Everything about electric guitars and their structure and properties. Guitar parts
Today I will talk about the construction of the guitar, how the neck and body of the guitar are arranged, I will also give a diagram of the structure of the guitar and talk about the materials from which this or that part is made.
General information
Acoustic guitar is divided into 2 main types:
- Classic
- Variety
Rice. 0 Acoustic and pop guitars
Classical guitar most often used for performing classical pieces, folk, folklore, flamenco, bardic and marching songs. The classical guitar is also called the Spanish guitar, as it was first made in Spain. The classic guitar is dominated by a wide neck and nylon strings.
Pop guitar universal for all musical styles, but personally for me it is associated with such genres as blues, folk and country. The pop guitar is also called a western guitar or simply an acoustic guitar. The pop music is dominated by metal strings and a narrow neck compared to the classical version.
Acoustic guitar device (diagram)
Both classical and pop guitars consist of two main parts: corps and vulture.
Fig. 1 Guitar construction diagram
1 -Vulture. 2 - The headstock. 3 -Fingerboard overlay. 4 - The heel of the neck. 5 -Polks. 6 - Nut. 7 - Fret nut. 8 -Lada. 9 -Upper deck. 10 -Bottom deck. 11 -Shell. 12 -Resonator hole. 13 -Bridge (tailpiece). 14 -The lower sill. 15 -Button. 16 -Protective pad.Guitar Neck Device
The bar consists of a headstock (2), a fretboard (3), and a heel bar (4). The tuning pegs (5) are located on the headstock - a mechanism that is designed to attach and change the tension of the strings. There is also a nut (6) on the headstock, which is designed to reduce string ripple. It is usually made from plastic or bone. 
Rice. 2 Nut made of bone
In the fretboard on a special machine, cuts are made, into which the frets are subsequently pressed in (7). The grooves protrude above the neck of the guitar and separate its frets (8) (the distance between the two nut is called the fret). The heel of the neck is glued or bolted into the body of the guitar. If the heel of the neck is glued into the body, then the distance between the strings is adjusted by an anchor bolt that runs the entire length of the neck and is located under the fingerboard.
Rice. 3 Truss under the fretboard
The truss head is located either in the headstock or at the bottom near the socket. Bolt-on, allows you to adjust the height of the strings.
Guitar body structure
The body of the guitar consists of a top (9) and a back (10), which are cut in a figure-eight shape. They are interconnected by the walls of the guitar by the so-called shells (11). On the front deck, below the strings, there is a circular resonator hole (12), commonly referred to as a rosette. In cheap guitars, which are made from low quality materials, the socket is decorated with plastic or paper stickers, and in more expensive guitars, it is decorated with a veneer or mother of pearl. 
Rice. 5 Resonator hole decorated with mother-of-pearl.
Some models of guitars have an additional resonator hole, which is located at the top of the soundboard and gives the guitar special acoustic properties: 
Rice. 6 Guitar with additional resonators.
The so-called bridge (tailpiece) is located on the top deck (13). On the tailpiece there is a saddle (14), which is made of plastic or bone. The strings are attached to the tailpiece with special buttons (15), which are made of plastic. A protective pad (16) is glued to the top deck to avoid scratches and chips.
Since the guitar is influenced by very unpleasant forces from the tension of the strings, it is reinforced from the inside with special slats, which provide the strength of the body structure, but also affect the sound of the guitar, enriching the sound with very tangible acoustic properties. 
Rice. 7 Reiki reinforcing the guitar from the inside.
Materials (edit)
The bodies of the cheapest guitars are made from the most ordinary plywood, which has a very lousy sound, equipped with tuners that practically do not hold the tuning and strings that need to be changed immediately after buying a guitar. The necks of cheap guitars are made from extruded plywood and god knows what else. The saddle and saddle are made of low quality plastic, and the frets are made of some kind of bi-metal. 
