A new electric guitar can cost anything from $99 to five-figures plus. Expect to pay around $199 to $399 for a good beginner electric guitar; around $400-$799 for an intermediate instrument; and $800-$1,500+ for a dependable, professional-quality recording and gigging guitar. At $1,500 and above, you can expect the highest-quality, high-end instruments.
Guitar intonation adjustment involves testing the intonation of each string by comparing the fretted 12-fret octave with the harmonic produced at the same fret. If the fretted note is sharp, the string needs to be lengthened; if the fretted note is flat, then the string needs to be shortened.
The way in which the length of the strings is adjusted depends on the type of bridge fitted on your guitar. In our guide to adjusting electric guitar intonation, you’ll find out how to adjust intonation on a range of guitar bridge styles…
In a list of the best AC/DC albums, fans and critics alike would generally include Back in Black, Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap), Let There Be Rock, Highway to Hell and High Voltage. These five albums represent the Australian power blues-rock band at their bawdy, hard-rocking peak, and are classics of the hard rock genre.
On this page we rank these, and every other AC/DC album, to create the definitive guide to the Australian rockers’ recorded output over their multi-decade career.
Who were the best jazz bassists? On this page we take a look at the lives and work of some of the greatest bassists in jazz history…
Contemporary jazz guitarists include Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gilad Hekselman, Julian Lage, Tom Misch, Mike Moreno and Lionel Loueke. These young jazz guitarists represent a new generation of musicians carrying on the jazz guitar tradition.
If you’ve listened to your favorite jazz guitar albums so many times that you can sing each solo note-perfect in your head and hear the first notes of the next song before it’s even started, then check out this guide to the new generation of jazz guitarists and their work…
Getting a good jazz guitar sound requires a combination of gear, playing technique and acquired knowledge. Jazz guitarists typically use archtop guitars, strung with heavy gauge, flatwound strings. They play using small, thick picks and rarely use anything other than the neck pickup, often with the tone turned down. The sound is amplified with powerful solid state amps, or valve amps with a clear, unnuanced sound. The use of effects is kept to a minimum, but reverb may be used in varying degrees.
While the above may describe how to get a traditional jazz guitar tone, there are many variations on this theme. On this page we take a look at the gear and techniques used by jazz guitarists, and how jazz guitar tone has evolved since the early days of jazz guitar…
When looking for a new electric guitar consider your budget and what type of music you play. Sold-body electric guitars are the most versatile type of electric guitar, and a Stratocaster-style instrument will serve you well in most circumstances, whatever type of music you play.
If you play hard rock or blues, then a Les Paul-style guitar will serve you equally as well. If jazz is your thing, then a semi-hollow / semi-acoustic electric guitar will probably be your instrument of choice.
Read on for more advice on what type of electric guitar to buy…
The warm, shimmering sound produced by a chorus effect is one of the most recognizable electric guitar sounds in modern music.
Whether it’s provided by an old-school effects pedal or its modern, software equivalent, this classic effect includes a number of ‘standard’ controls such as depth and rate that can be altered according to the player’s requirements.
On this page we’ll explain just what the chorus effect does; take a look at the standard chorus pedal controls; and find out how you can use chorus in your own playing.
Most guitarists use an effect pedal, or ‘stompbox’ to get their chorus sound, and further down the page we’ll take a look at some classic guitar chorus pedals.
A guitar compressor pedal smooths out the audio levels of your playing by suppressing the loud parts and boosting the quiet parts. This results in a flatter, more even tone. Potential benefits of compression are: increased sustain; a louder overall tone; and a sound that potentially sits better in a mix. Over-use of compression can result in a lifeless, un-musical tone that lacks nuance and can be tiring for the listener.
Tor & Vale is the latest release by British jazz guitarist Mark Wingfield, who for this album is joined by pianist Gary Husband. Tor & Vale is a collection of atmospheric, largely improvised pieces recorded at La Casa Murada studio in Catalonia. You can watch the duo performing “Tryfan” from the new album in the …
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