The electric guitar is a popular musical instrument. Playing is similar to classical or acoustic guitars, but on electric guitars you can use a variety of techniques and improvisations while playing, such as tapping and shredding.
Electric guitars can be used without electricity but the sound produced will be very small. The selection of musical instruments is determined by the needs and comfort of the players. Likewise with electric guitars.
The following are things to consider when choosing an electric guitar:
1. The Body Design of the Guitar
The type of the guitar body can adjust the sound quality of the guitar. There are three type of electric guitars, such as:
- Solid Body
The same as its name, the main characteristic of the solid body guitar is that it hasn’t any hole or cavity so there is not any resonance. Therefore, this type of guitar need the pickups and amplifier to enhanced its sound quality.
Besides that, this type of the guitar can be used to play any genre of songs.
- Hollow Body
The guitar with a hollow body design has a cavity so that it can be played acoustically or electrically. Generally, hollow body guitars are used to play songs from the pop, blues, and jazz genres because they have a soft sound characteristic.
- Semi-Hollow Body
This type of guitar has cavities at the top and bottom. Guitars with this design are generally used for solo improvisation and are suitable for playing country and folk rock genres. As seen in the picture, in the center is equipped with a pickup.
2. The Material of the Guitar
The materials or materials that make up electric guitars are generally made of wood. The selection of this material aims to determine the weight of the guitar you want to play and the character of the sound you want to produce.
Some of the woods used for electric guitars include ashwood (bright sound character), alder (used together with ashwood and produces a bright sound), basswood, maple (bright and sharp sound character), and mahogany (heavy sound character). Some guitars are composed of a combination of the above materials.
3. Choose the type of the Neck that will be used
On electric guitars, there are 4 types of necks according to the genre of music played, namely C, D, U, and V. Type C neck is the most commonly used and is not too thick. This type of neck is also suitable for playing with various techniques.
Type D neck is used to play songs that come from the rock or metal genre. Unlike type C necks which are not too thick, type D necks have a flat contour so they can be used for shredding.
Furthermore, the neck of the V type. The neck of the V type guitar is more oval in shape. The U-type guitar neck is also not much different, its shape is rounder and thicker. U-shaped neck is more suitable for guitarists who have big hands.
4. The Size of the Fret
Electric guitars have frets that serve as markers of note intervals. The short length of the frets on the guitar affects the accuracy of the playing and the technique used for improvisation.
The medium size fret can be seen from the distance between the frets is not too far and the intonation is more accurate. While jumbo-sized frets are used by players with large hands, besides jumbo-sized frets will make it easier to improvise and various other techniques.
The extra jumbo frets are further spaced between the frets and can be used to play rock music. Extra jumbo frets are also found on acoustic guitars.
5. The Type of the Pickup Attached to it
Electric guitars are equipped with pickups that function to adjust the character of the sound on the guitar. The types of pickups that are often found are single coil, humbucker, and P90.
The single coil type will produce a bright and loud tone, this type will be more suitable for playing blues and rock and roll genres.
The humbucker pickup is a combination of two single coil pickups. The resulting sound has high distortion, and a higher pitch than the tone produced by a guitar equipped with a single coil pickup.
Humbucker pickups are commonly used to play jazz and metal genres.
The P90 pickup type produces a warm and slightly “hidden” sound. The sound characteristics of a P90 pickup are not higher than that of a humbucker pickup but higher than a single coil pickup.
6. Scale Length
The scale length is the distance between the peg/nut and the bridge. A scale length that is too small will make it difficult for guitar players who have big hands and can’t reach higher notes.
While a large scale length will make the strings too tense, a guitar with a large scale length can reach higher notes and is suitable for players who pluck the strings hard.
The selection of the scale length aims to ensure the comfort of playing the guitar.
The six things above are things that must be considered when choosing an electric guitar. But the most important thing is comfort when playing. Some other considerations that can be considered are the brand, price and also choosing a good guitar string.
When buying an electric guitar, it’s best to try it on first to make sure it fits and is comfortable.