Electric Guitar article
Electric Guitar Explained: Features, Types and Tips
An electric guitar converts string vibration into an electrical signal via magnetic pickups. Here is everything you need to know about how they work and what to look for.
An electric guitar produces sound by using electromagnetic pickups to detect string vibration, converting it to an electrical signal that is amplified and played through a speaker. Unlike an acoustic guitar, the body shape and wood have a subtler effect on tone — the pickup type and amplifier play a larger role in the final sound. Understanding the main components helps make sense of the enormous variety of models available.
Body Types
Solid body guitars — the Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul are the defining examples — are the most common type. The solid wood body resists feedback at high volumes and suits most popular music styles. Semi-hollow and hollow body guitars have air chambers in the body, which produces a warmer, more resonant tone suited to jazz and blues; they are more prone to feedback at high amplifier volumes. The electric guitar body shape affects balance, weight and access to upper frets as well as aesthetics.
Pickups
Single-coil pickups, found on Fender instruments, produce a bright, clear tone with a characteristic hum at high gain. Humbuckers — two coils wired to cancel the hum — produce a warmer, thicker sound associated with Gibson. P90s are a larger single-coil design that sits between the two in character. Most electric guitar designs offer some combination of these pickup types, and many instruments include switching to select between individual pickups and combinations. The pickup selection is one of the most significant determinants of an instrument's tonal character.
Bridge and Neck
The bridge affects intonation, action and whether the guitar has a tremolo (vibrato) arm. A fixed bridge — like the Gibson Tune-o-matic or Fender hard-tail — is simpler to set up and stays in tune more reliably. A floating tremolo (Fender vibrato or Floyd Rose) allows pitch modulation by moving the arm but requires more maintenance and careful setup. Neck profile — the shape of the back of the neck — significantly affects playing comfort. Fretboard radius, nut width and scale length (Fender 25.5 inches, Gibson 24.75 inches) all affect how the electric guitar feels to play. For buying recommendations, see our buyer's guide.
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