Now lets discuss them and any other component. Let’s delve into how they all work together and finally, let’s touch on the essential accessories that compliment these parts to make the GUITAR one of the most beloved instruments ever created. Let’s take a deep dive into all of the guitars parts and pieces.
Why A Guitar
So you are interested in picking up an instrument, maybe you find yourself humming melodies all the time and you suspect you are something of a hidden songwriter or you would just love to stretch yourself out of the normal grind and adopt some type of hobby that is a one-eighty from your regular responsibilities.
Maybe the fun of playing along with a few of your favorite songs would give you some wonderful sense of satisfaction, if so then the guitar is a great choice.
In addition to being lightweight and mobile it’s also fairly intuitive after a while.
With a little inside information you’ll build the confidence you need to make a guitar a new part of your day-to-day routine.
This guide is intended to inform you about all of the pieces that go into assembling a guitar and the terminology used to describe them. Equipping yourself with this knowledge of the guitar and its parts will help you determine the type of guitar you’d like to have. In the event you eventually decide to shop for your own guitar, you will have been equipped with the confidence you need to discuss each feature in length.
Three Types of Guitars
- Acoustics
- Electric
- Classical
Some Basic Differences Between the Three
Both classical and acoustic guitars are hollow bodies and while there are models of electric guitar that are hollow bodies. Electric guitars are most commonly known for having solid bodies.
Additionally some acoustic guitars are fit with electronics but are not considered electric guitars. The purpose of acoustic guitars being fit with electronics is for those who are intending to perform live with them. Rather than having to mic the soundhole of the guitar for a performance the player can just plug in and have some control over a few basic parameters like volume and EQ. It also gives the performer a little more freedom to move around on stage without having to stay in a stationary position to allow the mic to capture the sound from the soundhole.
Three major differences of a classical guitar and an acoustic are the tuning mechanisms, the strings and the string connection to bridge.
The Classical Guitar will have exposed Tuning Mechanisms and instead of using bridge pins to affix the strings to the instrument the classical guitar uses a tie block to affix nylon strings.
Parts of Guitar
- Headstock
- Tuning Pegs / Tuning Machine / Tuning Posts
- Nut
- Neck
- The Truss Rod
- Fretboard
- Frets
- Inlays
- Neck Joint
- Body
- Cutaway
- Sound Hole
- Bridge
- Saddle
- Bridge pins
- Pickguard
- Pickups
- Pickup Selector Switch
- Volume & Tone Knobs
- Tremolo Bar / Arm
- Jack Socket
- Strings
- Strap Buttons
- Built-in tuner
Essential Accessories
- A String Winder
- Tuner
- Picks
- Strings
- Guitar Strap
- Guitar Cable
- Guitar Stand
- Guitar Case or Travel Bag
Headstock
The headstock is the portion of the guitar at the top of the guitars neck. It is the part of the guitar that you will find the tuning pegs and the machines necessary to assign specific tuning to each string. There are three primary types. In-line Tuners, which will have all six tuning mechanisms and posts on the same side. The Strait head which has three tuners on either side of the headstock and the Classical style, which has gaped openings with which the classical tuning mechanisms are posted into.
You can also find access to the truss rod, which will allow the ability to adjust the flex of bow in the neck of the guitar to counteract against the effects the climatic variances of the region you reside have on Neck.
Tuning Pegs / Tuning Machine / Tuning Posts
Each string is threaded through the eye of the tuning post and wound around it. The Tuning Post passes through the headstock and into the Tuning Machine. From the Tuning Machine and at a ninety-degree angle of the Tuning Post, The Tuning Peg protrudes out from the back of the headstock. Hand turning the Tuning Peg will continue to move the gear works inside of the Tuning Machine, which twists the post and winds the guitar string tight. This is done until the string has reached it’s designated tuning.
Nut
The Nut can be found where the guitars neck transitions to the headstock. The Nut is a thin piece of material used to lift the guitar strings away from the neck of the guitar and to frame and determine the top of the playable area of each guitar string. The Nut is intended to lift the sting from the Fretboard and it consists of six cut slots or indentions to insure spacing between each string.
Neck
The Neck of the guitar is a thin piece of wood with a curved back that runs from the headstock to the body of the guitar. Typically they are fastened to the guitar via bolting or glue. The Neck is where the guitar player interacts with the guitar using their non-dominant hand. It is on the neck where the player will articulate specific notes and chording.
The Neck is made up of 3 main components.
