The Basics Of An Electric Guitar

Amplified sound created by electrical currents caused by vibrating strings is the definition of the music created by an electric guitar. The first electric guitars in the 1930s consisted of electromagnetic transducers fastened to hollow-arch-top acoustic guitars. The Fender, created by Les Paul, was the original modern-day electric guitar. The Fender made its debut in the 1940s.

The Guitar's Body
Most bodies of an electric guitar are made of a solid piece of wood but some do have a semi-hollow resonance chamber. The body is the house for the pickups and controls of the guitar. Acoustic guitars vibrate their sound through a 'soundboard' on the body and thus the type of wood is important (the same is found on the right handed and left handed acoustic electric guitar). Despite soundboards not being used; the wood type used in the body of the electric guitar will determine how the instrument resonates. Denser woods, such as alder, ash, and mahogany, create a richer sound.

Bar
A metal bar attached to the bridge varies the string tension be moving the bridge backwards and forwards. This bar is also known as the Tremolo, Whammy, Vibrato, or Wang Bar.

The Guitar's Neck and Fingerboard
The guitar's neck is generally constructed out of maple. The fingerboard, or fretboard, is a thin strip of either maple or rosewood that is laminated to the front of the neck. The strings run above the fingerboard and when the guitar is played, the strings are pressed towards the fingerboard to change their vibrating lengths. This is how the musician changes pitch. Fingerboards made of rosewood have a dark timbre. Maple fingerboards create a bright pitch.

The Pickups of the Guitar
It is said that the pickups are the 'voice of the guitar.' Made of wire wrapped magnets, the pickups take the string vibrations and change them into an electric current. This current can then be amplified. When the string vibrates, the magnetic field of the pickup is disrupted. This is how the electrical signal is created.

Pickups fall into two basic categories:

Single Coil
Single coil pickups are brighter in sound. The biggest problem with the single coil pickup is that it tends to pick up a humming sound. The hum consists of a fundamental signal and harmonic content. All of this is due to changes in the magnetic flux of the pickup.

Humbucker Pickups
Because of the hum distortion of the single coil pickup, the Humbucker, or dual coil, pickup was created. These pickups have a thick sound and consist of two coils wound in a mirror image of each other. The polarity is opposed within the six magnetic-coils. All of this cancels out the ambient sound or hum before it is amplified. Some guitars have the option of switching between single coil and Humbucker.

Guitar Strings
Electric guitar strings have various windings, alloys, and gauges, all of which factor into the sound of the guitar. All electric guitar strings are made of metal and the right handed electric guitar is strung high E, B, G, D, A, and low E while the left handed electric guitar is strung upside down.

The Guitar String Alloys
By far the most commonly used, steel strings have a brilliant tone with immense volume and incredible sustainability. Nickel plated strings are composed of stainless steel that is plated with nickel. They are subdued in tone. Nickel strings are made entirely of nickel and are the mainstay of rhythm and jazz musicians because of their less vibrant, round sound.

The Guitar String's Gauge
The string's gauge refers to its thickness. Thin gauge is easier to bend and is preferred by lead guitarists because they can be played fast. The medium gauge stings create great volume and are ideal for strummers and pickers. Full sound can be had with heavy gauge strings but they can be rather hard to play.

The Guitar String's Winding
The winding of electric guitar strings falls into 4 categories: round, flat, ground, and nylon taped. The most common is round wound but is shunned by fast players because it grabs the fingers. Flat, or ribbon, wound has a smooth 'oiled' surface that can be played fast with subdued tones. Ground wound is a round wound with a machine polish and is only found on electric bass guitars. Nylon taped windings are round or flat wound with a nylon coating. The tone from a nylon taped string sounds similar to an acoustic bass guitar.

Finding an electric guitar for sale should cause the prospective buyer to do his or her homework to determine if the instrument is the right buy based upon the comfort level and the type of music that will be played. An electric guitar's sonic character varies due to the diverse combinations of string, wood, and pickups.