Twang guitar
Twang guitar , guitar twang or short Twang [twæŋ] is an onomatopoeic ( onomatopoetisches ) portmanteau of American English. It is used as a musical term for a ringing guitar tone rich in overtones, which is usually produced on and with electric guitars . Various structural factors of the instrument used as well as the playing style of the guitarist are involved in the formation of such a tone, which is also called bell-light to sometimes sharp. The word twang as a musical term can be traced back to the 1950s, especially after the appearance of the first electric guitars with solid- body solid wood bodies.
Sound factors
To create the twang tone, the guitar strings are struck with a pick near the bridge . The tone is kept undamped for a short time and is often modulated with a stepless vibrato either by pulling the strings ( string bending ) or by using a tremolo lever . In addition, delaying sound effects such as reverb and / or echo are often used.
The main elements of the twang sound on the instrument side are a high proportion of overtones and a long decay of the note struck on the string (sustain) . A long sustain is achieved particularly well with solid body electric guitars; an electromagnetic pickup in a position near the instrument bridge is preferably used for the treble component . Another sound factor is the use of rather thin guitar strings.
Typical electric guitar models for the Twang are the Fender models Telecaster , Stratocaster and Jazzmaster as well as several models from US manufacturers Gretsch and Rickenbacker , including not only solid bodies but also semi-resonance guitars . This applies to the last two brands mentioned in particular because of the pickups characteristic of their instruments, which transmit the high frequencies of the sound particularly clearly. The inserted with the guitar guitar amplifier has the twang reproduce the task of the sound as clear and undistorted. In addition to other brands, various amplifier models from the US manufacturer Fender are particularly suitable for this .
Twang music styles and musicians
The musical styles in which guitar twang is preferred as a sound-shaping stylistic device include Country & Western , Rockabilly and its subspecies, and Surf-Rock . Also Ennio Morricone used this characteristic guitar sound in his film music (soundtrack) for some spaghetti westerns . Famous guitarists who use Twang as a style-forming element include Duane Eddy (who uses the word Twang in the title of many of his albums), Dick Dale , The Ventures , The Spotnicks , Brian Setzer , Hank Marvin and The Shadows , but also George Harrison in some pieces by the Beatles from the early 1960s.
See also
literature
- Bernward Halbscheffel / Tibor Kneif : Sachlexikon Rockmusik . rororo Handbuch 6334,
Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg 1992. ISBN 3-499-16334-9 - Richard R. Smith: Fender - A sound makes history . Nikol Verlag, Bergkirchen 2003. ISBN 3-93787-218-3
- Rod Fogg / Deidre Cartwright: Totally interactive Guitar Bible (English). Outline Press Book Publishers Ltd, London 2006. ISBN 1-87154-778-4