- The Fretboard
- The Frets
- The Truss Rod
The Truss Rod
The Truss Rod is used to maintain the integrity of the neck by opposing the pressure of the constricted strings, which would otherwise bow and damage the straight neck.
Fretboard
The Fretboard is the area of guitar where the desired note or chording can be articulated. It is also known as a Fingerboard. To craft the Fretboard the neck of the guitar is affixed with a wooden laminate glued to the neck. Typically the wood varieties most commonly used for the laminate are Maple, Rosewood or Ebony with occasional instances of synthetics being used instead. The length of the Fretboard is then incrementally divided by metal Frets creating for what are known as Frets
Frets
The Frets are the divisions of the Fretboard. Each divided by a thin metal stripping. Depressing any string directly behind the metal stripping plays a specific note. Moving up or down on one certain string from one Fret to the next represents a singular musical half note movement.
Inlays
Inlays are visual markers inlaid into the Fretboard to better orient the guitarist for finger placement. Intended as a quick visual reference the inlays are typically located on the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, twelfth, and fifteenth frets The twelfth fret, which is the octave fret, is usually indicated with an inlay that differentiates itself from the others.
Neck Joint
This is designation for where the Neck meets the body. The three main ways that a neck can be affixed to the guitar are bolted, neck-through and set-in. Don’t be deterred by bolt on necks because the method is used for even some high-end guitar models.
Body
Whether the guitar is an acoustic or an electric, the body of the guitar is the portion that is responsible for the tonal characteristic of a guitar. The body of an acoustic guitar is hollow. It consists of the soundboard, backboard and sides. An electric guitars body can be designed in three ways, hollow body, semi hollow body and solid body. In any guitar body the upper portion will be referred to as the upper bout while the lower portion, the larger portion is known as the lower bout. In most cases you will find that the loudness of a guitar will correspond to the bodies size.
Cutaway
While not every guitar has a cutaway there is a significant population of them that do. If a guitar has a cutaway it will be found on the upper bout of the guitar body at the base of the neck. When the guitar is in a playing horizontal position you will find a “u” shaped cutaway for hand access directly beneath the Fretboard. It gives the player access to the Fretboard’s higher frets glued to the soundboard that would otherwise be inaccessible. For a novice player I don’t know how important these frets are on an acoustic, as an acoustic is not typically played as a lead and rather an electric. Making an acoustic guitar sound beautiful on those high frets takes just a bit more of an experienced touch. Additionally a full bodied hollow body may sound just slightly a bit more booming and fantastic then one that is cutaway.
Sound Hole
The Sound Hole is an appropriately named design component of the guitar. While there is a considerable amount of sound escaping from it, the sound hole is not the exclusive feature of the guitar that emits sound.
In fact the entire body of the guitar will resonate and cast frequency outward. It’s just that the internal physicality of the body causes a certain amount of amplification that is most significantly detectable emerging from the Sound hole.
Most typically a sound hole will be positioned at the center of the soundboard in between the terminal fret and the bridge, but on some occasions certain manufactures’ have engineered for alternatives from this traditional placement.
So with that in mind, good sound is not exclusively correspondent to a centrally positioned sound hole. Rather good sound is correspondent to the quality engineering and design.
Further, the decorative inlay that adorns the outer perimeter encircling the soundhole is commonly known as a rosette.
Bridge
The bridge is the part of the guitar, which collects the vibrations of the strings and transfers those vibrations on to the soundboard. It is the soundboard and body chamber of the guitar which amplify the resonance and output the guitars beautiful tone. For an acoustic or classical guitar the bridge is a carved wooden piece that hold the saddle and for an acoustic guitar the bridge pin. The wooden bridge in either case is glued on to the soundboard directly on the side of the soundhole just opposite the fretboard.
Saddle
The saddle represents the terminal end of the input area of the guitars strings. It is the counterpart of the nut at the opposite end of the path. The saddle is made of a thin plastic, bone or other composite and is built to lift the string off of the bridge. It’s function is to hold the string to the desired height necessary to avoid them from the unwanted rubbing against the metal frets up and down the fretboard on the neck. The Saddle is also used to absorb and transfer all of the vibration from the strumming strings to the bridge and on to the soundboard. The electric guitar has an individual saddle for each string each of which is adjustable.
Bridge pins
After the guitar strings have traversed the saddle and before they can be tightened with the tuning mechanisms on the headstock each string must be anchored. The strings anchor point is placed into predrilled termination hole on the lower side of the bridge. The string anchors are place into their respective holes followed by the narrow side of the bridge pins. When the bridge pins are depressed in to their capacity then the strings can be wound tight. The wedged bridge pin will secure and tightly hold the string in place allowing for the string to be tightened to key and played.
