Stringed Instruments & Amps
Goals
- Become familiar with more of the resources on the Sweetwater website
- Learn about stringed instruments, transducers, tubes vs. solid state, impedance, DI boxes, effects pedals, and signal path
- Begin to increase your capacity to learn and incorporate new knowledge
Study
- Start with the theory lesson for this week on stringed instruments, transducers, tubes vs. solid state, impedance, DI boxes, effects pedals, and signal path. One of the most important parts of your education is learning signal flow. A transducer is a device that changes energy from one form to another. Look at the diagrams showing the signal flow in connections between microphones, guitars, and amps.
- Get a copy of the Sweetwater ProGear catalog on paper, as an app, or as a PDF of the whole catalog or just the section on guitars and related products.
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Read the section on stringed instruments (Electric Guitars, Practice Tools, Acoustic Guitars, Acoustic Nylon-string Guitars, Travel Guitars, Acoustic Specialty Instruments, Bass Guitars, Guitar Pickups and Speakers, Electric Guitar Amps, Guitar Amp Modeling, Electric Guitar Multi-effects, Electric Guitar Effects Pedals, Guitar Synth and MIDI, Acoustic Guitar Amps, Acoustic Guitar Effects Pedals, Bass Guitar Amps, Bass Guitar Effects Pedals, Bass Guitar Multi-effects, iOS Guitar & Recording Gear, Guitar Cases, Guitar Pedalboards, Guitar Accessories, Guitar Strings, Guitar Tuners) in the ProGear guide. Pick two companies to write case studies about—one for guitars and another for amps. Look up any terminology you don't understand in the Sweetwater Glossary. If you're in the class, register your choice on the web page we started last week so that someone else doesn't pick the same companies.
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Look up the companies that you've chosen to write case studies about in the index and check out all their products in the ProGear guide.
- Read the buying guides for guitars and basses.
- Watch some of the videos about products from the companies that you're going to write case studies about.
- Read some of the reviews about products from the companies that you're going to write case studies about.
- Read the stringed instruments and amps section in the guide a second time while making some 3X5" flash cards about their products and terminology that you think are the most important.
Assignment
- If you don't have a copy of the Sweetwater ProGear guide yet, get a paper copy or download it.
- Write two case studies, one on a company that makes guitars, and another on one that makes guitar amps. If you're enrolled in the class, see Blackboard for details.
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