An electric guitar necessitates external electrical amplification to achieve audible performance volumes, distinguishing it from a conventional acoustic guitar. This instrument employs one or more pickups to transduce string vibrations into electrical signals, subsequently rendered as sound through loudspeakers. The resulting sound can be electronically modulated or shaped to produce diverse timbres and tonal characteristics, typically through amplifier configurations or onboard guitar controls. Such modifications frequently involve effects like reverb, distortion, and "overdrive," with the latter being a fundamental component in electric blues, jazz, rock, and heavy metal guitar styles. Hybrid designs, including semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars, integrate features from both electric and acoustic instruments.
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric sound amplification to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals, which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers. The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities via amplifier settings or knobs on the guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb, distortion and "overdrive"; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music and jazz, rock and heavy metal guitar playing. Designs also exist combining attributes of electric and acoustic guitars: the semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars.
Originating in 1932, the electric guitar gained traction among jazz guitarists seeking to perform single-note solos within expansive big band arrangements. Notable early recorded exponents of the instrument include Les Paul, Eddie Durham, George Barnes, Lonnie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, T-Bone Walker, and Charlie Christian. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar ascended to prominence as a pivotal instrument in popular music. Its evolution has yielded an instrument capable of producing a vast array of sounds and accommodating diverse styles across genres such as pop, rock, folk, country, blues, and jazz. Furthermore, it played a crucial role in the genesis and evolution of electric blues, rock and roll, rock music, heavy metal, and numerous other musical genres.
The design and construction of electric guitars exhibit significant variability, particularly concerning body shape and the configuration of the neck, bridge, and pickups. Instruments may feature either a fixed bridge or a spring-loaded hinged bridge, the latter enabling players to modulate the pitch of notes or chords upwards or downwards, or to execute vibrato effects. The tonal output of an electric guitar can be further manipulated through advanced playing techniques, including string bending, tapping, hammering-on, the utilization of audio feedback, and slide guitar performance.
Electric guitars are categorized into several distinct types. Initial iterations comprised hollow-body semi-acoustic guitars, with solid-body designs emerging subsequently. Common string configurations encompass the six-string guitar (the predominant variant), typically tuned E, A, D, G, B, E from the lowest to highest strings; the seven-string guitar, which generally incorporates an additional low B string beneath the low E; the eight-string guitar, often featuring an extra low E or F# string below the low B; and the twelve-string guitar, characterized by six two-string courses, akin to a mandolin.
Within rock music, the electric guitar commonly fulfills two primary functions: as a rhythm guitar, responsible for performing chord sequences, progressions, and riffs, thereby establishing the rhythmic foundation (as part of a rhythm section); and as a lead guitar, which delivers instrumental melody lines, melodic fill passages, and solos. In smaller ensembles, such as a power trio, a single guitarist may alternate between these roles; however, larger groups typically feature distinct rhythm and lead guitarists.
History
Efforts to electrically amplify string instrument vibrations commenced in the early 20th century. Patents from the 1910s illustrate the adaptation of telephone transmitters, which were integrated into violins and banjos for sound amplification. During the 1920s, amateur enthusiasts employed carbon button microphones affixed to the bridge; however, this method primarily captured vibrations from the instrument's surface, yielding a suboptimal signal.
Initially, electric guitars were conceived by established acoustic guitar manufacturers and instrument makers. The impetus for amplified guitars arose during the big band era, as expanding orchestral sizes necessitated guitar amplification and electrification for players to be heard. Early electric guitars utilized in jazz featured hollow archtop acoustic guitar bodies equipped with electromagnetic transducers.
The inaugural commercially marketed electrically amplified stringed instrument was a cast aluminum lap steel guitar, colloquially known as the "Frying Pan." This instrument was conceived in 1931 by George Beauchamp, then general manager of the National Stringed Instrument Corporation, in collaboration with vice president Paul Barth. Beauchamp, alongside Adolph Rickenbacker, developed the electromagnetic pickups crucial for amplification. These pickups utilized coils wrapped around a magnet to generate an electromagnetic field, which transformed string vibrations into electrical signals suitable for amplification. Commercial manufacturing commenced in late summer 1932 through the Ro-Pat-In Corporation (Electro-Patent-Instrument Company) in Los Angeles, a collaborative venture involving Beauchamp, Adolph Rickenbacker (originally Rickenbacher), and Paul Barth.
