Electric Guitars: From no Sound to Sound

Here is a labelled diagram of an electric guitar for reference

What actually is it that gives the electric guitar its sounds coming from the amplifier? The answer simply lies inside the pickups of the electric guitar, There are 2 basic factors, the type of pickup (Due to electromagnetism) and the amplifier itself. 

I would like to introduce 2 types of pickups. They are the single coils and the humbuckers. The coils are wires that are wind onto a set of magnets (6 for a 6 string guitar). When these pickup were first made, they were magnets that are coiled with wires, working closely to the vibration of a steel or copper string. When the steel strings vibrated, the magnetic field generated by the pickups would move back and forth together with the strings, and these coil pickups are able to change these movements into a voltage and current because of the change in magnetic field. The voltage produce can then be amplified through an amplifier as we see electric guitarists play through today. The electric guitar is a great demonstration for "Faraday's Law" stating that any change of magnetism in the environment will generate a voltage in the coils around a magnet. 

As you can see in the diagram, there are 3 position pickups for this particular guitar, and they are all single coiled. The positioning of pickups is very important as each position produces a different sound. The different sound produce is based on where the pickups are position because each part of the string might have the same frequency but different richness in tone, all due to the movement factor that generates the current.

 

Single coil Vs Humbucker

Here is a photograph of a single coil pickup

Here is an image of a Humbucker pickup

So what exactly is the difference between them? For a guitarist point of view, a single coil would produce a delicate and cleaner sound, whereas the humbucker would be more aggressive and full in tone. 

Generally, a pickup is a transducer that captures small vibrations in a magnetic field and changes it into electrical signals. 

1) Single coils have around 500 coil turns around the whole pickup 

2) Single coils "Hum" when connected to an electrical signal 

3) Humbuckers have 2 set of magnets

4) 2 set of magnets means 2 coil rounds and the coil rounds in each set of magnet is in opposite directions, giving a different polarity.

These generally mean that there will be no more "hum" sounds from the pickups of humbuckers because the magnetism waves are opposite so therefore cancelling each other out. 

What is next?

I will be looking at frequency of the guitar strings and the different sound produce by guitar effect pedals in my next research sections. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_(music_technology)

https://wordsmithsean.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/single-coil-vs-humbucker-guitar-pickups/

www.physicsclassroom.com

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/music/eguitpickup.html#c1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-colsdWF4-s

http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/what-difference-between-single-coil-humbucker-style-guitar-pickup/

Thank You,

Elijah