In this article you will learn the structure of an electric guitar so that you have a clear idea of this instrument.
Let's take a closer look at the electric guitar:
1st neck
2-building
3- pickups (sensors)
4- headstock
5- pegs
6- bridge (machine)
7- volume and tone knobs
8- socket for connecting the cord
9- saddles and frets
10- pickup switch
11 strings
12- top sill
13- lever
Let's take a closer look at the structure of an electric guitar.
Body (or deck)
The body (or soundboard) of a guitar significantly affects the acoustic properties of the instrument, which determine the sound of the guitar through an amplifier. Decks can be thick or thin, made of soft or dense wood.
It is believed that dense, heavy woods such as ash and mahogany provide greater sustain. But it is not only the weight of the wood that determines the sound of the instrument.
Listen to guitars made from maple or alder - medium density and weight species - these are the woods Fender makes most of its instruments from. Or, for example, very light guitars made of linden or swamp ash. Guitars made from all these types of wood are in the arsenal of the world's great guitarists.
This means that by the weight of the instrument you cannot definitely say whether it sounds good or not. Light woods sound as neutral as possible, without embellishing the sound. They absorb string vibrations more than they reflect them.
The best electric guitars have tops made from one piece of wood. Cheap tools are made from a lot of small pieces of wood, with a lot of gluing. The more there are, the more likely the appearance of so-called “tops” - notes that differ in sound from the rest. The optimal number of pieces of wood is three. These guitars usually sound much worse due to the loss of the resonant properties of wood in places of gluing.
Of particular note are guitars like the Gibson Les Paul, which deliberately use different types of wood (mahogany for the back and maple for the top) in order to give the guitar the desired coloration to the sound.
Stratocaster
Les Paul
So, let us note that mahogany guitars give a softer, lower sound and greater sustain ( les Paul, PRS, Ibanez and ESP).
And guitars made of alder, American linden, and ash give a more ringing, bright sound (for example, Fender Stratocaster).
The neck is the most important part of any guitar. This is the surface on which you will play, the part of the instrument that will come into direct contact with your hands. The width and thickness of the neck determine how comfortable it will be for you to play this instrument.
Fans of hard, fast music - those who play a lot with tapping, legato and other fingerboard playing techniques - will appreciate wide and thin necks (you can try guitars Jackson Soloist, Ibanez RG, Washburn N series).
Fans of classical styles - rock and blues - usually prefer standard, more rounded necks, which are good for playing chords (it's worth checking out guitars Fender And Gibson Les Paul).
Necks with a compound radius fingerboard represent a reasonable compromise: the neck is rounder closer to the head, and flatter closer to the soundboard (pickups, machine). True, such necks are installed only on certain models of instruments and are more expensive than regular ones.
The fingerboard material also makes a significant contribution to the sound of the guitar, as the fingerboard itself receives vibrations from the strings and transfers them to the neck and body of the instrument, or reflects these vibrations.
It is worth noting that about 2/3 of the string length passes over the pickguard, and only one third - over the body. And if the guitar body can, in principle, be replaced, then a poor-quality pickguard is a damaged neck, and therefore a damaged guitar.
What separates the best bar from the worst? First of all, it is a tree. Necks are made mainly from maple or mahogany.
Fingerboards can also be made from composite materials (used in modern aerospace and other applications) such as "never dry" graphite.
Fingerboards that are made of wood are usually varnished to prevent them from warping due to drying. However, note that many celebrities, such as Van Halen and Joe Satriani, prefer to play on unvarnished necks.
The material of the fingerboard plays no less important role in the sound of the instrument. There are three standard options: maple, ebony and rosewood.
Maple (the light wood seen on guitars like Fender Telecaster) is soft to the touch and has a bright sound.
Ebony, almost black in color, sounds much denser and deeper.
Rosewood is an intermediate option between the dense sound of ebony and the bright sound of maple. This breed has a reddish-brown hue. It is the most porous of the three rocks presented, and has, perhaps, the “warmest” and softest sound.
Typically, manufacturing companies have in their arsenal a large number of models, some of which are made of maple, some of which are made of rosewood, and the most expensive ones - signature models of famous guitarists - are made of ebony.
At the same time, it is impossible to say for sure which necks with which fingerboard sound better than others - these three types of wood simply sound differently. Maple grows in many countries of the world, it is easy to process, so its cost is low. The maple fingerboard gives the guitar a bright tone.
Rosewood is more expensive to process than maple, and grows only in rare southern countries, so it costs more. The standard pickguard on a decent guitar is made of rosewood, although this wood is also often found on expensive signature series instruments, such as Ibanez Joe Satriani and Frank Gambale models, Fender Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.
