| Most young people at some stage experiment with | | | | that are very popular with rock bands, as well as |
| playing a musical instrument, for some it's a brief | | | | with the heavy metal music genre. |
| journey, while for others it's a life time of adventure. | | | | They also benefit from not being hindered by the |
| Many who start to play an instrument learn to play | | | | regular design of their acoustic cousins, Electric guitars |
| the electric guitar. The popularity of this instrument | | | | can be shaped in various different ways, allowing for |
| could be for several reasons, relative cheapness of | | | | creative designs like the "Flying V" and more |
| instruments, abundance of teaching methods, but | | | | comfortable playing. More traditional designs include |
| above all electric guitars have "the cool factor" that | | | | the Gibson Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster style, a |
| inspires many people to take it up and play. | | | | design most people are familiar with. |
| Although essentially the same instrument as an | | | | The differences aren't just in the body design, |
| acoustic guitar, the electric versions differ in one | | | | compared to acoustic guitars; the strings of an |
| fundamental way. The difference being that they | | | | electric guitar are typically thinner. This is due to the |
| require electric powered amplifiers for them to | | | | fact that they don't really need to resonate as much |
| operate successfully. While acoustic guitars rely on | | | | as the strings in the acoustic versions do. Electric |
| the cavity within the body to resonate and create | | | | guitar strings are also closer to the guitar's neck, |
| the sound and volume, electric guitars make use of | | | | which requires less effort to press them down. |
| pickups and amplifiers to propel the sound. There are | | | | Another class of electrified guitar is the electric bass. |
| overlaps to this definition, for example Archtops, a | | | | This has all the same dynamics, but only has four |
| class of electric guitar, are manufactured with hollow | | | | strings. The strings on an electric bass guitar are |
| bodies. This allows for the same acoustic resonance | | | | considerably thicker compared to the standard gauge |
| produced by acoustic guitars. | | | | of electric guitars; this allows them to play really low |
| Electric guitars have the ability to offer a very | | | | notes. |
| specialized sound compared to that of an acoustic | | | | When it comes to learning the guitar most beginners |
| version, this is down to the large range of effects | | | | like the idea of playing an electric version as it seems |
| pedals and special effect modules available. Electric | | | | to offer instant fun. Whatever you decide to learn |
| guitars, unlike their acoustic counterparts, have a | | | | set your budget, get yourself an instrument you feel |
| poor sustain, but with effects such as overdrive | | | | comfortable with along with some easy to follow |
| increased sustain is possible to achieve. Other effects | | | | guitar tutorials. And most importantly of all, have fun |
| including flanger and distortion give rise to sounds | | | | playing. |