Purchasing of first electric guitar
Before deciding to buy an electric guitar, we should carefully consider what we are looking for. Guitar models differ mainly in price, quality, type of components used, and sound. If we are just starting out with music, we probably will not be interested in the guitar for 10000zł. In that case, we will be looking for a guitar that is as comfortable as possible, sounds decent and does not clear our pocket. In turn professional musicians choose their instruments in terms of the target sound and the most comfortable playing environment, usually without looking on budget.
Electric guitars can have one of three basic types of body: solidbody, semihollow and hollowbody. When we looking for a long sonority and we will use loud guitar amplifier and a lot of effects, solidbody body guitars will be your best choice. This is the most popular construction among electric guitars. If we expect more acoustic sound from our guitar, we should pay attention to the semihollow bodies and the hollowbody. Both are very similar and have resonance holes. The semihollow body is smaller than the hollowbody and has some other characteristic sound.
Another very important aspect is the type of wood from which the guitar body was made. After the sound of the instrument, it also affects its weight. Below we present the most popular wood and their short characteristics:
Alder - Light wood with balanced sound.
Ash - offers balanced sound. Ideally suited for transparent finishes.
Linden - is light and its sound is warm. The middle band is enhanced.
Mahogany - its sound is very warm and dark. Offers long sounding. It is relatively heavy.
Maple - has very clear sound and long sounding. Relatively heavy.
Poplar - light and hard tree. Its sound is clear and dirty.
Let's move now to the neck. There are three factors to consider when selecting this: the type of wood , the method of fixing it to the body and his profile (thickness, width and shape). The type of wood has an indirect effect on the sound of the instrument, as well as its weight and balance. As in the case of bodies, most commonly used are: maple, mahogany as well as rosewood. The griffin can be made of one piece of wood or two, for example a maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard. The way the neck is attached to the body also affects the sound of the guitar and how it will react to the tension caused by the strings.
There are three types of fixation: Bolt-on Neck (with screws), Set Neck (with glue) and Neck Through Body (body and neck is made of one piece of wood). The shape of the neck is a matter of our individual preferences. It affects the layout of our hand, and consequently the comfort of the game. We may encounter "C", "U" and "V" type griffins.
Our guitar can be equipped with a different amount and type of pickups. The two basic types of pick ups are single-coil and humbucker. Single-coil pickup feature lightweight and clear sound. They are commonly used in Fender guitars, such as Stratocaster or Telecaster, which are readily used in rock, pop, or country. Some of the best guitarists, such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, used their sound.
Humbucker is a set of two single-coil pickups connected in an antiphase. They were designed by Gibson and their main task was to eliminate the noise that a single pickup produces. Their sound is generally more powerful than single-coil and has been widely used in heavier music, such as rock and metal. In addition, due to its warmer and darker tone, this type of entree is also used successfully in jazz and blues. Humbuckers appreciated Jimmy Page, John Lennon and BB King, among others
Mensur affects both the quality of the guitar sound and the string tension. Mensur affect on the vibrating length of a string portion that defines the distance between the bridge and the saddle at the end of the fingerboard. It depends on the distribution of thresholds, so the guitars with higher mensuration, they have greater distance between the thresholds.
Finally, I will mention the bridge and the keys. Bridges are divided into two groups: fixed and movable. In the case of cheaper instruments, we should choose rather solid bridges, as they provide much greater stability of the outfit. Movable bridges can be one- or two-sided. They allow you to smoothly decrease or increase the height of all the strings at once, using whammy bar. If we decide on this type of bridge, we should additionally install (if our instrument does not have them) locked keys, which will prevent the guitar of distuning during playing.
Choosing a guitar is not such a simple matter at all. There are a number of factors that we must pay attention to when buying a dream instrument. Of course, we can read thousands of guides, browse music forums and learn about it, but there is no substitute for visiting a music store. Before deciding on a particular guitar model, we should thoroughly out play it. Remember that the playing first of all should give us pleasure and joy!