Ebony is the densest wood. It is brought to Europe and America from the southernmost points of the planet. It is very expensive to process and requires special drying and storage conditions. You will never see an ebony fingerboard on an inexpensive instrument.
We can say that ebony is an elite wood that is only used on expensive signature guitars. Guitars with ebony fingerboards are played by Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt, George Benson and many others.
In general, we can say that each guitarist chooses for himself which tree is more comfortable for his fingers to play.
Remember!
The neck along with the soundboard are the most important parts of the guitar. Basically they determine its cost. You can change pickups, a machine, pegs - anything, but replacing a neck or soundboard is the most expensive and sometimes impossible. It's easier to buy another guitar!
Pickups (sensors)
From a purely physical point of view, a pickup (or sensor) is a device that converts one type of energy into another. In the case of a magnetic sensor, the vibration of a string in a magnetic field is converted into an alternating current electrical signal, which is then fed to an amplifier.
This happens as follows: the string vibrates in the field created by the permanent magnet (magnets) of the sensor. Inside the coil of wire wound around these magnets, an electric current is generated, which is fed through the wires to the amplifier.
Often, purchasing more expensive pickups can improve the sound of budget instruments and give a new color to an expensive guitar, so let’s dwell on this topic in more detail.
Pickups are divided into Single and Hambacker, passive and active.
1.Single or Hambacker. They are even visually different.
Hambecker
Singles- sensors with one coil (single). They are characterized by a bright, “clean” (not distorted) sound. Their design is usually based on 4 or 6 permanent magnets, around which 7 to 10 thousand turns of copper wire, 0.06 mm thick, are wound. Due to their high sound quality, these sensors are very popular.
As a result, in addition to the sound of the strings, you can also hear extraneous noise or background. This is especially noticeable when playing with drive or distortion effects.
However, now they are releasing split single-coils with a humbucker effect. Two windings, each surrounding its half of the magnets, are connected in antiphase. The magnets inside each have opposite polarity. As a result, the problem of interference and noise is solved, while the sensors produce traditional single-coil sound.
The most popular single-coil guitar is the Fender Stratocaster.
Humbuckers(hambacking - noise reduction) - pickups with two coils that are connected in series, but in antiphase, with each of them facing the strings with different magnet poles.
As a result, extraneous noise or background is mutually subtracted, and the useful signal is added, and the output level is twice as high as that of a single.
However, the humbucker sound itself turns out to be poorer, lower and lacking “highs”. The reason for this is that the coils, which are spaced apart (15-17 mm), produce two different signals, which leads to the subtraction of some high-frequency components.
Sorry - got carried away! I just graduated from a technical university...J
As a result, with a clean sound they produce a smoothed, rounded sound; with overdrive they sound aggressive, distinct and without background. Example of a guitar with humbuckers - Gibson Les Paul.
2.Passive and active.
The operating principle of passive sensors is described above. Active sensors have fewer turns in their coils, giving them a wide frequency range and a weak output signal.
To amplify it, a preamplifier is attached to the guitar, powered by a 9-volt “crown” battery. Active pickups come in both single-coil and humbucker pickups.
Single EMG
Hambacker EMG
Critics of active transducers say they produce a sterile, unnatural sound that is the result of an artificially created frequency response.
The opposite side claims that in addition to low noise levels, active pickups expand the capabilities of the guitarist. He can play an unconventional sound and then switch to a more conventional sound.
The most famous manufacturers of "passive" - Di Marzio, Seymour Duncan, Fender, Gibson; "asset" - EMG.
I almost forgot: when describing pickups, such terms as “Hot”, “Vintage”, “Pro” are very subjective and buying a pickup without listening to it (for example, in a store) is a complete lottery.
Bridge (machine, tailpiece)
Bridge- This is a device with which the strings are attached to the soundboard.
There are two types of bridges: with and without a tremolo system. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.
1. Bridges with tremolo system.
A more common name is machine: Fender, Floyd Rose, Kahler, usually found on Stratocasters or Strat-like instruments. Their advantage lies in the ability to lower and, in some models, raise the pitch of notes on the guitar with the right hand. There is a lever for this purpose.
Guitars with cars Floyd Rose And Kahler equipped with a locking threshold “clothespin” and micro-adjustment. Thanks to this, when actively using the lever, the instrument does not get out of tune, and it is always possible to adjust the tuning without unscrewing the “clothespin” screws.
Such machines allow you to swing the string up and down by 1.5 - 2 tones and perform some funny tricks in the spirit of Steve Vai. Therefore, you can greatly diversify your game.
