Table of Contents
Introduction
The path to mastery of the guitar may at first seem discouraging. So many styles, shapes, and sizes of different guitars, all competing for your attention and allow you to lighten your wallet. But, as with everything, the options may seem clearer if you simply filter out the elements that do not suit you and focus on tools that can help you explore the world of guitar playing. To help you, we have developed this guide to buying electric guitars, which we hope will shed light on the different things to consider when choosing your first guitar or the next one. Do you focus on a particular style of play, for example, rhythm or lead, or do you choose a particular style of music, for example, rock, indie, metal? Anyway, we covered you with this guide.
For those of us who can not afford the end, rest assured that the wide variety of guitars available for every budget is astounding. So, even if the price is clearly a factor, do not be discouraged initially. Play along with the game.
Before You Start Looking For Your First Electric Guitar, Consider The Following:
Price range – Set an appropriate price range. You can easily filter your search results on AMS using the price range selection filters on the left side of the page or by sorting in ascending order.
Size/age of the player – Electric guitars are available in many shapes, sizes, and weights, so it’s important to find the one that best suits your fitness. Consider your age, your height and the size of your hands. If you are younger or smaller, you will do better with guitars with thinner necks, shorter and lighter scales. If you are tall or have large hands, you will probably be more comfortable with heavier guitars with wider necks and longer scales. To play your instrument properly, you must be able to handle it comfortably.
Style of music you want to play – Rock, blues, metal, punk or jazz; the style of music you play will require the right tool for the job. Some guitars are known for their versatility and are used in many genres of music and some are favored by specific genres. Identify your favorite bands and guitarists and look for the material they use, the jazz trio guy probably will not use the same material as the metal band.
Who Are You Buying For?
When you buy a guitar for a beginner, it’s important to get a well-sized guitar that sounds great and matches the aspiring player’s musical tastes and aspirations. If you do not know, find out what kind of guitar they are looking for and who their guitarists are.
By choosing an electric guitar that meets these preferences, you guarantee that new players will stay motivated while learning to play. For beginners, it’s important to have an easy-to-play guitar that stays tuned. But cosmetics, body style, electronics, and tone also matter. Often a beginner can have a favorite guitarist who inspires him to play. Discover the guitars their heroes play and try to do something similar. Your budding country star may not be very excited about the skull-pointed guitar, but she’ll probably fall in love with a classic.
For someone who has been playing for a while, your options are a bit different. They may have some guitar in mind. If so, give them what they want! It is likely that they have already done their homework and are considering the next guitar. If they are not sure, you can still make an informed purchase. There are many popular options that should satisfy the most experienced players.
How An Electric Guitar Works
Although styles and styles may vary, electric guitars operate on the same general principles. Thesensor mounted on the body of the electric guitar works as a magnetic field. When a metal rope is pinched and vibrates, it generates a current. This current is transmitted by the sensor via a preamp circuit with tone controls to the guitar cable and then to the amplifier. The amplifier amplifies the signal and modifies it with various tone controls and effects, depending on the design and capabilities of the amplifier. The signal is then transmitted to a speaker, which converts it into sound waves. The type of microphone, tone controls, strings, playing techniques and other factors built into the guitar design all influence the signal sent to the amplifier. In short, each component of the guitar influences the sound of the guitar.
What To Look For In An Electric Guitar?
Body Style
Electric guitars come in three basic body styles: solid body, semihollow, and hollow body.
Solid Body
The solid body electric guitar is the most common body type and is made from a solid wood plate. Solid Body guitars can range from a simple single-sensor model to a multi-sensor instrument richly figured and decorated with a multitude of electronic options. Although solid-body guitars do not produce as much resonance as hollow-body models, the woods used always have an impact on the sound of the instrument.
Semi-Hollow Body
Similar to the hollow body, the semi-hollow body has more resonance than a solid body. However, semi-hollow guitars are designed with a solid central wood block that adds stability and durability and helps reduce returns. Many blues players love the warmth of the semi-hollow and the increased attack and sustain offered by the central block. Semi-hollow guitars can suit a wide variety of music – from blues and jazz to punk rock.
Hollow Body
As their name suggests, these electric guitars have a hollow body, much like an acoustic guitar, and produce more resonance because of their design. These guitars usually have an archtop and are more prone to returns. Many jazz guitarists prefer the hollow body for its full and rich sound and deep bass response.
