The Electric Guitar
Throughout history, mankind has developed a many different kinds of instruments ranging from drums to pianos and even manipulating our own voices. Of all those instruments, the stringed ones have arisen as one of the main types of instrument played. One type of stringed instrument is known as the electric guitar. There are three basic parts of the guitar known as the body, neck, and headstock.
An electric guitar is a type of guitar that utilizes electricity through an amplifier to project its sound, hence its name, the electric guitar. This type of guitar is made from a thin solid body of wood that is shaped in many different fashions. The body’s electrical components consist of pick-ups, a switch, several knobs, and an input for a quarter inch cable. All of these components are wired together through a small chamber within the body that protects the wiring and are fed to the quarter inch jack. The pick-ups, which are located directly below the strings receive incoming vibrations from the strings and convert them into electrical signals. These signals are then sent through the wiring to the quarter inch input where they can be sent out to an amplifier. The switch which can be located in various places on the body based on what kind of guitar you have is used to switch a pick-up on or off or both on. The knobs, usually located close to the switch, consist of a knob that controls volume level and tone differences. A guitar will typically have one knob for volume and several others for tone alteration. A non electrical component of the guitar is known as the bridge. The bridge is essentially a metal bar that is bolted into the body of the guitar and is used to keep the strings level and tight. It can also be used to adjust the height of each individual string. One can even adjust the height of the entire bridge if necessary.
Another part of the electric guitar is the neck. The neck is a long and thin piece of wood in which the strings are suspended in the air over. The neck consists of small round, and thin pieces of metal hammered into the wood. These are known as the frets. The frets are placed in small intervals which get larger as it gets farther from the body. The space between each fret and under each string produces a very unique sound. Closer to the body, one has high pitched sounds but farther away, the sounds get lower in pitch. The area of the neck that contains all of these frets is known as the fret board. It extends from the body to the headstock.
The head stock is at the very end of the neck. It contains all of the tuning pegs used to alter the pitch of the strings. Each tuning peg, usually there are six, has a string wound around it. The purpose of this is to secure the strings and keep them taught. Turning the knobs on the pegs will either raise or lower the pitch of the string. This is how one tunes their guitar to his/her liking. The strings are laid out over a small but crucial piece of wood know as the nut. The nut keeps the strings suspended in midair over the frets. Also on the headstock is a hole drilled just below the nut. Inside is a long thin bar known as the tress rod that extends the entire length of the neck. This piece supports the neck and allows the instrument player to fight the warping of the neck. This is something that happens to the wood of the neck from use over time. The warping of the neck can make a major influence on a guitar’s sound in a negative way. But proper adjusting of the tress rod will undo the effects of neck warping.
All of these parts allow for one to experience the power of instrument amplification through electrical means. Electric guitars have dominated the music scene ever since the invention of the guitar amplifier. This amplification allowed a guitar player to play loud enough for a massive amount of people to hear them play. Large masses of fans could go see their favorite artists perform. The electric guitar is indeed a revolutionary instrument.
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