Rice. eight Rosewood guitar body
The bodies of expensive guitars are made of mahogany, rosewood and maple. Equipped with good tuning pegs and, of course, strings that are pleasant to play. The necks of expensive guitars are made of beech, mahogany and other durable woods. Saddles and saddles are usually made from quality plastic or bone, while the frets are made from quality metal.
Recommended content: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 close look at the electric guitar:
1- neck
2- building
3- pickups (sensors)
4- headstock
5- pegs
6- bridge (car)
7- volume and tone knobs
8- socket for connecting the cord
9- nut and frets
10- pickup switch
11- strings
12- nut
13- lever
Let's take a closer look at the design of an electric guitar.
Body (or deck)
The body (or soundboard) of a guitar significantly affects the acoustic properties of the instrument, which determine how the guitar sounds through the amplifier. Decks are thick or thin, soft or dense wood.
It is believed that dense, heavy woods such as ash and mahogany (mahogany) give more sustain. But it is not only the weight of the wood that determines the sound of the instrument.
Listen to guitars made of maple or alder - medium to heavy rocks - these are the breeds that Fender makes most of their instruments. Or, for example, very light basswood or swamp ash guitars. Guitars made from all these woods are in the arsenal of the world's great guitarists.
This means that by the weight of the instrument, it is impossible to say unambiguously whether it sounds good or not. Light woods sound as neutral as possible, without embellishing the sound. They absorb the vibrations of the strings more than they reflect them.
The best electric guitar decks are made from a single piece of wood. Cheap tools are made from a large number of small pieces of wood, with a lot of gluing. The more of them, the more likely the appearance of the 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 the places of gluing.
Separately, it is worth noting guitars like Gibson Les Pauls, which deliberately use different types of wood (mahogany for the bottom of the deck and maple for the top) in order to give the guitar the desired color.
Stratocaster
Les Paul
So, note for ourselves that mahogany guitars give a softer, lower sound, more sustain ( les Paul, PRS, Ibanez and ESP).
And guitars made of alder, American linden, ash give a more sonorous, 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 you will be playing a given instrument.
Fans of hard, fast music - those who play a lot of tapping, legato and other techniques of playing the fretboard - will appreciate the wide and thin necks (you can try the guitars Jackson soloist, Ibanez RG, Washburn N series).
Lovers of classical styles - rock and blues - usually prefer the standard, more rounded necks, which are good for chords (worth checking out the guitars Fender and Gibson Les Paul).
Compound radius fingerboards represent a reasonable compromise: the neck is rounder closer to the head, and flatter closer to the soundboard (pickups, typewriter). True, such necks are used only on certain models of instruments and are more expensive than conventional ones.
The fretboard material also makes a significant contribution to the sound of the guitar, as the fretboard 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 strings are over the fretboard and only one third over the body. And if the body of the guitar can in principle be replaced, then a poor-quality fretboard is a damaged neck, and therefore a damaged guitar.
What separates the best bar from the worst? First of all, it is a tree. Vultures are made mostly of maple or mahogany.
Neck can also be made of composite materials (which are used in today's space industry and other fields) such as "never dry" graphite.
Fingerboards, which are made of wood, are usually varnished to prevent them from warping due to drying out. Note, however, that many celebrities such as Van Halen and Joe Satriani prefer to play unvarnished necks.
The fretboard material plays an equally important role in the sound of the instrument. There are three standard varieties: maple, ebony and rosewood.
Maple (light wood seen on type guitars 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 breeds, and has perhaps the "warmest" and softest sound.
Typically, manufacturing firms have in their arsenal a large number of models, some of which are maple, some are rosewood, and the most expensive - signature models of famous guitarists - are ebony.
At the same time, it is impossible to say unequivocally which fingerboards sound better than others - these three types of wood simply sound different. 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 vibrant sound.
Rosewood is more expensive than processed maple, and grows only in rare southern countries, therefore it is more expensive. The standard fingerboard on a decent guitar is made of rosewood, although this wood is also often used on expensive signature instruments such as the Ibanez Joe Satriani and Frank Gambale, Fender Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.
