Choosing The Right Electric Guitar

J.M.R Day

There are a lot of new brands of electric guitars today unlike during the mid 50’s when there are only few being introduced in the market. Some popular brands then were Fender and Gibson. But the question as to what kind of guitar to choose varies for each player. You may want to use a particular guitar for a particular song or music.

What type of music do you play? Every guitarist has his own unique style and preference of what music to play. For jazz players, they often choose hollow body guitars due to its quietness or low volume. This is why it’s often used in intimate music and is not meant for a high sounding one. Its drawback is the feedback on high volume. A well-known player who uses this kind of electric guitar is George Benson.

Semi-hollow body electric guitars were introduced to fix and enhance the sound of their older brothers – hollow body. It has been built with a more firm neck and a small body width. The f-hole is still there but the center of the body is filled in to correct the problem. Early rock and roll players were using this kind of guitar especially during the heyday of Elvis Presley. B.B King has also been using ES 335 named “Lucille” - a Gibson semi-hollow body guitar.

In the quest for more versatile and compact electric guitars the solid body were introduced. Leo Fender and Les Paul were some of the pioneers of these guitars. Some of their notable models were the Telecaster and Stratocaster for Fender and the Gold-Top for Gibson Les Paul. Les Paul introduced his masterpiece in 1952. The Strat was released in 1954 and three years earlier for the Tele.

Which is which? Gibson or Fender? These are both good brands to choose from but it still lies on the preference of the player. Gibson usually uses double-coiled pickups or humbuckers. This is what gives it a round sound and a good buzz on feedback. They prefer to play it in high volume. Remember Slash of Guns and Roses? His melodic licks where very much associated with these guitars. Jazz players also prefer to use this brand. On the other hand, Fender has been known to use single-coiled pickups in majority of their product line. Clarity and sustain during low volume is the key factor of this brand. Richie Sambora, Eric Johnson and Jimi Hendrix has been known to use this brand.

There are guitar players who bring along several brands of guitar during a session or gig. It is best to find the best sound for a particular music. That is when you choose what type of guitar to use.

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