Bridges that do not use pins are called pinless. Electric Guitars have a few options to anchor the strings depending on the make. Gibson guitars use something known as a tailpiece, which rests directly behind the bridge, while Fender guitars allow the strings to be fed through the guitars body.
As previously mentioned classical guitars use a tie block to secure it’s strings.
Pickguard
A Pickguard is used as a protection for your guitar from the aggressive strumming and subsequent damage that would otherwise ensue from the picks continued strike against the soundboard. Without a Pickguard affixed, the guitars soundboard would be worn through in short order. It would destroy the guitar and the guitar’s monetary value.
Pickguards come in a variety of colors and are made from a variety of materials. They are thin as to limit their affect on the vibration of the soundboard. The pickguard is affixed to the guitar on the soundboard directly beneath the soundhole while in a playing position. They are an inexpensive way to customize the impression of the guitar and are relatively easy to install.
Pickups
Pickups are coiled wire wrapped around magnets used to capture vibrations. They are effectively microphones. There are two types; Single Coil with one coil and Dual Coil with two. The Dual Coil pickups are more commonly known as Humbuckers. The Humbucker Pickups are useful for reducing unwanted noise caused from overdrive.
An Electric guitar will not have the same capacity for acoustic amplification as an acoustic guitar with a soundhole. So the electric guitar requires the pickup to capture the vibrations of the strings and the guitars body. After that it converts those impressions into an electric signal that can go on to be amplified.
As your guitar literacy increases you will gradually become more aware of your guitar tone and eventually you may wish to change out the stock pickups to meet your preference.
Dual Coil Pickups would be advised for any rock enthusiasts looking for a sound that is bigger and boomier, these Pickups are great for rock distortion. If you are looking for a cleaner tone than Single Coil Pickups will be the better starting point. As the Single Coils are comparatively thinner sounding.
Pickup Selector Switch
Electric guitars can have multiple pickups. The purpose of that is to be able to capture resonance at different positions of the guitar’s body. The pickup selector switch found on an electric guitar allows the user to select which pickup they will be using. It also allows for the selection of pickup combinations.
Volume & Tone Knobs
The number of knobs on your guitar is dependent on the manufacturer. The function however is consistent across all brands, Volume and tone. The tone knobs are in effect an EQ for the pickup. In addition to a Master volume knob some guitar makes will have designated volume knob for each pickup. At any rate these knobs and potentiometers are the user’s interface for the guitars tone. A guitar player will experiment with pickup selection and tone knobs until they’ve carved out a sound that suits the song, or the style of music that is being played.
Tremolo Bar / Arm
This tool allows the guitar player to bend the sound of a note. The Tremolo Bar is affixed to the bridge. By pushing or pulling against the bar it leverages the bridge up or down which either loosens or tightens the strings bending the pitch. The Tremolo bar is also known as a Whammy Bar. Not all Electric guitar bridges are built to accommodate a Whammy Bar. Certain electric guitars are equipped with fixed bridges.
Jack Socket
This is the output connection from the guitar. It is here where you would plug in one end of a guitar cable, the other end of the cable would be plugged into some type of amplification.
Strings
Strings are different for the different kind of guitars. For electric guitars the material used is Steel. For Acoustic guitars the materials used could be brass bronze or steel, and for the classical guitar the material used will be Nylon.
In addition to the specific strings for the specific guitar it is also important to know that the strings are sold by gauge, which means thickness.
In my experience if you are an aggressive strummer start with the heavier gauges first. Then experiment until you find the gauge that’s right for you.
Strap Buttons
The Strap Buttons are used to attach a guitar strap to the guitar in order to stand and play. Typically the upper strap button will be found on the body just at the base of the guitars neck and the lower one will be found at the bottom of the guitars body.
Built-in Tuner
Quite a few acoustic guitars these days come equipped with a built in tuner and equalizer. When looking down at your guitar in a playing position you would see the tuner staring up towards you from the top side of the guitars body. These Built-in-tuners are a very nice component to have and utilize. They make keeping the guitar in tune very convenient. Modern acoustic guitars are also built with an output jack intended for live performance amplification. The built-in-equalizer, which is coupled with the tuner, allows the acoustic guitarist the ability to shape the outputted tone of the guitar for amplification in the venue.