The main disadvantages are the following:
If a string breaks, the guitar immediately goes out of tune;
- to replace a string, you need to do a lot of manipulations (reach for the key from the “clothespin”, unscrew, insert, twist, etc.);
- the guitar is more difficult to tune;
- the guitar is more difficult to rebuild into a different tuning;
- machines of this type “eat up” sustain (duration of notes) the most;
- due to the large number of parts, these machines most often fail;
Guitars with cars Fender free from all tricks:
Thanks to their simpler design, there are fewer problems with them, but still:
- if a string breaks, the guitar immediately goes out of tune, although not so much;
- you need to use the lever more carefully, the guitar may go out of tune;
- the sustain still decreases, although this adds its own flavor;
- these machines only allow you to lower the pitch (pump the lever down).
2. Bridges without tremolo. They are used on guitars such as Les Paul, Telecaster, some Heavy Metal and semi-acoustic guitars. Their design is even simpler, the number of parts is reduced to a minimum:
They stay in tune better, sound more melodious, and have fewer problems at concerts. There is, as you already guessed, only one drawback - there are no opportunities that the machine provides.
Which bridge you choose is up to you, but if you're a beginner and don't have much money for a guitar, choose one with a simple tremolo or no tremolo at all. With cheap Floyd Rose much more problems.
Electronics (volume and tone knobs, pickup switch, cable jack).
These parts, with the exception of the jack, serve to change the character of the guitar's sound and adjust its volume.
The pickup selector is used to select the desired pickup. Depending on the wiring diagram and the number of “sounds,” each switch position gives a unique guitar sound.
The jack is used to connect the guitar to the amplifier using a cord.
Thresholds and frets.
Metal inserts cut into the fingerboard perpendicular to the strings are called nuts. The areas of the fingerboard between the saddles are called frets. By pressing the strings at different saddles, the length of the string changes, and thus sounds of different heights are produced.
Upper threshold.
A plastic or wooden plate with slots for the strings that prevents the strings from vibrating outside the fingerboard.
Strings.
The strings pass through the slots in the nut and are secured to the pegs. The sound of any guitar can be degraded by using old or low-quality strings. This is an expense item in any guitarist's budget.
The most common string manufacturers: D"Addario, DR, Ernie Ball, GHS, Dean Markley, La Bella. Elixir.
Pegs.
Six worm-gear mechanisms that let you raise or lower your guitar's tone by turning the pegs and tightening or loosening the string tension.
The main thing is not to overdo it when you install new strings!
Headstock.
The upper part of the neck on which the pegs are attached.
If you also want to know
- how to choose an electric guitar depending on your style preferences.
How to buy a really good tool, and not “plywood”.
- What types of amplifiers, amps, guitar effects, processors and other devices useful for a guitarist are there?.
How to connect an electric guitar and other equipment.
- And many more interesting and useful things for the beginning guitarist...
Guitar neck
In fact, these are the head, neck, pickguard, heel, as well as frets and mechanics, so we will discuss the components of the neck in order.
Blanks
To assemble material for the entire neck of a classical guitar, you need to buy blanks for:
- Headstock overlays;
- Heads and necks. Usually the whole board is sold with dimensions 650x85x22mm;
- Heels;
- Overlays.
Guitar head - Head
This is everything above the nut (the string distributor on the fingerboard). Guitar head - consists of two parts: the head body and the guitar headplate.
The shape of the headstock end is actually a guitar maker's calling card, visible much further than the label inside the body. Craftsmen also often make edging along the contour. A second pad can be glued to the back of the head.
Blank
Usually they sell a single blank for the head and neck of a guitar, 650x85x22mm, which is sawn at an angle. The photo shows how a single workpiece is sawed, part of the future head is turned over and glued. The seam that is created will be covered with a head cover.
In fact, to make a headstock you need a slab of wood with dimensions of 190-210x80-85x17-23mm. The head can be glued together from two halves, the seam will run in the center and can be covered with overlays.
Guitar headplate
This is a thin plate of dense wood that we see on the front side of the head. This is usually the wood of the guitar body. The overlay gives a beautiful appearance and also strengthens the head. When gluing the guitar head to the neck in a classic way, the seam runs right along the front side, which the pickguard perfectly hides. 
Blank
This is a wooden plate with dimensions 200x85x5mm. In pure size, the thickness of the lining is about 3mm. The overlay can be purchased separately, but the overlay can also be made from scraps remaining from the bottom. The required two pieces remain at the waist. The halves are simply glued together symmetrically end-to-end or through an ornament. 
Tuner mechanics, tuning machines - Tuners, Machine heads, Tuning machines
There are pegs for nylon and metal strings. For nylon strings, a plastic sleeve is pressed onto the tuning machine shaft.
You can distinguish pegs on a single bar, i.e. a bar for three strings is screwed on each side of the head; and pegs for each string, i.e. The mechanism for each string is screwed separately onto its base. The split version is convenient for making seven-string guitars. 
