The single coil pickup is more commonly associated with the Stratocaster (shown in the diagram). The sound it produces is less powerful than a humbucker and is often quoted as being 'brighter' sounding and more refined. The single coil suffers from an inherent background hum but this is widely accepted as 'part of the single coil sound'. The stratocaster usually has 3 single coil pickups which can be turned on and off via the pickup selector switch.
The humbucker pickup is often associated with the Les Paul guitar . The humbucker has a powerful 'fatter' sound that will help notes sustain. The thicker creamier texture of the humbucker sound lends itself well to warm jazz lines through to wailing rock solos. The humbucker (as the name implies) does not have the same background noise as associated with the single coil.
The most common mixture of single coil and humbucker is the same as the diagram with 2 single coil pickups (1 in the neck and 1 in the mid position) and 1 humbucker in the bridge position. This gives a nice blend of classic single coil tones with a powerful bridge pickup for lead lines.
Rosewood has a much darker appearance than maple (See diagram above). Maple has a harder texture than rosewood which some people say is too hard on their fingers (hmm). Maple - because of its harder texture - tends to create a brighter tone with more 'top'. These facts are all very subjective and it is hard to suggest that one is better than another so it usually comes down to what a person simply feels more comfortable with.
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If you were to walk into an empty room and shout, you would probably hear the effects of reverb. Reverb can be described as a mild 'echo' which can be heard 'around' the notes being played.
It is important to know that every amplifier from £80 upwards should have a reverb feature. Reverb is an essential part of the electric guitar sound and for absolute beginners, I feel (as a tutor) that the reverb brings life to the sound of the guitar. The player is rewarded with a quality sound when he/she has practiced a certain chord/scale/song. It is very sad if a certain person quits playing the guitar because the lack of a reverb feature which gave an uninspiring sound.
