Electric Guitars

If you’re planning on playing in a band or you enjoy altering your guitar sounds with different effects, you’ll want to choose an electric guitar over an acoustic model. To properly enjoy an electric guitar, it must be plugged into an amplifier and speakers.

Solid, semi-hollow, and hollow-bodies

Some electric guitars, such as many of Gretsch’s f-holed archtop models, have “hollow-bodies,” which produce mellow tones favored by jazz players. But be aware that hollow-bodies can produce undesirable feedback when cranked too loud.

“Semi-hollow body” guitars also feature F-holes and hollowed resonance chambers, but they retain a solid wood center in line with the neck that reduces feedback. Thinline Telecasters and some Gretsches are semi-hollow bodied.

Most electric guitars are “solid body,” which is the design least prone to feedback. They also tend to have lighter strings for faster playing, are easiest to pair with effects pedals and are made to be turned up loud.

Electric guitar options

Electric guitars have more options available to fit your personal preference than acoustic guitars. Those options include the following.

Cutaway: Nearly all electric guitars have one or two “cutaways” at the point where the body reaches the neck, allowing easier access to higher frets.

Fret number: Most standard electric guitars have 22 frets, but musicians who like to play very high notes in their solos sometimes prefer 24-fret models.

String number: If you play some types of metal that require very low, chunky notes, you may want to look into guitars with 7 or even 8 strings. These add a low B and F# below the bottom E string.

Whammy bar: When you gently press the lever arm of the “whammy bar” with your picking hand, the pitch of all strings drops.