When comparing an electric guitar to an acoustic one, the main noticeable difference may be the thicker neck on an acoustic guitar. An electric guitar needs to be connected to an amplifier to be played, whereas an acoustic guitar amplifies the sound through the body’s resonance chamber.
Bridge
The bridge refers to a piece of material used for attaching the strings to the body of the instrument. There are 3 main types of bridges.
- Fixed – Fixed to the body of the instrument. It has no moving parts. This is the standard bridge used on an acoustic guitar.
- Tremolo system – A spring-loaded mechanism that can stretch or loosen the strings to create a vibrato effect.
- Floyd Rose – A double-locking tremolo system.
Nut
The nut is a piece of material that’s fixed to the headstock, designed to support the strings. Grooves are cut into the nut to support each individual string. Because the nut is a fundamental point where the strings make contact with the body of a guitar, the nut is responsible for shaping the tone. Nuts can be made from different materials, each with its own sound.
- Standard – The most common type of nut. It can be made from many different materials including brass, plastic, bone and graphite.
- Locking – Clamps the strings in place in order to maintain tuning stability.
- Compensated – Adjusts the distance for each individual string which allows the guitar to play more in tune.
Frets
These are the metal strips that divide the neck into sections. They can be made from different materials including brass, nickel and stainless steel. Frets can vary in size (height).
- Small;
- Medium or regular;
- Large or jumbo.
Pickups
Pickups work by using a magnet to produce electrical current.
Some acoustic guitars contain a pickup located inside the resonance chamber, although a microphone is generally preferred for recordings.
An electric guitar usually contains 2 or 3 pickups. Active pickups require a battery to operate in comparison to the traditional passive counterpart. There are two main types of electric guitar pickups.
- Single coil – Commonly found on Fender guitars and exhibit a bright and snappy sound.
- Humbucker – Combines two signal-producing coils to suppress external noise and produce a louder sound.
Truss Rod
Both an acoustic and electric guitar can compensate for string tension by adjusting the truss rod. This is a metal pole inside the neck of the guitar, adjustable with an Allen key on either the headstock or bridge end of the guitar.
This is a specialized adjustment that should be carried out by a professional guitar technician.
