Practice

Guitar body types

Most working electric guitars trace back to a handful of original designs. Five of those designs — Telecaster, Stratocaster, Les Paul, SG, and ES‑335 — cover the bulk of pop, rock, blues, country, and jazz recordings since the 1950s.

Each design pairs a body shape with a typical neck joint, scale length, and pickup loadout. Those choices, more than the brand badge, are what give each one its sound.

Specs at a glance

Model Construction Scale Pickups Bridge
Telecaster Solid, single cutaway, bolt-on 25.5″ Two single coils Hardtail, strings-through
Stratocaster Solid, double cutaway, bolt-on, contoured 25.5″ Three single coils Synchronized tremolo
Les Paul Solid, single cutaway, set neck, carved top 24.75″ Two humbuckers (or P90s) Tune-o-matic + stop-bar
SG Solid, double cutaway, set neck, thin 24.75″ Two humbuckers (or P90s) Tune-o-matic + stop-bar/vibrato
ES‑335 Semi-hollow with center block, set neck 24.75″ Two humbuckers Tune-o-matic + stop-bar/trapeze

Sound & feel at a glance

Model Tonal character Weight / feel Genres it owns
Telecaster Bright, snappy “twang” with a hollow neck pickup Medium, flat slab Country, roots rock, indie, punk
Stratocaster Glassy and bell-like; quack in positions 2 & 4 Light, contoured for comfort Blues, funk, surf, classic rock, R&B
Les Paul Thick, sustaining, midrange-forward Heavy, neck-heavy balance Blues, hard rock, classic rock, metal
SG Bright, biting, more aggressive than a Les Paul Light, fast neck access Hard rock, garage, punk, stoner
ES‑335 Warm and woody humbucker tone with extra air Medium, larger body Blues, jazz, soul, R&B, country

The rest of the page goes deeper on each model.

Telecaster

Fender’s first mass-produced solid-body. A flat slab of ash or alder with a single cutaway, a bolt-on maple neck, and a steel bridge plate that anchors the strings through the body.

  • Pickups: bridge single coil mounted on the steel bridge plate, neck single coil with a metal cover.
  • Scale length: 25.5″.
  • Neck joint: bolt-on, four screws.
  • Bridge: hardtail, strings through the body.
  • Sound: bright, snappy bridge with a cutting top end (“twang”); rounder, hollower neck.
  • Genres: country, roots rock, indie, punk, classic rock.

Stratocaster

Fender’s second design, built around player feedback on the Tele. Contoured double-cutaway body, three single coils, a five-way selector, and a synchronized tremolo bridge.

  • Pickups: three single coils (neck, middle, bridge), 5-way switch including the “in-between” quack positions (2 and 4).
  • Scale length: 25.5″.
  • Neck joint: bolt-on.
  • Bridge: synchronized tremolo with springs in a back rout.
  • Sound: glassy, bell-like, with the famous “quack” in positions 2 and 4. Bridge is brighter; neck is sweet.
  • Genres: blues, funk, classic rock, surf, modern rock, R&B.

Les Paul

Gibson’s solid-body answer to the Tele. A heavy mahogany body with a carved maple top, set neck, and (since 1957) two humbucking pickups with separate volume and tone controls each.

  • Pickups: two humbuckers (or P90s on the Special and Junior); 3-way toggle.
  • Scale length: 24.75″ (shorter than a Fender; lower string tension).
  • Neck joint: set (glued).
  • Bridge: tune-o-matic with a stop-bar tailpiece.
  • Sound: thick, sustaining, midrange-forward. Humbuckers cut hum and push amps into overdrive easily.
  • Genres: blues, hard rock, classic rock, metal, jazz (especially with the neck pickup).

SG

Originally introduced as a thinner, lighter Les Paul in 1961. Twin sharply-pointed cutaways, an all-mahogany body, and easy upper-fret access.

  • Pickups: two humbuckers (Standard) or P90s (Special/Junior); 3-way toggle.
  • Scale length: 24.75″.
  • Neck joint: set, with a deeper joint than a Les Paul.
  • Bridge: tune-o-matic with stop-bar or vibrato.
  • Sound: bright, biting, more aggressive than a Les Paul thanks to the thinner body and lighter weight.
  • Genres: hard rock, blues rock, garage, punk, classic and stoner rock.

ES‑335

Gibson’s 1958 thinline semi-hollow. A solid maple center block runs through a hollow body to combat feedback while keeping some acoustic resonance.

  • Pickups: two humbuckers; 3-way toggle, two volume and two tone controls.
  • Scale length: 24.75″.
  • Neck joint: set.
  • Bridge: tune-o-matic with stop-bar or trapeze tailpiece.
  • Sound: warm and woody with humbucker thickness, plus extra air from the hollow wings. Loud cleans, smooth overdrive, controlled feedback at volume.
  • Genres: blues, jazz, classic rock, soul, R&B, country.