The Electric Guitar

 

In the series about rock music hardware, we take a look at the electric guitar.
Technical and musical greetings from
Kurt Starlit
- aka CykelKurt

 

This series includes:
1. The electric Guitar 2. The Stomp Box 3. The Microphone 4. The Amplifier 5. The Speaker 6. Organ & Synth 7. Record & Music Production 8. Drums & Rhythm Boxes

 

 

Latest update: 2016.July.12

 

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The electric Guitar

 

In the 1960s, the electric guitar was the symbol of a young generation. Nevertheless, we need to go further back in time to meet the two greatest developers of the electric guitar: Leo Fender and Les Paul.

For even if there were electric guitars before these two pioneers appeared, the improvement of the electric guitar started to happen with the appearance of these two giants.

In 1951, Fender Telecaster was launched. Well, in the very beginning it was named Broadcaster, but because an American music band used the same name, Fender decided to re-name his Broadcaster to Telecaster.

Later, in 1952, Gibson launched the Les Paul guitar, and the rest i history.

 

 

Definition
Let's make it clear what an electric guitar really is:

An electric guitar is a guitar which converts the string movements into electricity.

More exact, it is the guitar pick-up that transforms string movements into a (weak) electrical voltage, although it is the guitar in general that has been given the quality of being "electric".

 

The Block Guitar
The electric guitar was originally an ordinary acoustic guitar fitted with a pick-up (converting string movements into voltage), but as Fender and Gibson manufacturers around 1950 launch their block guitars, they immediately set a new standard, how to build an electric guitar. Among a number of improvements, they get rid of the infamous "howl" - also called feedback.

Feedback:
1. Movement of the strings is converted by the pickup into an electric signal.
2. The electrical signal is sent (via the guitar cord) to the amplifier.
3. The amplifier sends the amplified signal as an audio signal into the speaker.
4. The sound from the speaker (= motion of air particles) creates (small) movements in the guitar body.
5. The movements of the guitar body causes the guitar strings to move.
6. ....(it starts all over, go to point 1.).

It is the amplifier that keeps the "whining chain" working. If the amplifier gain is set to less than one (e.g. by turning down the volume), the "whining chain" stops howling. Otherwise "the chain" will continue working by circulating between strings, amplifier, speaker and guitar body until doomsday.

The howling is stopped by breaking "the chain", e.g. turning down the volume, or turning the amp off, or by breaking the connection to the guitar (removing the guitar cable from the amp).

Most manufacturers soon are producing block guitars, which are guitars with the body replaced by a solid plank, although it is obvious that the Fender and Gibson design is the ideal.

Unfortunately, not everyone had understood the meaning of the block, for example, my confirmation gift in 1962 (from my sweet mother) was a Höfner, Model 126. It was clearly inspired by Les Paul, but alas, also with a hollow body. The guitar therefore sufferede from the same shortcomings as an acoustic guitar fitted with pick-ups. But I was happy for the guitar and played it all through the school years.

Talking 'bout Höfner, the McCartney violin bass were no better than mine, with a hollow body and lots of feedback. I guess many believed that Sir Paul played the violin, because it was a first class instrument.

Later on.... well, I don't know, but it seems unlikely that he chose the instrument because of its hollow sound, second rate parts (the tuning pegs for example) or finish. Neither electricalwise or mechanical wise, it can stand comparison with Gibson SG, Fender Jazz Bass or Precision Bass.

McCartney himself explains:

I remember going along there, and there was this bass which was quite cheap. I couldn't afford a Fender. Fenders even then seemed to be about £100. All I could really afford was about £30 ... so for about £30 I found this Höfner violin bass. And to me it seemed like, because I was left-handed, it looked less daft because it was symmetrical. Didn't look as bad as a cutaway which was the wrong way. So I got into that.

The different Fender models (Telecaster, Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, P-Bass etc.) and Gibson Les Paul has until this day (2010) been the model for many others. And the explanation must be that from the beginning, they had the right idea, the right design.

 

The main components of an electric guitar

large pic           electric guitar with vibrato arm

The main components of an electric bass guitar

 

Electric guitar Fender Telecaster Fender Stratocaster Fender Jazzmaster Fender Jaguar

Fender Jazz Bass Fender Precision Bass Gibson Les Paul Gibson SG Höfner Höfner 500/1

 

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The Strings

 

Guitar strings are a necessary part of the guitar - with no strings you may as well use the guitar for kindling or as a tennisbat.

Each guitar type (Spanish, Western, Jazz, Electric, etc.) has got its own requirements for strings, but in this chapter, we concentrate on the electric guitar.

Strings for the electric guitar are found in a variety of types, for example, nickel-plated strings and strings of steel. The most important quality on an electric guitar string is that it is magnetizable - mening that the string is affected by the magnet of the guitar pick-up. For this reason, all strings on an electric guitar is made out of metal.

