How did the guitar come about? How to choose a good guitar

A good guitar has clear sound quality, good sound transmission and ductility. The well-made, 8-shaped inward-bent body determines the unique sound resonance and instrument characteristics of the guitar, which is also the most significant feature of the guitar compared with other plucked instruments. Today we will trace the origin of the guitar so that we can have a better understanding of the guitar.

Contents of this article

1. What is the origin of the guitar?

2. How to choose a good guitar

3. How to adjust the tension of guitar strings

What is the origin of the guitar?

The ancestors of the guitar can be traced back to various ancient plucked instruments in Nefar, ancient Babylon and ancient Persia 2,000 to 3,000 years ago BC. The oldest instrument similar to the modern guitar found by archaeologists is the "Hittite guitar" on the ruins of the ancient Hittite city gate that lived in Asia Minor and northern Syria 1,400 years ago BC. The 8-shaped inward-bending body determines the unique sound resonance and instrument characteristics of the guitar, which has also become the most significant feature of the guitar and other plucked instruments. In Spain in the 13th century, the Spanish word guitar, which gradually evolved from Persian, had already been formed. Among the many types of instruments at that time, the "Moorish guitar" and "Latin guitar" had already appeared. Among them, the Moorish guitar has an oval body with a bulging back, uses metal strings, and has a rough playing style; the Latin guitar has an 8-shaped flat bottom structure similar to the modern guitar, uses sheep gut strings, and has an elegant style.

How to choose a good guitar

The selection of guitars can be judged by the material, appearance, production process and sound quality. You can hold the guitar under the light and observe it carefully. A good guitar is well-made, with standard cutting angles, complete and even paint spraying, and the parts of the body and neck fit tightly together. It is smooth and flat without roughness when gently touched with your hand.

Material and appearance:

First of all, the material used to make guitars is generally high-quality spruce or rosewood, and the tight wood grain of the guitar body is clearly visible. Secondly, check whether the paint is evenly sprayed, whether there are obvious scratches, and touch the panel with your hand to see if it is rough and uneven. In addition, the shape and type of the guitar should be selected according to your own preferences.

Inspection of components:

Pay attention to check whether the neck is bent, whether the angle is appropriate, whether the height of the bridge and the bridge is reasonable. Also, the height of the string distance. Generally, a guitar with a low string distance is easy to play, but it is not conducive to the propagation of sound and the sustain is relatively short. So not all guitars that are easy to play are good. It depends on the continuity of the sound.

Sound Quality:

A good guitar has clear sound quality, and the sound has good transmission and ductility. Of course, if you want to distinguish the quality of a guitar by its sound, it takes years of playing experience, and it is not something that can be learned in a day or two. We still have to compare all aspects to see whether the guitar is good or bad.

How to adjust the tension of guitar strings

The first and most common basic problem is that the guitar is not properly tight, resulting in inaccurate pitch. The strings can be loosened or tight by adjusting the 6 knobs on the guitar head. For example, tightening the knob clockwise will tighten the string, and vice versa.

The second guitar neck is deformed due to quality problems or long-term storage (wood is made of moisture or natural pressure, etc. can cause deformation). After deformation, the entire neck has an arc, which leads to different tension on the strings, resulting in loose or tight strings. The tightness of the strings can be changed by adjusting the curvature of the neck (except for practice guitars, there is usually a small hole under the neck in the guitar case for adjusting the curvature of the neck, which is adjusted with a special flower-shaped screwdriver. You can go to a music store and ask a teacher to adjust it).