Electric guitars come in many shapes and sizes. You may have noticed subtle tonal differences between them. These slight variations in sonic character are not only apparent within the first few minutes of testing out a new axe but continue to come forward as you spend more time playing it.
The reason all electric guitars sound different is due to the pickups, which capture the string’s vibrations and convert them into an electrical signal. The guitar body material also varies the sound, as does your choice of amp. Finally, your playing style affects the type of sound you produce.
You end up with a unique instrument when you combine the size, shape, and materials used to make an electric guitar with its pickups and other features. In this article, I’ll provide more insights into 5 things that bring the differences you hear in electric guitars.
1. Pickups Affect Electric Guitar Sound
Pickups are the core functional components of any electric guitar. They’re the part of the guitar that converts the strings’ vibration into an electrical signal that you may send to an amp for amplification. While pickup design has many variations, single-coil and humbucker are the two most common types.
Basic Anatomy of Single-Coil Pickups and Humbuckers
Single-coil pickups are the most common type of pickup and are recognizable by their individual coils wound around a single core. The basic anatomy of a single-coil pickup includes six bar magnets or metal rods (with a magnet placed underneath the bobbin) inserted into a plastic bobbin. Manufacturers typically wind a wire around the magnets or metal rods.
Humbuckers are a slight variation of the single-coil pickup but with two coils instead of one. Most humbuckers show two rows of bar magnets (called pole pieces) that help channel the magnetic field towards the strings to give you a cleaner sound.
Single-coil pickups produce a brighter sound. Unfortunately, the lack of a second coil makes them prone to noise. Humbuckers are often used instead of single-coils because they have a thicker, richer sound that is less prone to feedback.
Pickup Placement
The pickup’s position on the guitar is also important. Pickups placed at the bridge produce a much brighter sound than if you have them at the neck. Regarding placement, guitar pickups fall into two broad categories, neck and bridge pickups.
The first pickup in a guitar is the neck pickup, and as its name suggests, you will typically find it near the guitar’s neck. The bridge pickup lies near or underneath the bridge. The neck pickup locates clean, mellow tones, and the bridge pickup focuses on a more aggressive sound. The neck pickup is usually closer to the neck of the guitar, where string vibrations are loudest.
The bridge pickup is closer to the bridge, where the strings vibrate less. Bridge pickups pick up brighter sounds. The bridge position also works well for overdrive/distorted sounds.
It’s worth noting that some guitars come with a combination of the two pickups for a more balanced sound between the mid-range and higher frequencies.
2. Body Materials Influence Sound in Electric Guitars
The body of an electric guitar is an essential part of the instrument—the type of wood used to make the body can affect the sound produced by the guitar. Different types of wood resonate at different frequencies, which means that they create different sounds. Some luthiers can combine two or three types of woods to create a unique sound for their guitars.
Different Wood Influences Sound in Electric Guitars
Each type of wood has its own unique sonic properties that give each instrument a different sound and feel. Musicians choose Various kinds of wood for their electric guitars, including maple, mahogany, and ash. The density and type of wood used will also affect your guitar’s overall sound and feel.
Here are the most common types of wood used in electric guitars:
- Maple – Maple is a hardwood commonly used to construct guitars and stringed instruments. It is a dense, strong wood that is easy to shape. Maple bodies produce a bright, crisp sound that works well for many styles of music that need an abundance of high frequencies.
- Mahogany – Mahogany is a dense hardwood that luthiers have opted for in electric guitars for many years. Unlike maple, it creates a warmer, richer sound that works well for many music styles, including rock, blues, and country. Mahogany is often used in constructing the electric guitar body due to its durability and unlikeliness to warp as it ages.
- Ash – Ash is a hard, porous wood commonly used to construct rock and metal guitars. It has a high strength-to-weight ratio, making it easy to produce instruments with a low overall weight. In general, ash has a bright sound that works well with distortion.
- Alder – Alder is a soft hardwood commonly used to construct electric guitars. It produces a balanced sound. The naturally lightweight alder construction makes it an excellent choice for building electric guitar bodies.
- Basswood – Basswood is an excellent choice for its deep tone. Luthiers often opt for this wood for acoustic guitars for the warm, rich sound it produces. Electric guitar bodies of basswood suit country, rock, and jazz due to their warm, full sound.
As you can see, the guitar’s body significantly impacts the sound since it’s part of the vibrating wooden soundboard. The size and shape of the guitar’s body, however, bear no significant direct impact on the sound quality. That’s why electric guitars come in crazy shapes that still sound great.
The Gibson Les Paul, for instance, is instantly recognizable by its rounded and wide body shape. Some guitars come in single cutaways, while others like the Fender Stratocaster feature double cutaways that make it easy to play the strings.
3. Types of Electric Guitar Strings Influence Sound
Electric guitar strings have a massive influence on the sound of your guitar. Electric guitar strings produce very different sounds depending on their composite material and thickness (measured in gauges).