The body shape of an electric guitar is important. It affects the size, weight and comfort when you play it. There is also the visual appeal, which while less important than how it plays, still matters.
I went through quite a few guitars before I found the ones that really suited me. The different necks, the way they sounded etc. all played a role, but so did the shape of the body.
But which guitar suits you best will be different to others. We all like different things. Finding a guitar body shape that you feel comfortable playing and you like the look of is essential to enjoying the instrument.
Electric Guitar Body Shapes And Styles
So let’s get into each of the different electric guitar body shapes and sizes and simply show the differences between them as well as looking at if they impact the tone and playability of them.
Each of these types of guitar can come in a variety of different body shapes and styles. For example a Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul are both solid body electric guitars but have very different body shapes and look completely different.
The type of body for each guitar plays a role in how it feels and sounds. Solid body guitars and hollow body guitars will produce very different tones, differ hugely in how much they weigh and be much more suited to certain genres of music.
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A solid body guitar is, as the name implies, made from a solid piece of wood. Unlike the other types of electric guitars – hollow body and semi hollow body – a solid body doesn’t have any chambers and only uses pickups to generate sound.
The design of using a solid body gives the guitar much greater sustain, a more aggressive tone and is less likely to be affected by feedback. This lead to solid body guitars becoming the go-to guitar of choice for most guitarists after they were introduced in the 1950’s.
They’re also the guitar you will see used the most in popular styles of music like pop, rock and metal. They suit modern genres of music better than the other types of guitars due to their sound and flexibility.
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There are many different variations of solid body guitars. The original body shapes have become synonymous with the electric guitar and often the brand who first manufactured them.
But they’ve also been copied time and time again which is why you see lots of different guitars by different makes that look very similar. For example a Fender Stratocaster was the first to look the way it does but since then many guitars have been produced that use the Strat style of body but with a slight twist.
The Stratocaster is probably the most famous guitar, both electric and acoustic, of all time. It’s design is iconic thanks to being popularized by some of the best and most well known guitarists ever.
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Although it’s as famous as it is it wasn’t actually the first guitar Fender produced (that was the Telecaster which we’ll look at next). It was instantly a success though and since it’s introduction in 1954 it has barely changed.
The Stratocaster works for most styles of music and you’ll see it used in rock, pop, blues, funk and more. It has a bright tone with excellent clarity and note articulation.
It’s versatility is one of its biggest appeals along with the fact that it just sounds good. That’s why it’s still so popular decades later.
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The Telecaster was the first solid body electric guitar that Fender produced, although it was originally called the ‘Esquire’ and only had one pickup. It was was quickly changed to the dual pickup version we know today though and given a new name – ‘Broadcatser’.
Unfortunately Gretsch already had a drum kit and a banjo with a similar name – ‘Broadkaster’, so they sued Fender, who reacted by hastily changing its name to the Telecaster. That was in 1951 and since then the Telecaster has remained a staple of electric guitars and barely changed from its original design.
It was also the first really successful solid body electric guitar. Up until that point hollow body guitars were the only electric guitars being used.
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Much like a Stratocaster the Telecaster is seen as one of the most versatile guitars out there. You’ll find Telecasters being used in virtually every style of music, from country and pop to rock and blues to punk and alternative. Many guitarists say that it’s their favorite or you don’t need any other guitar than a Tele.
It has a unique sound with more of a twang than a Strat but still that perfect clean tone and vintage sound at the bridge pickup position. The Telecaster neck pickup is also very distinctive and has a warm and bright bell-like sound.
Gibson’s Standard Les Paul is up there with the Stratocaster as the most famous of all the electric guitars. It was Gibsons first solid body electric guitar but set itself apart from Fender’s Telecaster (and later Stratocaster) with a set neck, a shorter scale length and a single cutaway body.
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Originally fitted with 2 single coil pickups instead of the now famous humbucker version the Les Paul found success because those pickups give a thicker sound and greater sustain than its single coil contemporaries. This made it very popular with rock guitarists and although it isn’t consisted quite as versatile as a Strat or Tele it’s has been used across a huge variety of musical genres and styles.
Maybe not quite as well known as the Les Paul Standard, the SG is still a hugely popular and important electric guitar. It came after the Les Paul, and in fact was another attempt by Gibson to beat the dominant Stratocaster after their sales were struggling.
But it’s very different body style was controversial at the time. It was going to be called the ‘Les Paul SG’ but had been designed without Les Paul’s approval or knowledge.
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On seeing it he didn’t like the new design at all and asked for his name to be removed. Despite his reservations the newly named ‘SG’ was a huge success.
With a cheaper price than the Standard Les Paul and it’s distinctive design it has long been very popular. To this day the SG is Gibsons best seller of all time.
The appeal of the SG comes from its light weight, double cutaway body with better access to the upper frets and a very fast neck. These features all made it another very popular option for lead and rock guitarists and those playing faster styles.
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The Ibanez RG series of guitars, originally known at the ‘Roadstar’ series, took the Stratocaster body shape and turbocharged it. With a much pointier body style, deeper cutaways for better upper fret access, Floyd Rose bridges and tremolo systems and often a greater number of frets, the result was what has come to be known as a ‘Superstrat’.
The superstrat became the choice guitar for a lot of rock and metal players in the 80’s and after Ibanez’s and Jackson’s success with the body shape many other guitar manufacturers began copying it. A big part of the appeal was how they looked – regular guitars weren’t showy or flashy enough.
But also the playability was a factor. Standard Stratocasters with single coils were too nosy and thin sounding for the higher gain style and amps of 80’s rock. And both Strats and Les Paul’s could be improved on for comfort and ease of playing the higher frets.
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So superstrats, which are essentially modified Stratocasters, were born. They were the perfect mix of comfortable body and fret access, high output pickups and ‘metal’ looking pointed body shapes.
Ibanez and Jackson are probably still the most well known guitar brands associated with superstrats but the likes of Yamaha, Charvel, Dean, Guild and more all did and do make well known superstrat guitars. They aren’t as popular as they were in the 80’s but you still see a lot of them in heavy metal and shred guitarists.
Semi hollow body guitars actually came after solid body guitars. The first being Gibson’s ES-335, introduced in 1958, which was 6 years after the first solid body.
Gibson Es 335 Semi Hollow Body Electric Guitar In Sixties Cherry 226520086
They have, as their name suggests, a partially hollowed body with “chambers” cut in to the wood and often feature f-holes. Most semi hollow body guitars have a block of wood that runs through the center of the body that the pickups are mounted to.
The idea behind semi hollow guitars is that they would take the positives of hollow body guitars – a more warm and somewhat dark tone and the ability to amplify themselves – and mix that with the positives of solid body guitars – greater sustain and much less feedback.
The outcome would prove to be very popular due to the flexibility in tone semi hollow body guitars produce and how well they work across many different styles of music. This is evidenced by the quick success of Gibson’s ES-335, which became a best seller, and the fact that it’s still in production to this day.
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