The electric guitar instrumentation guide
the instrument, notation and guitar effects,
with literature examples and cd
by Wiek Hijmans
copyright 2006
all rights reserved
3
The electric guitar instrumentation guide
Table of contents
5
theguitar
woodandstrings 7
tuning/range/scordatura/capodastro 8
neckchart 9
harmonics 9
vibratoarm(whammybar/tremoloarm) 9
plectrums/picks 10
amplifers 11
theeffects
introductiontoeffects 12
volume 13
distortingandsustainingthetone 13
soundspaceandrepetition 14
soundmodulation 15
flters 16
addingtones 17
effectgearandnewdevelopments 17
introduction 19
notationbasics 20
tablature 20
pickupnotation/tuningnotation 22
playingtechniques 23
righthandtechniques 23
lefthandtechniques 26
tapping 28
vibrato/bending/glissandi 28
chords/poliphony/laissezvibrer 29
variousextendedtechniques/glissandi 31
theuseofeffects
introduction 37
performancenotes 37
thecleanguitarsound 37
workingwithvolume 38
distortingandsustainingthetone 38
suggestingspaceandrepetition 40
soundmodulation 41
flters 42
addingtones 43
combinationsofeffects/placement/order 44
changingsoundswhileplaying 45
newmedia 45
WiekHijmans 46
listofabbreviations 46
repertoirelist 47
acknowledgements 57
introduction to this book
PART 1 - the instruments
PART 2 - notation and
instrumentation
4 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
5
Theelectricguitar,herooftwentiethcenturymusicalinstruments,playedbyso
many people, enjoyed by countless numbers of audiences: what a colourful
contributiontothemusicalculturesofalmosteverycornerofthisplanet!
Andyetaseeminglydiffcultinstrumenttounderstandandwritefor,toclassical
composers. Social-cultural reasons may have played a considerable role in
thepastforthelimiteduseoftheelectricguitarincomposedmusic,butthese
highart/lowartdiscussionsareforthemostpartbehindus.Still,writingfor
the electric guitar represents many stilistic and/or technical challenges to the
present-daycomposer.Fortunately,theincorporationofelectronicallyamplifed
sounds in chamber music and orchestral music has become quite ordinary.
Thisdefnitelyhelpsthethinkingabouttheacousticeffectsofcombiningclas-
sicalinstrumentsandloudspeakers.Thatisagoodstart,butmanyissuesremain
tobeaddressed,befwefullyusethepossibilitiesofthiscrazyinstrument!
Thisbookaimstobeapracticalguideforcomposersandguitaristsalike,who
dealwiththeelectricguitarasamediumforcontemporarycomposedmusic.
Questionsthatarebeingaddressedinthisbookare:composersandguitarists,
whatshouldtheyexpectfromeachother?Howcantheycommunicateabout
these new sounds? Enabling the composer to ask educated questions to gui-
tariststheywriteforisonegoalofthisbook.Anothergoalissuggestingways
ofnotationanddiscussingliteratureexamplesthatshowwaysofcreativeuseof
theelectricguitarbothasasolisticandasanensembleinstrument.
Thisbookconsistsoftwomainparts.Thefrstpartisaboutthehardware,the
machinerysotospeak.Thesecondpartisaboutthesoftware,abouthowthe
machineryisbeingused.So,forexample,inthesectionabouteffects,one
fndsthechapteraboutvolume-relatedeffects.Inthischapterthevariouspedals
andknobsandtheirtechnicalfeaturesarebeingdescribed.Inthesecondpart
of this book, in the section the use of effects, there is also a chapter about
volume-relatedeffects.Herethemusicaluseoftheseeffectsisbeingdiscussed,
includingnotationissuesandscoreexcerpts.Thisstructureischosentoprovide
thereaderwithasmuchusefulinformationaspossible,thatisaseasytofnd
aspossible.Agroupofspecialisedguitaristsandcomposershasparticipated
inthediscussionsaboutnotationandotheraspectsoftheinformationprovided.
Therefore,Ibelievethatthesuggestionsthatarebeingmade,representmore
thanjustmypersonalopinion.
I wish to thank all of the highly educated and creative people who worked
with me to realise this guide. And I sincerely hope that this book will be an
inspirationtoanybodywhowantstobeinvolvedinthiswonderfuljourneyof
incorporatingtheelectricguitarintothatmonumentalworldofclassicalmusic.
