Electric Guitars

If you don't know what you want out of an electric guitar  read this buying guide before making your decision. If you already know what you want, scroll to the bottom for a list of searches.

Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitar

Submitted by: Luke111
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Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitar

Submitted by: Luke111 | Submitted on: 2006-06-21

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Body: what the different types are good for:

Guitar Body
Solid-Body  Can sustain Loud-amplification Lots of effects	Semi-Solid (or Hollow) Body  More Acoustic sound High-level amplification	Hollow Body  Also known as the Jazz Guitar Acoustic Prone to feedback at high levels of amplification

Neck: one of the most personalized elements of selecting a guitar for yourself

Wood: Guitar necks can come in either a single piece or two or more pieces laminated together, which makes a stronger neck. But most of the discussion centers on the "hardness" of the wood. That is, the tightness of the grain and the weight, which is important for balancing the instruments. Some common woods used in guitar necks are listed below:

• Mahogany: Used in the original Fender Telecaster, mahogany is a medium-weight, medium-hard wood.
• Maple: This is a lighter, more flexible wood than maple and traditionally used in acoustic guitars.
• Rosewood: A tight-grained, heavy wood that's also used in fretboards for its smooth, hard surface.
• Pau Ferro: An "iron wood," pau ferro is a heavy, non-porous wood that's easy to finish and makes a good fretboard as well. May cause allergic reactions to some of the population, however.
• Basswood: This is a relatively wider grain wood, giving it a softer feel. It's been used in both less expensive acoustics as well as higher-end electrics.
• Sitka Spruce: This wood has a high stiffness, combined with lightweight characteristics. It has a high sound velocity and is a great choice for a topwood for a robust, meaty tone.

Neck Joints: It's important to note the way the neck is attached to the guitar body because this joint will affect the overall tone of the instrument. The joint also has to withstand the pressure of the strings and of rigorous playing. There are three ways a guitar neck is attached to the body

• Set-in: The neck is glued into the body of the guitar, used almost exclusively in acoustic guitars. The joint is cut so that the neck and body ends dovetail and form a tight-fitting seal.
• Bolt-on: Used mainly in solid-body electrics and was used in the original Fender Telecaster.
• Neck-through: Used only on solid-body electrics. This method incorporates a neck that extends the entire length of the instrument and is an integral part of the body.

Questions to ask yourself when deciding on a neck:

• Does it fit your hand?
• Do you want wide, regular, narrow neck?

Once you know the answers to these questions then you can think about neck shape:

  C-Shaped

• Pronounced curve

Oval Neck

• Less Pronounced curve than the C

U-Shaped

• Rectangular shape
• Good for long fingers

V-Shaped and Inverted V

• V-shaped
• Thicker on the treble side
• Thinner of the bass side
• Inverted-V
• Thicker on the bass side
• Thinner on the treble side

Scale Length

• Scale length is the vibrating length of the string
• Determined by the distance between the bridge saddle and nut
• Longer scales have more distance between frets

Frets

• Most electric guitars come with 22 frets
• If you like to play in the high register, a 24-fret neck will give you a full octave above the 12th fret

Scale Length: the tone you want
Length: 24 5/8 Round and thick sound Used by Gibson	Length: 25 Used less frequently, distinctive Used by Paul Reed Smith	Length: 25 1/2 Clear, cutting quality Used by Fender

Bridge:

• Tremolo Bridge aka Whammy Bar
• Can bend ('dive') all strings at once
• Good for Metal styles of music
• If you dive the strings too much it can throw them out of tune
• Stoptail bridge
• More Stable for tuning because the bridge is fixed into the body
• Better choice from a tuning perspective (if you don't want to bend all the strings at once)

Pickups:

Single coil pickups

• Only one coil of wire
• Single-coil pickups are susceptible to hum
• Thin, clean and transparent sound
• Usually about 3/4th of an inch wide and 2-1/2 inches long
• Common on Fender guitars such as the Stratocaster and Telecaster

Humbucker pickups

• Uses two coils and either two magnets or pole pieces at opposite ends of a single magnet
• Coils are wound with opposing electrical polarity
• Magnetic polarity for each coil is also reversed
• Noted for a thick, meaty sound

Note: Many guitars have a combination of single and double coil pickups.

• It is not uncommon to have a switch to have a switch that will turn one of the coils off to offer the player a choice between single and double coil.
• Close to the neck (thicker sound)
• Close to the bridge(twangy sound)
• 3-position switch allows you to choose between pickups or blend them
• 5-position switch blends the pickups and changes their phase relationship (glassy tones)Middle pickup allows more blending options

Tuning machines:

• Allows you to fine tune and hold pitch
• Enclosed machine heads are rust resistant (and other airborne contaminants) and are lower maintenance

Major Manufacturers:

• Epiphone
• Fender
• Gibson
• Gretsch
• Ibanez
• Parker
• Paul Reed Smith