How Do Electric Guitars Produce Sound?

An electric guitar's pickups consist of magnets wrapped with thousands of turns of fine copper wire. When a steel string vibrates above the pickup, it disturbs the magnetic field and induces a small alternating current in the coil — typically just millivolts. This signal travels through a cable to an amplifier, which boosts it enough to drive a speaker cone. Different pickup types (single-coil vs. humbucker) produce distinct tonal characteristics. Effects pedals can further shape the signal before amplification. The solid body of an electric guitar, unlike an acoustic, contributes minimally to the sound — nearly everything comes from the electronics.