105-681: The Gizmo , also called the Gizmotron , is an effects device for the electric guitar and bass guitar . It was invented in 1969 and patented by the English rock musicians Kevin Godley and Lol Creme in 1975, whilst they were members of the British rock group 10cc . Taped or permanently attached to the body of an instrument, the Gizmotron uses small, motor driven plastic/rubber wheels to make
210-466: A monaural signal. Many guitars with active electronics use a jack with an extra contact normally used for stereo . These guitars use the extra contact to break the ground connection to the on-board battery to preserve battery life when the guitar is unplugged. These guitars require a mono plug to close the internal switch and connect the battery to ground. Standard guitar cables use a high-impedance 1 ⁄ 4 inch (6.35 mm) mono plug. These have
315-400: A vibrato embellishment. A plastic pickguard on some guitars protects the body from scratches or covers the control cavity, which holds most of the wiring. The degree to which the choice of woods and other materials in the solid-guitar body (3) affects the sonic character of the amplified signal is disputed. Many believe it is highly significant, while others think the difference between woods
420-525: A United States patent for an Electrical Stringed Musical Instrument and the patent was later issued in 1937. By the time it was patented, other manufacturers were already making their own electric guitar designs. Early electric guitar manufacturers include Rickenbacker in 1932; Dobro in 1933; National, AudioVox and Volu-tone in 1934; Vega , Epiphone (Electrophone and Electar), and Gibson in 1935 and many others by 1936. By early-mid 1935, Electro String Instrument Corporation had achieved success with
525-590: A built-in system to electrically amplify their output without altering their tone as an alternative to using a separate microphone. The system may consist of piezoelectric pickups mounted under the bridge, or a low-mass microphone (usually a condenser mic) inside the body of the guitar that converts the vibrations in the body into electronic signals. Combinations of these types of pickups may be used, with an integral mixer/preamp/graphic equalizer. Such instruments are called electric acoustic guitars . They are regarded as acoustic guitars rather than electric guitars because
630-507: A fixed bridge or a spring-loaded hinged bridge , which lets players "bend" the pitch of notes or chords up or down, or perform vibrato effects. The sound of an electric guitar can be modified by new playing techniques such as string bending , tapping , and hammering-on , using audio feedback , or slide guitar playing. There are several types of electric guitar. Early forms were hollow-body semi-acoustic guitars , while solid body guitars developed later. String configurations include
735-576: A folding neck called the "Foldaxe" was designed and built for Chet Atkins by Roger C. Field . Steinberger guitars developed a line of exotic, carbon fiber instruments without headstocks, with tuning done on the bridge instead. Fingerboards vary as much as necks. The fingerboard surface usually has a cross-sectional radius that is optimized to accommodate finger movement for different playing techniques. Fingerboard radius typically ranges from nearly flat (a very large radius) to radically arched (a small radius). The vintage Fender Telecaster , for example, has
840-586: A glossy magazine for UMIST graduates called Mainstream . In 2004, at the time of the university merger, the UMIST Association also merged with its equivalent organisation at the Victoria University of Manchester. This step was taken after minimal consultation with its membership. From that point on, there was no official association specifically for past UMIST students or staff. However, the growth of social networking websites has allowed
945-428: A guitar amplifier and speaker. When an electric guitar is played, string movement produces a signal by generating (i.e., inducing ) a small electric current in the magnetic pickups, which are magnets wound with coils of very fine wire. The signal passes through the tone and volume circuits to the output jack, and through a cable to an amplifier . The current induced is proportional to such factors as string density and
1050-484: A guitar to produce violin -like sounds (this was some years before the development of digital sampling ). Other Godley & Creme albums featuring the Gizmo include L and Freeze Frame . The device, a small enclosure attached to the guitar, consists of small motor-driven wheels with serrated edges to match the size of each string. The continuous bowing action is activated by pressing one or all of keys located on
1155-608: A gymnasium in the main building, the large assembly hall, the MUTECH playing fields and the Sugden Sports Centre (jointly owned by UMIST and the Metropolitan University and opened in 1998). The director of sport administered the facilities, recreation classes and inter-departmental competitions. The athletic union was responsible for administering the grant-aided clubs and inter-varsity teams. During
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#17327912441441260-519: A hard, polymerized finish. Strings vibrating in the magnetic field of the pickups (3.1, 3.2) produce an electric current in the pickup winding that passes through the tone and volume controls (3.8) to the output jack. Some guitars have piezo pickups, in addition to or instead of magnetic pickups. Some guitars have a fixed bridge (3.4). Others have a spring-loaded hinged bridge called a vibrato bar , tremolo bar , or whammy bar , which lets players bend notes or chords up or down in pitch or perform
1365-545: A merger of equals, that it was effectively a takeover of UMIST by Manchester University and that this was not in UMIST's best interests. Until the late 1980s, UMIST's official alumni organisation was called the Manchester Technology Association, a name which was a relic of UMIST's past incarnation as 'The Tech'. The organisation's name was then updated to become the UMIST Association. It published