WiekHijmans,June2006
The electric guitar instrumentation guide
Introduction
Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
PART 1 - the instruments
1. body
2. neck
3. headstock
4. tail piece
5. bridge
6. tuning peg
7. frets
8. bridge pickup
9. neck pickup
10. pickup toggle switch
11. volume knob
12. tone knob
13. output
14. rhythm plate
15. headnut
16. low E string
17. high E string
1. guitar effects box/pedal
2. amplifer
3. speaker cabinet
4. speaker
5. volume/tone knobs
6. amplifer input
7. mono jack cables
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
16
17
15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Z
Therearethreemaintypesofelectricguitars:
1.Thesolidbody.Thebodyofthistypeofelectricguitarismadeofdense,
heavywood,inordertorefectthesoundofthestringsratherthantoamplify
theresonanceofthebody.Alongsustainedtoneisthemostsignifcantresult
ofthisconstruction.
2.Thehollowbody.Thef-holeguitar,whichoftenhasamoveablebridge-
type,resemblesanacousticinstrumentlikethecelloortheacousticsteelstring
guitar. They produce a warm resonant sound. Feedback* may occur when
playedathighervolumes.
3.Thesemi-hollowbody.Thisguitarhasathinnerbodywithlessacousticreso-
nancebutmoresustainthanthehollowbodyguitar.
Often,aguitarconsistsofseveraltypesofwood**.Body,bodytop,neckand
fretboardallhavethereowntypesofwood,thatprovidedifferenttypesofat-
tack,sustainandcolourtothetone.Oftenusedwoodsaremaple,mahogany,
rosewood,ebonyandspruce.Afewtypesofelectricguitarsarenotmadeof
woodatall,butofsyntheticmaterial.Thismaybecomemoreusual,astraditio-
nalhardwoodisbecomingincreasing-lyrare.
Metalstrings(steel,nickel-platedorpurenickel)arenecessaryonalltypesof
electricguitarinordertofeedthepickups.Dependingontasteandstyle,ligh-
terorheaviergaugesmaybeused.Thethreeorfourlowestsoundingstrings
arewound.Thisisdonetocreatemassforthelowerfrequencies.Mostpeople
useroundwoundstrings,althoughsomepreferfatwoundstrings,whichhavea
moremufedtone***.
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
wood and strings
sound example 1: solid body guitar,
long tones and low chord
sound example 2: semi-hollow body
guitar, long tones and low chord
*see:distortingandsustainingthetone
**http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm
***alsosee:variousextendedtechniques
8 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
Thestringsaretunedinasequenceoffourths,exceptforthemajorthirdbet-
weentheGandBstrings.Theguitarisatemperedinstrumentlikethepiano.
Thereisarathersubjectivelyequalout-of-tune-ness.Sincemostelectricguitars
areequippedwithadjustablesaddlesatthebridgethatfnetunethelengthof
each string, the intonation does not need to be impricise, depending on the
performer.
Thepitchrangeoftheelectricguitarisconsiderablywiderthanthatoftheclas-
sicguitar.Mostelectricguitarshave22frets,meaningthatonestringcoversa
rangeofanoctaveandaminorseventh.Theentirerangeoftheelectricguitar
islowE(belowthebasscleff)-D3.Notethatsome(semi-)hollowbodyand
vintage guitars only have 21 frets (with C#3 as highest note). On the other
hand,someguitars-oftenusedbyheavymetalplayers-havetwooctavesper
string(withE3ashighestnote).
The use of scordatura is also an option. Any string may be tuned to a pitch
otherthanthatofthetraditionaltuningshownabove.Intheclassicaltradition,
this was often done in order to perform lute repertoire on guitar*. Note that
extremescordaturatendstodetunetheguitar,especiallywhenaspringvibrato
armisinvolved.RetuningaguitarsuchasthepopularFenderStratocastermay
maketheinstrumentunstablewhenseveralstringsaretunedawholetoneor
moreawayfromtheirusualtuning.Also,whentuningstringssharp,thetension
willincrease,whichmayresultinabrokenstringifthechangeinpitchistoo
extreme.