So What Now
You are now either an expert or overwhelmed. Whichever it is, rest assured that the guitar is a great joy. If you’re just starting into your journey with a guitar don’t worry about having to retain all of the guitars anatomic knowledge at first go. This article will be here for the foreseeable future and you are certainly welcome to reference back whenever you find doing so useful.
For me the guitar has become an integral part of life ever since I was a teenager sitting on the front stoop borrowing one of my parents and acting like I knew what I was doing. Like that newly in fashion saying goes… Fake it until you make it. That’s what I did I guess, I sat out there staring at the cars driving by constantly strumming that guitar until my fingers found chords.
I suppose that there is a more direct path than the one I took. Regardless, my point is that step-by-step you’ll get where you’re going. We each build different things into the fabric of our lives I can relate to that with my experience with a guitar and I am happy to recommend a guitar to others for that very same function.
Little by little you will increase your proficiency and gradually the guitar will grow into being a part of your life. The other significant benefit to picking up a guitar rather than say a piano is that a guitar is significantly lighter to pick up… Ha, I digress!
An Explanation Of Common Accessories And How Essential Each Is
A String Winder
A String Winder is placed onto the Tuning Peg when the new string is pinned into the bridge and the opposite end has been threaded through the eye of the Tuning Post. It is then used to turn the peg more comfortably and at a faster pace than which could be done by hand thus greatly expediting the process of restringing a guitar. After using one, it would be difficult to ever have to restring a guitar again with out.
Tuner
In the event your acoustic guitar does not have a Built-in-tuner or if you have chosen an Electric, then a Tuner is an immediate essential for putting the strings into their designate key. Without having a guitar put into key, it would be impossible to play uniformed music.
Picks
Picks are used to strum through the guitar strings. They allow for the strum to be dispersed more evenly across the strings and also allow that the sound be perceived more brightly and articulated. If you attempted to strum the strings with your fingers the sound would be perceivable as more deadened or muffled.
Picks are sold by their rigidness or flexibility. It is recommended to start by purchasing a variety of thickness values in order for you, in a very tactile way, to familiarize yourself with how these various values affect the play of the instrument. This is the best method to inform yourself of what your preferences are.
Strings
As mentioned before, strings are sold by gauge and you will have to experiment with these as well to understand how they translate to play and longevity. This you can do gradually over a long period of time. When you buy the guitar it should come strung, so it won’t be critical to have picked up an extra pack at the time of purchase. However having an extra pack on hand, keeps one from being put out in the event a string is unexpectedly broken.
Guitar Strap
A guitar strap is necessary if you intend on standing up when you play. It is fastened to the guitar so that the guitar can be hung over your shoulder. If you’re happy to stay seated while playing then you will not need to have collected this item as an essential.
Guitar Cable
A guitar cable is a tool for communicating the electric guitar output to an amplifier. This is an essential if you’ve decided upon an electric guitar and you have also purchased an amplifier.
Guitar Stand
A Guitar Stand is used to rest the guitar when the guitar is not being played. Unless you wish your guitar banged up and scratched from laying it on the floor, it is also an early essential.
Guitar Case or Travel Bag
A Guitar Case Or Travel Bag is used to protect the guitar during transportation. Either of these items is necessary for transporting a guitar. The latter will be less expensive as it is cheaper to produce. Keep in mind that the Travel Bag is also less protective then a hardened case, but admittedly for most people just getting started the bag should be protection enough.
In Conclusion
This post was intended to inform you of the different parts and components of a guitar. If you are interested in playing then the next step is determining which of the three types of guitars it is that you would like to have. For some people, having an electric is a must. They know they want to play rock and they need distortion. The problem with an electric is that it does require an additional purchase of an amplifier. The acoustic on the other hand will not allow for crunchy over-driven power chords but you can learn to play chords and scales without the additional expense of an amplifier. But if its rock and roll then you’ll need what you need.
No matter what you choose. Take the information you need from this post to inform yourself to the various components of the guitar. Then when it is time for you to connect with some otherwise intimidating sells associate you will at the very least be equipped with enough rudimentary knowledge to confidently engage in a dialogue about all of the particular features or functionality of the particular instruments that are being recommended to meet the particular requirements you have.
When you have finally selected the instrument of your choosing treat yourself to a lesson or two. If that is too great a hassle then consider YouTube as a happy alternative. There are an extensive number of channels with very talented individuals discussing how to start playing the guitar as well as offering basic lessons.
That is where to start and that is just enough to get started
So go and get to it!
Good Luck