Electric Guitars

Since their development, electric guitars have become increasingly popular among guitarists and music fans. Experimentation and technological advances have made electric guitars highly versatile instruments, capable of producing a wide range of sounds. As time progresses, these guitars are only likely to increase in their ability to create new and interesting music.

Electric guitars work when electronic pickups sense the vibrations of the guitar's string. These pickups then translate the vibrations into an electronic signal that can be transmitted to an amplifier, where the signal is effectively translated, and broadcast through a speaker, making the sound audible. Without the entirety of this process, an electric guitar only produces a very small amount of sound, but with each of these steps completed, the volume of an electric guitar is limited only by the volume capabilities of the speakers to which it is connected.

Electric guitars can be used to play nearly any genre of music, and they are used almost exclusively in several genres. Depending on the genre for which an electric guitar is to be used, there are a wide array of effects that can be applied to the guitar's electronic signal in order to alter the way that the final product sounds. This is accomplished through the use of devices called foot pedals or effects pedals, or sometimes with an effects processor. Connected into an electric guitar setup between the guitar and the amplifier, the effects created by these devices can alter the tone, frequency, or dynamics of the guitar's sound, and also by speeding up or slowing down part or all of the sound emitted. Special effects applied to the sound of an electric guitar is a major part of what makes them such versatile instruments.

Similarly, electric guitars have always been an instrument on which experimentation is strongly encouraged. The earliest electric guitars were largely a product of experimentation with methods of amplification, until guitarists were able to create something which worked. After the electric guitar became more widespread, guitarists wanted to test the limits of their instruments and amplifiers, and were able to innovate ways in which the sound of the electric guitar could be altered through new techniques of playing it or the interaction between the guitar and the amplifier. Even today, guitarists are still experimenting with the capabilities of their electric guitars, and occasionally developing new techniques that later see wide usage.

Learning to play the electric guitar is typically seen as somewhat easier than learning to play an acoustic guitar. The primary reason for this is that electric guitars use a lighter gauge string than their acoustic counterparts, which means that an electric guitar requires less hand strength to be able to begin making music. Although hand strength becomes more important as a guitarist begins more complex guitar work, for the quick satisfaction of being able to make music, electric guitars tend to be more permissive.

Of course, electric guitars are not entirely without drawbacks. By their very nature, electric guitars require electricity to function properly. While the guitar itself does not plug into an electrical outlet, an amplifier requires power, and it, in turn, powers the pickups of the electric guitar. In any situation where the guitar cannot be powered, therefore, it becomes nearly useless, as the sounds produced simply by the vibrations of the strings are only barely audible.

Another way in which electric guitars may be problematic for a new guitar player is in their cost. Although there are a wide range of prices for electric guitars, depending on their manufacturer and features, the need for an amplifier of some sort often increases the price of even the cheapest electric guitar to more than that of the cheapest acoustic guitar. For a guitarist who is just starting out, and has a limited budget with which to purchase their first instrument, this difference in cost may be prohibitive.

Despite these disadvantages, however, there is no denying the popularity of the electric guitar. Musicians, particularly guitarists, have become the idols of millions, and there are countless scores of children and adults who decide to learn to play the electric guitar in an effort to emulate their idols. The drive to someday be in a position where they, too, can be worshiped is a powerful force behind many people's decision to learn to play guitar. Those who achieve such fame may be only a small proportion of all guitar players, but it is still a key reason why so many people are able to say that they play the guitar.