Acapodastroisadevicethatclampstotheneckoftheguitar,shorteningthe
stringsatadesiredfretposition.Thiswaytheopen-stringtuningcanbetrans-
posedinitsentirety(orpartly,whenthecapocoversonlyafewstrings).The
BeatlesHere Comes the Sunintroisagoodexampleofthecaposound.The
openstringqualityofthesoundmakesitdifferentfromafngeredbarr**,and
thereismuchlessstrainonthehandmuscleswhenusingthecapo(althoughthe
positioncannotbechangedwithoutapause).
tuning /range/scordatura/
capo dastro
TheguitarstringsaretunedlowE-A-D-G-
B-E,fromlow to high,butthestringsare
numbered1,2,3,4,5and6from
high to low.
sound example 3: open strings
sound example 4: low D tuning, D major
chord
*seescordaturainthesecondpartofthisbookforelectricguitarliteratureexamples
**seeLHplayingtechniquesin2ndpartofthisbook
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
Theneckchartshowsaschematicoverviewofwhatpitchcanbefoundwhereon
theguitarneck,presumingthestingshavebeentunedtheordinaryway.
Theharmonicsofastring(fageolets),withtheirlight,almostwhistlingsound,
canbebroughtoutbylightlytouchingitatanodalpoint.Thefrstharmonicis
theopenstring,theroot.Thenodeforthesecondharmonic(octaveharmonic,
alsoknownasfrstovertone)isfoundathalfthestringlength(12thfret).The
third harmonic is found at every third of the string length (7th and 19th fret).
Below you fnd an example, that shows in which positions (up to the octave
position) one can fnd the 2nd through 10th harmonics of the low E string.
Thesecanbebroughtoutclearlybyanelectricguitar.Theotherstringswork
similarly,althoughhigherharmonicsonunwoundtreblestringscanbeharder
toproduce.Thenumbersdisplayednexttothesoundingpitchindicatewhich
harmonicismeant.Notethatthenodesforthehigherharmonicsarenotfound
exactlyonthepositionsfret*.
Aleverthatdecreasesorincreasesthetensionofallofthestrings(andthe-
reforethepitch)bymovingthebridgetowardsorawayfromthebody***.
Notethatnotallelectricguitarshaveone!ThefamousGibsonLesPaulisa
guitarwithoutavibratoarm.Oneargumentagainstthevibratoarmisthatit
(slightly)reducestheguitarssustain.
Therearethreemaintypesofvibratoarms:
1.theBigsby.Foundmostoftenonsemi-hollowbody(Gretsch)guitars.
Thisvibratoarmisabletomodestlydecreaseandincreasethestringtension
thoughlesssowhenincreasingtension.Thechangeintensionisnotuniform
acrossallsixstringsasthelowerstringswilldetunemorethanthehigher
strings.Notethatinthiscase,itisthepointwherethestringsarebeingat-
tachedtotheguitar,thatisbeingmoved,notthebridge.
2.theStratocastervibratoarm(wrongfullymarketedastremoloarmbyFen-
der).ThemostcommononehasawiderrangethantheBigsby,butdramatic
useofthisrangerisksdetuningthestringsintheirneutralposition.
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
neck chart/fretboard diagram
harmonics
sound example 5: 1st through 10th
harmonics on low E string
vibrato arm (whammy bar/
tremolo arm)* *
sound example 6: open strings with
Bigsby
sound example 7: open strings with
Stratocaster vibrato arm
pos. I
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*alsosee:variousextendedtechniquesforartifcialharmonics,squeezeharmonicsandmultiphonics
** Thesoundpossibilitiesofthevibratoarmaredescribedinthesecondpartofthisbook,chapter
vibrato/bending/glissandi.
***TheBigsbyworksabitdifferent:theattachmentspotofthestringsisbeingmovedbythelever
T0 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
3.FloydRose,stoplock.Thisisusedforso-calledheavymetalguitars.A
completereleaseofstringtension(sometimescalledfulldive)ispossiblewit-
houtdetuningtheinstrumentinitsneutralposition.Becauseofthestoplocks,
thatkeepthestringsfxedatthenutwithascrew-system,ascordaturachange
duringaconcertisalmostimpossible(willtakeaverylongtime).