Nut - Nut
The support of the strings on the neck of the guitar. It is usually made from bone. There are options using special synthetic materials and dense wood.
Blank
It is enough to simply prepare the bone yourself to make thresholds, but you can also buy an already prepared blank from the desired material. The blank is a rectangular block with dimensions corresponding to your neck, i.e.:
Fingerboard, Fretboard
A piece of wood into which the frets of a guitar are driven. An important requirement for a surface is resistance to abrasion. Everyone has seen the pits between the frets on soft wood fingerboards. The overlay also helps strengthen the neck. Accordingly, the material of the lining should be as durable as possible. The best choice is ebony, which is widely used on classical guitars.
Blank
The maximum width of the workpiece is determined by the final width of the pad at the sound hole. The usual blank for a classical guitar for the pickguard is a board with dimensions of 520x75-80x9-10mm. If you cut a blank from a larger piece of wood, then you can start from the pure dimensions of the pickguard and take into account that the width at the top nut in its pure form is about 51-53 mm - the blank can be wedge-shaped, and the length of the pickguard is determined by the scale length of the guitar. The thickness of the finished lining is from 6-8 mm and can vary in length.
Neck
It is usually made from mahogany or special cedar, maple and other species are also used. The neck of the neck is its body. Often the neck is made of two halves with dense wood glued in the middle. This is done to strengthen the neck of the bar, and this technique also allows you to use two narrow blanks.
Blank
For sale is a board with dimensions 650x85-90x20mm. Approximately 200mm for the head and the rest for the neck. The neck itself can be one piece of wood, or several. As a rule, these are two large parts and a narrow insert in the middle.
What should it be width of the neck in the workpiece. For a classical guitar, the gluing of the neck and head extends to the middle of the length of the head, which is approximately 75mm. Accordingly, after gluing the halves, the minimum dimensions of the package are:
- The width of the 12th fret can be 65mm,
- width at the top sill - 75mm,
- thickness 20mm.
Neck Length:
- this is the part that will be in the body, for example, a dovetail tenon;
- main part of the neck;
- and the part that is the body of the head.
Heel, Heel - Heel
It is made of the same material as the neck of the neck. It can be made from a single piece, or it can be assembled from pieces. Spanish guitar manufacturing technology assumes that the guitar's claw and heel are one piece. If the fingerboard and the heel of the neck are different parts, then they are connected to each other using a tenon connection. There is also a fastening with four caps.
Blank
It is clear that the dimensions of the workpiece must correspond to the final shape of the heel. It makes no sense to recommend any sizes, since it is very easy to get them yourself. 
Frets or fret nuts - Fret
Frets* or fret nuts are a metal profile. Material: nickel silver, stainless steel, brass. There are different sizes of the fret head itself in terms of height and width. An important characteristic of the fret is the correct shape of the point of contact with the string and the height of the fret.
Blank
Frets are sold cut into pieces or in rolls.
* - Frets are the spaces between the saddles, but at the layman level and when searching on the Internet, it is the word frets that is used. This error will often be repeated on the pages of our resource. So take the phrase “carefully hit the fret with a hammer” with this amendment.
Guitar deck -Top, Soundboard
The most acoustically important part of the guitar. The top material is usually spruce or cedar. The deck must be made with the utmost care. Increased accuracy is also required because the soundboard is the face of the guitar - all defects will be clearly visible. The soundboard consists of two parts, the seam runs exactly in the middle of the guitar.
The material for making guitar tops must be well-seasoned and radial, i.e. in all three planes, the layers of wood should go along the dimensions of the workpiece. Preparing such material is a separate profession with its own sacraments.
Blank
It consists of two parts - these are two thin plates of wood. These halves grew up next to each other. Usual sizes for blanks for a classical guitar (530x210x5mm) x 2 pieces 
Guitar Springs - Brace (top)
The most important characteristic is the radius of the tree (). The spring of the fan system of a classical guitar is quite small, however, due to the fact that the layers of the spring must sit on the soundboard, the soundboard itself is not suitable for springs. Although, if you want to install low springs, no more than 4.5mm, then the thickness of the deck may be enough.
Blank
These are planks of fine-grained and super radial spruce or cedar wood. If you are cutting springs from a large piece, then use the method of determining the direction of the layers by splitting at least once. Along the plane of this chip it is already possible to saw off the material smoothly.
Rips
Body and back rips are radial spruce, as a rule, as well as various options for other types of guitars. Mahogany can be used. The blank is a strip with a cross section of 20x10mm. The length is determined by the gluing location and your body.
Deck footer
On the deck, the direction of the footer layers goes along its length. Used to reinforce different areas of the soundboard, usually under the bridge and near the sound hole.
Cutting blanks for decks work well. In the photo, rectangles indicate schematically the areas of the deck where you can cut out the footer you need.