Ebony is the densest tree. It is brought to Europe and America from the most southern 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 tree 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 convenient for his fingers to play.
Remember!
The neck, along with the soundboard, are the most important parts of the guitar. Basically, they determine its value. You can change the pickups, typewriter, tuners, whatever you want, but replacing the neck or deck is the most expensive and sometimes impossible task. It's easier to buy another guitar!
Pickups (sensors)
From a purely physical point of view, a pickup (or pickup) is a device that converts one type of energy into another. In the case of a magnetic pickup, the vibration of a string in a magnetic field is converted into an alternating current electrical signal, which is then fed to an amplifier.
It happens as follows: the string vibrates in the field created by the permanent magnet (s) of the sensor. An electric current is generated inside a coil of wire wound around these magnets, which is fed through the wires to the amplifier.
Often, buying more expensive sensors can improve the sound of budget instruments, 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 even differ visually.
Hambecker
Singles- sensors with one coil (single-single). They are characterized by a bright, "clear" (not distorted) sound. Their design is usually based on 4 or 6 permanent magnets, around which from 7 to 10 thousand turns of copper wire, 0.06 mm thick, are wound. These sensors are very popular due to their high sound quality.
As a result, in addition to the sound of the strings, you can hear extraneous noise or background. This is especially true when playing with drive or distortion effects.
However, now they are releasing split singles with a humbucker effect. Two windings, each of which surrounds its half of the magnets, are connected in antiphase. The magnets inside each of them have opposite polarity. As a result, the problem of interference and noise is solved, while the sensors produce a traditional single-coil sound.
The most popular single coil guitar is the Fender Stratocaster.
Humbuckers(hambacking - noise reduction) - pickups with two coils, which are connected in series, but in antiphase, each of them facing the strings with different poles of the magnets.
As a result, extraneous noise or background is canceled out, and the useful signal is added, and the output level is twice as high as that of the single.
However, the humbucker sound itself turns out to be poorer, lower and devoid of "highs". This is because the spatially spaced coils (15-17 mm) produce two different signals, which results in subtraction of some of the high-frequency components.
Sorry - I got carried away! I just graduated from a technical university ... J
As a result, on a clean sound, they give out a smoothed round sound, with overdrive they sound aggressive, distinct and without background. An example of a guitar with humbuckers - Gibson Les Paul.
2. Passive and active.
The principle of operation of passive sensors is described above. Active sensors have fewer turns in the coils, which means they have 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 sensors come in both singles and humbuckers.
Single EMG
Hambacker EMG
Critics of active transducers have argued that they produce a sterile, unnatural sound that is the result of an artificially created frequency response.
The opposite side claims that in addition to the low noise level, active pickups expand the guitarist's capabilities. He can play an unconventional sound and then switch to a more familiar sound.
The most famous producers of "passive" - Di marzio, Seymour duncan, Fender, Gibson; "Asset" - EMG.
I almost forgot: when describing pickups such as "Hot", "Vintage", "Pro" are very subjective and buying a pickup without listening to it (for example, in a store) is a lottery.
Bridge (car, tailpiece)
Bridge is a device by which the strings are attached to the soundboard.
There are two types of breeches: with and without tremolo system. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.
1. Breeches with tremolo system.
A more common name is a typewriter: Fender, Floyd Rose, Kahler are usually played on stratocasters or strato-like instruments. Their advantage lies in the ability to lower and, in some models, raise the pitch of the notes on the guitar with the right hand. For this, there is a lever in it.
Guitars with cars Floyd Rose and Kahler equipped with a lockable clothespin and micro-adjustment. Thanks to this, with active use of the lever, the instrument does not get out of tune, and it is always possible to adjust the tuning without unscrewing the “clothespin” screws.
These machines allow you to swing the string up and down by 1.5 - 2 tones and perform some fun tricks like Stive vai... Therefore, you can greatly diversify your game.
