Beginners Guide to Guitars

Guitars are a really cool instrument, this is a fact, and most people know it, but what most people do not know, however, is the sheer variety of styles and sounds that can be found in this instrument. Here are a few of some of the more well-known types of guitars.

#1: Fender Stratocaster

When you think of an electric guitar, this is the one that most likely springs to mind, no matter if you know the name or not. This is the swiss army knife of guitars, good for almost any style of play and a great, well built guitar overall. This guitar is made by Fender, a really well known maker of guitars.

#2: Fender Telecaster

One of the first electric guitars and the first commercially successful electric guitar, the telecaster goes way back to 1950. This is a guitar similar in build and style to the stratocaster, but there are some notable differences, like the placement of the input jack and the pickups as well as the number of pickups. It has a “distinctly telecaster sound” that I equate to being cleaner, with more reverb (reverb is similar to echo) but can do nicely with crunchier (metal or rock) sounds as well.

#3: Jackson Explorer

My favorite and one of the wackier guitars on this list, the Jackson Explorer is an ultra-cool and well playing guitar with a great sound. Actually a heavily modified Gibson Explorer, this guitar was later manufactured by Jackson guitars in the 1980s. The one downside to this guitar is it's trem (short for tremolo) system, (basically what connects the strings to the main body of the guitar and springs) the Floyd Rose trem. It provides more tuning stability, but makes tuning a monstrous ordeal (we’re talking 10 minutes of monotonous tuning, while most guitars take only 1 to 2). This guitar does allow for different styles of play and wider ranges of music due to the Floyd Rose trem. Having one of these at home, I can say with certainty that the benefits outweigh the downsides.

Such a beautiful instrument.

#4: Gibson Flying V

First made in 1957, this radically different and futuristic looking guitar took off relatively slowly, and might not have had an impact, had it not been for popular guitar players like Albert King and Dave Davies, who popularised the body style. This guitar can deliver scorching rock tones, which is why the more modern versions are now commonly used as metal or rock guitars (think Judas Priest and other metal bands). Some odd versions of this guitar have been produced since its inception, like the Reverse Flying V, which, as its name suggests, is basically a Flying V with the V turned in reverse.

The Flying V

#5: Hagstrom Viking

The only hollowbody guitar on this list, the Hagstrom Viking was first manufactured in 1965, after being discontinued in 1979, the design of the guitar went into a guitar limbo of sorts. After being picked back up again in 2004 by the Hagstrom brand, it continues to be manufactured to this day. This guitar is very fast to play, with a thin neck and smooth fretboard. This is a jazzy guitar that can also play rock nicely. Some users of note include Elvis Presely and Pat Smear of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters.