The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. Archaeologists have unearthed gongs built almost four thousand years ago. No wonder when we hear a gong we feel like we are being touched in our soul.

The earliest written mention of the gong was in China in the 6th century. In these ancient documents the Chinese claim that another culture from Central Asia introduced it to them. While we cant be certain which culture created the gong, its safe to say the sound resonated with the Chinese and that they made the gong their own.

The Chinese used gongs for many ceremonial functions. They were struck to announce when the Emperor or other important political and religious figures arrived. Military leaders also used gongs to gather men together for battle.

The gong and its music then migrated from China to Java — the term gong is actually Javanese in origin — and became established in Indonesia by the 9th century.

The Javanese made their gongs in a new way that was much different from the large flat Chinese gongs; they used deep turned-down rims with a raised knob in the center. The Indonesians also developed a style of playing many of their gongs at once, in a percussion orchestra known as a gamelan. In gamelan, the gongs are usually different sizes, with each one tuned to a different specific pitch.

Gongs migrated slowly from Asia to Africa – they didnt have the Internet and airplanes to speed things along back then — and finally arrived in Europe in the eighteenth century.

The style of gong that Europeans first saw and heard was the big Chinese gong of indefinite pitch that you have probably seen in the back of orchestras.

Though now a regular part of the percussion section in Western orchestras, the first symphony to include one was Mirabeau, written by the French composer Francois Gossec, in 1791. Debussy became the first major composer to incorporate the sounds into his symphonies.

Andrew Borakove is a media writer and a gong aficionado. He is also the proprietor of Gongs Unlimited, the only internet store devoted solely to gongs. http://www.gongs-unlimited.com

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Gibson guitars have been around forever. It’s funny, but although Gibson has produced some of the most amazing guitars in history, perhaps the company’s largest contribution to music has been through their advancements in pickup technology. Gibson’s first electric guitar the ES-150 was produced in 1936, and is still considered one of the best sounding electric jazz guitars in the world.

In 1946 Gibson introduced the P-90 single coil pickup, which was eventually used on the first Les Paul model in 1952. The Les Paul was Gibson’s first solid body electric guitar. In 1957 Gibson introduced the legendary Humbucker pickup on the Les Paul model, and an instant classic was born. The P-90 and the Humbucker quickly became the pickups of choice for Gibson’s expanding line of solid body electric guitars.

1961 marked the introduction of one of Gibson’s most successful models ever, the double cutaway SG. This was followed by the Firebird, and Flying V models, each a classic in its own right. In addition to electrics, Gibson produces some of the finest acoustic guitars available.

Gibson’s commitment to excellence, and support of top musicians is demonstrated most deeply through its well known Custom Shop. The Custom Shop produces specialty instruments for artists, and discerning musicians. In addition, many well known historic classics have been faithfully reproduced by the Gibson Custom Shop, allowing a whole new generation of guitarists to experience Gibson’s hallmark guitars.

Written By: Michael Casamento

Michael Casamento is the founder of Guitar Pages Online – a comprehensive resource for guitars and guitar related merchandise on the Internet.

For more information visit:http://www.guitarpagesonline.com

This article may be freely reproduced so long as the above resource box is included in its entirety.

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Perhaps no other guitar maker has touched the hearts of so many players and collectors as Fender. By producing excellent guitars at reasonable prices, Fender has been the instrument of choice for many guitarists throughout the world. Both the famous and not so famous have relied on Fender guitars to define their signature sounds.

The Fender company was founded by Leo Fender, and produced its first solid body electric guitar in 1951. This guitar was called the Telecaster, and was soon followed by the Precision Bass, and the legendary Stratocaster in 1954. Over the years many changes would take place at Fender which had a great impact on the types and quality of instruments they produced.

The first mile-stone year for Fender came in 1965. During this year, Fender was bought by corporate giant CBS. Quality began to decline during CBS’s reign, and although Fender still remained popular among players, CBS lacked the commitment and understanding necessary to satisfy the needs of serious musicians. As a result, the guitars produced during the Pre-CBS era would become prized collectors items demanding large sums of money in the vintage guitar market.

In 1985 Fender enjoyed another mile-stone year as a group of employees purchased the company back from CBS. For the first time in 20 years Fender was in the hands of musicians and artisans committed to producing world class guitars. A new manufacturing facility was built in Corona California to handle the production of USA made guitars. In 1987 the Fender Custom Shop was established, reaffirming the company’s dedication to producing top quality guitars, and catering to the needs of top musicians.

From 1985 to the present day, Fender has been steadily expanding its operations within the United States and abroad. The company now produces a vast array of musical products from strings to mixing boards. In spight of such massive growth, Fender’s commitment to the production of quality guitars remains very high. Fender remains one of the few companies that can successfully provide quality products to both the budget conscious and price no object musicians.

Written By: Michael Casamento

Michael Casamento is the founder of Guitar Pages Online – a comprehensive resource for guitars and guitar related merchandise on the Internet.

For more information visit:http://www.guitarpagesonline.com

This article may be freely reproduced so long as the above resource box is included in its entirety.

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