All about electric guitars

Nowadays you rarely meet a person who has never heard the loud and rich sound of an electric guitar. Guitarists of many world famous rock bands used this instrument to record their songs and performances: Buddy Guy, Jimmy Hendrix, George Harrison, John McLaughlin. The list is endless. The glory of the electric guitar does not fade to this day: new talented performers constantly appear on the stage. This legendary instrument is definitely worth paying attention to.

The inventor of the electric guitar was George Bischamp, who was fired from his main job at the national string instrument company. After that, he started looking for the latest ways to increase the volume of stringed instruments.

As a result, the very first electric guitar appeared in 1925. It was made from scrap materials and tools on the kitchen table. It looked like this: a rounded body of small diameter and a long neck. For this look, she was nicknamed "frying pan". With the financial and moral support of Adolf Rickenbacker, Bischamp founded his own company, which specialized only in the sale of electric guitars. The device quickly gained widespread popularity soon after.

Electric guitars work by converting the vibrations of metal strings into vibrations of an electric current by pickups. Now there are a huge variety of models of electric guitars. They can have an unusual appearance of the body, differ in general structure, principle of operation, sound and other factors.

The flat body of this electric musical instrument is easy to distinguish from the wide body acoustic guitar. The entire structure is a complex system with many resonances that can affect the strings. Vultures in modern models also surprise with their variety.

Models of electric guitars are different not only in design, but also in anatomy (internal equipment). But in order for them to sound, they also need external devices that convert the electrical signals transmitted from the pickup back into sound ones, while amplifying the result many times at the output. Such devices are guitar amplifiers (combo) and external audio systems (speakers).

As a rule, the main material for the body and neck of a guitar is wood, as it has the most beneficial effect on sound propagation. The nature and direction of string vibrations directly depends on the type of wood. In the production of these products, the following are most often used:

• mahogany (mahogany);
• alder;
• Linden;
• ash;
• maple;
• rosewood;
• ebony.

There are also instruments made of walnut and wood, originally from the African continent (bubinga and ovankol). Each variety has an individual timbre. For example, mahogany has a warm sound (low and mid frequencies are best worked out). Maple, on the other hand, has a well-developed high frequency spectrum. Sometimes woods are mixed to give a specific color to the sound. In addition, electric guitar bodies can be made of plastic or aluminum.

As noted, there are a huge number of modifications to electronic guitars. Below are the most common ones from leading manufacturers.

"Stratocaster" is produced in almost all countries of the world. Most often they end up in the hands of hard rock, indie and pop rock artists. The original model is produced in the USA, where 3 pickups are installed on the instrument. The glassy sound of this model is hard not to recognize. Another distinctive feature is a five-way switch, thanks to which the guitarist can switch between pickups and their combinations. Because of this, the ability to change the sound both in volume and timbre is significantly increased.

This model is often associated with a woman's waist and is therefore easily recognizable. The body is assembled from expensive mahogany. This guitar is considered the most versatile of all the other types and is therefore often used in recording studios.

The design is specially made in the most simple style. Looking at the tool, you might think that it was cut from a single piece of wood. Ash or alder wood is usually chosen as the material for the body of this model.

The horned shape of these electric guitars became known to the world after solo recordings by AC / DC guitarist Angus Young. The SG deck is made from a solid wood board, not glued from separate parts. Another distinctive feature is the belt button, which is located on the back of the case at the top.

The multi-dimensional model is made of a mix of mahogany and maple. The main manufacturer is Korea. The device is equipped with a tremolo bridge as standard.

The modification differs from full-size guitars in a shortened scale. The neck profile is ideal for high speed play. The model is often chosen by novice musicians with small hands.

The outlines of the body of these models resemble the shape of a star. Despite its angularity, the guitar is quite comfortable to play. The sound switch is located at the very corner of the deck.

This model is absolutely adored by metal performers. It is easily distinguished by its arrow shape (body) with a sharp tip (headstock).

"Superstrata" are a whole family of guitars, which consists of many headless models from different manufacturers. In appearance, they resemble "stratocaster", while differing from them in the shape of the headstock, tailpiece, arrangement of structural parts and type of wood. The original instruments of this kind were only copies of the "stratocaster", but with more complex fittings. Later on, changes were made to the overall shape of the body.

An electric guitar makes almost no sound without an amplifier. The latter is an optional item that must be purchased with the purchase of an electric guitar. Before purchasing an amplifier, you need to decide on the expected power (for example, a much less powerful device is needed to play at home).

A guitar strap is a must for standing performance. Much depends on the width of the belt: the wider it is, the less pressure is felt on the shoulder. In some kits, straplocks (special mechanisms for attaching a strap to a guitar) are provided upon purchase, but sometimes you have to purchase them yourself.

Other important accessories for playing the electric guitar:

• mediators;
• tuner (clip) for tuning the instrument.

And sometimes situations occur when the most important element in the guitar breaks unexpectedly - the detail of setting the distance between the strings and the height of the strings above the frets. To do this, many musicians purchase a nut in advance (the most common subspecies is a roller nut).

It will not be superfluous to purchase electric guitar care products. The list of such funds includes:

• wipes for cleaning strings from dirt and grease;
• mixture for wiping the neck;
• grease and wipes for polishing fittings;
• cleaning agents for the case.

