Rock Guitar And You

Some will argue that the basic element of Rock ‘n Roll is the guitar, others, that it’s the beat, and others still, that it’s in the attitude. While, all of these views have merit, the truth is, it’s none of them. Rock is a mixture of all of the three combined. Without one, it just falls apart. There are however, some keys to look for when deciding on a guitar for rock.

The guitar, in Rock ‘n Roll, is the voice. Not the voice of the lead singer
, that’s more of the attitude, but the voice or sound of the band, the feel, the pain or joy that’s in the song. Even if it’s a hard, driving, overloaded song style like thrash metal or punk rock, you still have to be able to play the chords clearly and purely, otherwise, it just sounds like mud. Make sure that the ‘action’, or the distance between the frets and the stings is not too high that your fingers get in the way of the strings, but yet, not so low that the strings are practically touching the tops of the frets. You want to find the right balance for your play style also. If you’re a soloist, and like to play high up on the neck of the guitar, ripping off to wicked solos and crazy riffs, then you’ll want the action on the strings to be very low, lower than normal, so you can get the note down, and move on, as fast as possible. But if you’re more in the background, or only play some mid-neck runs or chords, then you’re probably okay with a standard action. The difference, is that standard action settings, can sometimes get the strings higher away from the fret board the higher up the neck you go. If you’re playing mid-neck or basic chords, then it shouldn’t matter.


Don’t be afraid of the whammy (tremolli) bar. It’s there for a reason. Technically, it shortens the distance between the base of the strings in the body of the guitar, and the neck, therefore, throwing all the notes down a half-step or more, depending on how far down you press it. By practicing with the bar, you can usually get some pretty wild effects going with just your standard scales and the proper use of the bar.
Some Bars, bend backwards also, this, lengthens the distance to the neck and can make the notes go higher by a half-step or more. Although technically, it’s no different than pushing the bar lower, you are increasing the tension on the strings, and increasing the likely hood of a string breaking. They should be okay, but just make sure not to bend it up too far all at once. Strings can get expensive.


When stringing the guitar, or putting new strings on, if you have time, change all the strings at once, this is usually more cost effective. But don’t use old strings that you have taken off of another guitar, once they have been used, chuck them. After you’ve re-strung the guitar, tighten the strings until their tight, but not yet in tune, because if you tune new strings, they will fall out of tune even faster. Put just enough tension on them to make them stretch a bit. Then leave them for at least one night. The next day, you’ll notice that the strings are much looser than when you left it. The strings stretch, that’s what gives them their lifespan. Once the strings have stretched, then you can tighten them to tuning. Over the next couple of sessions you may notice that the guitar goes out of tune faster, that’s just more of the stretch. It’s just the breaking in period. And nothing to be concerned about.

The rest, is just practice and fancy moves. Don’t be afraid to push the guitar to it’s limits, and in turn, the guitar will push you back. Push your limits, that’s the only way to grow. The rewards are well worth it.