1470-658: A neck-through design is difficult or even impossible to repair, depending on the damage. Historically, the bolt-on style has been more popular for ease of installation and adjustment. Since bolt-on necks can be easily removed, there is an after-market in replacement bolt-on necks from companies such as Warmoth and Mighty Mite. Some instruments—notably most Gibson models—continue to use set-in glued necks. Neck-through bodies are somewhat more common in bass guitars. Materials for necks are selected for dimensional stability and rigidity, and some allege that they influence tone. Hardwoods are preferred, with maple , mahogany , and ash topping
1575-668: A new single University of Manchester . Terry Leahy , CEO of Tesco and alumnus was the last Chancellor of UMIST, and the Vice-Chancellor was a chemical engineer, John Garside . The merged university undertook a massive expansion and a £350 million capital investment programme in new buildings. Some, such as the Alan Turing Building , house merged departments such as the School of Mathematics . The estates plan, published in 2007, indicates an intention to sell
1680-733: A number of former UMIST teaching buildings, including the Moffat Building, the Maths and Social Sciences Tower, the Morton Building and the Fairbairn Building, as well as formerly UMIST-owned halls of residence including Hardy Farm, Chandos Hall, Wright-Robinson Hall and Weston Hall. The original UMIST Main Building is not included in this list. Covenants restrict it to educational use. No plans have been announced for
1785-561: A politician who in 2006 became Foreign Secretary. The later 20th century saw UMIST diminishing its formal connections with Manchester University. In 1994 most of the remaining institutional ties with the Victoria University of Manchester were severed, as new legislation allowed UMIST to become a fully autonomous university with powers to award its own degrees. UMIST, together with the Victoria University of Manchester ceased to exist on 1 October 2004, when they were combined in
1890-429: A result, the wheels and arms of all Musitronics Gizmotrons become brittle and disintegrate even in "like new" unopened boxes. Other guitar effects have since been used to create sustained tones, but because of the Gizmotron's mechanical nature and physics involved, electronics alone have not been able to replicate the sound. In 2013, Aaron Kipness, a vintage keyboard specialist and restoration parts manufacturer, assembled
1995-434: A rhythm guitarist and a lead guitarist. Many experiments with electrically amplifying the vibrations of a string instrument were made dating back to the early part of the 20th century. Patents from the 1910s show telephone transmitters were adapted and placed inside violins and banjos to amplify the sound. Hobbyists in the 1920s used carbon button microphones attached to the bridge ; however, these detected vibrations from
2100-423: A semi-acoustic tone (see below) or both. Semi-acoustic guitars have a hollow body similar to an acoustic guitar and electromagnetic pickups mounted directly into the body. They work in a similar way to solid-body electric guitars except that because the hollow body also vibrates, the pickups convert a combination of string and body vibration into an electrical signal. Many models, known as semi-hollow bodies, have
2205-418: A single block of wood, semi-acoustic guitar bodies are made from multiple pieces of wood in an archtop form, a method of construction different from the typical steel string acoustic guitar . The top is formed from a moderately thick piece of wood which is then carved into a thin outward-curving shape, whereas conventional acoustic guitars have a thin, flat top. Some steel-string acoustic guitars include
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#17327912441442310-487: A small team of engineers to design a new and improved version of the Gizmotron using modern materials and manufacturing methods. Gizmotron LLC was subsequently formed and on February 3, 2016, the Gizmotron 2.0 was released. The innovations made to Godley and Creme's original design were substantial enough that Kipness was awarded a US Patent (9,997,144) for the Gizmotron 2.0. The Musitronics and Prototype Gizmotron can be heard on: Electric guitar An electric guitar
2415-570: A solid block running through the middle of the soundbox designed to reduce acoustic feedback. They do not provide enough acoustic volume for live performance, but they can be used unplugged for quiet practice. Semi-acoustic guitars are noted for being able to provide a sweet, plaintive, or funky tone. They are used in many genres, including jazz, blues, funk , sixties pop, and indie rock . They generally have cello-style F-shaped sound holes , which can be blocked off to further reduce feedback. Whereas chambered guitars are made, like solid-body guitars, from
2520-429: A string to achieve the purest tone. Improper set-up of these wheels meant either a lack of tone, or — usually in the case of over-eager amateur or impatient guitarists — an undesirably harsh tone caused by wheels being forced too tightly against the strings. Using the Gizmotron required that guitarists modify their playing techniques to use only a very light touch when pressing the keys. Specific and repeated instructions in
2625-399: A tip and sleeve configuration referred to as a TS phone connector . The voltage is usually around 1 to 9 millivolts . A few guitars, such as Rickenbacker guitars equipped with Rick-O-Sound , feature stereo output. There are a variety of ways the "stereo" effect may be implemented. Commonly, but not exclusively, stereo guitars route the neck and bridge pickups to separate output buses on
2730-405: A top so heavily reinforced that it essentially functioned as a solid-body instrument. Unlike acoustic guitars, solid-body electric guitars have no vibrating soundboard to amplify string vibration. Instead, solid-body instruments depend on electric pickups, and an amplifier ("amp") and speaker . The solid body ensures that the amplified sound reproduces the string vibration alone, thus avoiding