The main disadvantages are as follows:
If a string breaks, the guitar is immediately out of tune;
- to replace the string it is necessary to do a lot of manipulations (climb 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 system;
- machines of this type most strongly "eat" sustain (duration of notes);
- due to the large number of parts, these machines most often fail;
Guitars with cars Fender freed from all tricks:
Due to their simpler design, there are fewer problems with them, but still:
- if the string breaks, the guitar is immediately upset, though not so much;
- use the lever more carefully, the guitar may get upset;
- the sustain is still decreasing, although it brings its own flavor;
- these machines only allow you to lower the pitch (swing the lever down).
2. Breeches without tremolo. They are put on guitars like Les Paul, Telecaster, some Heavy Metal and semi-acoustic. Their design is even simpler, the number of parts is kept to a minimum:
They keep the tuning better, they sound more melodious, there are fewer problems with them at concerts. There is only one drawback, as you may have already guessed - there are no such opportunities that the machine gives.
Which bridge to choose is up to you, but if you are a beginner and you don't have much money for a guitar, choose with or without a simple tremolo. With cheap Floyd Rose much more problems.
Electronics (volume and tone knobs, pickup switch, cord jack).
These parts, with the exception of the socket, are used to change the character of the sound of the guitar 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 produces a unique guitar sound.
This jack is used to connect the guitar to the amplifier using a cord.
Lines and frets.
Metal inserts that are cut into the neck perpendicular to the strings are called saddles. The areas of the neck 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.
Nut.
A plastic or wood plate with string slots that prevents the strings from vibrating outside the neck.
Strings.
The strings pass through the nut slots and are secured to the tuning pegs. The sound of any guitar can be degraded by the use of old or poor quality strings. This is an expense budget for any guitarist.
The most common string makers are: D "Addario, DR, Ernie Ball, GHS, Dean Markley, La Bella. Elixir.
Tuners.
Six worm gears that boost or cut guitar sounds by turning the tuning pegs and tightening or releasing the string tension.
The main thing is not to overdo it when playing new strings!
Headstock
The top of the neck where the tuning 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, not "plywood".
- What amps, amps, guitar effects, processors and other useful devices for the guitarist are?.
How to connect an electric guitar and other equipment.
- And many more interesting and useful things for a beginner guitarist ...
Electric guitar construction using the example of the Fender Stratocaster
1-Neck. 2-Building. 3-headstock. 4-nut. 5-fret nut. 6-pegs. 7-Bridge (with tremolo). 8-Pickup humbucker. 9-Pickup single. 10-Lever. 11-Pickup Switch. 12-Tone control. 13-Volume control. 14-Cord connection socket. 15-Hole for anchor adjustment. 16-Fastening the belt. 17-Fret marker.Electric guitar neck(1) is practically no different from acoustics and consists of two parts: the neck itself and the fretboard, held together with glue. Recall that the fretboard is the top of the fretboard where the frets are located. On headstock(3) are also found pegs(6), and inside the neck there is anchor, whose task is still the same - to prevent the strings from bending the neck. The neck can be glued to the soundboard, or it can be attached with screws (this is one of the differences from acoustics).
Like an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar has a neck, body, strings, tuning pegs ... But the body of an electric guitar is not at all the same as an acoustic one, but flat.
Electric guitar body(2) can be made entirely of wood or hollow.
Hollow-body guitars have a warm, rich sound and are commonly used in jazz, blues and country music. The disadvantages of these guitars are the rapid decay of the sound, and the appearance of a squeaky sound when played at high volumes.
Solid body guitars are made of either one or several pieces of wood, usually of the same grade, that are glued together. The more places where the body is glued, the worse the sound will be, due to the loss of wood resonance in these places. The exception is some models of guitars, the body of which is intentionally made from different types of wood to improve the sound. These guitars have a sharper and more aggressive sound, which is most suitable for playing heavy music.
