by Michael Hall

Created on: December 16, 2008   Last Updated: April 23, 2009

For every electric guitar there should be a player, and for every player there is a perfect guitar. Finding that perfect guitar is where the challenge can sometimes lie. Beginners and professionals alike sometimes choose the wrong tool for the job, and I will do my best to demonstrate how to go about picking the right tool for the trade.

First and foremost you need to consider the style of music you will be playing, and if you will be playing lead or rhythm dominantly. Telecaster and Stratocaster style guitars suit both rhythm and lead players alike. They are designed with a curve at the poin where the neck meets the body on the lower bout; this gives the player easy access to the higher frets for soloing. Telecasters dominate the country music world traditionally, but can be useful in an array of different applications. Stratocasters, on the other hand, are used in rock, blues, should, jazz, and many other styles. The stratocaster takes advantage of many different tones. With its three way pickup system it can grab generally any sound you are looking for. Although they are great chocies Telecasters and Stratocasters may not be the right choice for you.

If you like the uniquely appealing of bands such as AC/DC and Metallica, you may want a guitar with a humbucking pickup. Humbuckers are better for high gain rock and metal applications, because they are quieter than a single coil which is traditionally loaded in the guitars we talked about previously. Les Pauls are great guitars if you are going for this type of sound. The Les Paul Standard model has two humbuckers one in the bridge and one in the neck position. The neck pickup gets all of the highs on the tonal spectrum while the bridge gets the lows. The Les Paul is also capable of blending the two via three way toggle switch, each pickup has individual tone and volume controls. An alternative to the Les Paul is an SG. The SG has the same pickup configuration as the Les Paul but with a thinner profile and sleeker contoured body style. The SG has got all of the bite but less bottom end due to the thinner body; making the Les Paul used more prominently in blues styles

The Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, and SG are some standard choices and I have outlined the basic uses of each. Remember there are no rules in music, it is an art. Have fun selecting a guitar you love to play and sounds good to you, and keep jamming.

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