2835-687: A triple single-coil guitar. The history of electric guitars has been summarized by Guitar World magazine, and the earliest electric guitar on their top 10 list is the Ro-Pat-In Electro A-25 "Frying Pan" (1932) described as "The first-fully functioning solid-body electric guitar to be manufactured and sold". It was the first electric guitar used in a publicly promoted performance, performed by Gage Brewer in Wichita, Kansas in October 1932. The most recent electric guitar on this list
2940-590: A typical small radius of approximately 7.25 inches (18.4 cm). Some manufacturers have experimented with fret profile and material, fret layout, number of frets, and modifications of the fingerboard surface for various reasons. Some innovations were intended to improve playability by ergonomic means, such as Warmoth Guitars' compound radius fingerboard. Scalloped fingerboards added enhanced microtonality during fast legato runs. Fanned frets intend to provide each string with an optimal playing tension and enhanced musicality. Some guitars have no frets , while others, like
3045-409: A way to reduce or counter the sound, as they are designed to "buck" (in the verb sense of oppose or resist ) the hum, hence their name. The high combined inductance of the two coils also leads to the richer, "fatter" tone associated with humbucking pickups. Electric guitar necks vary in composition and shape. The primary metric of guitar necks is the scale length , which is the vibrating length of
3150-409: A wood post with a neck attached and two hollow-body halves attached to the sides for appearance only — shares nothing in common for design or hardware with the solid-body Gibson Les Paul , designed by Ted McCarty and introduced in 1952. The feedback associated with amplified hollow-bodied electric guitars was understood long before Paul's "log" was created in 1940; Gage Brewer's Ro-Pat-In of 1932 had
3255-563: Is a Grade II* listed building . In 1883 secretary of the institution John Henry Reynolds reorganised the institution as a technical school using the schemes and examinations of the City and Guilds of London Institute . A new building was begun in 1895 and opened by the Prime Minister Arthur Balfour in October 1902. On the site previously had been cheap crowded inner-city housing occupied by Irish immigrants. This
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3360-457: Is a guitar that requires external electric sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar . It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals , which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers . The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities via amplifier settings or knobs on
3465-445: Is capable of a multitude of sounds and styles in genres ranging from pop and rock to folk to country music , blues and jazz . It served as a major component in the development of electric blues , rock and roll , rock music , heavy metal music and many other genres of music. Electric guitar design and construction varies greatly in the shape of the body and the configuration of the neck, bridge, and pickups. Guitars may have
3570-558: Is made of solid wood, without functionally resonating air spaces. The first solid-body Spanish standard guitar was offered by Vivi-Tone no later than 1934. This model featured a guitar-shaped body of a single sheet of plywood affixed to a wood frame. Another early, substantially solid Spanish electric guitar, called the Electro Spanish, was marketed by the Rickenbacker guitar company in 1935 and made of Bakelite . By 1936,
3675-530: Is now part of Manchester Metropolitan University , and in 1966 the name finally changed to the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology on the initiative of Acting Principal Frank Morton . UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester retained close ties for the second half of the 20th century, with UMIST students being awarded, or having the choice of, a University of Manchester degree until full autonomy. In 1994 UMIST finally achieved
3780-406: Is often used in two roles: as a rhythm guitar , which plays the chord sequences or progressions , and riffs , and sets the beat (as part of a rhythm section ); and as a lead guitar , which provides instrumental melody lines, melodic instrumental fill passages, and solos . In a small group, such as a power trio , one guitarist may switch between both roles; in larger groups there is often
3885-418: Is subtle. In acoustic and archtop guitars, wood choices more clearly affect tone. Woods typically used in solid-body electric guitars include alder (brighter, but well rounded), swamp ash (similar to alder, but with more pronounced highs and lows), mahogany (dark, bassy, warm), poplar (similar to alder), and basswood (very neutral). Maple , a very bright tonewood , is also a popular body wood but
3990-788: Is the western end of the Sackville Street Building , until 2005 known as the UMIST Main Building, pictured above, a Grade II listed building by Spalding and Cross with Renaissance motifs of Burmantofts terracotta . By this time the institution was called the Manchester Municipal School of Technology or fondly known as the Tech. As a project of the Manchester City Council it includes in the decoration many portrayals of
4095-450: Is very heavy. For this reason, it is often placed as a "cap" on a guitar made primarily of another wood. Cheaper guitars are often made of cheaper woods, such as plywood , pine , or agathis —not true hardwoods—which can affect durability and tone. Though most guitars are made of wood, any material may be used. Materials such as plastic, metal, and even cardboard have been used in some instruments. The guitar output jack typically provides
4200-754: The Gibson SG used by Angus Young from the group AC/DC . Some otherwise solid-bodied guitars, such as the Gibson Les Paul Supreme, the PRS Singlecut, and the Fender Telecaster Thinline , are built with hollow chambers in the body. These chambers are designed to not interfere with the critical bridge and string anchor point on the solid body. In the case of Gibson and PRS, these are called chambered bodies . The motivation for this may be to reduce weight, to achieve
