Electric Guitar

Just like the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar had its origin in the United States of America. In the beginning of the 30s , Adolph Rickenbacker and George Beauchamp founded the Rickenbacker International Corporation, which was the cradle of the original solid body guitar, the A-25 Hawaiian guitar known as the frying pan, built in 1931. Between the classical guitar and the electric guitar there are several technical and aesthetical differences. However, the way of playing is similar. The sound in the classical guitar is produced by the vibration of its 6 nylon strings and amplified by the resonance box. In the electric guitar the electricity came to modify these amplification processes that are being made from a combination of three elements: a microphone that transforms sound waves into electrical signals; an amplifier, which amplifies electrical signals; a speaker, which transforms those amplified electrical signals into sound waves.

****** Nowadays, the 2 most known guitar fabricators are, definitely, Fender and Gibson. There are many guitar models (like the ones Im showing to you in the end) but the Fender Stratocaster, emerged in 1954, remains the best selling guitar of all times. The electric guitar lends its sound to the rock music and most of the bands have 2 (sometimes 3) electric guitars. The electric guitar is a very important invention, not just in terms of its specific sound, but also because of its huge importance in the musics evolution.

The electric guitar has: Six metal strings - theyre made of metal in order to create the magnetic fields on the pickups. Theyre usually played with a pick; Pickups - its in the pickups that are created magnetic fields due to the strings vibration. These magnetic fields are turned into electrical currents which are sent to the amplifier and the speaker; Headstock - its where the strings are curled. Its shape depends of its manufacturer; Nut - its a piece with the same width of the guitars arm. Its grooves guide the strings onto the fretboard, giving consistent lateral string placement; Frets - are metal strips embedded along the fretboard. Pressing a string against a fret determines the strings vibration length and its resultant pitch; Body - since the strings sound is amplified by electronical systems, the electric guitar has a solid body instead of a hollow one. It can adapt many shapes; Plug - its where the amplifier is connected; Pickup selector switch - its used to select which pickup we want to use to produce the sound; Bridge - instead of the classical guitar, this bridge moves with the tremolo bar to create special sound effects; Tremolo bar - its used to make the strings sound vibrate; Electronics - are buttons that adjust the volume and the low and treble sounds.