The pickup is a device that basically consists of a magnet with a wire coil
wrappedaroundit.Whenthedistancebetweenpickupandstringchanges,
avoltageiscreatedinthecoilthatisproportionaltothevelocityofthestrings
motion.Thebasicprincipleissimilartoanordinarymicrophone,butapickup
needsametalstringtofunctionandsoundsmoredirectandcompact.
Almost every electric guitar has more than one pickup. One is located near
the bridge (often called treble pickup), one near the neck (rhythm pickup).
Sometimesathirdpickupislocatedin-betweenthetwoothers(middlepickup).
Everypickuppositionbringsitsownmixtureofovertones,comparabletothe
effectsofsulponticelloandsultastoplaying.Thisisbecauseofthemorecom-
plexovertonestructurenearthebridgeresultinginasharpersound,andless
complexovertonesneartheneck,resultinginadarker,fullersound.
Thetwomaintypesofpickupsare:
1.Singlecoilpickups.Theseproduceathinandclearsound.Ahummayoccur
whenusednearotherelectronicdevices.
2.Humbuckerpickups.Theseproduceamorefullandroundedtoneandare
designedtoavoidtheabovementionedhum.
There are many other types of pickups, including the more microphone-like
soundingpiezopickup.Thisisusedmostoftentoamplifysteelstringacoustic
guitarsbutappearonsomeelectricguitarstoo.
Most electric guitars come with a toggle switch, which selects the output of
oneofthepickupsoracombinationofpickups.Eachcombinationhasitsown
soundcharacteristics,somerathernasal,otherthinandsharp,othersthinand
darker.*
Avolumeknob(potmeter)controlstheamountofoutputsignalfromthepickup(s),
atoneknobcontrolstheamountofhigherfrequenciesinthesignal.Justlikewith
anordinarystereoset.
pickups (microphones),
switches and knobs
sound example 8: bridge pickup, ordi-
nario, ponticello, tasto
sound example 9: neck pickup, ordina-
rio, ponticello, tasto
sound example 10: combination of both
pickups, ordinario, ponticello, tasto
*alsosee:http://www.till.com/articles/PickupResponse/,byJ.DonaldTillman
TT
Theamplifer(oftenreferredtoasamp)isagenuineinstrument,liketheguitar
itself. At least to many guitarists, the sound they identify themselves with, is
createdasmuchbythetypeofamplifertheyuse,asbythetypeofguitaror
stringstheyuse.Anampliferconsistsofapre-ampandapower-amp.Thepre-
amp* amplifes the voltage that comes from the guitar pickup and equalizes
it. This means that certain frequencies are amplifed or attenuated according
tothesettingsoftheequalizingcontrolswhichmaybetreble/mid/bassknobs
and/oragraphicequalizer,whichcontrolsalargernumberofnarrowerfre-
quency bands. The high voltage that comes out of the pre-amp controls the
waveformofthesignalofthepower-amp,whichhassuffcientpowertodrive
theloudspeaker**.
Therearetwotypesofamplifers***:
1.Tubeamps,alsocalledvalveamps.Thisclassictypeofamphasacertain
amountofsmoothdistortionandcompressionofthesound-justbecauseofthe
wayitworks-thatisverypleasingtomostears.
2.Transistoramps,alsocalledsolidstateamps.Thesearemoreprecise,stable
andlessnoisy(hissandsuch),buttomanyperformerstheysoundsharp,espe-
ciallywhentheampgoesintooverdrive.
Nowadays,onecanalsofndamixofthetwotypesinonesetup.Thechoice
ofacertaintypeofampliferisamatteroftasteoftheperformer.Theincreasing
use of digital amp-simulators**** makes the whole discussion about which
ampshouldbeusedevenmorecomplicatedandlessrelevant.Thecomposers
questionwhattodowiththedesiredcharacteristicsofcertainamplifersounds
will be addressed in the clean guitar sound, distorting and sustaining the
tone,andnew mediachaptersofthesecondpartofthisbook.
PART 1 - the instruments
the guitar
amplifers
*Schneider,John.TheContemporaryGuitar.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,c1985,page53
**Schneider,John.TheContemporaryGuitar.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,c1985,page54
***hereisamorein-depthdiscussionofthissubject:http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/amptypes.htm
****see:effectgearandnewdevelopments
T2 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
Thenaturaldistortionofthetubeampliferinspiredguitaristsinthesixtiesofthe
lastcenturytoexperimentwiththeirsound.Itwasthebeginningofwhathas
becomeanimportantpartoftheelectricguitarasaninstrument:electronicef-
fectsthateitheralteroraddtotheoriginalsignalofthepickup.
