1. Wood Type
While the type of wood used in the construction of an
electric guitar has a much less bearing on its sound than an acoustic guitar,
it still remains an important factor in its construction and also contributes,
in particular, to its tonal qualities. However it should be noted that it
depends on what kind of wood is used in which part of the guitar.
Electric guitar bodies are usually constructed using one of
the following wood types:
(i) Agathis – Similar to mahogany but inferior in many ways.
Used in cheap, entry-level or beginner guitars mostly.
(ii) Alder – Similar to poplar, used by Fender to construct
their Stratocaster product-line. Alder body guitasr produce a much fuller
sound.
(iii) Ash wood – Swamp ash is a light wood that is used in
the construction of Stratocasters, and produces a reasonably balanced tone. Hard
ash, on the other hand, produces a bright tone and a good sustain.
(iv) Basswood – Basswood produces a warm, deep tone (full of
bass), and is used to construct rock and metal guitars. However it is extremely
fragile and damages easily. It is superior in quality to Plywood and Agathis,
but is still considered to be a mid-level wood.
(v) Hardwood/Plywood – Probably the cheapest (and hence the
most inferior) wood type used to construct guitars. It is found on ultra-cheap,
beginner Squier Stratocaster guitars, as well as some cheap Epiphone guitars,
in order to keep the build cost at a minimal.
(vi) Maple – Produces a bright tone, and is one of the most
commonly-used guitar wood types out there.
(vii) Mahogany – Produces a warm sound
(viii) Rosewood – Rosewood is used to construct the
fretboards of most guitars. It is very heavy, and rarely used to construct the
bodies of electric guitars.
(ix) Korina – A very warm-sounding wood, not very heavy
either.
(x) Walnut – One of the more expensive, high-end woods
(along with rosewood), walnut is quite heavy (like rosewood). Unlike Maple, doesn’t
produce a very bright tone either (once again, like Rosewood).
(xi) Poplar – Very light but very hard. Used in high-end and
expensive guitars. Produces a bright and crisp sound.
2. Body Types
The most common type of electric guitars today have
solid-bodies, which means that these guitars are carved out of a solid piece of
wood. For instance the Telecaster is a single piece of ash wood, along with a
bolt-on neck made of maple wood. This combines to produce the guitar’s bright
sound.
On the other hand, guitars such as Gibon’s Les Paul feature
a mahogany body with a maple spruce top, and a mahogany neck, that is glued on
(instead of being bolted-on) to the body. This helps the Les Paul guitars
produce a fat and warm sound.
Guitars using basswood produce a heavier sound (as the name
‘basswood’ probably implies), and is used by companies such as Ibanez as well
as many different Fender guitars.
Hollow-body guitars, also referred to as semi-acoustics or
acoustic-electric guitars, are essentially acoustic guitars with electronic
pickups on the body. They sound just like an acoustic guitar, with the added
advantage that they can be connected to an amplifier, if for instance you
intend on playing in a large space.
Semi-hollow-bodied guitars, such as the Gibson ES-335, are
electric guitars with maple-wood in the center of its body with hollow spaces
above and below it. This allows the guitar to sound like an acoustic guitar.
3. Pickups
Pickups can be generally divided into two categories:
single-coil pickups, and humbuckers.
(i) Single coil pickups – Used in all the electric guitars
of yesteryear. Provides a thinner sound, have a lower output than humbucker
pickups, with less gain. Suitable for genres such as country, blues,
blues-rock, and funk, to name a few.
(ii) Humbucker pickups – Aka. double-coil pickups, have a
fatter, distorted and a more warmer tone and are ideal for (but not just
restricted to) hard rock and heavy metal guitars, and in some cases, for
country and jazz guitar playing. Feature a strong mid and treble, have more
gain and output than single-coil pickups.
4. Guitar Necks
Guitar necks are usually constructed using either one of
maple, mahogany, rosewood or ebony. Maple is the preferred wood-of-choice for
many-a-guitarist; is a hard and strong wood with a bright sound and tone and is
usually lacquered, while mahogany produces a warm and fat sound. Rosewood, most
commonly used on Gibson guitars, is soft to the touch, while Ebony is an
extremely expensive and premium wood type which is used one some of the most
quick, high-end guitars out there.
5. On-board Electronics
While this may vary from guitar to guitar, generally, the
knobs on electric guitars control the pickups in a similar way. Every guitar
has either a single or dual volume controls; in case of the former, the knobs
control the master volume, while guitars with dual volume knobs control each
pickup (such as guitars with humbucker pickups).
Similarly, the tone knobs controls the treble; 1-5 for more
mids or lows, and 5-10 for high-end treble.
Some electric guitars also have a switch this allows you
turn off and toggle between pickups, or combine both to create a different kind
of a sound.
6. Pickup Positions
Pickup position vary greatly – from neck pickups (which
provide a lot of bass, and ideal for sustain during solos), middle pickups
(which are used in single-coil setups and provide a more acoustic tone), and
finally, bridge pickups (high-gain very prominent and strong riffs!).
7. Beginner Electric Guitars
Here is a great selection of 5
beginner electric guitars, thanks to About.com.
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