General introduction

This book describes the building of solid-body, hollow-body and semi-acoustic electric guitars. The term “electric guitar” also includes the electric bass, which, despite its slightly longer neck, is pretty similar to build. I use the term hollow-body guitar for a solid-body guitar with hollowed-out body and glued-on top.

The term semi-acoustic guitar is used specifically for guitars like the one shown on page 90. The body consists of a thin top and back plate and the sides are bent from thin strips of wood. A solid block of wood runs down the center of the body. Building a semi-acoustic guitar has more in common with building an acoustic guitar than building an electric.

Parts of an electric guitar

An electric guitar has steel strings which produce vibrations that are then, via a magnetic pick-up, transformed into an electric current (thus the letter “E” which is sometimes used short for “electric” in front of the word guitar). An electric guitar needs an amplifier and a speaker to produce a sufficient level of sound to be audible.

The conventional electric guitar consists, roughly speaking, of three parts: (a) the peghead, where the tuners are fastened, (b) the neck, where the strings are played, and (c) the body, where the strings are fastened and the electronic parts are fitted.

The nut is the contact-point between the strings and the neck; it is situated next to the peghead and represents the zero-fret on the guitar. There are also guitars which have got an actual zerofret and where the nut merely serves the purpose of holding and guiding the strings. At another point of the guitar, the strings make contact with the body at the saddles of the bridge. The ends of the strings with the smaller balls are fitted from the back through holes in the body or anchored at a special string-holding device (tailpiece) or at the bridge. The other ends of the strings are wound around the tuner shafts and the strings are tuned by turning the tuners.

The higher a string is fretted, the shorter its wavelength becomes. Each fret increases the pitch of a string by a semitone.

The vibrating length of each string is the distance between the nut and the saddle and is also called scale length.

The pickups are fastened to the body just under the strings. The control cavity is a recess in the body covered by a plate or the pickguard and contains controls, switches, condensators, etc. The pickguard is most commonly made of plastic. It protects the body surface against damage that can be caused by playing the guitar. At the output jack the cord linking guitar and amplifier is plugged in.

Guitar classics

Attempts to increase the sound-volume of acoustic instruments by mechanical means were made quite early this century; later pickups and amplifiers were used to achieve the same effect. Since such attempts were numerous, nobody can seriously lay claim to having invented the electric guitar. What is certain, however, is the fact that the idea was developed in the 1930ies and ’40ies and that the first electromagnetic pickup was fitted on a Rickenbacker guitar that looked more like a frying pan with handle than a guitar as we know it today. But one name will forever be associated with electric guitars: Leo Fender.

Fender guitars mostly have a body made of either maple, ash, alder or basswood and a bolt-on neck made of maple.

The names of these guitars are mere product names and of no further significance, just as in the world of cars, where manufacturers give different names to different models. Most of these names given to guitars have become household names and are nowadays widely used in everyday language. But be aware that almost all guitar names are registered trademarks owned by the respective manufacturers.

There are countless variations of these types of guitar, the shape of the peghead often being the main distinguishing feature. On the whole, the majority of all types of guitar - including the modern ones - can be classified under one of their above-mentioned predecessors.

There are also guitars without peghead. These guitars often have carbon-fiber necks, which have the advantage of offering greater stability than wooden necks. Such headless guitars need special strings with two ball-ends that are fastened at the tuners at the end of the body. A “normal” electric guitar, however, is made entirely of wood, and the special magic and sound qualities of this material will no doubt ensure the continued popularity and survival of guitars made of this product of nature.