A Box and a Bunch of Strings 3 - Guitars! Quiz

Answer: Freddie Tavares

Hawaiian born Freddie Tavares was a popular and gifted musician as well as being a great designer. Tavares worked for Fender from 1953 until 1985, just a few years before his death in 1990. Cartoon fans may or may not be aware, that the swooping steel guitar note at the introduction to 'Looney Tunes' cartoons was played by Freddie Tavares!

Answer: It was formed from clear plastic

Ampeg were not the only company to experiment with plastics as Japanese company Ibanez and a few others also built instruments from this material. Guitar bodies built using plastics are, as a rule, generally thinner than their wooden counterparts as the material is somewhat heavier, however, this does mean that there is a consistency of tone that wooden instruments can rarely emulate. Is this a good thing? That is purely down to personal preference.

Answer: Truss Rod

It would be unusual to come across a modern steel-strung guitar that has no truss rod. Truss rods are found in two basic forms, adjustable and non-adjustable. The rod is located in a central groove that runs the length of the neck almost immediately beneath the fingerboard. An adjustable truss rod is securely fixed at the heel end of the neck and the adjustable end of the truss rod can be found, underneath a removable plate, at the head.

The first adjustable truss rods were fitted by the Gibson Company to their jazz guitars during the 1920s and proved to be a very successful innovation. Non adjustable truss rods are often found to be made from a 'T' shaped metal bar or square sectioned hollow bar which is securely fixed at both ends of the neck.

Answer: Aluminium

Gary Kramer and Travis Bean, who were partners during the 1970s, both used aluminium in their instruments in order to increase the strength and to reduce the inherent instabilities in a wooden neck. Kramer guitars were easily recognisable through their very distinctive 'Y' shaped headstocks, but because of the technology used in these instruments they were expensive to produce and players found the necks cold and uncomfortable to use. Travis Bean ceased production in 1979 but Kramer, who returned to building guitars with traditional wooden necks in the mid 1980s, became quite a successful company. Veleno, a Florida based company active during the early 1970s, constructed the entire guitar from aluminium. Notable users of the very rare and unusual Veleno guitar include Todd Rundgren, Greg Allman, Jeff Lynne and Johnny Depp.

Answer: Scale length

The scale length is defined as 'the total length of the vibrating open string as measured from the inside edge of the nut to the point at which the top E string passes over the saddle'. The scale length of most steel strung guitars lies within a range of between 24 and 26 inches and for bass guitars the standard scale length increases to 34 inches.

Answer: Pointed or 'droopy' headstocks

The 'droopy' or pointed headstock was first featured on the guitars produced in 1980 by the Jackson Company and have since become synonymous, albeit with subtle design differences, with this style of instrument. Jackson's first 'superstrat' guitar was the much copied 'Soloist' which is still built today and remains as popular as ever.

Answer: Tablature or Tab

Tablature is based on a six line grid with each line representing a guitar string, the top line of the grid representing the top E string on the guitar. Tablature, as a form of shorthand, does have its limitations. It does not convey any information regarding the key signature, the timing or the duration of the notes played and, for these reasons, it is best used in conjunction with a recording of the music to be played.

Despite these limitations, tablature is a useful tool and easy to use when compared to musical notation.

Answer: Fret positioning

The 'Rule of eighteen' should actually read as the 'Rule of 17.83'. To position the frets on the fingerboard at the correct intervals the scale length should be determined in the first instance. To calculate the distance between the nut and the first fret the scale length measurement is divided by 17.83 and the first fret is fitted here. Divide the distance from this first fret and the saddle by 17.83 and secure the second fret in this position. Continue down the neck in the same manner until all frets have been positioned.

This process can be something of a compromise as it can be difficult to get the measurements exactly right but a good way to check is to confirm that the twelfth fret lies exactly halfway between the nut and the saddle.

Answer: Fender

As the Stratocaster took the guitar world by storm in the early 1950s it was clear that its design demanded more than a simple natural or sunburst finish. The car paints of the period were ideal and so the Strat started to appear in all manner of colours. Over the decades fashions have come and gone, and many guitars available today are produced in a range of colours and finishes from the decidedly sombre natural finishes to outlandish colours to graphic body artwork. Personally, I can think of nothing more attractive than a 1970s Fender Telecaster Deluxe finished in tobacco sunburst with a pearl scratch plate (sigh).

Answer: Rick Nielsen

Rick Nielsen of US rock band 'Cheap Trick' always the centre of attention through both his on-stage persona and his over-the-top instruments, has been a user of Hamer guitars for many years and has an extensive collection of these instruments including his custom built five-necked instrument. Hamer Guitars have always had a reputation for top quality, innovative but, at the same time, traditional guitars.

The Hamer Company was founded in 1973 and has produced custom quality guitars for many professional players as well as the range of fine instruments available to the general public. Since 1988 the company has been absorbed into larger corporations on a number of occasions and, sadly, it was announced that Hamer Guitars would disappear forever in December 2012. Steve Vai is, predominantly, a user of Ibanez guitars and has collaborated with the company to produce the JEM series guitars. Mick Ronson who played extensively with David Bowie during the 1970s as a member of the Spiders from Mars was rarely seen with anything other than a Gibson Les Paul in his hands. Alex Lifeson has used Gibson, PRS, and, to a lesser extent, Fender instruments during his forty year plus career.