In 1934, the Ro-Pat-In Corporation was rebranded as the Rickenbacker Electro Stringed Instrument Company. During the same year, Beauchamp submitted a United States patent application for an Electrical Stringed Musical Instrument, which was subsequently granted in 1937. However, by the time this patent was issued, numerous other manufacturers had already begun producing their own electric guitar designs. Notable early electric guitar manufacturers included Rickenbacker (1932), Dobro (1933), National, AudioVox, and Volu-tone (1934), as well as Vega, Epiphone (under the names Electrophone and Electar), and Gibson (1935), with many additional companies emerging by 1936.
By early to mid-1935, the Electro String Instrument Corporation, having achieved success with the "Frying Pan," sought to broaden its market reach by introducing the Electro-Spanish Model B and the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts. The latter represented a significant innovation as the first full 25-inch scale electric guitar ever manufactured. The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts proved revolutionary, offering musicians a complete 25-inch scale and convenient access to 17 frets unencumbered by the instrument's body. Distinct from contemporary lap-steel electrified instruments, this model was engineered for upright play with a strap, akin to acoustic guitars. Furthermore, the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was the pioneering instrument to incorporate a hand-operated vibrato, known as the "Vibrola," invented by Doc Kauffman, as a standard feature. Production estimates indicate that fewer than 50 Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts units were built between 1933 and 1937, with fewer than 10 specimens currently known to exist.
A solid-body electric guitar is characterized by its construction from solid wood, lacking functionally resonant internal air spaces. The earliest solid-body Spanish standard guitar was introduced by Vivi-Tone no later than 1934, featuring a guitar-shaped body composed of a single plywood sheet attached to a wooden frame. Subsequently, in 1935, the Rickenbacker guitar company marketed another early, largely solid Spanish electric guitar, named the Electro Spanish, which was constructed from Bakelite. By 1936, the Slingerland company had unveiled its wooden solid-body electric model, the Slingerland Songster 401, alongside its lap steel equivalent, the Songster 400.
Gibson's initial production electric guitar, launched in 1936, was designated the ES-150 model. The "ES" denoted "Electric Spanish," while "150" indicated the instrument's price of $150, which included a complementary amplifier. The ES-150 guitar incorporated a single-coil, hexagonally shaped "bar" pickup, engineered by Walt Fuller. This pickup subsequently became known as the "Charlie Christian" pickup, named after the jazz guitarist who was a prominent early performer using the ES-150. Despite achieving a degree of popularity, the ES-150 exhibited a notable drawback: inconsistent loudness across its six strings.
In 1940, Les Paul experimentally designed and constructed a functional solid-body electric guitar, repurposing an Epiphone acoustic archtop. His creation, dubbed a "log guitar," consisted of a central wooden post with an attached neck, flanked by two hollow-body halves added solely for aesthetic purposes. Gibson initially declined these innovative designs, though they later served as inspiration for the 1952 Gibson Les Paul, which was designed by Ted McCarty.
The phenomenon of feedback, commonly associated with amplified hollow-bodied electric guitars, was recognized early in the instrument's production history. Notably, Gage Brewer's 1932 Ro-Pat-In model featured a heavily reinforced top, which provided a functional similarity to contemporary semi-hollow body designs.
Types
Solid-body
Solid-body electric guitars, unlike their acoustic counterparts, do not utilize a vibrating soundboard for string amplification. Instead, these instruments rely on electric pickups, an amplifier, and a speaker system. The solid construction of the body ensures that the amplified sound accurately reproduces only the string vibration, thereby eliminating wolf tones and undesirable feedback commonly associated with amplified acoustic guitars. Typically, these guitars are constructed from hardwood, finished with a durable polymer coating such as polyester or lacquer. In high-volume manufacturing, wood undergoes a three-to-six-month drying process in a kiln prior to shaping. Conversely, premium custom-built guitars often feature hand-selected, significantly older wood, which is fully dried, cured, and stabilized, rendering it less susceptible to deformation.
