The electric guitar has been a mainstay in popular music for about seven decades now; and, in that time, we’ve seen countless variations on the original designs. But, while new developments continue to improve guitar pickups, tuning machines, fretboard and neck shapes, and other components, guitar body styles often stay true to a handful of classic shapes. There’s more to a guitar’s body shape than just looks. Read on for a primer on the most common guitar body shapes you’ll find on the market.
Stratocaster (S-style)
Ask most people to picture an electric guitar, and they’ll probably envision something along the lines of the Fender Stratocaster. And one of the reasons it’s so recognizable is that so many manufacturers offer an “S-style” body shape that follows the same lines. The Stratocaster is defined by smooth curves, a double-cutaway body for access to higher frets, and a beveled top that makes it ultra-comfortable against your arm. The classic Stratocaster configuration is three single-coil pickups and a tremolo bridge, but there are countless variations including humbuckers and stop tailpieces available. With a diverse range of advocates including Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour, and Jeff Beck, it’s clear the Stratocaster can handle practically any musical style.
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Telecaster (T-style)
Fender’s first electric offering, the Telecaster remains one of the most-gigged and most-recorded electric guitars of all time. Compared to the sleek, classic-car contours of the Stratocaster, the firm lines of the Telecaster body are decidedly utilitarian. You get enough of a cutaway to access the highest frets and a well-balanced body that won’t fatigue you after hours of play. It’s an extremely simple design that works incredibly well, leading most guitar manufacturers to offer a T-style guitar shape of their own. And, with the approval of legendary guitarists like Keith Richards, John 5, Jim Root, Andy Summers, and Muddy Waters, it’s clear the Telecaster is a highly versatile guitar indeed. The classic Tele configuration features dual single-coil pickups and a stop tailpiece. But, just like the Stratocaster (or any of the guitar body shapes in this list, for that matter), you’ll find a variety of configurations including humbucking pickups — the addition of a Bigsby vibrato is also a popular deviation from the original Tele design.
Shop Telecaster (T-style) GuitarsLes Paul
Just as recognizable as the Strat mentioned above, the Gibson Les Paul is truly a piece of guitar history. Whether you were inspired to play guitar by Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley, Pete Townshend, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Joe Walsh, or countless other greats, the Les Paul is likely permanently etched in your mind’s eye. The hallmarks of the Les Paul style include a single cutaway for upper-fret access and a carved top over a stout, resonant body. While the Les Paul is routed for humbucker-sized pickups, it’s common to find Les Paul models with humbucker-sized single-coil pickups, as well. Traditionally, the Les Paul features a Tune-o-matic bridge and a stopbar tailpiece, but models with a Bigsby vibrato or even a Floyd Rose tremolo are not uncommon.
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SG
The pointy horns on the Gibson SG remain as aggressive-looking as they did in the early ’60s. It’s such an iconic design that many manufacturers offer their own variation on the SG’s beveled, double-cutaway body. Unlike the other guitar body styles mentioned so far, the SG traditionally locates its guitar-strap button behind the neck heel instead of at the tip of the upper bout. This causes the SG to hang on your body a bit differently than the others, but that didn’t stop guitar legends like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Tony Iommi, Robby Krieger, Derek Trucks, and Frank Zappa from making the SG their guitar of choice. While variations exist, the classic configuration — dual humbuckers and a stopbar tailpiece — is by far the most popular among modern SG players.
Shop SG GuitarsFlying V
Like the SG that would debut a few years later, the Gibson Flying V’s unique body shape stands out among early electric guitar models. While the classic “V” shape is symmetrical with rounded tips, many manufacturers increase the visual aggression with pointy, asymmetric variations. Contrary to popular assumption, the “V” shape is quite comfortable to play sitting down as long as you place your leg in the crook of the “V” instead of resting the lower edge atop your leg. While blues greats like Albert King put the V-style body on the map, modern metal guitarists dominate as the V’s biggest fans. If you’re looking for the classic Flying V experience, then look for a model with passive humbucking pickups. For a modern metal machine, look for high-output humbuckers or active humbucking pickups for maximum sonic aggression.
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Offset
Technically, the offset body style could be generally defined by asymmetry, but the textbook example of an offset guitar is the Fender Jazzmaster. The slightly melted look of the Jazzmaster is seen in their Jaguar and Mustang models, too, and a wide range of manufacturers includes offset-style bodies in just as wide a range of configurations. The offset body balances extremely well whether played sitting down or standing up. The classic configuration for an offset-body guitar would include a pair of single-coil pickups and a tremolo tailpiece. But, as with Fender’s other early offerings, modern players can choose from a seemingly endless range of pickup configurations, bridge and tailpiece types, and other component variations.
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Combining the hollowbody resonance of an acoustic guitar with built-in electronics for amplification, hollowbody guitars remain a mainstay in jazz as well as in rock and other styles. A classic “jazz box” guitar is generally larger than a typical solidbody guitar, offering a full and resonant voice that you can’t achieve with a solidbody guitar. Players as diverse as Chet Atkins, Ted Nugent, and Larry Carlton have all made hollowbody guitars sing (or scream) in their own unique styles. While almost all of them feature the iconic F-holes in their contoured tops, hollowbody guitars are available in a wide range of configurations for a variety of musical styles.
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There’s a Guitar Body Shape for Everyone
While there are many other variations when it comes to guitar body styles, the vast majority of popular guitar shapes today are derived from the iconic body styles above. But, as you explore the Sweetwater Guitar Gallery, it’s clear that these body shapes are just the starting point — a wide range of pickup configurations and component variations means you can find a guitar to fit your musical style regardless of its body shape. If you’re still wondering which guitar body shape is the best for you, then give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700 — we’ve gotten our hands on more guitars than we can count, and we’re happy to share our personal experiences with you to help you find the right guitar.