Manyeffectsarenotstatic--theyaffectthesoundasitdevelops.Theycaneven
changethelengthofhetoneorremovetheattack.Mostguitaristsuseoneor
moreeffectpedals;someusemanypedalseachwithanindependentfunction,
some use multi-effects processors, which contain many effects within a single
unit.Iwillrefertobooksandwebpagesthatgivemorein-depthdescriptions
ofthetechnicalitiesandhistoryoftheeffects.Forinstrumentationpurposes,it
istheperceptionofsound(theendresultoftheeffectchain)thatseemsmost
important.
Severalattemptshavebeenmadetoputtheeffectsintocategories.Itturnsout
thatthesecategoriesoftenoverlap,nomatterwhatcriteriaareused.Thisbook
distinguishesfvegroupsofeffects:
1.volume
2.distortionandsustain
3.soundspaceandrepetition
4.soundmodulation
5.flters
6.addingtones
Therearetwomaincriteriaforthisdivision,thefrstisthemusicalperception,
thesecondisadistinctionbetweenalteringthetoneandornamentingit.
Itisimportanttoknowthatmanydigitaleffects(especiallyinmulti-effectspro-
cessors), like the ones found in the reverb section, the phaser section, pitch
shiftingsection,andfltersectionhaveamixfeature:meaningthatthebalance
betweentheoriginalguitarsoundandtheaffectedsoundcanbeadjusted.
Thesecondpartofthisbookdealswithhoweffectscanbeusedandwhatthey
soundlikewhentheyareusedincombinationwitheachother.
Thesoundexamplesforthissectionareintendedtogiveageneralimpression
for the kind of sound being discussed, not to display all the different sound
possibilities!
introduction to effects
T3
Thereareseveralplacesonthechainfromstringtoloudspeakerwherevolume
canbecontrolled:ontheguitar(someplayersarevirtuosicinusingtheirpinky
fngertoturnavolumeknobwhileplaying),viaafootpedal(volume-orswell
pedal),orattheamplifer.Thevolumepedalistheeasiesttomanipulateduring
performance.
Atremoloeffectisanalternatingvolumeonandoff(orhighandlowvolume)
effect. The speed and depth function controls the length and loudness of the
lowvolumestage.
Noisegatesareusedtoelectronicallyturnthevolumedownwhentheguitarist
isnotplayinginordertohidethenoiseproducedbyothereffects.Effectswith
highgain,suchasoverdriveandcompression,canbeparticularlynoisy.To
workeffectivelynoisegatesmustbeplacedafterthoseeffectsproducingnoise.
Noisegatesworkbydetectingthesignallevel,andrespondbyslowlyfading
down the volume as the playing level fades away. This prevents notes that
fadenaturallyfrombeingcutoffdead.Panningismuchliketwotremoloeffects
controllingastereosetup,onecontrolstheleftchannelandtheothercontrols
therightchannel.Theyarelinkedsothatwhenvolumeishighinonechannel
itislowintheother,andvice-versa.Whenconnectedtoastereosystem(like
twoguitarampsoranamplifcationsystem),thesoundmovesfromoneside
totheother*.
Boost,saturation,overdrive,distortionandfuzzareallbasedonthesameprin-
ciple.Bycompressingthesignalwave,thusclippingthepeaksofthewave,
thesoundismaderough.Theeffectsmentionedhereeachdothisindifferent
waysandgradations.
Simplyput,thehigherthepreampoutputthemoredistortionitwillcreatein
the power amplifer. This is how it started. Even by playing with the volume
knobontheguitaronecaninfuencetheamountofdistortion.Overdrive-type
effects are designed to affect the pre-amp by boosting the signal going into
thepreampandcausingittooverdrive,whereasdistortionpedalscreatethe
distortedsoundwithintheunititself.
Thefuzzpedalisthemostextremevariantofthesetypesofeffects,compres-
singthesignalinsuchawaythatitbecomesasquare-wave**.