Now about what fundamentally distinguishes an acoustic guitar from an electric guitar.
Bridge or car(7) is the device by which the strings are attached to the deck. There are two types of breeches: with a tremolo and without (in the figure, a bridge with a tremolo). Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Tremolo breeches is a movable stand, which is set in motion using a lever (10), which allows you to change the tension of all strings and create a vibrato effect even with open strings. Typically, these cars are installed on stratocaster and similar instruments. Such machines allow you to change the pitch by one and a half to two tones, which greatly diversifies the sound.
Breeches without tremolo are put on telecaster and semi-acoustic guitars. Their design is even simpler, the number of parts is minimized, due to which guitars equipped with such bridges hold better in tune, sound more melodious, and there are fewer problems with them when you need to quickly change strings.
For beginners, it is better to choose guitars equipped with a typewriter with a simple tremolo (when the typewriter works only to reduce the sound) or without it at all.
Under the strings on the body of the electric guitar there are pickups - pickups that convert the vibrations of the string into an electrical signal. The pickup is a very important part of the guitar, the type and quality of the pickup determines the sound produced by the guitar.
Pickups are of two types: singles (9) and humbuckers (8). Singles have a clear and transparent sound. These pickups are used for blues and country music. The disadvantage associated with the design of such sensors is a lot of extraneous noise and a strong background when playing with distortion. Although now they are releasing split singles, which have significantly reduced noise.
Humbuckers suppress extraneous noises and are more suited for playing through guitar effects. These sensors have a more powerful and richer sound. Due to these qualities, humbuckers are more suitable for heavy styles of music.
Manufacturers combine both types of pickups in different sequences and thus achieve a variety of instrument sounds. In the description of an electric guitar, you can see something like S-S-H or H-S-H - thus, the sequence in which the pickups are installed on the guitar is S - single (single), H - humbucker (humbucker).
Pickups can be passive or active. Active sensors have a wider frequency range and a weak output signal. To amplify it, a crown-powered preamplifier is built into the guitar. Active sensors, like passive ones, come in both singles and humbuckers.
To switch between pickups, a switch (11) is installed on the guitar, making one or two of the pickups installed on the guitar active. By switching between pickups, you can change the sound produced by the guitar. Switches are often installed that turn on two pickups adjacent to each other and thus create new sounds.
Also on the body of an electric guitar, as a rule, there are volume (13) and tone (12) sound controls.
The guitar is a magical instrument. Her parts can be heard in any style of music - from classics to modern rock compositions. The history of this goes back to ancient times. After all, for more than 4000 years, mankind has been using its related kifara, zither, and lute. You can often find this wonderful instrument in our homes, but not everyone asks the question of what a guitar consists of.
History of origin
Translated from Persian "chartra" - four-stringed. 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. It happened in Italy during the Renaissance. At this time, the number of frets on the fretboard also increased from eight to twelve. The six-strings familiar to us appeared in the middle of the 17th century, and since then the structure of classical guitars has remained practically unchanged. In the 30s of the last century, a kind of guitar revolution began, and electronic components, amplifiers, and various sound effects were added to musical instruments.
The device and features of classical guitars
The predecessors of the classical instruments were the Spanish flu. They had five double strings and not quite familiar to them. Then, in the 18-19 centuries, a sixth string was added to the Spanish one, musical masters experiment with forms, scale length, and invent 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. On the head of the neck with the help of pegs, strings are attached and stretched, and it itself is equipped with frets and frets to change the length of the vibrating string and thereby the frequency of sound. The body of the instrument consists of the top deck, the back with a shell, the resonator hole, and the stand where it connects to the body. Next, let's look at what an acoustic guitar consists of.
The device and features of acoustics
What is this kind of guitar made of? The acoustics of the device are 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 classified into dreadnoughts, jumbo and folk guitars. They are widely used in musical styles such as blues, rock, bard song, and many other song genres.
