Electric Guitars

Electric Guitars have two main parts - the strings and the pickups, which work together to produce sound. Guitar pickups turn vibrations from the strings into electronic signals, which are then transmitted through a guitar amplifier as notes.

While nearly all electric guitars work in this same way, sound quality and tone can vary wildly depending on the shape of the guitar, its basic construction and the guitar pickups used.

What determines how electric guitars sound?

Many aspects such as body wood, body shape and design as well as pickup type will change the way an electric guitar sounds.

Single-coil, humbucker and piezo are the most common types of pickup found on electric guitars.

Single coils typically produce rich and bright electric guitar sounds. Humbuckers, which consist of two guitar pickups, offer a tone that is loud, round and smooth but not as clean when it comes to high notes.

Meanwhile, piezos - which are non-magnetic and generate weaker signals than other guitar pickups - are regularly used to recreate the sound of acoustic guitars.

If you're just starting out with the electric guitar, it's important to get advice from a reputable guitar shop such as Gear4music, who will be able to advise on which guitars may suit your needs.