4305-523: The Gittler guitar , have no neck in the traditional sense. University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology ( UMIST ) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 October 2004, it amalgamated with
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4410-805: The Industrial Revolution when a group of Manchester businessmen and industrialists met in a public house , the Bridgewater Arms, to establish the Mechanics' Institute in Manchester , where artisans could learn basic science, particularly mechanics and chemistry . Hundreds of such institutions were founded in towns and cities throughout the country and while many of the fine Victorian buildings built to house them remain, Manchester's alone survived as an independent institution serving some of its original educational aims throughout
4515-673: The Slingerland company introduced a wooden solid-body electric model, the Slingerland Songster 401 (and a lap steel counterpart, the Songster 400). Gibson's first production electric guitar, marketed in 1936, was the ES-150 model ("ES" for "Electric Spanish", and "150" reflecting the $ 150 price of the instrument, along with matching amplifier). The ES-150 guitar featured a single-coil, hexagonally shaped "bar" pickup, which
4620-741: The University Grants Committee . The process of independence from the city was completed on 1 August 1956 when the Manchester Corporation transferred the assets of the Manchester Municipal College of Technology to the new college, with the principal of the municipal college becoming the first principal of the university college on the same day. By 1966 all non-degree courses were moved to the Manchester School of Design which
4725-500: The Victoria University of Manchester (commonly called the University of Manchester) to produce a new entity called the University of Manchester . UMIST gained its royal charter in 1956 and became a fully autonomous university in 1994. Previously its degrees were awarded by the Victoria University of Manchester. The UMIST motto was Scientia et Labore (By Knowledge and Work). The foundation of UMIST can be traced to 1824 during
4830-409: The six-string guitar (the most common type), which is usually tuned E, A, D, G, B, E, from lowest to highest strings; the seven-string guitar , which typically adds a low B string below the low E; the eight-string guitar , which typically adds a low E or F# string below the low B; and the twelve-string guitar , which has six two-string courses similar to a mandolin . In rock, the electric guitar
4935-612: The strings vibrate, yielding resonant, synthesizer -like sounds from each string, similar to a hurdy-gurdy . The device was famously used by Jimmy Page on parts of the Led Zeppelin album In Through the Out Door . Musitronics , the company originally licensed to manufacture the commercial version of the Gizmotron, released the product to the public in 1979. Quality was inconsistent. According to Musitronics engineer Mike Beigel, "The product, though desired by many musicians at
5040-418: The wolf tones and unwanted feedback associated with amplified acoustic guitars. These guitars are generally made of hardwood covered with a hard polymer finish, often polyester or lacquer. In large production facilities, the wood is stored for three to six months in a wood-drying kiln before being cut to shape. Premium custom-built guitars are frequently made with much older , hand-selected wood. One of
5145-589: The "Frying Pan", and set out to capture a new audience through its release of the Electro-Spanish Model B and the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts , which was the first full 25-inch scale electric guitar ever produced. The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was revolutionary for its time, providing players a full 25-inch scale, with easy access to 17 frets free of the body. Unlike other lap-steel electrified instruments produced during
5250-452: The 20th century. The meeting, convened by George William Wood on 7 April 1824, was attended by prominent members of the science and engineering community, including: A committee was elected to realise the planned institution, including Wood, Fairbairn, Heywood, Roberts and John Davies and the institute opened in 1825 with Heywood as chairman. However, the institute's intentions were paternal and no democratic control by its students
5355-610: The Broadcaster. Another notable solid-body design is the Fender Stratocaster , which was introduced in 1954 and became extremely popular among musicians in the 1960s and 1970s for its wide tonal capabilities and more comfortable ergonomics than other models. Different styles of guitar have different pick-up styles, the main being 2 or 3 " single-coil " pick-ups or a double humbucker , with the Stratocaster being
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#17327912441445460-533: The Gizmo after they had left 10cc. The Gizmo's ability to create a wide range of sounds was central to the production of Godley and Creme 's first post-10cc project, the 1977 triple concept album , Consequences . Godley and Creme left 10cc to create Consequences which was intended to be a promotional album to market the "Gizmo". According to Paul Gambaccini 's sleeve notes for Consequences , 10cc were unable to afford an orchestra for their early albums, so Creme and Godley imagined an effects unit that would enable
5565-520: The Gizmotron owner's manual stress this. In the Musitronics version of the Gizmotron, an improper set-up resulted in a quick wearing down of the wheels for which there were no replacements — the wheels were not removable from the arm attachments. Musitronics Gizmotron wheels were expensive and problematic to produce. Musitronics created a separate division, Gizmo Inc., to produce the Gizmotron and solve its problems. Deeply in debt and unable to raise
