As Boulderites we know, and are expected to know more about music than most. Home to Caribou Ranch, and to hundreds of world class electric guitar and bass players over the decades and centuries, we are immersed in guitar players! Complete List of Performers At Caribou Ranch

The origin of the sound of the electric guitar is a vibrating string.  The electronics, plus sweat, and smiles, and voila!   Jimi Hendrix meet Les Paul. Mr. Hendrix, Mr. Paul, please meet my friend Mr. Marshall!

At the top of this close up of Les Paul’s Les Paul 6 strings come down. They go across the pickups. Those are the two black horizontal bars under the strings just below the end of the neck. Pickups consist of little round magnet for each string, mounted inside a coil of wire. When a magnet moves in a wire coil, it generates electricity.  When the strings vibrate, the magnets vibrate. when the magnets vibrate inside the coil, electricity matching the string vibrations comes out of the coil. And happily, into a Marshall Stack.Strings To Sound! Vibrato To Volume! The Essence Of The Electric Guitar. model: Les Paul Personal

Between the coil’s tiny signal and the amplifier are the controls on the guitar for  tone, volume,pickup combinations, and anything else the imagination might desire.

The Iconic Marshall Amplifier, Best Known As A Stack Consists Of Two Speaker Cabs With four 12″ Speakers Each, Amplifier On Top

Look at the bottom of the guitar picture.  Short Version: The wammy bar can be used to make the guitar sound more like a slide guitar.

There’s a device the strings run through called the Bigsby tailpiece. The “Bigsby” is connected to its handle to the right. Move the handle and the strings are pulled on or pushed on, getting lower or higher. The handle, or wammy bar controls the lowering or raising of the strings, creating a recognizable effect like a steel slide guitar.

That’s all there is to it! Now go forth and strum <G>

Shared Knowledge Is Power

Leonard Frieling
  • Senior Counsel Emeritus to the Boulder Law firm Dolan + Zimmerman LLP : (720)-610-0951
  • Former Judge
  • Photographer of the Year, AboutBoulder 2023
  • First Chair and Originator of the Colorado Bar Association’s Cannabis Law Committee, a National first.
  • Previous Chair, Boulder Criminal Defense Bar (8 years)
  • Twice chair Executive Counsel, Colorado Bar Association Criminal Law Section
  • NORML Distinguished Counsel Circle
  • Life Member, NORML Legal Committee
  • Life Member, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar
  • Board Member Emeritus, Colorado NORML
  • Chair, Colorado NORML, 7 years including during the successful effort to legalize recreational pot in Colorado
  • Media work, including episodes of Fox’s Power of Attorney, well in excess of many hundreds media interviews, appearances, articles, and podcasts, including co-hosting Time For Hemp for two years.
  • Board member, Author, and Editor for Criminal Law Articles for the Colorado Lawyer, primary publication of the Colorado Bar Assoc. 7 Years, in addition to having 2 Colorado Lawyer cover photos, and numerous articles for the Colorado Lawyer monthly publication.
  • LEAP Speaker, multi-published author, University lectures Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Denver University Law School, Univ. of New Mexico, Las Vegas NM, and many other schools at all levels.
  • http://www.Lfrieling.com
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