Les Paul is credited with inventing one of the earliest solid-body guitars. Gibson initially withheld its Les Paul guitar prototypes from public display, anticipating a lack of market acceptance for the solid-body design. Concurrently, in 1941, O.W. Appleton of Nogales, Arizona, developed another early solid-body Spanish-style guitar, which bore a resemblance to what would later become Gibson's Les Paul model. Appleton approached both Gibson and Fender, yet failed to secure a sale for his "App" guitar concept to either manufacturer. In 1946, Merle Travis commissioned Paul Bigsby, a renowned steel guitar builder, to construct a solid-body Spanish-style electric guitar. Bigsby completed and delivered the instrument in 1948. The Fender Esquire and Fender Broadcaster (subsequently renamed the Fender Telecaster), introduced in 1950, marked the advent of the first mass-produced solid-body guitars, appearing five years after Les Paul's prototype. The Gibson Les Paul was subsequently released to compete with the Broadcaster. The Fender Stratocaster, introduced in 1954, represents another significant solid-body design, achieving immense popularity among musicians during the 1960s and 1970s due to its extensive tonal versatility and superior ergonomic design compared to contemporary models. Guitar designs incorporate various pickup configurations, primarily featuring two or three single-coil pickups or a double humbucker; the Stratocaster, for instance, is characterized by its triple single-coil setup.
Guitar World magazine has compiled a historical overview of electric guitars, identifying the Ro-Pat-In Electro A-25 "Frying Pan" (1932) as the earliest entry on its top 10 list, described as "The first-fully functioning solid-body electric guitar to be manufactured and sold". This instrument was notably the first electric guitar featured in a publicly advertised performance, played by Gage Brewer in Wichita, Kansas, in October 1932. The most recent electric guitar included on this list is the Ibanez JEM (1987), characterized by "24 frets," an "impossibly thin neck," and its design as "the ultimate shredder machine". The list also features numerous other significant electric guitars, such as the Gibson ES-150 (1936), Fender Telecaster (1951), Gibson Les Paul (1952), Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet (1953), Fender Stratocaster (1954), Rickenbacker 360/12 (1964), Van Halen Frankenstrat (1975), and Paul Reed Smith Custom (1985), many of which represent evolutionary successors to prior designs. Over time, electric guitar designs attained significant cultural importance and iconic visual status, leading various model manufacturers to produce miniature replicas of renowned electric guitars, such as the Gibson SG famously played by Angus Young of AC/DC.
Chambered-body
Certain guitars, while fundamentally solid-bodied, incorporate hollow chambers within their construction; examples include the Gibson Les Paul Supreme, the PRS Singlecut, and the Fender Telecaster Thinline. These internal chambers are specifically engineered to avoid compromising the critical bridge and string anchor points inherent to the solid body. For manufacturers like Gibson and PRS, these designs are designated as chambered bodies. The primary motivations for this design approach include weight reduction, the attainment of a semi-acoustic tonal quality, or a combination of both.
Semi-acoustic
Semi-acoustic guitars feature a hollow body, resembling that of an acoustic guitar, and incorporate electromagnetic pickups directly integrated into the body. Their operation parallels that of solid-body electric guitars; however, due to the hollow body's additional vibration, the pickups transduce a combined signal from both string and body vibrations into an electrical current. Numerous models, often termed semi-hollow bodies, incorporate a solid central block within the soundbox, specifically engineered to mitigate acoustic feedback. While these instruments lack sufficient acoustic volume for live performances, they are suitable for unplugged, quiet practice sessions. Semi-acoustic guitars are recognized for their capacity to produce sweet, plaintive, or funky tonal qualities. Their application spans various musical genres, such as jazz, blues, funk, 1960s pop, and indie rock. Typically, they feature cello-style F-shaped sound holes, which can be obstructed to further diminish feedback. In contrast to chambered guitars, which, like solid-body instruments, are crafted from a single block of wood, semi-acoustic guitar bodies are constructed from multiple wood pieces in an archtop configuration, a distinct manufacturing approach compared to conventional steel-string acoustic guitars. The top is fashioned from a moderately thick piece of wood, subsequently carved into a thin, outwardly curved profile, differing from the thin, flat tops characteristic of conventional acoustic guitars.
Electric Acoustic Guitars
Certain steel-string acoustic guitars incorporate an integrated system designed to electrically amplify their output without modifying their inherent tone, serving as an alternative to external microphones. This system typically comprises either piezoelectric pickups positioned beneath the bridge or a low-mass microphone (commonly a condenser type) situated within the guitar body, which converts physical vibrations into electronic signals. Hybrid configurations of these pickup types are also employed, often featuring an integrated mixer, preamplifier, and graphic equalizer. Instruments equipped with such systems are designated as electric acoustic guitars. These instruments are classified as acoustic guitars, not electric guitars, because their pickups derive signals from the vibrations of the guitar's top or body, rather than directly from string vibrations, and the amplification primarily augments volume without altering the fundamental tone.