5670-530: The Readers' Digest. A prominent feature of the student calendar from the 1960s onwards was the Bogle Stroll . This was a 55-mile-long (89 km) sponsored walk for charity which was held annually during Rag Week . Each year, hundreds of students followed the circular route which started and finished at the UMIST campus. The tradition continues at the University of Manchester. Sports facilities included
5775-577: The Tech become the Faculty of Technology of the Victoria University of Manchester , allowing the award of BSc and MSc degrees. The principal of the School of Technology was now also dean of the faculty and an ex officio member of the university's senate. After the recent merger with Victoria University of Manchester the UMIST Main Building was renamed as the Sackville St. Building. In 1918,
5880-449: The amount of movement over the pickups. Because of their natural qualities, magnetic pickups tend to pick up ambient, usually unwanted electromagnetic interference or EMI. This mains hum results in a tone of 50 or 60 cycles per second depending on the powerline frequency of the local alternating current supply. The resulting hum is particularly strong with single-coil pickups. Double-coil or " humbucker " pickups were invented as
5985-633: The back of the guitar by metal ferrules . Many believe this design improves a guitar's sustain and timbre . A few examples of string-through body guitars are the Fender Telecaster Thinline , the Fender Telecaster Deluxe , the B.C. Rich IT Warlock and Mockingbird, and the Schecter Omen 6 and 7 series. Compared to an acoustic guitar, which has a hollow body, electric guitars make much less audible sound when their strings are plucked, so electric guitars are normally plugged into
6090-418: The body at the base of the guitar. These appear on Rickenbackers , Gretsches , Epiphones , a wide variety of archtop guitars , particularly jazz guitars , and the 1952 Gibson Les Paul. Pictured is a tremolo arm or vibrato tailpiece - style bridge and tailpiece system, often called a whammy bar or trem . It uses a lever ("vibrato arm") attached to the bridge that can temporarily slacken or tighten
6195-430: The body. Set-in necks are glued to the body at the factory. This is the traditional type of joint. Leo Fender pioneered bolt-on necks on electric guitars to facilitate easy adjustment and replacement. Neck-through instruments extend the neck to the length of the instrument so that it forms the center of the body. While a set-in neck can be carefully unglued by a skilled luthier , and a bolt-on neck can simply be unscrewed,
6300-555: The bridge on top of the instrument, resulting in a weak signal. Electric guitars were originally designed by acoustic guitar makers and instrument manufacturers. The demand for amplified guitars began during the big band era; as orchestras increased in size, guitar players soon realized the necessity in guitar amplification and electrification. The first electric guitars used in jazz were hollow archtop acoustic guitar bodies with electromagnetic transducers . The first electrically amplified stringed instrument to be marketed commercially
6405-544: The city's coat of arms . As befits its roots in the early chemical industry of the region the Tech had pioneered chemical engineering as an academic subject in Britain, indeed the lectures by George E. Davis in 1888 were highly influential in defining the discipline. Similarly in the 1920s it pioneered academic training in management, with the formation of a Department of Industrial Administration funded by an endowment from asbestos magnate Sir Samuel Turner . In 1905,
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#17327912441446510-546: The closer the fret spacing. Opinions vary regarding the effect of scale length on tone and feel. Popular opinion holds that longer scale length contributes to greater amplitude . Reports of playing feel are greatly complicated by the many factors involved in this perception. String gauge and design, neck construction and relief, guitar setup, playing style, and other factors contribute to the subjective impression of playability or feel. Necks are described as bolt-on , set-in , or neck-through , depending on how they attach to
6615-479: The development of a number of unofficial UMIST alumni groups in cyberspace, particularly on Facebook. The UMIST alumni group on LinkedIn has over 6,500 members and has a sub-group for each of UMIST's academic departments. UMIST moved to its present location just south of Manchester city centre at the end of the 19th century. The Main Building (now called the Sackville Street Building )
6720-399: The different parts of an electric guitar. The headstock (1) contains the metal machine heads (1.1), which use a worm gear for tuning. The nut (1.4)—a thin fret-like strip of metal, plastic, graphite, or bone—supports the strings at the headstock end of the instrument. The frets (2.3) are thin metal strips that stop the string at the correct pitch when the player pushes a string against
6825-538: The effects of different woods or materials on the electric guitar sound. Several neck shapes appear on guitars, including shapes known as C necks, U necks, and V necks. These refer to the cross-sectional shape of the neck (especially near the nut). Several sizes of fret wire are available, with traditional players often preferring thin frets, and metal shredders liking thick frets. Thin frets are considered better for playing chords, while thick frets allow lead guitarists to bend notes with less effort. An electric guitar with
6930-467: The electric guitar was adopted by jazz guitar players, who wanted to play single-note guitar solos in large big band ensembles. Early proponents of the electric guitar on record include Les Paul , Eddie Durham , George Barnes , Lonnie Johnson , Sister Rosetta Tharpe , T-Bone Walker , and Charlie Christian . During the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar became the most important instrument in popular music . It has evolved into an instrument that
