Comparison Cort X100 vs Ibanez AF75

— 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 ability to disable one of the coils in a humbucking pickup.

Pickups with this feature are, in fact, universal modules that can operate in both humbucking and single-coil modes. See "Pickup Diagram" for details on both. And the ability to switch between these modes allows the musician to change the colour of the sound without resorting to external gadgets or changing instruments. For example, for a dynamic composition with rich overdrive, it is more convenient to use a classic humbucker, and for a slow, lyrical melody, just move the switch and you can enjoy all the advantages of a single-coil.

The number of volume controls provided in an electric guitar.

If there is only one knob, this means that the musician can only adjust the overall volume of the instrument. However, there are models that have several volume control knobs — usually there are no less of them than pickups (2 or 3), which allows you to separately adjust the volume of each pickup. And since the characteristics of the sound depend on the type of the used pickup (see "Pickup Diagram") and even its location, then by changing the mutual volume of the individual pickups, you can achieve different coloring of the sound. At the same time, the design may also include a general volume control, which allows you to adjust it in the classical way and not mess with the settings of each pickup.

The number of tone controls provided in the design of an electric guitar.

One tone control is responsible for the sound of the electric guitar as a whole; but if there are several such pens, they can have different formats of work. So, each knob can be responsible either for its own pickup, or for a separate frequency band. In the second case, a set of knobs plays the role of an equalizer that allows you to adjust the sound by changing the volume of low and high (sometimes even separately middle) frequencies.

Anyway, the presence of several tone controls expands the possibilities for changing the coloring of the sound by means of the guitar itself, without the use of additional equipment.

Type of body used in an electric guitar.

— Whole. Cases that do not have resonator cutouts; the design may provide cutouts for auxiliary purposes (for example, under the battery of an active tone block or pickup), but they do not take part in the formation of sound and do not affect its colour. This design is used in almost all classical, "non-semi-acoustic" electric guitars (see "Type" above), as well as in almost all basses. At the same time, since the body almost does not take part in the formation of sound, its shape can be practically any, due to which, among solid bodies, there are both classical and very unusual outlines. However it should be taken into account that the thickness of such instruments is usually small, and playing them without a strap (holding on your knee) is most often inconvenient, if not impossible at all.

— Hollow. Cases with cavities inside and characteristic curly cutouts on the top deck; the body can be completely hollow or have a solid middle and separate cutouts. Guitars fitted with such bodies are referred to as semi-acoustic (see "Type" above); there are also basses of a similar design, but very rarely. The presence of additional resonators in the body can make the sound fuller and richer, give it a pleasant coloration that is not available for an instrument with a solid body; in addition, such an instrument can be played without connection. At the same time, the aforementioned coloration of sound is by no means always app...ropriate: it is suitable for certain genres of music, while in others it will, on the contrary, be superfluous. And the cases themselves turn out to be much more difficult to manufacture and expensive than solid ones, and the choice of shapes is limited to classic outlines — with a non-standard shape it is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to achieve the desired acoustic characteristics. As a result, this option is relatively rare.

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.