String thickness is cruicial, how guitar playing is experienced. Usually strings are supplied the guitar from the factory, but for the most part these strings are of a poor quality. For this reason and for your own sake, start by fitting a new set of strings to your guitar.

Guitar strings are manufactured in different thicknesses - each with their pros and cons:

Thin strings:

• are easy to play,
• are easy to bend,
• break easily,
• lack volume and sustain,
• have a tendency to generate humming sounds and
• cause a low load on the guitar neck.

Thick strings:

• are heavy to play,
• are difficult to bend,
• are long lasting (don't break easily),
• got lots of volume and sustain,
• cause a high load on the guitar neck,
• produce high sound volume and sustain and
• require heavy finger pressure to produce sound,

Set of Strings
The six strings of a guitar is called "a set of strings". Strings are sold individually or in sets. When we are talking about strings for the electric guitar, the following gauges are used:

ESL: SL: Light: Medium: Heavy:

.008 .009 .010 .011 .012

.010 .011 .013 .015 .016

.015 .016 .017 .018 .020

.021 .024 .026 .026 .032

.030 .032 .036 .036 .042

.038 .042 .046 .050 .054

    ESL = Extra Super Light
    SL = Super Light

When the thin string of a Super Light Extra set is indicated as "0.008", it means that the string measures zero point zero zero eight inches in diameter. This corresponds to 0.2 mm (= two-tenths of a millimeter).

When the thick string in a Heavy set is indicated as "0.054", it means that the string measures zero point zero five four inches in diameter. This corresponds to 1.37 mm.

In round figures you could say, that inside each set of strings, the thick string is five times as thick as the thin.

Wheather strings should be thin, medium or thick is a matter of taste and playing style.

Brand
Are some strings better than others?
Well, it seems to be common sense that you generally get what you pay for. Thus, it seems only reasonable, that if you buy a cheap string, you get a cheap string. Personal taste and psycology often plays a role too. Once upon a time Fender roundwound strings were the preferred brand. Since then, a lot have happened in the string market, and so today there is no reason to highlight one brand at the expense of the other.

 

The best electric guitar strings

String Bending (aka Finger Vibrato) (Wikipedia)

String Bending (YouTube)

Tapping (Wikipedia)

Guitar Tapping (YouTube)

 

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The Pick

The famous Sharkfin pick

The guitar pick is a must to most guitar pickers. The purpose of a pick is to strike chords or strings on the guitar in a way that makes the impact precise and clearly audible.

The pick as we know it today, was first seen in USA in the 1920s, where D'Andrea as one of the first launched a pick conisting of celluloid.

In the 1950s when I started playing the guitar, picks made of tortoise shell were considered to be the best, even if particularly thin picks had a tendency to split or break. The use of tortoise shell was banned in 1973, when the turtle was preserved. Instead, the manufaturers made their picks of various plastics, like for example Nylon.

In the 1960s a Swedish plectrum was launched. It soon gained a popularity that has kept it in the top of the charts right up to the present day (2015): Sharkfin.

Another company was American Dunlop who, in the beginning of the 1970s, made a Nylon Standard pick. It was available in thickness 0.38, 0.46, 0.60, 0.73, 0.88 and 1.00 mm. This pick gave the guitar a great sound if you turned the pick upwards down to let the textured part of the pick scrape against the string(s).

 

 

The thickness of a pick is roughly varied between 0.5 and 2 mm. The thickness and the shape of a pick affects the timbre of the guitar string. In general, a thick plectrum causes a darker tone than a thin pick. In the same way, a pointed plectrum causes a lighter tone than a thick pick. A rounded plectrum is resulting in a darker tone.

You always have to remember, that preferences depends on the individual person when it comes to choosing pick. There is no such thing as "the best pick".

Guitar pick (Wikipedia)

Guitar picks (YouTube)

 

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The Pick-up

A guitar pickup is a device that picks up the (mechanical) vibrations from the strings, and converts them into an electrical voltage. The pick-up consists of a coil (= a wire which is wound or twisted) and a magnetic core (a block) of iron. The coil is wound around the core, that often in practice is designed like a screw which can be adjusted up and down within the pick-up coil. The six bolts (one for each string) can be individually height-adjusted, in this way determining the pick-up sensitivity.

In short, a pick-up works like this:

1. A magnet generates a magnetic field, which is invisible present in the air around the guitar strings.

2. The strings are picked (by the player), in this way changing the magnetic field in the air accordingly.

3. When the magnetic field is changing, a changing voltage is induced (transferred) in the coil accordingly.

4. This voltage is fed inside a cable to the output of the guitar.

 

Electromagnetism

It was Danish H.C. Ørsted, who in 1820 realized that he had made an epoch-making discovery: Electromagnetism.