Construction
The design and construction of electric guitars exhibit considerable variation, particularly concerning body shape and the configuration of the neck, bridge, and pickups. Nevertheless, several common features are present across the majority of these instruments. The headstock (1) houses the metal machine heads (1.1), which utilize a worm gear mechanism for precise tuning. The nut (1.4)—a slender, fret-like strip composed of metal, plastic, graphite, or bone—provides support for the strings at the headstock extremity of the instrument. Frets (2.3) are narrow metal strips that define the correct pitch when a player presses a string against the fingerboard. The truss rod (1.2) is a metallic rod, typically adjustable, designed to counteract string tension and maintain neck straightness. Position markers (2.2) serve as visual cues for the player, indicating specific playing positions on the fingerboard.
The neck and fretboard (2.1) project from the main body of the instrument. At the neck joint (2.4), the neck is secured to the body either through gluing or bolting. The body (3) is generally constructed from wood, finished with a durable, polymerized coating. Strings vibrating within the magnetic field of the pickups (3.1, 3.2) induce an electrical current in the pickup windings, which then traverses the tone and volume controls (3.8) before reaching the output jack. Certain guitars incorporate piezo pickups, either as an augmentation to or a substitute for magnetic pickups.
Some guitars are equipped with a fixed bridge (3.4). Conversely, other models feature a spring-loaded, hinged bridge, variously termed a vibrato bar, tremolo bar, or whammy bar, enabling players to alter the pitch of notes or chords upwards or downwards, or to execute vibrato embellishments. A plastic pickguard, present on some guitars, serves to protect the body from scratches or to conceal the control cavity, which houses the majority of the instrument's wiring. The extent to which the selection of woods and other materials in the solid-guitar body (3) influences the sonic characteristics of the amplified signal remains a subject of debate. While many proponents assert its high significance, others contend that the distinctions attributable to different wood types are subtle. In acoustic and archtop guitars, however, the choice of wood demonstrably has a more pronounced impact on tone.
Solid-body electric guitars commonly utilize specific wood types, each contributing distinct tonal qualities. Alder offers a bright yet well-rounded sound, while swamp ash provides similar characteristics but with more pronounced high and low frequencies. Mahogany produces a dark, bassy, and warm tone, whereas poplar resembles alder. Basswood is known for its very neutral sound. Maple, a bright tonewood, is also frequently employed for guitar bodies; however, its considerable weight often leads to its use as a "cap" over a primary body wood. Less expensive guitars may incorporate more economical materials like plywood, pine, or agathis, which are not true hardwoods and can compromise both durability and tonal quality. While wood remains the predominant material, various other substances, including plastic, metal, and even cardboard, have been incorporated into some instrument designs.
The output jack of an electric guitar typically transmits a monaural signal. Guitars equipped with active electronics often feature a jack with an additional contact, conventionally used for stereo. This extra contact serves to interrupt the ground connection to the onboard battery, thereby conserving battery life when the instrument is unplugged. Consequently, these guitars necessitate a mono plug to complete the internal circuit and establish the battery's ground connection. Standard guitar cables employ a high-impedance 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) mono plug, characterized by a tip and sleeve configuration, known as a TS phone connector. The typical voltage output ranges from approximately 1 to 9 millivolts.
Certain guitars, such as Rickenbacker models featuring Rick-O-Sound, incorporate stereo output capabilities. The implementation of this "stereo" effect can vary, but a common approach involves routing the neck and bridge pickups to distinct output buses within the guitar. A stereo cable then directs each pickup's signal to its respective signal chain or amplifier. For such configurations, the prevalent connector is a high-impedance §34§⁄§56§ inch (6.35 mm) plug, distinguished by a tip, ring, and sleeve arrangement, also known as a TRS phone connector. Furthermore, some studio-oriented instruments, particularly specific Gibson Les Paul models, integrate a low-impedance three-pin XLR connector for balanced audio transmission. Numerous specialized arrangements and connectors also exist to support advanced features like MIDI and hexaphonic pickups.
Bridge and Tailpiece Systems
Although the bridge and tailpiece fulfill distinct functions, their integrated operation significantly influences both playing style and the instrument's overall tone. Electric guitars typically feature four fundamental types of bridge and tailpiece systems, each encompassing numerous variations.
A hard-tail guitar bridge securely anchors the strings either at the bridge itself or immediately behind it, being firmly affixed to the instrument's body. This system is frequently found on carved-top guitars, exemplified by Gibson Les Paul and Paul Reed Smith models, as well as on slab-body guitars like the Music Man Albert Lee and Fender instruments not equipped with a vibrato arm.