7035-420: The fingerboard. The truss rod (1.2) is a metal rod (usually adjustable) that counters the tension of the strings to keep the neck straight. Position markers (2.2) provide the player with a reference to the playing position on the fingerboard. The neck and fretboard (2.1) extend from the body. At the neck joint (2.4), the neck is either glued or bolted to the body. The body (3) is typically made of wood with
7140-432: The first improvements on the vibrato system in many years when, in the late 1970s, he experimented with "locking" nuts and bridges that prevent the guitar from losing tuning, even under heavy vibrato bar use. The fourth type of system employs string-through body anchoring. The strings pass over the bridge saddles, then through holes through the top of the guitar body to the back. The strings are typically anchored in place at
7245-432: The first solid-body guitars was invented by Les Paul . Gibson did not present their Gibson Les Paul guitar prototypes to the public, as they did not believe the solid-body style would catch on. Another early solid-body Spanish style guitar, resembling what would become Gibson's Les Paul guitar a decade later, was developed in 1941 by O.W. Appleton, of Nogales, Arizona. Appleton made contact with both Gibson and Fender but
7350-641: The founding of what is now the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester . Famous alumni include Nobel Laureate in nuclear physics Sir John Cockcroft , aeroplane pioneer Sir Arthur Whitten Brown , and designer of the Lancaster bomber Roy Chadwick , while famous academics include mathematicians Louis Joel Mordell , Hanna Neumann , Lewis Fry Richardson and Robin Bullough , and the physicist Henry Lipson . Other notable alumni include Margaret Beckett ,
7455-410: The funding necessary to continue operations, due largely to a failed Musitronics marketing deal with ARP Instruments , Gizmo Inc. declared bankruptcy in 1981, shortly after its president, Aaron Newman, suffered a heart attack. Today, intact and working Musitronics Gizmotrons are virtually non-existent. The wheels and arm attachments were made of a plastic ( Delrin ) that cracks and weakens over time. As
7560-926: The guitar. A stereo cable then routes each pickup to its signal chain or amplifier. For these applications, the most popular connector is a high-impedance 1 ⁄ 4 inch (6.35 mm) plug with a tip, ring, and sleeve configuration, also known as a TRS phone connector . Some studio instruments, notably certain Gibson Les Paul models, incorporate a low- impedance three-pin XLR connector for balanced audio . Many exotic arrangements and connectors exist that support features such as midi and hexaphonic pickups. The bridge and tailpiece , while serving separate purposes, work closely together to affect playing style and tone. There are four basic types of bridge and tailpiece systems on electric guitars. Within these four types are many variants. A hard-tail guitar bridge anchors
7665-404: The guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb , distortion and "overdrive" ; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music and jazz , rock and heavy metal guitar playing. Designs also exist combining attributes of electric and acoustic guitars: the semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars. Invented in 1932 by Johannes Isaac,
7770-487: The institute. By 1840, the institute was established with 1,000 subscribers and a library of some 5,500 books. However, the increased popularity had been somewhat at the cost of science education as more and more lectures on non-scientific subjects were occupying its programmes. The institute occupied a building on Cooper Street (near the present St Peter's Square ) and later moved to its present site on David Street (later renamed Princess Street ). This still stands and
7875-478: The institution changed name again to Manchester Municipal College of Technology. By 1949 over 8500 students were enrolled, however most still studying non-degree courses. The appointment of B. V. Bowden (later Lord Bowden) in 1953 marked the beginning of a phase of expansion. On 29 July 1955 the institute received its own Royal Charter incorporating it as a university college under the name Manchester College of Science and Technology, and became separately funded by
7980-450: The instrument retain the natural decay of a note rather than the sharp cut-off often experienced with an electronic synthesizer. Godley and Creme used only the original prototype Gizmotron in 10cc recordings. Musitronics offered two versions of the Gizmotron to the public; one for guitar and one for bass. Ultimately, few Musitronics Gizmotrons were made; bass versions were produced in a much larger quantity than guitar versions. A fault with
8085-415: The last quarter of the 20th century UMIST established a reputation as a major research-based university, performing well in the government's Research Assessment Exercise in 2001, and was well placed in various league tables. UMIST has won four Queen's Prizes for Higher and Further Education, two Prince of Wales' Awards for Innovation and two Queen's Award for Export Achievement . UMIST was instrumental in
8190-583: The library so that it extended over more floors and some of the academic departments were relocated (1986-1987). Upon completion it was given the name of Joule Library. In the 1960s the institution expanded rapidly to the south, growing from a single large building to an entire campus. Around a dozen modern buildings were constructed on the other side of the railway viaduct from the Main Building. The new edifices were designed by leading Manchester architects and were all built out of concrete. They included
8295-649: The list. The neck and fingerboard can be made from different materials; for example, a guitar may have a maple neck with a rosewood or ebony fingerboard. Today there are expensive and budget guitars exploring other options for fretboard wood for instance Pau-Ferro , both for availability and cheap price while still maintaining quality. In the 1970s, designers began to use exotic human-made materials such as aircraft-grade aluminum , carbon fiber , and ebonol . Makers known for these unusual materials include John Veleno , Travis Bean , Geoff Gould , and Alembic . Aside from possible engineering advantages, some feel that with
