Comparison Cort Action Plus vs Cort Action PJ

The type of tone block used in the construction of an electric guitar.

A timbre block is an “intermediary” between a pickup and a guitar output: a set of electronic circuits that provides signal transmission, and often also its processing (volume control, frequency correction, preamplification, etc.). In modern electric guitars, there are such types of tone blocks:

— Passive. Passive are called timbre blocks that do not require additional power sources during operation. Usually, such modules have the simplest design and functionality, adjustments are limited to changing the volume, as well as passively correcting frequencies (by “cutting off” the desired frequencies). At the same time, passive tone blocks are simple, compact, inexpensive and do not depend on batteries; and the necessary adjustments can be made on external equipment (anyway, the electric guitar will need to be connected to it). As a result, most modern instruments are equipped with this particular type of tone blocks.

— Active. The key difference between a passive tone block is that it needs its own power source to work. Most often, this role is played by a PP3-type battery installed in a special socket in the body of an electric guitar. The need for power is due to the abundance of additional functions: active tone blocks are able to amplify the signal coming from the pickups, suppress interference, and even match the output impedance of the inst...rument with the input of the amplifier. Yes, and the active method of tone control is more advanced than the passive one, it allows you to more accurately adjust the frequency ratio. On the other hand, active modules are noticeably more expensive, and without a battery, the tone block turns into a set of useless parts. However, such devices consume relatively little energy, and one battery lasts for quite a long time.

— Active/passive. Tone blocks that combine the capabilities of the two options described above. If there is power, such a module operates in active mode, and if there is no power, it turns into passive. Thus, the musician can enjoy all the advantages of the active tone block and at the same time not worry that the instrument will become completely useless due to a dead battery (although, of course, the tone block functionality is not so extensive in the passive mode). At the same time, combined modules are quite complex and expensive, and the real need for such versatility is rare. Therefore, this option has not received much distribution.

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.

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 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.

The width of the fretboard of an electric guitar at the nut. Closer to the body, the neck may expand somewhat, but this is not necessary, and the expansion angle may be different. Therefore, the main size is considered to be the width in the region of the nut.

This parameter has two meanings. On the one hand, a wide neck is inconvenient for musicians with small hands and short fingers — it can be difficult to reach the far strings in such cases. On the other hand, a larger width means a greater distance between the individual strings, which reduces the likelihood of hitting an adjacent string when pressed incorrectly and can make playing easier (especially if the guitarist has large fat fingers). However, these moments are not absolute, and the convenience of playing is a very subjective matter, depending on many features of the musician and the technique he uses. Also, don't forget that necks can have different profiles (see above), and instruments with different neck profiles will feel differently in the hands even with the same width at the nut. Therefore, the most reliable method of selection is to try out the necks of different sizes and profiles “live”, decide on the best option and choose based on this.

The smallest neck width at the nut in modern electric guitars is about 39 mm. This size is found mainly in bass guitars (see “Type”), which have 4 strings and a neck that widens noticeably towards the body (due to which it can be made rather narr...ow from above, especially since when playing bass, notes are rarely clamped near the neck itself) . Electric guitars (including semi-acoustic) are somewhat wider — from 41 mm, an indicator of 43 – 48 mm is considered average, and in the largest instruments, the neck can be up to 55 mm wide (however, such dimensions are typical mainly for instruments with more than 6 strings) .