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Buying Guide for Solid Body Guitars

Related article:
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This solid body guitar buying guide will hopefully help you in your search for a new or first guitar.

Solid body Electric Guitars are the basic guitar of rock n’ roll. Entry-level solid bodies instruments are usually made of woods such as Alder, Nato or Basswood and feature quality hardware and electronics.

Features to Consider When Buying an Electric Guitar

Pickups
The pickups are magnets with coils of wire wrapped around them, which are placed under the strings. They “pick up” the vibration of the steel strings and transform them into an electric signal that is sent to the amplifier. Although there are many variations, there are basically two types of pickups:

Single Coil – Found in the Fender Stratocaster, the single coil pickup typically produces a “bright” sound. They are usually used in a configuration of 2 or 3 on a guitar. Excellent for rock ‘n roll, blues, or country music.
Humbucker – This pickup looks like to single coils put tightly next two each other. They produce a “fatter” or “warmer” sound and are louder than a single coil pickup. Usually used in a configuration of 2 on a guitar, they are found in many Gibson guitars such as the Les Paul, the SG and the ES335. Excellent for Metal, Rock n’ roll, blues and Jazz.
Some guitars are designed with a combination of single coils and humbuckers for a wider variety of sounds.

The Bridge
The Bridge is where the strings connect to the body of the guitar. There are basically 2 types of bridges.
 

1. Fixed Bridge – Also known as a “Hard Tail”, the fixed bridge is excellent for beginners. It offers very stable tuning, and excellent sustain (how long a note rings out after you strike it.)
2. Vibrato Bridge – Also known as a “Tremolo Bridge” has a handle, known as a “Trem Bar” or a “Whammy Bar” that allows you to move the bridge to tighten or loosen all six strings at once. Used for mild vibrato effect, this style of bridge works fine and can be a lot of fun for beginners

If you want to do heavy-duty Van Halen style “dive bombs”, there is a variation of the Vibrato Bridge that does a better job of keeping the guitar in tune. It’s called a Floyd Rose Double-locking Bridge.

Floyd Rose Double-locking Bridge
The advantage of this style of bridge is you can go crazy with the Whammy bar and the guitar will stay in tune. This system is usually not a good choice for those just starting out; stringing and tuning a guitar with a Floyd Rose style bridge is an involved process that can be frustrating and confusing to the novice. Beginners should keep things simple with a hard tail or standard vibrato bridge.

Recommended Solid Body Electric Guitars

Five Best Beginner Guitars

Other Stuff You’re Definitely Going to Need

There are a number of accessories that will help you enjoy and maintain your electric guitar. A case, polish, strings and strap are just a few of the items that you’ll need to protect your investment and keep it in top performing condition.

Recommended Electric Guitar Accessories

Maintenance and Adjustment

Most people don’t realize a guitar is a machine. Like an automobile, it occasionally requires repairs and adjustments to keep it running at peak performance. The truth is, there’s very little on a guitar that can’t be fixed and even the most expensive guitar routinely needs work. A Guitar Repairman or Luthier should periodically look over your instrument and perform a “Set-Up” when necessary. Having your instrument “Set-Up” is a process in which a repairman adjusts string height and neck straightness to optimize the performance of your instrument.

Related article:
Five best beginner guitars

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