can not give you any direct advice here.
You can also read more here if you feel like it: http://www.learnelectricguitarnow.net/guitar-set-up/guitar-setup/
Chris asks…
Can anyone tell me where and when the first guitar was made?
IM doin this for a paper for school, and need asite iwht the information so i cnasite it.
NydiaMccartney answers:
That’s a question that can be argued until you’re blue in the face but here’s what wikipedia says about it.
History
Main article: History of the classical guitar
Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having “a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides”.[1] Instruments similar to the guitar have been popular for at least 5,000 years. The six string classical guitar first appeared in Spain but was itself the product of a long and complex history of diverse influences. Like virtually all other stringed European instruments, the guitar ultimately traces back thousands of years, via the Middle East, to a common ancient origin from instruments then known in central Asia and India. It is therefore very distantly related with contemporary instruments such as the Iranian tanbur and setar and the Indian sitar. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying all the essential features of a guitar being played is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a Hittite bard.[2] The modern word, guitar, was adopted into English from Spanish guitarra, derived from the Arabic qitara[3] and Latin cithara, which in turn was derived from the earlier Greek word kithara,[4] which perhaps derives from Persian sihtar.[5] Sihtar itself is related to the Indian instrument, the sitar.
Illustration from a Carolingian Psalter from the 9th century, showing a guitar-like plucked instrument.The modern guitar is descended from the Roman cithara brought by the Romans to Hispania around 40 AD, and further adapted and developed with the arrival of the four-string oud, brought by the Moors after their conquest of the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century.[6] Elsewhere in Europe, the indigenous six-string Scandinavian lut (lute), had gained in popularity in areas of Viking incursions across the continent. Often depicted in carvings c. 800 AD, the Norse hero Gunther (also known as Gunnar), played a lute with his toes as he lay dying in a snake-pit, in the legend of Siegfried.[7] By 1200 AD, the four string “guitar” had evolved into two types: the guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar) which had a rounded back, wide fingerboard and several soundholes, and the guitarra latina (Latin guitar) which resembled the modern guitar with one soundhole and a narrower neck.[8]
The Spanish vihuela or “viola da mano”, a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries is, due to its many similarities, usually considered the immediate ancestor of the modern guitar. It had lute-style tuning and a guitar-like body. Its construction had as much in common with the modern guitar as with its contemporary four-course renaissance guitar. The vihuela enjoyed only a short period of popularity as it was superseded by the guitar; the last surviving publication of music for the instrument appeared in 1576. It is not clear whether it represented a transitional form or was simply a design that combined features of the Arabic oud and the European lute. In favor of the latter view, the reshaping of the vihuela into a guitar-like form can be seen as a strategy of differentiating the European lute visually from the Moorish oud.
The Vinaccia family of luthiers is known for developing the mandolin, and may have built the oldest surviving six string guitar. Gaetano Vinaccia (1759 – after 1831)[9] has his signature on the label of a guitar built in Naples, Italy for six strings with the date of 1779.[10][11] This guitar has been examined and does not show tell-tale signs of modifications from a double-course guitar although fakes are known to exist of guitars and identifying labels from that period.
The dimensions of the modern classical guitar (also known as the Spanish guitar) were established by Antonio Torres Jurado (1817-1892), working in Seville in the 1850s. Torres and Louis Panormo of London (active 1820s-1840s) were both responsible for demonstrating the superiority of fan strutting over transverse table bracing.[12]
James asks…
What electric guitar has best sustain and why?
I’m looking to buy an electric guitar over the internet. I need good sustain (and jazzyness), and wonder how sustain is affected by the construction and material (woods) of the guitar. It occurs to me that quality (rigidity?) of the neck is of greate importance. But what qualities, woods, construction should I be looking for to get good sustain?
NydiaMccartney answers:
There are really two kinds of sustain. The first kind is natural sustain — where the note can hold for a long time purely through the guitar’s construction. The second kind is amp sustain, which is an effect created by feedback from the amp’s interaction with the pickup. But it also depends on how you play — if you’re good with finger vibrato you’ll have controllable sustain regardless of what guitar you play.
For natural sustain, it generally helps if the guitar is made from a good heavy wood like mahogany or maple that has lots of resonance. It also depends on the tailpiece. A stop-tail (like you’d see on a Les Paul) or a trapeze tailpiece (like you’d see on an Epiphone Riviera) would give very nice sustain. The best would be a string-through body, but you never see that on the kind of guitar you’re looking for.
For good amp sustain, you basically only need two things: An amp turned up really loud and a guitar facing the amp’s speaker. But you have to achieve a balance otherwise you get pure feedback. The vibrations of the speaker cause the string to keep vibrating, hence, sustain.
As for “jazziness” — that probably means you want a hollow-body electric…Epiphone, Gibson and Gretsch make the best, but expect to pay out the wazoo for them.
Steven asks…
How much should i sell my Johnson Strat JS-800 electric guitar for?
I never used it, in beuatiful condition
NydiaMccartney answers:
One of the better ”cheap” strats out there today. Actual alder body and maple neck , the pickups and hardware leave a lot to be desired but for the price it’s hard to complain. The overall construction seems fairly good too , for the price. List price is like $219 , Most dealers sell them new for around $150 or so. I’ve seen them go for anywhere from $50 to $100 on Ebay. If yours is in like new condition you should be able to get $100 out of it , a little more with a case or a nice gig bag. I wouldn’t expect any more than that though unless you find just the right buyer.
Thomas asks…
Does anybody Odyssey guitar info?