8400-423: The pickups do not produce a signal directly from the vibration of the strings, but rather from the vibration of the guitar top or body, and the amplification of the sound merely increases volume, not alters tone. Electric guitar design and construction vary greatly in the shape of the body and the configuration of the neck, bridge, and pickups. However, some features are present on most guitars. The photo below shows
8505-402: The press claimed that the merger had created a debt of £30 million, about 5% of the university's annual turnover, and that the university was aiming to tackle this debt by implementing 400 voluntary redundancies . The University and College Union accused the university of mismanagement and called for a halt to recruitment. Critics use these statistics to support the claim that it was not
8610-590: The project should be abandoned. Plagued with design and manufacturing problems, the Musitronics Gizmotron did not live up to expectations and was a commercial failure. Production of the Musitronics Gizmotron ended in 1981 when the manufacturer filed for bankruptcy. In March 2014, it was reported in Vintage Guitar Magazine that Aaron Kipness was working on plans to launch a new and improved Gizmotron 2.0. The Gizmotron 2.0 debuted at
8715-506: The prototype and Musitronics Gizmotron was that the wheels were affected by conditions such as humidity and temperature . Additionally, due to deficiencies in the design of these units, the wheels would either produce harmonics of their own that varied with the speed of the wheel, or would act as a secondary bridge and produce dissonant overtones, depending on the notes played. According to Kevin Godley, "Some days it sounded absolutely beautiful and other days it sounded like shit. Sometimes it
8820-592: The rising cost of rare tonewoods , human-made materials may be economically preferable and more ecologically sensitive. However, wood remains popular in production instruments, though sometimes in conjunction with new materials. Vigier guitars , for example, use a wooden neck reinforced by embedding a light, carbon fiber rod in place of the usual heavier steel bar or adjustable steel truss rod. After-market necks made entirely from carbon fiber fit existing bolt-on instruments. Few, if any, extensive formal investigations have been widely published that confirm or refute claims over
8925-557: The sale of any former Victoria University of Manchester buildings. Unions and some ex-UMIST staff and students have reacted angrily to the potential sales. In the estates strategy for 2010–2020 for the University of Manchester it is stated that essentially all of the former UMIST campus, described as the "area north of the Mancunian Way", is to be disposed of. Only the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology , which
9030-420: The status of an independent university with its own degree-awarding powers with the principal, Harold Hankins , becoming the principal and vice-chancellor. Until this time UMIST was the Faculty of Technology of the Victoria University of Manchester, an interesting situation because the University of Manchester also had its own science and engineering courses. Although academically part of the university, UMIST
9135-538: The strings at or directly behind the bridge and is fastened securely to the top of the instrument. These are common on carved-top guitars, such as the Gibson Les Paul and the Paul Reed Smith models , and on slab-body guitars, such as the Music Man Albert Lee and Fender guitars that are not equipped with a vibrato arm. A floating or trapeze tailpiece (similar to a violin 's) fastens to
9240-461: The strings from nut to bridge. A typical Fender guitar uses a 25.5-inch (65 cm) scale length, while Gibson uses a 24.75-inch (62.9 cm) scale length in their Les Paul . While the scale length of the Les Paul is often described as 24.75 inches, it has varied through the years by as much as a half inch. Frets are positioned proportionally to scale length—the shorter the scale length,
9345-668: The strings to alter the pitch . A player can use this to create a vibrato or a portamento effect. Early vibrato systems were often unreliable and made the guitar go out of tune easily. They also had a limited pitch range. Later Fender designs were better, but Fender held the patent on these, so other companies used older designs for many years. With the expiration of the Fender patent on the Stratocaster -style vibrato, various improvements on this type of internal, multi-spring vibrato system are now available. Floyd Rose introduced one of
9450-559: The students' unions. In fact, first year UMIST undergraduates were often placed into Manchester University halls of residence and vice versa. In the late 20th century, student life at UMIST centred on the Barnes Wallis Building, which was the home of the Students' Union (later known as the Students' Association), the main refectory and Harry's Bar. The main redbrick building contained a student self-service café, known as
9555-492: The summer NAMM show in 2015 and was released to the public in 2016. The Gizmo was first used on 10cc's instrumental "Gizmo My Way", a song arranged as a type of laid back beach music, where it appears as a slide guitar effect and sustained background effect. "Gizmo My Way" was the B-side to " The Wall Street Shuffle ", and appeared on 10cc's second album, Sheet Music (1974), which included more uses of The Gizmo, most notably on
9660-405: The time, simply could not be reliably manufactured and further – even at best – only worked on some notes of the instrument, guitar or bass." In a bid to solve problems with the Gizmotron, Musitronics hired Bob Moog to design an electronic device to "mask the inadequacies of the still unperfected product”. Moog gave his opinion that he did not know how to “make it sound good enough” and advised that