The fact is that electricity and magnetism are linked like monozygotic twins - one can not exist without the other.

Briefly told, this means that

- a current that flows through a cord/cable/wire/coil,
generates a magnetic field around the cord/cable/wire/coil.
The stronger the current, the stronger the magnetic field.

And the other way around:

- a magnetic field around a cord/cable/wire/coil,
generates a current through the the cord/cable/wire/coil.
The stronger the magnetic field, the stronger the current.

 

The two most common types of pickups are single-coil and humbuck. Generally speaking, most Fenders use single-coil, and most Gibsons use double-coil (humbuck).

 

Single-coil Single-coil is, as the name implies, built from a single coil, wound on a magnetic core.

 

Principal diagram of a single-coil pick-up

 

The advantage of a single-coil pickup is a light clear tone.
The disadvantage of a single-coil is its sensitivity to ambient noise and hum.
A further disadvantage is that the single-coil does not tolerate long cables and cords (due to a high impedance of the pickup).

 

Humbucker
Humbucker can be regarded as a further development of the single-coil pick-up, because it solves the problem with electromagnetic noise and hum, which is often a problem for single-coil pickups. In return, it has a somewhat darker sound, which is not to the delight of all guitarists.

The Humbucker is also called "dual-coil pickup", "double-coil pickup" or "hum-canceling pickup".

Humbuck = buck the hum = put the hum to jail.

 

Principal diagram of a humbucker pick-up

 

In principle, a humbucker consists of two single-coil pickups. The two coils are wound opposite to each other (in opposite phase), and electrical series-connected (= in "extension" of each other). The two magnetic cores are mounted in anti-phase - south pole to the north pole and the north pole to the south pole.

In this way you obtain, that external noise (e.g. hum from a mains transformer) is eliminated - phased out - while the signal form the guitar travels almost unaffected through.

Two examples:

1. Noise & hum is cancelled:
- A transformer transmits electromagnetic hum into the air enclosing the humbucker.
- Here, the hum is captured by the two coils of the humbucker.
- But because the two coils are counterwound (= wound in opposite phase),
      the hum is eliminated, and it never reaches any further than this.

2. The sound of the string passes unchanged:
- The two magnets of the humbucker generate two opposite magnetic fields
      in the air surrounding the two coils of the humbuckers and the guitar strings.

- A guitar string is hit (by the player),
      causing the two magnetic fields to change accordingly.
- Due to the change in the magnetic fields, a current is generated in each of the two humbucking coils.
- But because the two coils are of opposite polarity,
      and because the two magnets are of opposite polarity,
      the two contradictions elimintes each other,
      and the sound of the string (= the guitar signal) in principal is unaffected.

As already mentioned, the two windings are connected in series (= in continuation of each other), causing the volume of the resulting signal to be twice as high as the signal from a single-coil winding.

Furthermore, when the two coils are connected in series, the inductance (= AC resistance) at higher frequencies is increased, causing high (bright) notes/tones to be attenuated.

This gives the humbucker a darker or "fatter" tone, compared to the two coils being connected separately.

The advantage of humbucking is a high signal level (high strength) and reduced noise (hum).
The disadvantage of humbucking is that the light tones are muted or phased out.

Many guitarists use both single-coil and humbucking on the same guitar, in order to achieve the benefits of both pick-up types.

Humbucking Pickups

PAF pickup

Pickup

 

The mechanical structure of a Humbucker

 

Alnico = an alloy (mixture) of Aluminum (Al), Nickel (Ni) and Cobalt (Co) - hence the name Al-Ni-Co

 

A humbucker (left) and two single-coils (right) fitted on a Fender guitar.

 

Pickup

Humbucker

PAF pickup

The Secrets of Electric Guitar Pickups

Single-coil Pickups for Fender Stratocaster

Guitar Rewiring

Humbucking Pickups

Les Paul telling his tale, 1/3

Les Paul telling his tale, 2/3

Les Paul telling his tale, 3/3

The Fender story

 

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Mechanical dimensions
The table shows mechanical dimensions of various guitar models.