I have a 6 string electric odyssey guitar and I cannot find anything online about value or anything, can anyone help? I have pictures
NydiaMccartney answers:
Carved Guitar, which had a retail price of $1,195. The non-bound body version was available in a mahogany or ash body. The Mahogany Guitar model listed for $895, and the Ash Guitar was $995. Both non-bound guitar models were offered with a corresponding Bartolini Hi-A pickup equipped four-string bass model with similar listed prices.
The Attila (AA) Series were offered between 1980 and 1981, and featured the Odyssey guitar and bass design with a bolt-on (instead of set-in) neck. Pricing is estimated to be around the Hawk series level.
The previous Carved Guitar model became the Carved Top Series 100. The G100 . Last MSR was $1,195.
In 1978, the previous Ash Guitar model became the Carved Top Series 200. The G200 , . Last MSR was $995.
In 1978, the previous Mahogany Guitar model became the Mahogany Series 300. The G300 Last MSR was $895.
G400 . Last MSR was $595 and add $50 for Tobacco Shaded (TS) or Wine Shaded (WS) finishes.
The G500 . Last MSR was $1,995. Add $200 for optional six-band on board EQ.
Odyssey’s Custom Series 600 Last MSR was $1,995. Add $200 for optional 6-band onboard EQ.
,600 bass was available in Tobacco Shaded (TS) or Wine Shaded (WS) finishes, and either model had a list price of $1,495.
Odyssey offered a CustomV and Custom X-plorer models that featured neck-through body construction, rosewood fingerboards, . Both models were offered at $999 with a hardshell case.
Donald asks…
I want to build my own electric guitar, why can’t I use pine or any number of woods besides the tone woods?
Would it sound all that bad, after all they are some made with plexiglass or plastic.
NydiaMccartney answers:
Woods used in guitar construction are chosen for 4 main reasons. They are selected for strength and structural stability, weight, aesthetics, and for their tonal qualities. The other answer suggests that the wood makes no difference to the sound but but with all due respect they don’t know what they’re talking about. The relative hardness and density of the wood determines the sustain characteristics and the resonant frequency. Harder woods will sustain longer and sound brighter. Soft wood will subdue the high frequencies yielding a mellower, mid range tonal quality. You can certainly make an electric guitar body out of any wood you like keeping in mind the above tonal consequences but for structural stability the neck should not be made from soft wood but from wood of at least medium hardness. Although mahogany (medium hard) and maple (very hard) are traditional other woods such as ash or oak could be used. Would it sound all that bad? The sound of a guitar is very subjective. What one person loves another may hate, but in my opinion a pine bodied guitar with an ash neck for example has the potential to have a good usable sound. I built a flying V once with an oak body that played and looked good and sounded great. It was way too heavy to play comfortably though. Good luck with your project.
Lizzie asks…
What guitar has all around playability for $300-$350?
I am not looking for a stratocaster. I have a dean “z” and a squire strat (which is terrible). I need a guitar with good action and sustain, good pickups and quality build that will last preferably with a hard-tail bridge construction. Thanks.
NydiaMccartney answers:
I think a Schecter Omen or Epiphone LP Studio might fit the bill. Both have the tune-o-matic style bridge and are nice guitars at around $350. Personally I think the Schecter is a more playable guitar in terms of the neck and action, but if you like LP’s the Epiphone is a good choice for that price. Of course, if you want to kick it up one notch and get a 24 fret neck and EMG pickups for around $400, this is a nice guitar too:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Schecter-Guitar-Research-Damien-Riot-Electric-Guitar-106693799-i1710599.gc
EDIT: Adam D is obviously right, you’ll get a much better guitar for $700 than for $350. If you had asked about $700 guitars I definitely would not have recommended any of the ones I did, but you did ask about a good guitar for $300-$350 didn’t you? Rather than just tell you you can’t find a good guitar for that price, I’d rather give you some decent ones to consider, but if you can double your budget and go $700, by all means get a used Parker Fly. I have a Parker and they’re amazing.
I honestly didn’t know EMG H4 pickups weren’t made by EMG. Go figure. I played one of those guitars at Guitar Center and they sounded OK to me, but yeah, not as good as the Dimarzio pickups on my Parker. You certainly do get what you pay for.
Helen asks…
Is the Squire by Fender bulletstrat a good electric guitar for a beginner?
http://www.amazon.com/Squier-Fender-BulletStrat-Trem-Black/dp/B003AQ6YIS/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&qid=1336411534&sr=8-31
Its only 130$. Is it decent enough or is it crap
NydiaMccartney answers:
Hello there,
Good for beginner? Yes. Absolutely.
Under the Squier name, Fender makes models of their main line guitars that are not constructed as well as the Fender originals, but they are priced for the beginner and casual player. They are decent quality guitars and quite suitable for a beginner.
Of course a Squier Bullet will not be as high a quality as a Fender American Stratocater. The Squier Bullet costs $120 new. The Amercian Standard Strat costs $1000. You would expect that any $120 guitar will not be as good as a $1000. Beginners do not want to spend $1000 or evern $500 on a first guitar. That is why Fender makes the Squier models. They are built to be suitable to the needs of a beginner.
There are several models of Squier Strats. The price increases with the quality of construction. But even the lowest end of the Squier line (the SE Strat) is suitable for the beginner. Yes, the Bullet is not the low end of the Squier Line. The SE is below it.
The Bullet has a nice feeling Strat neck. It has a basswood body and it lighter weight than a Fender body (alder or ash). Basswood is a good light weight wood for guitars. Ibanez and Jackson use basswood for their bodies also.
By the way, $130 is high for a new Bullet. You can get them for $119.95 shinpping included. Check for some of the Fender dealers on ebay.
Later,
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