Yamaha Solid Body Electric Guitars | Music & Arts

About The Solid Body Electric Guitar

The solid body electric guitar is arguably the most recognizable and iconic instrument in the world of music today. An acoustic guitar makes sound by vibrating air within a resonating chamber. While a solid-body electric model uses magnetic pickups to detect the vibration of the strings plus a speaker system to create sound. This factor explains why non-magnetic phosphor-bronze acoustic guitar strings don’t work on electric guitars. While the earliest electric guitars date back to the 1930s, it was the introduction of solid-body models in the 1950s, such as the Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul, that propelled the electric guitar as we know it today to the forefront of rock, pop and countless other genres.

As with most instruments, solid body electric guitars are available in several tiers of quality intended for players of varying skill level and experience. Some manufacturers release their mainstream models as beginner guitars using a subsidiary brand, like the Squier nameplate for Fender or some Epiphone models by Gibson. Others, such as Ibanez, aim to make beginner and intermediate guitars across their entire product line. Typical improvements to see when moving from affordable guitars up the line to premium instruments are better-quality tonewoods, more elaborate pickups and onboard electronics, and changes in the country of origin: many basic guitars are imported from Korea or Japan, while the flagship models tend to be built domestically.

Some domestic guitars are built by individual luthiers rather than corporations, and in a few cases, they become popular enough to launch brands of their own. PRS (Paul Reed Smith) and Dean Guitars are two examples of professional guitar makers who have gone national this way, with PRS known for its wide variety of solid body and semi-hollow body electric guitars, while Dean’s primary claim to fame is its lineup of signature guitars, including a range of Dimebag Darrell models.