Fender Telecaster: Fender Esquire: Fender Stratocaster: Fender Jazzmaster: Fender Jaguar: Fender Mustang: Fender P Bass: Fender Jazz Bass: Fender Tele Bass: Fender Jaguar Bass: Fender Mustang Bass: Gibson Les Paul: Gibson SG: Gibson ES: Höfner Violin Bass:

String Length 25 1/2" (65 cm) 25 1/2" (65 cm) 25 1/2" (65 cm) 25 1/2" (65 cm) 24"      (61 cm) 24"      (61 cm) 34"       (86 cm) 34"       (86 cm) 34"       (86 cm) 34"       (86 cm) 30"       (76 cm) 24 3/4" (63 cm) 24 3/4" (63 cm) 24 3/4" (63 cm) 30"       (76 cm)

Neck Width 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm) 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm) 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm) 1.65"      (4.2 cm) 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm) 1 1/5"     (3.8 cm) 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm) 1 1/5"     (3.8 cm) 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm) 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm) 1 1/5"     (3.8 cm) 1.69"     (4.3 cm) 1.74"     (4.4 cm) 1.69"     (4.3 cm) 1 5/8"     (4.1 cm)

Frets 21 21 22 21 22 19 20 20 20 20 19 22 22 20 22

String Length
= Scale Length
The string length is the same as the distance from the Nut to the Bridge.

Neck Width
= Nut Width = Neck Width at Nut
Neck Width is equal to the width of the fingerboard in front of the Nut, measured at first fret.

 

Nut Width Options

Measuring Nut Width (YouTube)

Body Wood Options

Fender 1968 catalog

 

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The Fender guitar

Fender "Rubblecaster"

The Fender guitar stands for many people as the very embodiment of the electric guitar.
Hank B. Marvin, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler and countless others have played the Fender brand into guitar history.

Most famous Fender models are

      - Stratocaster,

      - Telecaster,

      - Jazzmaster,

      - Jaguar,

      - Precision Bass ("P-Bass") og

      - Jazz Bass

You'll find two main chools within guitarists: Either you support GIBSON Les Paul, or you support FENDER Stratocaster.

So, what are the differences between Les Paul and Stratocaster?

Basically it seems like the Les Paul guitar is a piece of handicraft, with a look that has the same priority as the function of the guitar. When Les Paul (along with Ted McCarty) engineered his guitar - he was something of a genius within construction of guitars, electric pick-ups, studio equipment and much else - he knew very well that the guitar body, the block should be acoustically dead. He even obtained at an early stage a guitar constructed from a 4 "x 4" railway log, and called it "The Log". The Log demonstrated very effectively that the log was the solution to any feedback problem ("the howl").

The picture shows Fender "Rubblecaster", a special model mounted on a piece of Berlin wall and finally painted.
Weight 90 kg.
The work can be seen at the Fender Museum of California.

Fender guitars

Fender amps

Fender Forum

Fender Players Club

Fender Museum

Fender

Fender catalog 1968

History of Fender

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

 

 

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For guitar lovers

Fender brought up their masterpiece, the Stratocaster, made by very simple principles. Two pieces of wood, bolted together. And Fender suffered a lot of derision at the time, because they thought it was a very crude way of doing it - especially from people like Gibson.
Paul Day, co-writer of "The Fender Book"

We are back at the original Fender factory in Fullerton, California, guided by connoisseurs in the field.

Fender Factory Tour 1959

Pre CBS Fender factory footage

Fender Guitars Factory Tour

Fender Factory - making of a Stratocaster

First Fender Stratocaster In The UK

The Sound Heard Round The World

Telecaster Promo

 

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The Chapman Stick

In 1970 an exciting mutant of the electric guitar is launched: The Chapman Stick or The Stick as it was quickly named. At the same time, in Guitar Player Magazine you could read about Chapman's invention:

Imagine, if you one day could create music on a stringed instrument which, at the same time, was a guitar, a bass, a piano and percussion. Add to this a great number of effects and a playing technique, making the expressiveness of the instrument nearly infinite. The most fantastic thing is, that such an instrument is already in existance: The Chapman Stick!

The Chapman Stick comes in versions with 8, 10 or 12 strings. The Stick is used on countless recordings, where it is handling bass, melody or chords individually - or all at once!

Chapman Stick (Wikipedia)

What is a Chapman Stick?

Chapman Stick (Google Pics)

Chapman Stick (YouTube)

Emmett Chapman (YouTube)

 

The Railboard

large pic.

As his latest invention, Emmet Chapman in this recording explains his The Railboard.

Kevin Keith: "Keep On Keeping On" (YouTube)

The Railboard (YouTube)

R-Block Pickup Module

www.stick.com

 

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Kelstone

Jan van Kelst is demonstrating the Kelstone.

Kelstone

Kelstone (YouTube)

 

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LiNKS

Electric guitar (Wikipedia)

Gibson

Gibson

Gretsch

Gretsch Guitars

Hagström

Hagström Vintage

hagstromrules.com

Höfner

Burns

Burns Guitar Museum

Orange

Rickenbacker

Selmer

WEM

 

 

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This site is under constant consideration and expansion.
So, if you got an opinion on the topic in general or technical details in particular, don't hesitate to contact me:

Thank you very much!

Kurt Starlit
aka CykelKurt

 

 

 

 

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The Rock Scene of The Sixties

 

 

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