Guitar theory

[TabSel]

Not really Music theory, but Instrument Theory...:

How does a Guitar work?

I Know, Strings resonate, but then, how is the String Sound "picked up" for amping? Sounds silly, but i'd really like to understand this more, in order to somehow replicate the right processing chain.

For example: does it make sense, to have a RealGuitar2 nylon string acoustic guitar processed with some heavy amp and cabinet in Guitar Rig 4? Would this even be possible in the real world? How, technically? Or why not?

[pensaku]

Not really Music theory, but Instrument Theory...:

How does a Guitar work?

I Know, Strings resonate, but then, how is the String Sound "picked up" for amping? Sounds silly, but i'd really like to understand this more, in order to somehow replicate the right processing chain.

For example: does it make sense, to have a RealGuitar2 nylon string acoustic guitar processed with some heavy amp and cabinet in Guitar Rig 4? Would this even be possible in the real world? How, technically? Or why not?

It is possible to use RealGuitar2 with Guitar Rig 4. Just use DAW and select realguitar2 and put a guitar rig in the effect section....


AMP's are just sound manipulators. They amplify certain parts of frequencies and also they also distort certain parts they use reverb on it they delay it etc etc...

AMP's are not directly related to the string itself, only to the sound.



Oh hey... if you put nylon strings to the electric guitar... I googled it and then I read somebody already done that...

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[Lost_Highway]

so according to physics it does not make any sense to amplify an accoustic guitar with nylon strings but if you like the sound why not!

For traditional electric guitar pick-ups, you are correct. However, there are piezo-electric pick-ups, I think usually located under the bridge, which pick up the vibrations of the bridge and/or body, which are used in acoustic guitars (although those mostly use metal strings anyway) and classical (nylon strung) guitars.

Some of the on-board pre-amp/piezo pick-up systems also have a small microphone in the body cavity of the guitar, which can be blended with the piezo for a more realistic sound, as piezos tend to be a bit flat or plasticky sounding.

To the OP: there's two ways of looking at it. The first is to say "sod realism" and if the software lets you do stuff that real life wouldn't then just do it if you want to.

On the other hand, perhaps realism, or a semblance of it, is important to you. In this case, you could rationalise it by thinking that the nylon-strung guitar had a piezo pick-up (and the cranked amp was in a different room, otherwise you could have real problems with feedback). Of course, acoustic guitars of all types are usually mic'd and who's to say that you can't run the mic through an effects chain and distorted amp? That would be another way to rationalise it.

For example: does it make sense, to have a RealGuitar2 nylon string acoustic guitar processed with some heavy amp and cabinet in Guitar Rig 4? Would this even be possible in the real world?

So the answers are "yes if that produces the effect or sound you're after" and "yes, one way or another it would be possible in hardware".

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[jancivil]

you could get away with murder using a virtual classical guitar through heavy amplification that you would never begin to approach in acoustics in reality. The classical guitar's body is a type of amplifier, and the better that guitar the more problematic mic'ing it tends to become.

I don't think the sound of nylon strings lends itself terrifically well to a lot of boosting...