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How To Choose An Electric guitar

It's an exciting time when you choose an electric guitar, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed with the endless choices! Choosing which guitar to buy, is one of the most important choices that you make as a beginner! Read on to decide what your needs are, to discover the different types of electric guitars, and the quality differences between good and bad electric guitars.

If you haven't read the section "How to Buy a Beginner Guitar", and you have little experience with guitars read it first!

You can find decent electric guitars at reasonable prices. The manufacturing processes that are used today are more advanced than in the past. These technological advances reduce the guitar manufacturers costs, and offer greater precision, giving you more bang for your buck! Now you can choose an electric guitar at better prices than ever before, however, I don't recommend buying one regularly priced under $200.00. If you can't afford that, consider buying a used guitar.

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If you go to a music store to try different electric guitars make sure to use the same amplifier and guitar cord. Don't switch amps when you try different guitars because cords and amplifiers make a huge difference in the sound, also, don't switch guitars when you try amps or cords.

Try the guitar with the amp set to clean, (no effects at all), so you can judge the merits of the guitar. A sales rep playing with different effects can easily hide the faults of a particular guitar.

Choose an electric guitar first, then use that same guitar and cord to try different amps.

TIP: "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link". With an electric guitar and amplifier, the weakest link is usually the guitar cord! A top quality cord improves the sound of a good guitar and amp big time, without costing an awful lot more!

When you choose an electric guitar, make sure that you get a satisfaction guarantee; optimally, you could trade up to a better guitar or get your money refunded. Make sure the guitar also comes with a manufacturer warranty. Some pricier electric guitars have lifetime warranties!

Types of Electric Guitars

There are three basic types of electric guitars;

Solid body
Hollow body
Semi-hollow body.

Solid body guitars have solid bodies made from a variety of woods and materials. Solid body electric guitars also have three types of neck joints

Bolt on necks
Jointed necks
Neck through body
Bolt on necks are bolted into the body of the guitar and are removable. These necks were designed to make building a guitar faster and at lower cost. Bolt on necks usually have less "sustain" than the other two types of joints. They have the advantage of making the guitar less expensive and easier to repair if need be. Many quality guitars have bolt on necks that fit and function well. When you look at a bolt on neck, inspect the neck joint closely. It should have a snug fit, without any spaces where it meets the face and sides of the guitar.
Jointed necks are also called set necks. They are glued and fitted into the guitar body usually with a dove tail joint,(the same as most acoustic guitars). The sustain is better than a bolt on neck's, but, they are more difficult to repair if the neck needs to be removed. The jointed neck guitars have a "heel", which may make it slightly more difficult to play the higher notes.
Neck through body guitars have the neck built right into the body, and the neck cannot be removed. The main advantages of a neck through body guitar are more sustain and tonal richness, and the higher notes are easier to play, because, the guitar can be carved out at the joint area without loosing structural integrity.

Hollow bodied electric guitars are arch top acoustic guitars with pickups, but do come in other shapes. They have hollow bodies, which tend to give these guitars an acoustic like, mellower tone than a solid body, but, are prone to feedback at high volumes. These guitars are preferred by most jazz players.

Semi hollow bodied electric guitars have a tone somewhere between the two former types. They have a solid block of wood inside, down the center, which helps to reduce the feedback that is associated with a hollow body. The outer sections, (wings) of the body are hollow. These types of guitars are popular with blues musicians who enjoy the warm tone.

For further information about electric guitar quality and how to choose an electric guitar, read or download this free pdf from Gibson,(my favorite Guitar manufacturer), "How To Buy An Electric Guitar".

Which Pickups are Right for You?

Of course, electric guitars wouldn't be electric guitars if they didn't have pickups! All electric guitars have one or more pickups. There are several different types and qualities of pickups, which affect the sound and the price of a guitar, and having the right pickups is important when you choose an electric guitar.