Solid body electric guitars
Electric guitars (type)
Solid body electric guitars have no hollow internal cavity to accommodate vibration
and no sound holes such as those used to amplify string vibrations in a
coustic guitars. Solid body instruments are generally made of hardwood with a lacquer coating and have six steel strings. The wood is dried for 3 to 6 months in heated storage before being cut to shape. The sound that is audible in music featuring electric guitars is produced by pickups on the guitar that convert the string vibrations into an electrical signal. The signal is then fed to an amplifier (or amp) and speaker.
One of the first solid body guitars was invented by Les Paul. Gibson did not present their 'Les Paul' guitar prototypes to the public, as they did not believe it would catch on. The first mass-produced solid-body guitar was Fender's Broadcaster (later to become the 'Telecaster') first made in 1948, five years after Les Paul made his prototype. The Gibson Les Paul appeared soon after to compete with the Broadcaster.
String-through body
When discussing electric guitar construction, the term string-through body is used to describe a type of solid body electric guitar body in which the strings are threaded through holes drilled into the bottom of the guitar body. The strings are typically held in place using metal ferrules screwed or glued into the holes.
The advantages of a string-through body mostly relate to improvements in a guitar's sustain and timbre. However, this type of body also significantly increases the tension placed on the strings , which can cause wear or bowing on the guitar neck over time. It is also by nature impossible to install a tremolo arm on a string-through body.
Examples of string-through bodies on guitars include the Fender Telecaster Thin line and Telecaster Deluxe.
Solid body electric guitars have no hollow internal cavity to accommodate vibration
and no sound holes such as those used to amplify string vibrations in a
coustic guitars. Solid body instruments are generally made of hardwood with a lacquer coating and have six steel strings. The wood is dried for 3 to 6 months in heated storage before being cut to shape. The sound that is audible in music featuring electric guitars is produced by pickups on the guitar that convert the string vibrations into an electrical signal. The signal is then fed to an amplifier (or amp) and speaker.One of the first solid body guitars was invented by Les Paul. Gibson did not present their 'Les Paul' guitar prototypes to the public, as they did not believe it would catch on. The first mass-produced solid-body guitar was Fender's Broadcaster (later to become the 'Telecaster') first made in 1948, five years after Les Paul made his prototype. The Gibson Les Paul appeared soon after to compete with the Broadcaster.
String-through body
When discussing electric guitar construction, the term string-through body is used to describe a type of solid body electric guitar body in which the strings are threaded through holes drilled into the bottom of the guitar body. The strings are typically held in place using metal ferrules screwed or glued into the holes.
The advantages of a string-through body mostly relate to improvements in a guitar's sustain and timbre. However, this type of body also significantly increases the tension placed on the strings , which can cause wear or bowing on the guitar neck over time. It is also by nature impossible to install a tremolo arm on a string-through body.
Examples of string-through bodies on guitars include the Fender Telecaster Thin line and Telecaster Deluxe.