Orchestral instruments are able use electronic technology, but doing so isn’t their normal way of operating.įor the electric guitarist, electronic technology (on-board electronics, amplifiers) is integral to its origin story, and that story has evolved over decades to include effects pedals and digitization. All instruments are pieces of technology that communicate thoughts and feelings originating in their players’ bodies.īut the electric guitar is the first musical instrument designed specifically to create sound by connecting to electronic technology outside of itself. This connection doesn’t by itself differ from connection between humans and other musical instruments. I described a connection in my last post between myself and the guitar. Mixed with the huge variety of guitar preparations, the guitar becomes an instrument capable of tremendous sonic possibility.Īnd it can be used this way for songwriting.

Preset creation is not limitless, but it’s extremely extensive. These are examples of what can be done with one preset and guitar preparations. In this example, you can clearly hear the guitar. Similiar to the knife strike, but with a different attack sound. Flicking stencil (weaving a plastic stencil between the strings, pulling it upwards and letting it go).

Knife strike (weaving a knife between the strings and striking it with metal)Ī bell-like sound with something that sounds like a distorted organ.It’s difficult to hear it as a guitar sound. This reminds me of an animal sound (a roar of some kind?) slowed down. With the recipe of preparations and effects preset that I’ve outlined here, I’m able to produce the following sounds: I’ve added a pitch pedal for more control, and a fuzz pedal when I want a grittier sound. Stacking a number of them like this creates a preset with a ton of harmonic possibilities. It uses single pitches or chords and can pitch shift them and sustain them. Resochord is a pitch modifier and harmonizer. The great thing about digital effects software (I’m using Guitar Rig 5) is that you can experiment with effects by “piling on.” This means using multiple iterations of the same effect just to see what happens. It can also be used to scrape the strings. The plastic stencil muffles the sound to a certain extent when the strings are activated the knife produces a sustained ringing sound when struck with wood or metal the stone cube with the metal stems muffles the sound, but in a different way than the stencil. Eliminating the associations that the guitar brings to mind allows listeners to experience the sound itself. Guitar preparation allows me to create sound that doesn’t suggest the sound of the guitar. Here’s one of the preparations that I use to get unconventional sounds from the guitar.

Melodic metal guitar rig 5 preset