Compression effects are designed to do the same, but without distorting the
signal.Thesedevicesareactuallycompression-expandermachines,whilethey
softentheattackandamplifythesignalasitstartstodecay.Thismayresultin
theamplifcationofnoiseratherthanpitchasthesounddecays.Thesecompres-
sorsaresometimesreferredtoassustainpedals.
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
1. volume
volume/tremolo/noise gate/panning
sound example 11: volume pedal,
taking out the attack
sound example 12: tremolo
2. distortion and sustain
boost/saturation/overdrive/distor-
tion/fuzz/compression/sustain/
feedback/E-bow
sound example 13: overdrive
sound example 14: distortion
sound example 15: fuzz
sound example 16: compressor
*alsosee:http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-desc.htm
**DaveHunter,Guitareffectspedals,thepracticalhandbook,publ.BackbeatBooks,pages24-30
T4 Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
Another way of sustaining a tone is to create a feedback circuit, often using
distortionorfuzz.Whenaguitarspickuppicksupsoundfromthespeakeritis
connectedto,theampliferwillamplifythatsoundandthespeakerwillturnthat
into soundwaves again, which in their turn will move the guitar body, which
movesthestring,whichgivesasoundthatwillbepickedupbythepickup-etc.
Onecanalsostartthisprocessbyplayingatoneandholdingtheguitarbody
closetothespeaker.Acriticalvolumeisneededtocreatethiseffect.Itiseasier
tocreatefeedbackwithhollowbodyguitarsbutitisverydiffculttocontrolthe
exactpitchofthefeedbacksound.
YetanotherwayforsustainingatoneiswiththeuseoftheE(nergyorelectronic)-
bow.Thishandhelddevicecreatesamagneticfeldthatexcitesthevibrationof
asinglestring(onlyonestringatatime)untilthedeviceisremoved.
Reverb/delay/loops/sampling are four effects based on a principle of re-
cording or copying the sound signal and reproducing it at some time inter-
val after the original. If the time between the original and the frst (of many!)
reproduction(s) is less than 1/20th of a second, we perceive it as reverbe-
ration. A reverb unit creates artifcial acoustic spaces of various sizes (small
rooms, large halls) and shapes (square-round) made from different materials
(wood, concrete, metal). It is often possible to adjust the length and type of
reverbwithgreatdetail.
When the time between the original signal and its frst reproduction is more
than 1/20th of a second the ear hears it as a separate attack and thus we
perceivethesoundasanecho(delay).
When the time between original and copy becomes much longer, like more
thanacoupleofseconds,itiscalledaloop.Digitalsamplingtechniqueshave
madeitpossibletomakeloopsthatareaslongas10minutesorevenmuch
greater.Notethatatthispointintime,machinesthatproducereverb,digital
delay and shorter loops are more common than long recording-time sample
machines.Tappingfeaturesonsomemachinesallowtheperformertosetthe
tempoforthedelayortoalterthespeedofa(pre-recorded)loop.Somemachi-
nesallowforseveralsimultaneousdelays,eachwithauniquedelaytime.Sub-
sequentrepititionsmayalsofeedthedelayunit,meaningnotjusttheoriginal
signalmaybeaffected.
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
sound example 17: E-bow
3. soundspace and repetition
reverb/delay/loops/sampling
sound example 18: short reverb
sound example 19: long reverb
sound example 20: short and fast delay
sound example 21: long and slow delay
T5
Phasers, fangers and choruses use an internal low frequency oscillator (LFO)
toautomaticallymovenotchesinthefrequencyresponseupanddownthefre-
quencyspectrum.Animportantdifferencebetweenphasingandfanging/cho-
rusisthatphasersspacethesenotchesevenlyacrossthefrequencyspectrum,
whilethenotchesinfangingandchorusareharmonically(musically)related.
Phasing works by mixing the original signal with one whose cycle is shifted
independentlyoverseveralportionsofthefrequencyspectrum.Forexample,
a four stage phaser signal might begin at 0 degrees at 100Hz and shifted
to720degreesat5Khz(theseextremesarenotpracticallypossible,butare
usedheretoexplaintheeffect).Thisishowthetermphase shiftercameabout.
