Comparison Harley Benton Extreme-76 LH vs Parksons PJB15

— Electric guitar. This category includes electric guitars of classical design, having at least 6 strings (as on a traditional acoustic guitar, sometimes more), as well as pickups for transmitting sound to external equipment. The key difference between such models and semi-acoustic guitars is the one-piece body (see below) without any cutouts; in other words, only the strings are responsible for creating sound, and the sound is amplified in an exclusively electrical way — by processing the signal from the pickups. Also note that such instruments are extremely rarely used to extract a clean guitar sound — more often the signal is processed by various “gadgets” that create certain sound effects. Electric guitars are used in a variety of genres of music, and for rock and metal, they are generally considered a kind of "calling card".

— Semi- acoustic. A variety of electric guitars, designed to bring the instrument's sound closer to the sound of an acoustic guitar, to make it brighter and more saturated (although specific shades of sound in different models, of course, may be different). From conventional electric guitars, "semi-acoustic" differs in a hollow body, in which holes-resonators are made — most often in the form of two curly cutouts in the top deck. There are models with one cutout. Such guitars are considered to be "genre", they are popular mainly in rock and roll, blues and jazz. And...the presence of resonators allows, if necessary, to play such an instrument without connection — the sound will be relatively quiet, but still quite audible. However, do not confuse semi-acoustic guitars with electro-acoustic ones: the latter are full-fledged acoustic instruments, supplemented by pickups installed inside the body (which also differ in how they work).

— Bas-guitar. Electric guitars, originally designed to be used as part of a rhythm section, along with drums; theoretically, they can also be used as a solo instrument, but in fact this is extremely rare (and still in the group there is a second bass — the classic "rhythm"). On such an instrument, only single notes are played, chords are not used. A traditional bass guitar has 4 strings tuned to the same notes as the lower (3rd to 6th) strings of a regular guitar, but one octave lower. However, there are also five- and even six-string basses (for more details, see "Number of strings"). Also, bass guitars usually have a longer neck than traditional electric guitars.

- Electric guitar (Multi-neck). Electric guitars with multiple necks, usually two or three. This layout allows the guitarist to quickly and easily switch between the sounds of a musical instrument without wasting time changing guitars. For example, the first neck of a Multi-neck guitar is a regular six-string electric guitar, the second neck is a bass guitar. Such a tool is intended for conducting concert activities. With it, it is convenient to alternate different musical parts or move from one key to another. — Electric guitar (Multi-neck). Electric guitars with multiple necks, usually two or three. This arrangement allows the guitarist to quickly and easily switch between the sounds of a musical instrument without wasting time changing guitars. For example, the first neck of a Multi-neck guitar is a regular six-string electric guitar, the second is a bass guitar. This instrument is intended for conducting concert activities. With its help, it is convenient to alternate different musical parts or move from one key to another.

The number of strings provided in the design of the guitar. The meaning of this parameter depends on the type of instrument (see above).

The most common by far is the Spanish ( six-string) tuning; accordingly, most electric guitars and semi-acoustic instruments have exactly 6 strings. A smaller number is practically never found, but a larger one may well be used — models are produced for 7 and even 8 strings. Usually, they belong to the class of so-called baritone guitar, which is a transitional option between a conventional electric guitar and bass. The main 6 strings in "baritones" are tuned slightly lower than usual, and in addition to them, one or two more bass strings are installed. In combination with the increased length of the scale, this allows to achieve a richer and denser sound; it is especially appreciated by performers of heavy styles of music like death metal, although it can also be used in less "extreme" genres.

As for bass guitars, they have a standard number of strings — 4, and "extended" models have 5, occasionally — 6 strings. At the same time, unlike guitars, additional strings in basses are designed not to lower, but to increase the range. Using additional "raised" strings is often much more convenient than clamping the high frets.

Instruments originally intended for left-handers — more precisely, for musicians who play with a reverse, “left-handed” grip, when the right hand clamps the frets, and the left produces sound.

Electric guitars usually have an asymmetric arrangement of control elements (tone block controls, tremolo lever, etc.), and often also an asymmetric body shape. Accordingly, for comfortable playing with a reverse grip, it is not enough to rearrange the strings in reverse order and turn the instrument with the fingerboard to the right — a non-standard body arrangement can make using the instrument at least inconvenient, if not impossible. Thus, many manufacturers produce specialized left-handed models; such instruments have a “mirror” layout and allow you to fully play with a left-handed grip.

Electric guitar pickup layout diagram. The letters used in this diagram indicate the types of pickups:

- S - single. A single-coil pickup that looks like a narrow strip, often with a number of “buttons” (magnets) corresponding to the number of strings. Such modules provide clear and ringing sound, well suited for jazz, blues and other similar genres. On the other hand, the sound saturation from single-coils is not very high; they are poorly compatible with distortion and other similar effects, which is why they are poorly suited for “heavy” styles of music. In addition, such pickups are susceptible to external magnetic fields, which can degrade the sound.

- H - humbucker. A type of pickup with two coils, originally created to compensate for the shortcomings of single coils - in particular, to reduce the level of interference from external magnetic interference. However, in the end it turned out that humbuckers differ noticeably in the color of the sound: it turns out to be less expressive, but more dense and rich, making it excellent for playing “overload” (distortion, overdrive, etc.). A classic pickup of this type has two coils positioned side by side, making it noticeably wider than a single coil; and Standard class humbuckers generally look like two single coils installed close to each other. However, in addition to this, there are other design options - for example, a hamcan...seller, which has coils “on two levels” and is comparable in width to a single. Also note that there are humbuckers that can switch to single-coil mode (see “Coil Cutoff” for more details).

