For any guitarist, the most delicate job they face is picking out the right electric guitar. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an advanced musician; a finely tuned electric guitar is like nothing else on earth. The hard part is choosing the perfect guitar for your individual need.

A guitar has five basic components; any electric model will have all of these parts:

1. A body 2. A neck 3. A head stock piece 4. Electrical pick ups 5. A bridge

Electric guitars need an amplifier to make the sound audible. For an electric guitar, the sound is made when you pluck the strings and the strings vibrations are sent, or “picked up” by the pickups and sent to the amplifier.

When choosing an electric guitar, the most important considerations for most are the price of the instrument and its sound.

An electric guitar can be as inexpensive as $100, or as expensive as $20,000! This is quite a large price differential, what accounts for this variation? Basically, materials used quality of the construction of the body, neck and head stock, along with the quality of the pickups. A beginner need not go with the $20,000 varieties - there are plenty of beginner’s kits available which include guitar, amplifier, picks, guitar strap and usually instructional materials.

In general, the body of a guitar is solid wood, which is why the pickups are necessary to carry the sound. The amplifier is similar in function to a stereo receiver - it controls the volume of the signal from the guitar. Solid body guitars are the most popular variety, especially among beginning players.

The other factors to consider are the guitar’s looks and the neck joint.

You should be pleased with the way the instrument looks if you are to enjoy playing that guitar. The most popular brands are the Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster. Other manufacturers, B.C. Rich for instance, make guitars in unusual shapes and color schemes. All of these makers mentioned so far have lower priced models, meaning a Fender or Gibson guitar can be had for $300 or less. B.C. Rich guitars are a little cheaper, even those with custom paint jobs.

Guitars are made with several types of neck joints (how the neck attaches to the body). There is the bolt-on, which is the cheapest, then the set neck and the neck through style. The bolt on type is exactly what it sounds like-it bolts on to the body. This is the most common type of neck and is very affordable.

The set neck attaches to the body by means of a tongue set into the body of the guitar, which is glued in. These necks cost a little more to build, but offer more sustain and resonance to the guitarist.

Neck through is exactly what it sounds like - the neck is all one piece which extends the entire length of the instrument. This is the most expensive type of neck joint, but these guitars have a great sound.

Do your homework before you buy an electric guitar - there are so many different makes and models that you’ll want to try many out before you decide (but trust me, you will know when you’ve found the right one). Visit guitar stores, try out guitars and most importantly, ask questions! Happy playing!

Happy playing!