Earlier, there was a belief among guitarists that the appearance of a performer's guitar fully corresponded to the style of music he performed on it. However, the existing color gamut of devices is too wide and varied to be true. The color of the electric guitar can be anything - like standard shades (black, brown, white, blue, pink, blue, purple, yellow), and the most unusual colors and designs (gold, silver, rainbow, gradient, transparent, with pictures and various patterns).

First of all, electric guitars differ in size (in cm). Usually the dimensions of the tool depend on the manufacturer. Small electric guitars are mainly made by Fender Squier. The most popular mini-guitars from this manufacturer are the compact models Stratocaster Hard Tail and Mini Strat V2.

An important role is played by the mounting of the neck, on which not only the overall durability of the device depends, but also the transmission of sound. This part can be bolted in, which is the most common way, glued in or through without a heel. The thru neck is integral with the body of the instrument.This mounting method is considered the best, as it provides free access to the upper frets.

Electric guitars differ in the presence of such components as breeches and scales. There are two types of breeches: fixed and tremolo breeches. In the first case, the strings are rigidly fixed, but their sustain is less than that of other guitars. Tremolo breeches allow you to adjust the strings with a lever. You should not skimp on models with this type of breeches, as cheap models often simply cannot hold the tune when switching.

Such an important detail as pickups are classified into 2 groups: singles and humbuckers. Singles deliver bright, clear and crisp sound. They are typically used in blues and jazz. However, they have a drawback: in addition to the melodic sound, you can hear extraneous noise and background. The humbucker produces a leaner and lower sound. With overdrive, the humbucker sounds aggressive, clear and without background. On a clean sound, they produce a smoother sound.

Music beginners shouldn't be too smart with their choices. For starters, a 22-fret, 6-string, fixed-scale, bolt-on neck instrument would be the best choice without any complications.

To make it clearer, it would be better to describe the approximate steps that need to be taken before buying an electric guitar.

1. Examine the appearance of the instrument. No visible damage or irregularities should be found on the body and along the entire length of the neck.
2. After inspection, do not rush to connect the guitar to the amplifier. At first, you just need to listen to how the individual strings manifest themselves. If the sound seems too dim and dull, it is worth postponing the selected model.
3. Proceed to inspect the neck, hold it. It should fit comfortably and comfortably in the hand. At the beginning of the musical journey, this is important. As you gain experience, the hand itself will be able to adapt to any type of neck. The shape of the neck is absolutely flat, without curvatures. Check the neck to body attachment. There should not be any gaps or gaps.
4. Try playing each string on each fret. The strings should not bounce or rattle while playing.
5. Now you can connect your guitar to your amp. Try to play something, sort out the strings: you should like the sound.
6. Perform a sound check on each individual pickup. Turn the tone and volume controls. The instrument is fine if the sound changes evenly, without jumps. The knobs should not emit any sound, crunch or wheeze when turned.
7. To be sure in your choice, you can even play a familiar melody or ask a friend or the seller about it. If the sound of the melody delighted, then the chosen model is exactly right.

The electric guitar is a serious purchase that will be of particular value to aspiring musicians. Therefore, its choice should be approached consciously and carefully.

There are a huge variety of different techniques for playing. Below are the most famous and commonly used techniques.

• Hammer-on. The most common guitar playing technique. Hammer is not difficult to play: the sound is produced by striking the string with the fingers of the left hand at any fret, forming a right angle with the plane of the fretboard.
• Pull-off. This is a reverse hammer-on, in which the sound is produced by lifting your finger off the fret of the string being played.
• Slide. Artificial movement of the fingers of the left hand along the strings up and down. In general, there are several types of such a game: classic, pick and "dirty" slide.
• Bend. This technique is a classic. Its essence lies in the movement of the pressed string perpendicular to the neck line. In the process of animating the string, the sound smoothly transitions to high notes.There is another version of this technique: the string is pre-pulled and, after hitting the pick, returns to its original position.
• Trill. The technique is known to all musicians, regardless of the instrument they play. A trill is a rapid alternation of any two notes.
• Vibrato. The technique is reminiscent of creating vibration with your fingers: the finger seems to tremble on the string, swinging up and down, thereby changing the sound.
• Flazolets. The natural harmonic is usually performed on 3, 5, 7 and 12 saddles and involves lightly touching the string with your left finger followed by a plectrum strike. An artificial harmonic can be played on any string and fret by lightly muffling the string with your right thumb.
• Rake. This is a way in which the key manipulation is to lead the pick down the strings and then hit the last note. In this case, the strings are muffled with the index finger of the left hand and the back of the right hand.
• Tapping. A complex playing technique in which the first note is struck by striking the string with the right hand. Next, the fingers of the left hand act. Tapping is often used when performing patterns. A pattern is a group of notes that is a melodic or fingering pattern.
• Quint chord. This is the name of the harmonic interval (which does not have a major or minor color), consisting of the main and fifth tones. On the electric guitar, fifths are used in parallel with distortion and overdrive effects.
• Shielding. The screening process is carried out in order to reduce the amount of interference in the sound (background). For example, on instruments like the Fender Stratocaster, the screen is installed at the factory. It is not visible as it is located under a layer of paintwork. But even on this guitar it is possible to carry out further shielding, which will lead to a decrease in the high frequencies in the sound. In most cases, shielding is done using graphite or copper.

All techniques can be mixed and combined with each other. In this way, performers achieve a variety of sounds and create their own unique musical style.

The main genre of electric guitar playing is rock. Other popular destinations are jazz, blues, R&B. However, the electric guitar is used for pop, punk, disco and dance music.