Various types of wood are used for the production of tools. Despite the fact that guitars from exotic woods are not uncommon, acoustics are made from certain species. After all, the sound is influenced by every wooden element from its structure.
The device and features of the electric guitar
Electric guitars differ from acoustic and classical guitars by the presence of pickups and an electrical circuit with control knobs and switches. These guitars require amplification equipment. For playing at home, the most popular are tube and transistor combo amplifiers with a power of 4-35 watts.
Magnetic pickups date back to the mid-1920s at Gibson. And the guitar revolution came a decade later, when jazz musicians discovered a wide range of possible electric guitar tones.
If we talk about the appearance of tools, then the most distinctive and popular forms are:
The rest of the models of guitars from different manufacturers in one way or another borrowed the features of these instruments.
Materials for making
Above, it was considered what parts the guitar consists of. And what are they made of? The top deck has the most significant impact on the sound.
The traditional material for it in classical and acoustic guitars is spruce. High-end instruments have a deck made of red spruce. For simpler models, cheaper varieties are used. Used for the production of tops and cedar. Instruments made of cedar and spruce sound differently, but beautiful 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 material for the back and sides. The same material is used for the production of these guitar parts. In addition to mahogany, you can find tools made of rosewood, maple, walnut, bubinga and koa wood.
The neck of an acoustic guitar is most often made of mahogany. Maple necks are the second most popular. The most common fingerboard is rosewood. In higher class acoustic and electric guitars made of ebony - ebony.
Electric guitars, as well as acoustic and classical instruments, are made from wood, although metal guitars and plastic models exist. "Classic" scheme for Gibson: Mahogany body and neck, Maple top fingerboard, Mahogany fingerboard.
Fender instruments: alder deck, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard.
The device and features of bass guitars
Bass guitars differ from other types of instruments in string thickness, increased scale and, as a result, large 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. Play with your fingers using a specific technique, or with a pick.
In the previous article, we visually examined the structure of the guitar. I see no reason to repeat 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 complicated.
Here I will tell you about the design features of the electric guitar and about all the nuances that you should pay attention to when choosing an instrument.
We will again move from the head of the guitar to the side of the body in order, dropping 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 it is not very convenient, although this procedure is infrequent, everything it is 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 an electric guitar. Pickups contribute greatly to the sound of a guitar. They convert the vibrations of the strings into a signal and transmit it to an amplifier. There are tons of pickup types, but this is a topic for a separate article, here we will take two of the most common pickup options: humbuckers and singles... We will also leave the pickup device for later, now we need to know that the humbucker has two coils, and the single has one. In sound, this is expressed something like this:
The humbucker produces a spacious, bold and deeper sound. Fans of hard rock and heavier genres prefer this type of pickup, but high-quality humbuckers perform well on a clean sound or with a slight overdrive, so they are also great for blues, jazz and other non-heavy genres.
The single gives a sonorous, bright and splashing sound. The musicians chose such epithets as "glass" or "twang" for its sound because of the very clean, sharp and readable sound. Most often this type of pickup is used for non-heavy music such as rock, pop or funk. It is believed that these pickups do not get that fat and pressure as on humbuckers, which is so prized in heavy music, but there are a number of modifications, such as rail singles, or single-coil humbuckers, where the coils are located not side by side, but one under the other. Nevertheless, supporters of the heavier genres, for the most part, still give preference to humbuckers.
The pickup located closer to the neck of the guitar is called neck (from the word Neck, in translation the neck), it usually has a deeper and more spacious sound, with a predominance of low frequencies. Solo parts are most often performed on it. The one located closer to the bridge is called the bridge (the bridge in English is called the bridge). It sounds more harsh and bright, most often riffs and rhythm parts are performed on it. Often there is a third pickup between them, it is called middle (from the English word middle, translated as middle, middle). It is usually something in between the sounds of the neck and the bridge. Various 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 we will move a little from the right -> left order, and talk about electronics. We will not invade the territory of the solders, but let's talk specifically about the controls that you, as a user, will have to face.