Wherethesignalisinphase(at0degrees,360degreesand720degrees)
thesignalisreinforced,providingnormaloutput.Wherethesignalisoutof
phase (180 degrees and 540 degrees), they cancel each other, giving no
outputatthesefrequencies.Constantlyvaryingthefrequencychangeswhere
thesecancellationsoccur,givingthemovementassociatedwiththiseffect.Usu-
ally,speedanddepthcontrollersdeterminehowfastandhowfarthenotches
are moved. Internal feedback of the effect can be stimulated to enhance the
frequencypeaks.
Flangers mix a varying delayed signal (usually about 5 milliseconds (mS) to
15mS) with the original to produce a series of notches in the frequency res-
ponse.Theimportantdifferencebetweenfangingandphasingisthatafanger
producesalargenumberofnotches,andthepeaksbetweenthesenotchesare
harmonically(musically)related.Mostfangersprovidearesonancecontrolfor
internalfeedbackthatenhancesthepeaksinthefrequencyresponse.Withlow
resonance,theeffectissimilartothepopularseventiesstudiotrickofreplaying
asongon2tapedecks,andtouchingthefangeofeachtapeplayerinturn
toslowlymovetheminandoutofsynchronisationwitheachother.Hencethe
term:fanging.Withhighresonance,itsoundslikeajetplane.Withtherate
anddepthcontrollersonedetermineshowfastandfarthefrequencynotches
move;anintensityfeaturecontrolsthelevelofthedelayedsignal,andconse-
quently,thedepthofthefrequencynotches.
Achorussimulatesthesoundofanumberofguitarsplayingtogether.Analo-
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
4. sound modulation
phasing/fanging/chorus*
sound example 22: phaser
phaserfrequencyresponse
sound example 23: fanger
sound example 24: chorus
*http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-desc.htm,
http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Articles/Chorus/#how
**Hunter,page33
T Theelectricguitarinstrumentationguide
gue (vintage) choruses work similarly to the fanger. They mix a varying de-
layed signal with the original to produce a large number of harmonically re-
lated notches in the frequency response. Chorus uses a longer delay than
fanging,sothereisasensationofspaciousness,althoughthedelayistoo
short to hear as a distinct slap-back echo. Also, the notches and peaks in
the frequency spectrum are manipulated to modulate more tightly above and
belowspecifcfrequencyranges,ratherthanshiftedtosweepbroadlyupand
downtheentirespectrum**.Thereisalsolittleornofeedback,sotheeffectis
moresubtle.
Filterscandoalot.Theycanmakeaguitarsoundlikeasynthesizerorahuman
voice.Therearefltermodelersavailablenowthatmimicmanyfltereffectsfrom
thesixtiesandseventiesandalsoringmodulation.Themostwellknownflter-
basedeffectisthewah-pedal.Aflterisusedtocreatearesonantpeak.The
frequencyoftheresonantpeakcanbemovedupanddownthroughtheuseof
apivotingfootpedal,whichmakesforastrikingemulationofthehumanvoice
makingawaaaahtone,oritstonalinverse,aaaooow*.
Autowahworkssimilarlytothewah,exceptthattheautowahusestheintensity
oftheincomingsignal(theguitaristsattack)togeneratethecontrolvoltagethat
shiftsthepeakupanddownthefrequencyspectrum***.Equalizingbasically
doesthesameasutilizingthetreble,midandbassknobonanyhifamplifer.
There are many sorts of equalizers/flters, and they are extremely useful for
bringingoutacertaincharacterinasound.
Ringmodulationusesasimplemultiplicationoftheamplitudeofonewaveform
bythatofanother.Inringmodulationthemodulator(guitarsignal)outputisap-
plieddirectlytotheinputofthecarrier(aninternaloscillator).Ringmodulation
createsasomewhatunpredictablesound,oftenclangourous,becauseneither
thefrequencyofthecarrierormodulatorappearinthefnaloutput.Whatresults
instead are the sidebands (overtones) where sum and difference frequencies
appear****.
5. flters
wah, autowah, equalizing,
ring modulation
sound example 25: wahwah
wahwahfrequencyresponse
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
*http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/wahpedl/wahped.htm#whatwah
**Hunter,page42
***alsoseemulti-effectsprocessorsinpart2ofthisbook
****http://jmusic.ci.qut.edu.au/jmtutorial/ModulationSynthesis/Modulation_Synthesis_1.html
TZ
PART 1 - the instruments
the effects
These effects add one or more pitches to the original pitch (in real-time). The
octavider(alsooctaver,oroctavedivider)wasthefrstdeviceinthiscatagory.It
addsanoctave(ortwooctaves)belowtheplayedpitch.