A floating or trapeze tailpiece, structurally akin to those found on violins, attaches to the guitar body at its base. This design is characteristic of instruments such as Rickenbackers, Gretsches, Epiphones, a diverse range of archtop guitars (especially jazz models), and the 1952 Gibson Les Paul.
The image depicts a tremolo arm or vibrato tailpiece-style bridge and tailpiece system, colloquially known as a whammy bar or trem. This mechanism incorporates a lever, referred to as a "vibrato arm," which is connected to the bridge. Manipulating this arm temporarily slackens or tightens the strings, thereby altering their pitch. Musicians utilize this feature to produce vibrato or portamento effects. Early vibrato systems frequently suffered from unreliability, leading to tuning instability and offering a restricted pitch range. Subsequent Fender designs improved upon these issues; however, Fender's patent on these innovations meant that other manufacturers continued to employ older designs for an extended period.
Following the expiration of Fender's patent on the Stratocaster-style vibrato, numerous enhancements to this internal, multi-spring vibrato system have become accessible. A significant advancement was introduced by Floyd Rose in the late 1970s, who pioneered "locking" nuts and bridges. These innovations effectively prevent the guitar from losing its tuning, even during intensive use of the vibrato bar.
The fourth system type utilizes string-through body anchoring, where strings pass over the bridge saddles, through the guitar body's top, and exit at the back. At the guitar's rear, metal ferrules typically secure the strings. This design is frequently credited with enhancing a guitar's sustain and timbre. Notable examples of string-through body guitars include the Fender Telecaster Thinline, the Fender Telecaster Deluxe, the B.C. Rich IT Warlock and Mockingbird, and the Schecter Omen 6 and 7 series.
Pickups
Unlike hollow-bodied acoustic guitars, electric guitars produce minimal audible sound when their strings are plucked, necessitating connection to a guitar amplifier and speaker. When an electric guitar is played, string movement induces a small electric current within the magnetic pickups, which consist of magnets wound with fine wire coils. This signal then travels through the tone and volume circuits to the output jack and via a cable to an amplifier. The magnitude of the induced current is directly proportional to factors such as string density and the extent of string movement over the pickups.
Due to their inherent characteristics, magnetic pickups are susceptible to ambient, often undesirable, electromagnetic interference (EMI). This phenomenon, known as mains hum, manifests as a tone at 50 or 60 cycles per second, depending on the local alternating current supply's powerline frequency.
This resulting hum is particularly pronounced with single-coil pickups. Double-coil, or "humbucker," pickups were developed to mitigate or counteract this sound, as their design is intended to "buck" (in the sense of oppose or resist) the hum, hence their designation. The high combined inductance of the two coils also contributes to the richer, "fatter" tonal quality associated with humbucking pickups.
Necks
Electric guitar necks exhibit variations in both composition and shape. The primary determinant for guitar necks is the scale length, which defines the vibrating segment of the strings from the nut to the bridge. A standard Fender guitar typically employs a 25.5-inch (65 cm) scale length, whereas Gibson's Les Paul models generally feature a 24.75-inch (62.9 cm) scale length. Although the Les Paul's scale length is commonly cited as 24.75 inches, historical production has shown variations of up to half an inch.
Fret positioning is proportional to the scale length; a shorter scale length results in closer fret spacing. The impact of scale length on tone and tactile experience is subject to debate. A prevalent view suggests that longer scale lengths contribute to greater amplitude. However, perceptions of playing feel are significantly complex, influenced by numerous factors including string gauge and design, neck construction and relief, guitar setup, playing style, and other elements that collectively shape the subjective impression of playability.
Necks are categorized as bolt-on, set-in, or neck-through, based on their method of attachment to the body. Set-in necks are permanently affixed to the body with adhesive during manufacturing, representing a traditional joint type. Leo Fender pioneered bolt-on necks for electric guitars, facilitating straightforward adjustments and replacements. Neck-through instruments feature a neck that extends the entire length of the instrument, forming the central core of the body. While a skilled luthier can carefully unglue a set-in neck, and a bolt-on neck can be easily unscrewed, a neck-through design presents significant, or even insurmountable, repair challenges depending on the extent of damage. Historically, the bolt-on style gained popularity due to its ease of installation and adjustment. The removability of bolt-on necks has fostered an aftermarket for replacement components from companies such as Warmoth and Mighty Mite. Conversely, some instruments, notably most Gibson models, continue to utilize set-in glued necks. Neck-through body designs are somewhat more prevalent in bass guitars.
