The electric guitar, perhaps more than any other musical instrument, has had a greater impact on how music has evolved since the turn of the twentieth century. The electric guitar, which was invented in the early 1930s to help jazz musicians amplify their sound, quickly became a necessity. It has evolved into a stringed musical instrument capable of a wide range of sounds and styles since then. It was a driving force behind the development of rock and roll, as well as a slew of other musical genres.
Rickenbacker Guitars created the first electric guitars, which were hollow-bodied instruments with simple designs and primitive electronics. They used a pickup, which is a magnet wrapped in a thin wire coil that transmits vibrations from the guitar strings on standard acoustic guitars. With the passage of time, the first solid body guitars began to emerge, thanks in large part to Les Paul, an Epiphone Guitars luthier (or guitar maker). The solid body guitar, which was also a crude design at the time, produced a more expansive sound and a warmer tone than hollow bodies.
Because the electric guitar is a stringed instrument, the best way to produce sound is to use magnetic pickups to transmit string vibrations. Single coil and humbucking pickups are the two most common types of guitar pickups. Single coil pickups are made up of a single magnet wrapped in thin wire, and they produce a bright sound that varies depending on where it is placed on the guitar body. Unfortunately, these pickups are more prone to producing excessive noise and feedback, also known as “hum” in the guitar world. These pickups were standard on the first solid body electric guitars that were produced, as well as subsequent models for many years.
Humbucking pickups were created to solve the problem of single coil pickups producing a loud hum. Humbucking pickups are made up of two magnets that are placed opposite each other to cancel out the feedback that single coil pickups produce, effectively bucking the hum. The more powerful humbucking pickups produce a warmer and deeper tone than single coil pickups, and their tone can also be changed depending on where they are placed on the guitar body.
Like most electric instruments, the electric guitar requires the use of an amplifier to transmit the signal through a speaker, resulting in a louder sound. Electric guitars almost always use an external amplifier and speaker system, though this is not always the case. Combo amps, which combine the amplifier providing power and the speaker providing sound in a single casing, and amp and cabinet set-ups, which separate the amplifier from the speaker or speakers, are the most common types of amps. Both setups work well in different situations, so pick the one that best fits your requirements.
Because sound varies depending on shape, size, material, and components, it’s a good idea to try out a few different electric guitar and amp setups before deciding. Guitars come in a wide range of prices, so make sure you know what you want before you buy.