Bottom footer
This footer strengthens the gluing of the two parts of the bottom. Its peculiarity is the transverse direction of the layers relative to the seam being strengthened. Those. The footer can also be scraps from the deck, but you just need to cut a strip from its end. When the footer for the deck is trimmed from the sides. (Picture just above.)
Also, special footers for repairing cracks in the deck are also more likely to be pieces of footer for the bottom, since their layers run perpendicular to the layers of the deck.
Stand - Bridge
The bridge material must be strong so that it does not bend easily under the tension of the strings. Main material is rosewood. Ebony is also used.
Blank
A block with dimensions of 210x35x12mm. The stand itself may have smaller dimensions, so if you are cutting from a large piece, then take this into account - a standard workpiece with a decent margin. 
Saddle - Saddle
An excellent material for making a guitar bridge is bone. The saddle greatly affects the sound. Therefore, it must fit tightly into the groove of the stand. You can buy material for the thresholds, or you can make it yourself from bone. 
Shells - Sides
Can be made from a variety of dense materials. As a rule, the material of the shells coincides with the material of the bottom. The shells are bent by heating and wetting the wood. The tree then acquires the ability to bend and retain this shape after cooling. 
Blank
Two thin long boards. Dimensions 2pcs x (750-800x100-120x4-5.5mm)
Upper dumpling - Neck block, Head block
In the Spanish version, the upper dumpling is a continuation of the fingerboard. Also traditional is the dumpling - a separate part into which the fingerboard is glued.
Blank
In the Spanish version, this is a continuation of the neck and heel. In the case of a separate dumpling and heel - these are two different parts, then the workpiece is 100x80-60x25-40mm The run-up is large, since the craftsmen do it differently. Different materials are used.
Lower ringlet - tailblock
This claw connects the shells together and gives additional rigidity to the body in the lower part. The designs are different, both large dumplings and those that actually degenerate to the footer. The workpiece is determined by the appearance and dimensions of the body.
Counter shells (hoops) - Linings
Counter-pistons are involved in imparting rigidity to the body of the guitar, and also strengthen the gluing between the soundboards and shells. There are several types of counter shells:
Blank
It all depends on your design option. You can also purchase a ready-made product. The material also varies; there can be either cedar caps or a solid strip of dense wood.
Bottom (Lower deck) - Back
The bottom of the guitar greatly influences the timbre of the instrument. When talking about the material of a guitar, then we mean the bottom and sides of the guitar. There are a lot of materials used. There are so many dense rocks and so many options. Traditional materials for making guitars are cypress for flamenco and rosewood for classical guitar.
Blanks
In fact, the same blanks as for the guitar soundboard - 2 pieces x (530x210x4-6mm). only from dense material. Also the kit on the bottom is two parts. They also grew side by side and are as symmetrical as possible with respect to future gluing.
Rosette
The guitar rosette is an ornament made from pieces of multi-colored wood. Making a socket is a whole task. You can buy a ready-made socket. Usually this is a ring with a gap. which will fall under the guitar pickguard. The thickness will be about 1mm. You can find thicker ones.
You can create your own unique rosette yourself using multi-colored wood and mother-of-pearl.
Bindings
The edging itself, in addition to its visual effect, also has very specific functions. It covers the end of the decks from various types of influences, both mechanical and moisture. Participates in the overall strength of the guitar body. An ornament or some other decoration (purfling) may also be embedded next to the edging.
In the previous article, we clearly examined the structure of a guitar. I see no point in repeating myself in this article, because in many ways the designs of acoustic, classical and electric guitars are similar, but the electric guitar is still much more complex.
Here I will talk about the design features of the electric guitar and all the nuances that you should pay attention to when choosing an instrument.
We will again move from the head of the guitar towards the body, in order, omitting everything that we talked about in the previous article.
1. Anchor hole cover. In this picture it is represented by a triangular plastic cap with the letters “SG”. On electric guitars, access to the truss rod is most often provided from the side of the headstock; in rare cases, access is made from the side of the body; in order to change the deflection, you will have to remove the neck, as you understand, this is not very convenient, although this procedure is infrequent, all It’s much more comfortable to have access from the side of the head.
2. Pickups. Next we come to one of the most interesting parts of the electric guitar. Pickups make a big contribution to the sound of a guitar. They convert string vibrations into a signal and transmit it to an amplifier. There are many types of pickups, but this is a topic for a separate article; here we will take the two most common options: humbuckers And singles. We will also leave the pickup design for later; now we need to know that a humbucker has two coils, and a single coil has one. In sound it is expressed something like this:
A humbucker produces a big, fat and deeper sound. Those who like to play hard rock and heavier genres prefer this type of pickups, however, high-quality humbuckers perform well on a clean sound or with a slight overload, so they are also great for blues, jazz and other not heavy genres.
