Guitars

The vast majority of electric and acoustic guitars have 6 strings, tuned to a standard pitch of E. Some heavier contemporary styles require a lower pitch for a heavier sound and so additional strings are required to facilitate this: 7 strings guitars have an extra low 'B' and 8 string guitars have that plus an additional low 'F#'. 12 string guitars, whether acoustic or electric, have double the amount of strings because you play them in pairs. This makes 12 string guitars sound specifically different to 6 string guitars even though they are played in largely the same way. In terms of bass guitars, the standard number of strings is 4 with 5 string basses utilising an additional low 'B' string just as on a 7 string guitar. 5 string basses are used in many styles of music. 6 string basses often have an additional high 'B' as well to open out the range of pitches in both directions. There are other varieties of 'extended range' instruments but these are the most popular.

Lots of people choose a beginners acoustic guitar because it requires no extra equipment to make a sound. Beginners acoustic guitars can be full sized or smaller sized to cater for all age groups. The are easy to play and provide a good value for money introduction to guitar playing. Other people opt to go straight to the electric guitar, often buying a pack that contains a guitar, amp, strap, cable and other accessories as it means that everything needed is bought at once. Electric guitars are often more fun and exciting to play compared to acoustic guitars, with the added benefit that the volume can be turned down! Ultimately there is no right or wrong choice: whichever direction the fledgling player decides to take is the right direction for them.

These terms all refer to the different ways that electric guitars can be produced. Guitars such as Fender Telecasters have solid bodies and bolted-on necks. This means that the body is a thick piece of wood, often made out of smaller pieces of wood like Alder or Basswood stuck together. The neck is attached via 4 large bolts that screw into a neck socket. This is very secure. Other solid body guitars like the famous Gibson SG have a set neck, otherwise known as a glued-in neck. Set necks carry arguably more sustain through the body and do not require as much of a 'heel' which can prove obstructive to playing high-up notes. The neck is simply glued into the body, making the guitar effectively one piece of resonating wood. Both methods have different sounds and both are equally valid: indeed, lots of guitar players like to have at least one example of both to cover the range of sounds available. Semi acoustic refers to electric guitars with hollow areas in them like the Gibson ES-335 or the White Falcon. These guitars are normally bigger than solid body instruments and have f-holes rather like a volin or a cello. These are not acoustic guitars, however: the semi acoustic nature of the guitars is to alter the plugged-in sound and provide some weight relief.

There are a handful of guitar designs out there from the 1950s that have proven time and again to be the most popular guitar designs in history and the undisputed king of these is the Fender Stratocaster. The Fender Strat, as it is often known, is available in a dizzying amount of finishes and specification options. Legendary players including Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour and Eric Clapton all played Stratocasters so that may partly account for their popularity but their famous versatility and twangy sound plays arguably a bigger part. The most popular Stratocaster model is the mid priced Mexican model in White with a Maple fingerboard.

Electric guitar pickups do come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Let's take a look at them, beginning with the single coil pickup. A single coil pickup, like the type you'd find on a Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster. These are made by wrapping copper wire around a magnet (different magnets produce different types of tones) which then picks up the sound of the string vibrations. Single coil pickups are categorised by twangy, trebly sounds with chime and bite. P90 pickups are single coiled with wider windings and sound fuller with more body. Humbuckers are essentially two magnets and sets of pole pieces (the metal points you see on top of most pickups) which are wound to eliminate the background hum associated with single coil pickups. They also produce a larger, thicker sound that produces lots of sustain. These are the kind of pickups you often see on Gibson, Ibanez, PRS and Jackson guitars. They excel at rock lead tones. Pickups can also be passive or active. Passive pickups are 'normal' and require no extra power in order to function. Active pickups, including most EMG pickups, require a 9v PP3 battery for the extra juice required to run them. They typically dish out high levels of output with very low levels of background hum, making them perfect for heavy styles like metal and thrash.