Maple Thin

The Basics Of An Electric Guitar

Electric guitars are musical instruments that give off a sound through vibrating strings that are converted to electrical currents through the pickups and then amplified. The first electric guitars were produced in the 1930s and consisted hollow-arch top acoustic guitars with electromagnetic transducers attached. The modern ‘solid-body’ electric guitar made its debut in the 1940s with the invention of the Fender by Les Paul.

The Guitar’s BodyMost 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 Bar of the GuitarString tension variation is controlled with a metal bar attached to the bridge. This bar (also known as the Vibrato, Wang, Whammy, or Tremolo Bar) tilts the bridge back and forth.

The Neck and Fingerboard of the GuitarMost electric guitar necks are made of maple wood. Laminated to the front of the neck is a strip of wood (usually rosewood or maple) called the fingerboard or fretboard. Running above the fingerboard are the strings, which are pressed into the fingerboard during playing to change the vibrating lengths to change pitch. Rosewood fingerboards are dark of timbre. Maple fretboards are bright of pitch.

The Pickups of the GuitarIt 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 different categories:

Single CoilSingle 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.

HumbuckerHumbuckers 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.’

Strings of the GuitarThe guitar strings of an electric guitar vary in gauge, alloy, and winding. These are all significant factors in how the electric guitar sounds. It is important to note that all electric guitar string alloys are metal. Nylon strings would not be detected by the pickups. The strings on a right handed electric guitar run high E, B, G, D, A, and Low E. The strings on a left handed electric guitar run Low E, A, D, G, B, and high E because the guitar is played upside down.

AlloysSteel is the most common alloy because it has great volume and brilliant tones. Stainless steel strings that are plated with Nickel have a tone that is more subdued. Strings made entirely out of Nickel have a more muted but round sound which makes them ideal for jazz and rhythm guitaring.

GaugeThe 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

The Guitar String’s WindingThe 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.

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.

HOW TO: Thin a Japanese Maple