The single gives a ringing, bright and splashing sound. Musicians have chosen such epithets for its sound as “glass” or “twang” because of the very clear, sharp and readable sound. Most often, this type of pickup is used for light music such as rock, pop or funk. It is believed that these pickups do not get the same fat and pressure as humbuckers, which is so valued in heavy music, but there are a number of modifications, such as rail single-coils, or humbuckers in the form of a single-coil, where the coils are located not next to each other, but one under the other. Nevertheless, supporters of heavier genres for the most part still prefer humbuckers.
The pickup located closer to the neck of the guitar is called the neck (from the word Neck, translated as neck), it usually has a deeper and more voluminous sound, with a predominance of low frequencies. It is most often used to perform solo parts. The one located closer to the tailpiece is called the bridge (the tailpiece in English is called a bridge). It sounds sharper and brighter, and is most often used for riffs and rhythm parts. Often there is a third pickup between them, it is called middle (from the English word middle, translated as middle, middle). It is usually somewhere between the neck and bridge sounds. Different combinations of pickup sounds are possible, as discussed below.
3. Electronics and control. If we are already talking about the electronic part of the electric guitar, then let’s move a little from the order from right to left and talk about electronics. Let’s not invade the territory of soldering workers, but let’s talk about the controls that you, as a user, will have to deal with.
Switch, or as it would be more correct to say, pickup selector. Its position determines which pickup is currently working. There are three-, five-, etc. position switches. This depends on how many pickups are on board your guitar. For example, if there are two humbuckers, most likely there will be a three-position switch in the stock, in positions: 1 - neck, 2 - neck + bridge, 3 - bridge. If there are three pickups, there are more combinations, so you won’t be able to limit yourself to three positions. Sometimes guitars have complex modifications, for example, with two humbuckers there is a five-position switch, which in the second and fourth positions turns off one coil of each pickup, thereby turning them into single coils. When purchasing, make sure that the switch is working properly and that it is not loose.
Potentiometers. If you look at the picture, we will see four knobs in the lower left corner of the case. These are potentiometers. Depending on the wiring diagram, there can be any number of them, or there may not be any at all. However, most often on a guitar there is a volume and tone knob. The volume is responsible for the exhaust of the pickup, when unscrewing this knob the volume level and congestion of the signal drops. Thus, many guitarists, when using overdrive, seem to “clean” the signal from overdriven to clean by slightly turning the volume knob, rather than turning off the effect. The tone knob works like a single-band equalizer, the standard position of which is when turned all the way, and by twisting this knob back you begin to cut off the high frequencies making the sound more bassy. When choosing a guitar, be sure to twist each knob and make sure that the potentiometers do not rustle or make a strong crunch when turning.
Socket (connector). Everything is simple here: a cable is inserted into the socket, the other end of which is inserted into the amplifier. There are no pitfalls here, the main thing is that the connector is held firmly in the case and does not wobble.
4. Bridge (tailpiece). But we need to talk about this detail in more detail, because the structure of your instrument directly depends on it. The advantage and at the same time disadvantage of electric guitars over acoustic and classical ones is that, as a rule, the electric bridge is a complex design. The advantages are that the bridge on an electric guitar will allow you to adjust the scale. As a result, the notes will stay in tune not only on the open strings on which tuning is usually done, but also throughout the entire neck. At least as much as possible for an equal-tempered instrument. Accordingly, the better the bridge, the more accurately your guitar can be tuned and the longer it will maintain this tune. Tailpieces are also divided into several categories, let’s take 3 main ones.
Fixed bridge. This design does not allow you to change the height of the tuning when playing, but this also guarantees the stability of the tuning. This type of bridge is exactly presented in the picture at the beginning of the article.
Standard tremolo. This type of bridge is most often found on Stratocaster and similar models. This machine can change the tuning; for this, a special lever is screwed into it (see the picture at the end of the article). However, this bridge mainly works only to lower the tuning, because its reverse side practically rests against the body.
Floyd Rose breeches and the like. This bridge can work both up and down. On guitars with this bridge, the body underneath is specially milled so that the machine can be recessed there and thereby increase the tension of the strings. In order to avoid frequent mistunings due to the active operation of the machine, on guitars with this bridge, instead of the top saddle, Top-Locks are installed, which tightly fix the strings (see the picture at the end of the article), this makes it impossible to quickly tune the guitar while playing , for this purpose, micro-tuners are installed in the Floyd Rose itself. Unfortunately, this bridge is extremely difficult for beginners to build on their own.