Neck materials are chosen for their dimensional stability and rigidity, with some sources suggesting an influence on tonal characteristics. Hardwoods are preferred, with maple, mahogany, and ash being among the most frequently utilized. The neck and fingerboard can be constructed from distinct materials; for instance, a guitar might feature a maple neck paired with a rosewood or ebony fingerboard. Contemporary expensive and budget guitars are exploring alternative fretboard woods, such as Pau-Ferro, driven by considerations of availability and cost-effectiveness without compromising quality. During the 1970s, designers began incorporating exotic synthetic materials like aircraft-grade aluminum, carbon fiber, and ebonol. Notable manufacturers employing these unconventional materials include John Veleno, Travis Bean, Geoff Gould, and Alembic.
Beyond potential engineering advantages, some proponents suggest that with the escalating cost of rare tonewoods, synthetic materials offer economic advantages and greater ecological sustainability. Nevertheless, wood continues to be widely employed in instrument manufacturing, often integrated with novel materials. Vigier guitars, for example, utilize a wooden neck reinforced by incorporating a lightweight carbon fiber rod as a substitute for the conventional heavier steel bar or adjustable steel truss rod. Aftermarket necks constructed entirely from carbon fiber are compatible with existing bolt-on instruments. To date, comprehensive formal investigations confirming or refuting claims regarding the impact of various woods or materials on electric guitar tonality remain largely unpublished.
Several neck shapes are utilized in guitar construction, including profiles designated as C necks, U necks, and V necks. These terms describe the transverse profile of the neck, particularly in the vicinity of the nut. Fret wire is manufactured in various dimensions, with traditional musicians frequently favoring thinner frets, while those performing metal genres often prefer thicker frets. Thinner frets are generally regarded as more suitable for chordal articulation, whereas thicker frets facilitate note bending for lead guitarists, requiring reduced exertion.
An electric guitar featuring a folding neck, named the "Foldaxe," was conceived and constructed by Roger C. Field for Chet Atkins. Steinberger guitars pioneered a series of innovative carbon fiber instruments characterized by the absence of a headstock, with tuning mechanisms integrated into the bridge assembly.
Fingerboards exhibit a comparable diversity to necks. The fingerboard surface typically possesses a cross-sectional radius engineered to facilitate finger articulation across diverse playing styles. Fingerboard radius commonly spans from a nearly planar configuration (representing a very large radius) to a significantly arched profile (indicating a small radius). The vintage Fender Telecaster, for example, features a characteristic small radius of approximately 7.25 inches (18.4 cm). Some manufacturers have explored variations in fret profile and material, fret arrangement, fret count, and alterations to the fingerboard surface, driven by diverse design objectives. Certain innovations aimed to enhance playability through ergonomic design principles, such as Warmoth Guitars' compound radius fingerboard. Scalloped fingerboards facilitate enhanced microtonal expression during rapid legato passages. Fanned frets are designed to optimize playing tension for each string and augment musicality. Some guitars are fretless, while others, such as the Gittler guitar, lack a neck in the conventional structural interpretation.
List of electric guitar brands
- List of electric guitar brands
- List of guitar music software
- Bass guitar
- Bahian guitar
- Bolt-on neck
- Distortion (guitar)
- Effects pedal
- Electric pipa
- Electromagnetic induction
- Electronic tuner
- Guitar harmonics
- Guitar synthesizer
- Guitar amplifier
- Keytar
- List of guitars
- List of guitarists
- Neck through construction
- Pickup
- Relic'ing
- Sitarla
- Stars and Their Guitars: A History of the Electric Guitar (documentary film)
- Set-in neck
- Vintage guitar
References
Sources
- Broadbent, Peter (1997). Charlie Christian: Solo Flight – The Seminal Electric Guitarist. Ashley Mark Publishing Company. ISBN 1-872639-56-9.
- ON! The Beginnings of Electric Sound Generation – an exhibit at the Museum of Making Music, National Association of Music Merchants, Carlsbad, CA – some of the earliest electric guitars and their history, from the collection of Lynn Wheelwright and others
- The Invention of the Electric Guitar – Online exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History
- Sweetwater Sound. "Who Invented the Electric Guitar?" This article provides a chronological examination of the electric guitar's evolution between 1890 and 1952, highlighting the significant contributions of Rickenbacker, Bigsby, Fender, and Gibson.