Aharmonizerworkswithchromaticandsometimes(whendesired)diatonicsteps.
Therangeoftheintervalcanbeonetotwooctavesupordown.Themachinelis-
tenstothepitchoftheguitarsignalinordertoknowwhatpitchtoadd.Thisme-
ansthatthemorecomplextheharmonicinformationtheunitgetsfromtheguitar
is,thegreaterthechancethatthemachinemaybeconfusedandnotrespond
asexpected....Inotherwords,asinglemelodiclineisnever(rarely)aproblem,
twopitchesareoftenok,but,dependingonthemachinebeingused,morethan
twopitchesmaydisturbtheprocess.Sincetheeighties,manyharmonizerscan
addtwopitchestotheoriginal.Thesemodernmachinesareoftencalledpitch
shifters.Withpitchshiftingand/ordetuningfunctionsonamulti-effectsprocessor,
theaddedpitchescanbefnelyadjusted,i.e.microtonally(oftenincents).
Manyguitaristsseektoemulatethevintageguitarsoundsoftheirhereos*.Not
onlyaretherightguitarandeffectpedalsimportanttoreproducingthesetones,
buttheampliferandspeakercombinationalsocontributestoagenuinevintage-
sound. But these amps and speaker cabinets are heavy, noisy and vulnerable
andlimittheperformertoanarrowsetofsounds.Thereforedigitaltechniques
havebeendevelopedtomimicmanytypesofamplifersandspeakers.Evengui-
tartonesareanalyzedandimitatedbydigitalmachines.Thebehaviourofthese
copy-soundsisoftennotsatisfactoryinlive(band)situations,butforrecording,
soloplayingandincertaininstrumentationstheymayworkverywell**.
Anothervintagehypeisabouteffectpedals,so-calledstompboxes.Allguitar
effectsusedtobeseparatepedalsormachines.Onecouldseeguitaristcarrying
aheavytaperecorder-likeanaloguedelaysystemtotheirgigs.Theseseperate
pedalshavealwaysbeenthereandtheyallhavetheirownsoundquality.And
certain desirable sounds are only to be found in the exact make-up of certain
period instruments. Nowadays, many guitarists prefer the practicality of the
multi-effectsprocessor.
Theyincorporateseveraleffectsinonemachine.Thebettermulti-effectsproces-
sorshavemanypossibilitiesforadjustingvariouseffectsparameters,forchan-
gingtheorderofthedifferenteffects,andforcontrollingseveralparametersin
real-timewiththefoot,viaaso-calledexpressionpedal.BysendingMIDIpro-
gramchangesfromapedalboard(whichcontainsthreetotenfootswitches),
completelydifferenttonal/acousticsettingscanproceedoneanotherinanin-
stant.Themixbetweenoriginalsignalandeffect-signalmayalsobeadjustedin
real-timeonsomeunits,viaanexpressionpedal.Itistruethatthesoundquality
oftheeffectsusedinamulti-effectsunitmaydeviatefromthequalityofseparate
effectboxes(pedals).Ofcourse,everymachineisdifferent,hasadvantages
and disadvantages, but the composer normally can expect the performer to
haveaccesstoatleastsomekindofmulti-effectsprocessor.
5. adding tones
harmonizing/pitch shifting/
detuning
sound example 26: octaver
sound example 27: harmonizer
sound example 28: detuning
effect gear and new
developments
*Electricguitars,effectpedalsandampliferschangemuchfasterintheirdesignandlooksthanforexampleviolins
andgrandpianos.Theyarepartlyevensubjecttofashion-hypes.Therefore,itisnotsurprisingthatthewordvintage,
alsousedforselectedsecondhandclothes,isusedforoldguitarsandsuch,thatarenolongerinproduction,or
nowadaysoflessqualitythantheirfrstgenerations,madedecadesago.Thevintagebusinessispartlyaboutquality
ofsoundandpartlyaboutfashion.
**alsoseenewmediainpart2ofthisbook.