In general, all types of tailpieces have their advantages and disadvantages. However, the more complex the design of the bridge, the more expensive it is, so if you take a cheap guitar with a complex bridge design, you doom yourself to eternal fuss with a typewriter, out of tune and often breaking strings. Therefore, when choosing an instrument, be sure to check the bridge. It must fit tightly in the case, and all the screws in its design must rotate properly. If you have a small budget and want a guitar with a Floyd Rose or something similar, it is better to save up for a higher quality copy or take a guitar with a fixed bridge, it will save you a lot of problems.
Conclusion.
Every guitar is unique in its own way, but electric guitars come in so many different designs that it can be easy to get confused about what you need. However, all this only seems complicated, in fact, all the subtleties are comprehended in a couple of weeks, or even days, and every guitar nowadays is quite universal. When choosing your first instrument, you don’t have to be afraid to make a mistake; after several months of ownership, you will understand what suits you and what doesn’t, and you will be able to move further along the path to the instrument that is ideal for you, and the M-Guitars team will do everything possible to ensure that this path turns out to be as briefly as possible). Do not hesitate to consult our specialists, believe me, we have something to tell you.
Below are illustrations of the bridges described above.
Tremolo.
Floyd Rose.
On the previous page we looked at the types of guitars and settled on the electric guitar. On this page we will look at the parts that make up an electric guitar.
The structure of an electric guitar is shown in Fig. 1.
Rice. 1. Electric guitar structure
Grif. This is the most important part of an electric guitar, since it is the quality of the neck that will determine not only the ease of play, but also the ability to play the electric guitar itself. The neck consists of two parts: the base and the fingerboard. The fingerboard is the layer of wood at the top of the neck on which the nuts are installed, dividing the neck into frets. The type of wood of the base and fingerboard, as well as the thickness of the neck, affect the sound, but discussing these issues is beyond the scope of this course.
Body (deck). The body is also the main part of the electric guitar and plays a big role in shaping the sound.
Pickups. These are devices that convert mechanical vibrations of metal strings into electrical signals (they will not work with nylon strings). There are two types of pickups - single (single) and hambacker (humbucker).
A “single” type pickup allows you to get a clear sound (since the sound is picked up from one point on the string), but at the same time it well captures electromagnetic radiation - interference, noise, background that will be present in the sound of an electric guitar. In addition, compared to humbuckers, the single-coil produces a weak signal. To eliminate the shortcomings of single coils, a humbucker was developed, which uses two coils in such a way that the desired signal is amplified, and interference that is in antiphase cancels each other out. The disadvantage of a humbucker is that the sound is picked up from two points on the string, so there are rises and dips in the signal spectrum, which are perceived by the ear as minor sound distortions. Therefore, a humbucker will not sound like a single-coil, and both of these pickups are often found in guitars - a humbucker for playing rhythm on overdrive, and a single-coil for performing solo parts that require a clean sound (without distortion).
Rice. 2. Passive pickups
Above we looked at passive pickups. However, there are also active pickups, the coils of which use fewer turns, thereby expanding the frequency range (therefore, using active pickups can sometimes significantly improve the sound of an electric guitar). Fewer turns means lower signal level, so the output of this type of pickup produces a very weak signal, to amplify which a preamplifier is installed in the body of the guitar, powered by a 9V battery. This is the main disadvantage of active electronics - it is necessary to replace the battery (although not often). There are different opinions about the sound quality of active and passive electronics. However, for a beginning musician this point is not significant.
Rice. 3. Active EMG Hambacker pickup
The sound of an electric guitar is affected not only by the types of pickups and their number (you can turn them on individually or together using a switch), but also by their position. There are three pickup positions: at the neck (neck), in the middle (middle) and at the tailpiece (bridge). The sound of the neck when picked is low and deep, and the sound of the bridge is bright and high. Some pickups are designed to be mounted in a specific position - at the neck, in the middle, or at the bridge. This is something to consider when replacing (with better) pickups on an electric guitar.
Pickup switch. Serves to turn on the pickups individually or together, which allows you to get different sounds.
Bridge (typewriter, tailpiece). This is a device that attaches the strings to the body of an electric guitar. There are bridges with and without a tremolo system. Bridges without a tremolo system hold tuning better (the “swinging” of the lever on a budget tremolo system quickly leads to detuning), but they do not allow you to lower (and raise) the tuning while playing.
Rice. 3. Tremolo systems
Tremolo systems (machine) are of the following types: Fender (Fender), Floyd Rose (Floydrose), etc. The Fender machine has a simple mechanism and only allows you to lower the tuning. Electric guitars with a Floyd Rose machine are equipped with micro-tuning and a special clip, and allow you to both lower and raise the tuning.
Inexpensive guitars with a Floydrose machine have more problems than with a Fender machine. Therefore, you must decide for yourself whether you need the additional features (and additional problems) of a tremolo system or not.