9765-592: The time, the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was designed to play while standing upright with the guitar on a strap, as with acoustic guitars. The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was also the first instrument to feature a hand-operated vibrato as a standard arrangement, a device called the "Vibrola", invented by Doc Kauffman . It is estimated that fewer than 50 Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts were constructed between 1933 and 1937; fewer than 10 are known to survive today. The solid-body electric guitar
9870-419: The top of the unit. Pressing a key allows the wheel to descend against a motor-driven shaft and bow the corresponding string, while the other hand remains free to fret single notes or full chords. John McConnell, a senior lecturer in physics at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), assisted Godley and Creme in the development of the prototype. He considered it critical that
9975-517: The track "Old Wild Men". Its presence is heard throughout most of the track as a unique shimmering background guitar effect. The Gizmo was also used on the Sheet Music track "Baron Samedi". The Gizmo continued to be used on 10cc's subsequent albums The Original Soundtrack (1975) and How Dare You! (1976) on the tracks "Blackmail", "Brand New Day", "How Dare You", "Lazy Ways", "Iceberg", and "Don't Hang Up". Godley and Creme continued to use
10080-693: The vibrations of the guitar strings into electrical signals, which could then be amplified. Commercial production began in late summer of 1932 by the Ro-Pat-In Corporation (Elect ro - Pat ent- In strument Company), in Los Angeles, a partnership of Beauchamp, Adolph Rickenbacker (originally Rickenbacher), and Paul Barth. In 1934, the company was renamed the Rickenbacker Electro Stringed Instrument Company. In that year Beauchamp applied for
10185-505: Was a cast aluminium lap steel guitar nicknamed the "Frying Pan" designed in 1931 by George Beauchamp , the general manager of the National Stringed Instrument Corporation , with Paul Barth, who was vice president. George Beauchamp, along with Adolph Rickenbacker , invented the electromagnetic pickups. Coils that were wrapped around a magnet would create an electromagnetic field that converted
10290-577: Was built in 2006, is exempted, whilst the fate of the former UMIST Main Building is left vague. The Faraday Building will be replaced by student accommodation and it is envisaged that the Engineering Schools will eventually be relocated to new buildings on the site of the present halls of residence in the Grosvenor Place area. This plan will, therefore, encompass the destruction of almost all of UMIST's physical legacy. In March 2007,
10395-479: Was designed by Walt Fuller. It became known as the " Charlie Christian " pickup (named for the jazz guitarist who was among the first to perform with the ES-150 guitar). The ES-150 achieved some popularity but suffered from unequal loudness across the six strings. A functioning solid-body electric guitar was designed and built in 1940 by Les Paul from an Epiphone acoustic archtop as an experiment. His " log guitar " —
10500-743: Was financially and administratively independent. Congregation ceremonies were held at the University of Manchester on Oxford Road, but in 1991 the first congregation ceremony was held in the Great Hall at UMIST itself in the Sackville Street Building. UMIST students were entitled to use the facilities of the Victoria University, including the John Rylands University Library at the Oxford Road site and sports facilities and social clubs organised by
10605-553: Was intended. In 1829, radical Rowland Detrosier led a breakaway group to form the New Mechanics' Institution in Poole Street, a move that had a serious effect on the recruitment and finances of the original institute. Subscriptions and memberships in 1830 and 1831 were an all-time low and only the gradual opening of the board up to election by the members rectified the situation. Detrosier's break away ultimately rejoined
10710-412: Was like a chainsaw, and sometimes it sounded like a cello and other times it varied between to two, so it was never a particularly stable piece of kit, but we persevered with it.” The severity of these problems could be minimized by adjusting the proximity of the wheels to the guitar strings with extreme precision. Adjustment was very time-consuming, where each wheel (and arm) is moved closer or farther to
10815-443: Was purpose-built between 1895 and 1902 by Spalding and Cross. Starting in 1927, plans were drawn up by the architects Bradshaw Gass & Hope for an extension which would approximately double the size of the original building. However, construction was delayed by the war and other factors, so that the extension was not fully completed until 1957. The latter firm were also responsible for internal alterations which enlarged and upgraded
10920-743: Was the Ibanez Jem (1987) which featured "24 frets", an impossibly thin neck" and was "designed to be the ultimate shredder machine". Numerous other important electric guitars are on the list, including Gibson ES-150 (1936), Fender Telecaster (1951), Gibson Les Paul (1952), Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet (1953), Fender Stratocaster (1954), Rickenbacker 360/12 (1964), Van Halen Frankenstrat (1975), Paul Reed Smith Custom (1985) many of these guitars were "successors" to earlier designs. Electric guitar designs eventually became culturally important and visually iconic, with various model companies selling miniature model versions of particularly famous electric guitars, for example,
11025-553: Was unable to sell the idea behind his "App" guitar to either company. In 1946, Merle Travis commissioned steel guitar builder Paul Bigsby to build him a solid-body Spanish-style electric. Bigsby delivered the guitar in 1948. The first mass-produced solid-body guitar was Fender Esquire and Fender Broadcaster (later to become the Fender Telecaster ), first made in 1950, five years after Les Paul made his prototype . The Gibson Les Paul appeared soon after to compete with
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