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.

The Guitar’s Bar
Attached to the bridge is a metal bar that deals with string tension variation. It works by tilting the bridge forward and back. Other names for this component are Tremolo Bar, Whammy Bar, Wang Bar, and Vibrato 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.

There are two types of pickups:

Single Coil Pickups
These are pickups with only one coil. They have a bright sound but tend to produce a ‘humming’ sound. The elemental signal and harmonic matter are the basis of the hum and they are caused by magnetic-flux changes within the pickup.

Humbucker
Humbuckers were designed to overcome the humming effects of the single coil pickup. Humbuckers consist of two coils and are thicker in sound. The two coils are wound reverse to each other with opposing polarity in the 6 magnetic coils. This causes any ambient sound to be ‘cancelled out’ before amplification. Some electric guitars types let the musician turn off one of the coils to change the guitar’s ‘personality.’

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 String’s Alloys
Most commonly used are strings made of steel because they produce vast volumes and tones that are brilliant. Stainless-steel nickel plated strings have a subdued tone. Nickel strings have a muted-round sound and are best used in rhythm and jazz.

Gauge
The thickness of the string is the gauge. Those who wish to play the guitar fast will need thinner gauged strings because they are easy to bend. Strummers who want vast volume should use strings that are medium of gauge. While hard to play because the strings don’t bend very well, a full vibrant sound can be had with strings of a heavy gauge

Winding
Strings have 4 different types of windings: ground, flat, round, and nylon taped. Rejected by fast-players because the strings ‘grab’ the fingers, the most common winding is round. Fast players who want a tone that is subdued prefer flat windings (also known as ribbon winding) which have a smooth, almost oily, surface. Electric bass guitars are the only instruments that have ground windings which are round windings that have a machine polish. Those who want their electric guitar to sound like an acoustic bass guitar will want to use strings that are nylon taped. Nylon taped strings have any of the three afore mentioned windings and are coated with nylon.

When someone puts their electric guitar for sale, deciding to buy it depends on the music type you will play and how comfortable you are with the instrument. Just remember that sonic personalities of electric guitars vary because of the assortment of wood, string, and pickup combinations.

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