Pegs mechanism (pegs). The tuning machine serves to adjust the pitch of the strings. Its quality affects how well the guitar will stay in tune and how much effort will need to be put into tuning.
Anchor. A curved steel rod that is located inside the neck of an electric guitar and serves to prevent the neck from deforming from the stress created by the tension of the strings. At one end of the anchor there is an anchor nut, the rotation of which with a hex key changes the bend of the neck. Access to the truss rod nut is often covered by a cover that is located at the base of the headstock (at the nut).
Electronics. It is located in the body of the electric guitar, accessed by removing the electronics compartment cover (in the picture it is located on the back of the body of the electric guitar). In the case of active electronics, the body of the electric guitar may have a separate compartment for a 9V battery.
Now you know about the structure of an electric guitar, and we move on to considering their types.
The guitar is a magical instrument. Her parts can be heard in any style of music - from classical to modern rock compositions. The history of this goes back to ancient times. After all, for more than 4000 years, humanity has been using the related cithara, zither, and lute. You can often find this wonderful instrument in our homes, but not everyone wonders what a guitar is made of.
History of origin
Translated from Persian “chartra” means four-string. It was instruments with four strings that came to the countries of the Middle East and Europe from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Then a fifth string was added to the guitar. This happened in Italy during the Renaissance. At this time, the number of frets on the neck also increased from eight to twelve. The six-strings we are familiar with appeared in the mid-17th century, and since then the structure of classical guitars has remained virtually unchanged. In the 1930s, a kind of guitar revolution began, and electronic components, amplifiers, and, in the following decades, various sound effects were added to musical instruments.
Structure and features of classical guitars
The predecessors of classical instruments were the Spanish flutes. They had five double strings and a sixth string, which was not quite familiar to the Spanish. Then in the 18th and 19th centuries, a sixth string was added to the Spanish one, musical masters experimented with shapes, scale lengths, and invented new tuning mechanisms. The result is a classic that has come down to us.
So what does a classical guitar consist of? The main parts of the instrument are the head, neck and body. Strings are attached and tensioned on the headstock with the help of pegs, and it itself is equipped with frets and frets to change the length of the vibrating string and thereby the frequency of the sound. The body of the instrument consists of a top deck, a back deck with a shell, a resonator hole and a stand - the place where it is connected to the body. Next, let's look at what an acoustic guitar consists of.
Design and features of acoustics
What is this type of guitar made of? The acoustic design is almost no different from classical instruments. The difference lies in the size of the body and the strings - they are metal. Depending on their size, such instruments are divided into dreadnoughts, jumbo and folk guitars. Widely used in musical styles such as blues, rock, bard song, and many other song genres.
A variety of wood species are used to make instruments. Although guitars made from exotic woods are not uncommon, acoustics are made from certain species. After all, the sound is affected by every wooden element of its design.
Structure and features of an electric guitar
Electric guitars differ from acoustic and classical guitars in the presence of pickups and an electrical circuit with adjustment knobs and switches. Such guitars require sound amplification equipment. For playing at home, the most popular are tube and transistor combo amplifiers with a power of 4-35 W.
Magnetic pickups appeared in the mid-20s of the last century at Gibson. The guitar revolution came a decade later, when jazz musicians discovered the wide range of possible electric guitar tones.
If we talk about the appearance of instruments, the most original and popular forms are:
Other guitar models from various manufacturers in one way or another borrowed the features of these instruments.
Materials for manufacturing
Above we discussed what parts a guitar consists of. What are they made of? The top has the most significant impact on the sound.
The traditional material for classical and acoustic guitars is spruce. High level instruments have a body made of red spruce. For simpler models, cheaper varieties are used. Used for the production of top soundboards and cedar. Instruments made of cedar and spruce sound differently, but beautifully in their own way: the former have a brighter sound, while the latter have a softer and more enveloping sound.
Mahogany is the most popular back and sides material. The same material is used to produce these guitar parts. In addition to mahogany, you can find instruments made of rosewood, maple, walnut, bubinga wood and koa.
The neck of an acoustic guitar is most often made of mahogany. The second most popular are maple vultures. The most common fretboard is rosewood. Higher-end acoustic and electric guitars are made from ebony - ebony.
Electric guitars, like acoustic and classical instruments, are made from wood, although there are metal guitars and models made from synthetic materials. "Classic" Gibson layout: mahogany body and neck, maple top, mahogany fingerboard.
Fender Instruments: Alder body, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard.
Structure and features of bass guitars
Bass guitars differ from other types of instruments in the thickness of their strings, increased scale length and, as a result, larger dimensions.
This guitar is a relative of the double bass. There are usually four or five strings, although six or more stringed instruments are found. They play with their fingers, using a specific technique, or with a pick.
