Electric guitar types: Strat, Les Paul and more

Start shopping for an electric guitar and the names come at you fast: Stratocaster, Les Paul, Telecaster, semi-hollow... and it's natural to wonder what actually changes when the shape changes. The answer is that the classic body shapes are far more than styling. Each one pairs a particular body construction with a particular pickup layout, and that combination is what gives each type its character. These designs have been refined for well over half a century, and today many different makers build guitars in each of these families. This guide walks through the major types, how they differ in build and sound, and how a beginner should choose. The string instrument icons are handy for gear posts and lesson materials along the way.

What shapes the sound: body construction and pickups

Before getting into the individual types, it helps to know the two big factors behind an electric guitar's voice. The first is body construction. A "solid body" is a solid slab of wood; "semi-hollow" and "full hollow" guitars have air chambers inside. The more hollow the body, the softer and more acoustic-flavored the tone becomes, and the more prone the guitar is to feedback (howling) at high volume.

The second is the pickup, the part that turns string vibration into an electrical signal. There are two main families.

Single-coil: a simple one-coil design with a bright, clear, sparkling tone. The trade-off is that single coils tend to pick up hum and noise.
Humbucker: two coils wired to cancel that hum. The sound is thicker and sweeter, with higher output, which makes humbuckers a natural match for overdriven rock tones.

There is also the P-90, a fatter-sounding style of single coil that sits between the two. Almost everything about each guitar type's sound can be explained by "body construction times pickups," so keep those two axes in mind as you read on.

Stratocaster types: the all-round standard

The best-known double-cutaway solid-body is the Stratocaster family. The body is scooped away on both sides of the neck (the "cutaways") for easy access to the highest frets, and its contoured curves hug the player's body. If you ask most people to picture an electric guitar, this is the shape they see.

Three single coils, many voices: the classic layout carries three pickups and a selector switch offering around five tonal combinations, from glassy cleans to snappy funk rhythm.
A tremolo (vibrato) bridge: many models include a bridge with an arm that lets you bend the pitch of the whole chord for expressive effects.
Genuinely genre-agnostic: pop, rock, blues, funk — the range is so wide that "when in doubt, get one of these" is common advice.

Reasonably light, comfortable and easy to maintain, this family is one of the most frequent choices for a first guitar.

Les Paul types: thick, sweet and built for rock

The flagship single-cutaway solid-body is the Les Paul family. It scoops away only one side of the body, with a thick back and a gracefully arched top, and it typically carries two humbuckers — a character almost opposite to the Strat family.

A thick, singing voice: the heavy body and humbuckers combine for a rich midrange, a creamy low end and long sustain. Driven hard, this is the sound most people mean by "big rock guitar."
Heavier, with a shorter scale: these guitars tend to weigh more, but many use a relatively short string scale, which makes the strings feel slightly slinkier and easier to fret.
A rock institution: from classic rock to hard rock, this family is practically synonymous with a great overdriven tone.

Telecaster types and other solid bodies

The Telecaster family descends from one of the first mass-produced solid-body electrics. Its recipe is famously simple and rugged: a flat slab body and two single-coil pickups. Nicknamed the "Tele," it delivers a bright, cutting attack — the famous "twang" — that punches through a band mix beautifully. It's loved for rhythm playing and crisp lead work across rock, country and pop.

Beyond these, several bolder solid-body shapes have become classics of their own.

SG types: a thin, light double-cutaway with two sharp "horns," usually loaded with humbuckers. Fast-feeling, with an aggressive midrange bite.
Explorer types: an angular, futuristic shape strongly associated with hard rock and metal, and a guaranteed visual statement on stage.
Flying V types: the arrow-like V body, another icon of radical guitar design built with the standing player in mind.

However wild these shapes look, most of them are structurally "solid body plus humbuckers," so tonally you can think of them as extensions of the Les Paul family.

Semi-hollow and full hollow: guitars with air inside

Guitars with chambers inside the body are often grouped together as "hollow guitars." A semi-hollow runs a solid center block down the middle of the body, with hollow wings and violin-style f-holes on either side. The result blends solid-body tightness with hollow-body warmth, covering jazz, blues and rock with ease — and that center block makes it far more resistant to feedback than a full hollow.

A full hollow (archtop) is hollow all the way through, giving a rich, woody resonance closer to an acoustic guitar. Its soft, sweet clean tone is the classic jazz sound, but it feeds back readily at high volume or under heavy distortion, so it's rarely the tool for loud rock. A simple rule of thumb ties the whole family together: the more hollow the body, the more acoustic the voice — solid, semi-hollow, full hollow, in that order.

How basses differ, and how a beginner should choose

It's worth a quick word on the electric bass, which looks similar at a glance. A standard electric bass has four strings, sounds an octave lower than a guitar, and uses a longer neck (scale length). In a band it anchors the rhythm and the harmony. Variations include the five-string bass for extended low range and headless designs that omit the headstock entirely. If you're torn between guitar and bass, think in terms of role: melodies and chords point to guitar; living in the groove that holds a band together points to bass.

With that settled, here is a practical order of thinking for choosing a first electric guitar.

The shape your favorite artist plays: admiration is the strongest fuel for daily practice. Choosing by looks and heroes is a perfectly good starting point.
The music you want to make: as rough guides — all-rounder, Strat family; overdriven rock, Les Paul or SG family; crisp rhythm work, Tele family; jazz and blues, semi-hollow.
How it feels in your hands: weight and neck shape vary even within a family, so trying guitars in a shop is the surest test.
Budget for the gear around it: an electric guitar only makes its real sound through an amp, so plan for the amp, a tuner, picks and cables as part of the purchase.

Summary and icon assets

Electric guitars divide broadly into the solid-body families — Stratocaster, Les Paul, Telecaster and the radical shapes — plus the semi-hollow and full hollow designs with air inside, and each one's character comes down to body construction times pickups. Every type has decades of history behind what it does best, so choosing by your heroes and your music will rarely steer you wrong. Icons for each design — double-cut, single-cut, SG, Explorer, semi-hollow and the basses — live in the String Instruments category, amps and pedals in Amps & Pedals, and pickups, capos and other small gear in Guitar Accessories. Every Iconote icon is free for commercial use with no credit required, downloadable as SVG or PNG — perfect for gear blogs, lesson handouts and band flyers.