—J. A subtype of S-type pickups with one coil and an additional pole for each string. This variety first appeared on the legendary Fender Jazz Bass. J pickups have a versatile sound that suits almost any style of music.

—P. P pickups have two magnetized poles per string, but they have a unique feature: they are cut in half and wound in reverse. The advantage of this winding is the humbucker effect (see type “H”). The wide and long shape of the P pickup provides powerful and punchy sound in genres such as rock, metal, punk, etc.

- P90. A special type of single-spool single with a wider but shorter bobbin. These pickups are installed in the bridge or neck area of the guitar. Their distinctive feature is a characteristic “rock and roll” sound with warm, soft and rich timbres. Instruments with P90 pickups are often used in alternative rock, blues, indie, etc. styles.

The pickup diagram describes their types, number and relative positions. Our catalog uses a bridge-to-neck designation: for example, an HSS design means the guitar has one humbucker at the bridge and two single-coils near the neck.

This parameter determines, first of all, the overall color of the instrument’s sound. Thus, the above version of HSS will produce a sound that is quite clean and expressive, but at the same time a little denser and lower than on a purely “single-coil” electric guitar. There are many models available that are equipped with only one type of pickups. Moreover, the more pickups, the deeper and richer the sound, as a rule. In addition to all this, many other factors affect the sound of the instrument, so when choosing, you should not look only at the pickup circuit.

A type of pickup switch used on an electric guitar.

This switch is responsible for turning individual pickups on and off, and can also control coil cutoff (see above). Accordingly, the manufacturer chooses its type primarily depending on the number of pickups (see "Pickup Diagram"). So, 3-position switches are typical mainly for models with two pickups — they usually allow you to turn on each of them separately or use both at once. The 5-position controls are common on 3-pickup models with stratocaster or superstrat bodies (see “Shape (Appearance)”). Note that the specific combinations of pickups available in such instruments may be different, this point will not hurt to clarify separately. The most advanced option — a 6-position switch — is extremely rare, mainly in expensive custom class instruments.

A separate type of switch is the balance control, used mainly in bass guitars (see "Type"). They are not responsible for turning off individual pickups (there are usually two of them), but for changing their volume relative to each other. Roughly speaking, these are two volume controls for separate pickups, combined in one knob (of course, there are also two pickups in such instruments). In fact, the balance control in this case also provides a smooth change in timbre: the pickup near the bridge picks up high frequencies better, the pickup near the fretboard picks up lower frequencies, respectively, and the colour of the sound changes depending on which of t...hem sounds louder.

The general shape of the body of an electric guitar.

The solid body of an electric guitar can be molded into almost any shape; hollow cases do not give such freedom, however, even among them, the options in shape can be very diverse. However, there are certain standard forms. It is not uncommon for these shapes to be named after a particular "legendary" guitar model, such as the "Les Paul" or "Stratocaster" (after Gibson and Fender instruments of the same name, respectively). It makes no sense to describe each standard form — it's easier to find an illustration in our catalog or on the Internet.

The main, and often the only point, which is affected by the shape of the body is the appearance of the guitar. Also, convenience for the musician to some extent depends on this parameter — for example, some models allow you to play while sitting, resting the instrument on your foot, for others this method is weak or not suitable at all. But whether the shape of the body affects the sound of an electric guitar is a moot point. There is an unequivocal dependence only in semi-acoustic models, but for solid bodies there is no clear answer to this question: some musicians claim the superiority of some forms over others, but this moment is largely subjective. In addition, other parameters (types and number of pickups, bridge design, etc.) greatly affect the sound quality.

Now on the market there are guitars with this body shape: Les Paul, Superstrat, Stratocaster, Jazz Bass, Precision Bass, Telecaster, PRS Santana, Flying V, SG, however, there are also completely non-standard options.

A type of cutout provided in the construction of a guitar body.

The notch is located at the point where the neck is attached to the body and can be single or double. The single cutout for a standard guitar hold is on the bottom, under the neck. It is designed to allow the player to comfortably use the higher (closer to the bridge) frets without the body getting in the way of the left hand (or right, in a left-handed instrument). In models with a double cutout, there is also a notch above the neck, it may be smaller than the bottom one. The top notch is provided mainly for aesthetic purposes, to give the instrument a distinctive appearance, but it can also be useful in fact — for example, if the player uses his thumb to hold the frets.

Note that some variants of the body shape do not provide cutouts at all — this is simply not required. Flying B body guitars are an example.

The presence of a protective lining (pickguard) on the body of the guitar.

Such an overlay is located on the upper deck, most often made of durable plastic and differs markedly in colour, due to which it is clearly visible. Its main purpose is to protect the soundboard surface from pick strikes (for example, when playing with dynamic fighting), which could damage the varnished wooden surface. The specific shape and size of the fingerboard may vary, but anyway, it covers at least the surface below the strings (when looking at the guitar in the working position), and sometimes under the strings and even above them.

The material from which the body of an electric guitar is made. For models with cutouts (semi-acoustic, see "Type"), in this case, only the material of the back deck and sides can be taken into account, and data on the top deck is given separately (for more details, see "Deck Cover Material").

Now on the market there are cases of such trees: red, maple, agatis, ash, alder.

It makes no sense to dwell on each of the materials found in modern electric guitars. Their variety is very large, however, unlike acoustic guitars, the body in this case does not play such a significant role in shaping the sound, and its material has a relatively small effect on the acoustic properties of the instrument (although the exact degree of such influence is a moot point). If you wish, you can find detailed data on a particular material in special sources, but in fact it makes sense to look primarily at the appearance of the instrument and its price category.