A switch, or as it would be more correct to say a pickup selector. Which pickup is currently working depends on its position. There are three, five, etc. position switches. It depends on how many pickups are on board your guitar. For example, if there are two humbuckers, there will most likely be a three-position switch in the drain, according to positions: 1 - neck, 2 - neck + bridge, 3 - bridge. If you have three pickups, there are more combinations, so you won't be able to limit yourself to three positions. Sometimes there are complex modifications on guitars, 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 singles. When purchasing, make sure that the switch works properly and that it is not loose.
Potentiometers. If you look at the picture, we will see four twists in the lower left corner of the case. These are potentiometers. Depending on the wiring diagram, there can be any set of them, or there may not be at all. However, most often on a guitar, there is a mandatory volume and tone knob. The volume is responsible for the exhaust of the pickup, when you twist this knob, the volume level and signal congestion drop. Thus, many guitarists, when using overdrive, sort of "cleanse" the signal from overdriven to clean by slightly twisting the volume knob, rather than turning the effect off. The tone knob works as a single-band equalizer, the standard position of which is when turned all the way, and turning this knob backwards you begin to cut the high frequencies making the sound more bass. When choosing a guitar, be sure to turn each knob and make sure that the potentiometers do not rustle or emit a strong crunch as you turn them.
Socket (connector). Everything is simple here, a cable is inserted into the socket, the opposite 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 not wobbled.
4. Bridge (tailpiece). But we need to talk about this detail in more detail, because the tuning of your instrument directly depends on it. The advantage and at the same time the disadvantage of electric guitars over acoustic and classical ones is that, as a rule, an electric bridge is a complex design. The upside is that the bridge on the electric guitar will allow you to adjust the scale. As a result, the notes will keep in tune not only on the open strings, which are usually used for tuning, but throughout the entire fretboard. At least as much as possible with an equal temperament instrument. Accordingly, the better the bridge, the more accurately your guitar can be tuned and the longer it will maintain this tuning. Tailors are also divided into several categories, let's take 3 main ones.
Fixed bridge. This design does not allow you to change the pitch while playing, but it also guarantees you the stability of the scale. This type of bridge is just shown in the picture at the beginning of the article.
Standard tremolo. This type of bridge is most often found on models such as the Stratocaster and the like. 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 pitch, 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 is specially milled under it so that you can drown the machine there and thereby increase the string tension. In order to avoid frequent misalignments due to the active operation of the typewriter on guitars with this bridge, instead of the nut, Top-Lock "Top-Lock" 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, micro-trimmers are installed in Floyd Rose itself. Unfortunately, this bridge is extremely difficult to rebuild for beginners on their own.
In general, all types of tailpiece have their own merits and demerits. However, the more complex the bridge design, the more expensive it costs, therefore, taking a cheap guitar with a complex bridge design, you doom yourself to eternal fuss with a typewriter, non-tune and often breaking strings. Therefore, when choosing an instrument, be sure to check the bridge. It should fit snugly in the case, and all screws in its structure should rotate properly. If you have a small budget, and you want a guitar with a Floyd Rose or something similar, you better dig up for a better copy or take a guitar with a fixed bridge, this will save you a lot of problems.
Output.
Each guitar is unique in its own way, but electric guitars have so many design options that it can be easy to get confused as to what you want in the end. However, all this only seems complicated, in fact, all the subtleties are comprehended in a couple of weeks, or even days, and every guitar in our time is quite universal. When choosing the first instrument, you can not be afraid to make a mistake, after several months of ownership you will understand what suits you and what does not, and you can move further along the path to the instrument that is ideal for you, and the M-Guitars team will do everything possible to make this path as short as possible). Do not hesitate to consult our specialists, believe me, we have a story to tell you.
Below are illustrations of the breeches described above.
Tremolo.
Floyd Rose.
