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Pickups are the rectangular parts in the center of the body. They have 6 magnetic posts which "pickup" the vibration of the strings. Most guitars have 1 or 2 pickups, some have 3. There are a few different types of pickups, but mainly electric guitars have either single-coil and/or humbucker pickups. The pickups are what make an electric guitar "electric".

The knobs are for tone and volume. Some guitars have a seperate volume and tone knob for each individual pickup; some have only one volume knob that controls all the pickups, but each pickup generally has its own tone knob. The tone knob basically adjusts the treble/bass output of the pickup. Turned all the way clockwise gives more treble.

If you get an electric guitar, you'll also need an amp, or something to plug the guitar into (there are a lot of options nowadays on amps). You can get a good simple practice amp for about $100, and I'd recommend starting out with an Ibanez guitar, which start at about $150.

Go to a Guitar Center and try out all their guitars & amps, and ask their sales people anything you want to know - they are very helpful.

Mess around with the knobs to see how they affect the volume and tone of the guitar. There are volume knobs and tone knobs. There is also probably a switch that lets you choose which pickup to use (some electric guitars have three). Each one will give you a different sound.

The pickup is the mechanism that "picks up" the sound of the strings and sends it to the output.

You'll get used to it over time. If you already play acoustic, you're smart to have learned on an acoustic first. You'll find electric strings to be lighter and you'll probably be able to move around faster on the fret board, but you might not play as clean until you get good at it.

Also, don't buy some off brand. Buy a Fender Strat or a Fender Telecaster or a Les Paul. You can find something decent for a beginner for a couple hundred bucks. More or less, depending on sales. Play a note on every fret before you buy it. Listen closely for a buzzing sound on any of the frets. If you hear it, look for another guitar.

Good luck... rock on!

Acoustic guitars have a hollow body to amplify the sound from the sounding-board. An electric guitar "picks up" the changes in the magnetic field caused by the vibrating steel string and sends the resulting note to an amplifier. The knobs on the body control the volume and tone of the note.

The knobs at the top of the neck are for tuning

the other knobs are for volume, bass and stuff.

You can buy books and CDs which teach you through the basics of an electric guitar which are pretty cheap.

I play a bit of guitar and accoustic and electric are quite different to play - electric strings are stiffer and you will have to buy picks which, if you play the guitar you should already have. I think it is worth buying these DVD/Book/Cd things and also getting an electric tuner which you just shove in and it tells you how to make it sound better.

I'd get a type of importance packs. Comes with a guitar,amp,video,chord chart(SOME), and customarily the whole thing else you wish to have. Strat copies are fairly well starter electrics. As for amps Line 6 makes the fine. The Spider line is fairly quality.

get a fender ...good alrounder and not very expensive

and after u start learning u WILL get very frustrated and very bored with it and somtimes blisters and sore finger but 1nce u get good which might take a while or for my cousin, a month

STICK WITH IT AND DONT GIVE UP.. its really fun