A hollow body is a type of electric guitar which has a sound box similar to an acoustic guitar. Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ... In a stringed instrument, a sound box amplifies the vibrations made by the strings. ... An acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the Classical guitar, but generally strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. ...

There are three main types of electric guitar:

• Arch top guitars fitted with pickups. The first electric guitars were of this type, and they are still common, but less common than the other two types.

• Thin body semi-acoustic guitars. These were the second type developed.

• Solid body electric guitars.

The first and second types are both referred to as hollow bodies. Archtop guitars are steel-stringed acoustic guitars with a distinctive arched belly and a sound particularly suited to blues guitar and jazz. ... A picku device acts as a transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, electric bass guitar or electric violin) and converts them to an electronic signal which can be amplified and recorded. ... A solid body electric instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on its electric pickup system to directly receive the vibrations of the strings. ...

In each type there are prototypical cases and borderline cases.