Table of Contents
Introduction
This guide explains different types of guitar available and gives general tips on what to look for when buying a new guitar as well as a rundown of the different features of an Electric guitar.
There are many different makes of guitar in each price range and, as a general rule, the build quality tends to be comparable within a given price range.
The first thing you need to decide is what type of Electric guitar you are looking for.
The Different Types Of Electric Guitar
Electric guitars come in a variety of styles. The most common type is the solid-bodied guitar. Solid-body guitars are generally made of hardwood and produce hardly any sound acoustically, being designed to transmit the string vibrations via electronic pickups to an amplifier.
Semi-hollow-bodied guitars have a thin body with hollow chambers either side of a solid strip of wood. F-holes in the chambers allow the acoustic sound to be heard and the result is a hybrid of the solid-bodied guitar and a regular acoustic one. The advantage is that the acoustic element adds tone-shaping to the overall sound produced.
Hollow-bodied electric guitars, much favoured by jazz musicians, produce a mellower blend of acoustic and amplified sound. These are essentially acoustic guitars fitted with pickups.
The Telecaster… Also known as a Tele, it features dual pickups and a solid body. Its basic yet solid design and bright cutting sound were seen as ground-breaking when it was first developed by Fender in the 1940s and it was to prove very influential in subsequent guitar design. Originally featuring a single piece of maple making up both the neck and fingerboard, its dual pickups are controlled by a three-way switch, and a volume and tone control. The Tele has proved ideal for many styles of music and features in a lot of country and rock. It remains popular with guitar players the world over, including Keith Richards and Andy Summers.
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The Fender: Squire Vintage Modified Telecaster Custom
Our Price:
£199.99
The Tele® Custom is an affordable hybrid of two popular Telecaster® designs. Fusing a '72 Tele Custom with a Tele Deluxe. This model also features a solid agathis body and bolt-on maple neck with maple fingerboard.
The Stratocaster…
Developed by Fender after the Telecaster, the Stratocaster, or Strat, quickly became another classic that has stayed largely unaltered since the 1950s. A distinctive shape, hand-rolled fingerboard edges, Alnico V pickups and staggered tuning machines combined to make the Stratocaster look and play like a more sophisticated version of the Telecaster. Strats were made famous by both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton while John Lennon and George Harrison used them on the Rubber Soul album.
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The Fender Squier Affinity Strat
Our Price:
£269.99
This Fender®-designed Stratocaster® has a great look and feel. With a contoured alder body, bolt-on maple neck with late '60s headstock and three single coil pickups, the Affinity Series Strat® has all the vintage vibe at a fraction of the price.
Ibanez Guitars
2 important models for the Japanese-based company are firstly the Artcore model, released in mid-2002 to try to create an affordable hollowbody guitar range that appealed to entry level guitarists unable to pay big money on high-priced guitars. The Artcore series has developed a reputation for being one of the best value guitars on the market and has been praised by reviewers. They feature a great tone and sustain and the way they hold their tuning has been praised by many guitarists.
The 2nd model is the Ibanez RG series (previously named Roadstar Guitar, hence the name RG). These are the Ibanez superstrat guitars, featuring 24-fret slim necks. Most of the Ibanez RG models have bolt-on-necks with high-performing tremolos, although some are neck-thru or fixed bridge models. The first Ibanez RG was the 550 in 1987, which was the cheaper version of the Ibanez JEM which has been made famous by Steve Vai who has a signature model.
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The Ibanez RG320DXFM Electric Guitar
Our Price:
£399.99
With great pickups and a flat and fast through-body neck, the RG has achieved classic status. Featuring 24 jumbo frets and a fast Wizard II neck this model offers easy playing for both lead and rhythm guitarists.
The Ibanez Art-120 Electric Guitar
Our Price:
£269.00
The total re-approach for the Artist model has created an arched-top, solid-bodied Guitar with a single cutaway. Based on this old and new idea, the ART series has forged a classic and practical sword, made to win the battle of Rock.