When maintaining, strong amplification and many effects are needed, Solid Body guitars are a good choice. Semi-hollow body guitars are useful when more of its acoustic guitar with high amplification levels is needed. Hollowbody guitars, or “jazz,” provide the acoustic sound of the guitar but may be subject to feedback at high amplification levels.
Wood
The choice of wood naturally affects the tone and weight of a guitar, but so are a number of other factors. More expensive woods do not necessarily mean a guitar that sounds better. The important question for you is whether you like the sound of the instrument.
Neck
The choice of the type of handle of your guitar depends on the size of your hand. The necks come in different forms: C-shaped, thin, wide, etc.
Set Neck vs Bolt-on
Some people believe that a glued (or glued) neck has a better fit than a screwed neck. This can have an effect on the instrument you choose, but if you want a Fender Stratocaster, the neck is bolted, end point. Conversely, if you choose a Gibson Les Paul, it comes with a set handle.
Scale Length
The length of the range influences both the tonal quality of the notes produced and the tension of the string at a particular tone. The scale length refers to the vibrating length of the rope, which is determined by the distance between “nut” and “saddle deck”. The placement of the frets (see Intonation) is a ratio based on the length of the scale.
Most modern electric guitars use one of the two commonly used lengths: the “Gibson” range, at 24.75 inches, gives the Les Paul its rounded attack and its thick bass, and the “Fender” range to its 25.5, cutting quality. A third scale length, the 25-inch scale, used by Paul Reed Smith among others, produces a distinctive sound and is not a compromise between “Gibson” and “Fender”.
Intonation
Intonation determines whether or not the notes are tuned as you roll up the neck. If the distance between the frets (usually above the 12th fret) is turned off, the guitar will be unable to play properly and therefore unnecessary as a recording or performance instrument.
Number of Frets
Most electric guitars come with 22 frets. However, if you like to play bass, a 24 fret round will give you the full octave above the twelfth fret.
Finish
With electrical appliances, the type of finish does not affect the sound as much as the acoustics, but you will not have to worry about it. Guitar makers take this into account when building the instrument.
Bridge
There are two main types of guitar decks; Tremolo bridge and a stoptail bridge. The tremolo bridge (or whammy bar) allows you to “dive” or fold all the strings at once (good for Metal styles) but they can be detuned. The stop tail bridge is more stable in terms of tuning and, because it is attached to the body, some players have the impression that it provides more support than the tremolo bridge, which “floats” over the body.
Tuning Machines
Also called tuners or machine heads, these gear mechanisms, usually mounted on the guitar headstock, hold the strings in place and allow tuning the instrument by adjusting the tension of the strings. Most modern tuners have permanently lubricated closed mechanisms. The strings are held in place on the studs attached to the buttons, which are rotated to adjust the tension of the strings, allowing tuning of the guitar. Some tuners are designed to lock in place. This provides more stability and prevents chains from slipping off the tuner. It also makes it easy to change your strings.
Some adjustment systems lock at both the nut and the deck. This provides excellent adjustment stability and prevents ropes from slipping or stretching too much when using a tremolo system.
Pickup Switching and Other Controls
Most electric guitars have several microphones. Some will have two or three single coils. Some will have two or three humbuckers. Many offer a combination of single coil and humbucker pickups. This combination offers the player a wide range of tonal options. Pickup configurations are often abbreviated by referring to single coils with an “S” and to humbuckers with an “H.” The position of each microphone is indicated from the neck to the bridge.
The placement of the pickups on the body of the guitar greatly affects the tone they generate. The pickups near the bridge sample the chains where they have the least movement. The result is high pitched sounds or “bite”. The microphones located closer to the center of the strings, closer to the neck of the guitar, produce a sound featured by sounds more medium and more serious.
Multi-microphone guitars have controls that allow the player to access each microphone individually, as well as combinations of two or more microphones simultaneously. These controls can be rotary knobs, blade selectors or toggle switches that allow the guitarist to quickly access various sensor combinations during the performance.
Electric Guitar Hardware
Guitars have many different material styles, which have different uses. There is usually a direct relationship between the cost of a guitar and the quality of its material. A better material can make the difference for the stability and versatility of the guitar. As you can imagine, this is an area in which many improvements and upgrades can bring many benefits to the user. The most important hardware components are tuning, bridges and end pieces.
Conclusion
In the end, you want to make The Best buy for the person who will play the guitar while respecting your budget. As we recommended at the beginning, it is good to get an idea of what the player is looking for. Find out what styles they like and his favorite music. Looks are important too! The right guitar in the right color could make all the difference. We hope you enjoyed our electric guitar buying guide.