Guitar Terminology
The average guitar has more than 150 parts that must work together in perfect (or nearly perfect) harmony to produce the best sound. Here are some of the parts and other terms relating to the guitar.
Binding
The trim that runs along the top and sometimes back of a guitar is
called Binding. It can be made of plastic or wood, and can be multiple
layers, giving a dressy look, especially to acoustic guitars. It also
protects the edge of the guitar from damage from minor hits.
Body
On an acoustic guitar, a body is made of a top, a back, and sides,
while on an electric guitar the body is usually one or more pieces of
solid wood. Whether hollow or solid, the body is the guitar's central
point, tying together all the parts. A hybrid design called a
semi-solid guitar has a block of wood running through a hollow body, so
the guitar gets some of the best tone characteristics of both solid and
hollow construction.
Bridge
Located on the body of the guitar, the bridge separates the playing
part of the strings from the anchor part. Some bridges anchor the
strings, while others let them pass over before they hook up to a part
called a tailpiece. On electric guitars, small, movable bridge parts
called saddles support each string, setting its height, spacing from
adjacent strings, and how well it stays in tune with the others. On
acoustic guitars, there's usually one saddle, made of bone or a hard
synthetic material, that's shaped to set the strings' heights, spacing,
and tuning accuracy. In addition, an acoustic guitar's strings fasten
to the bridge and transmit their vibrations directly to the
instrument's top, which changes the vibrations to sound.
Cutaway
A cutaway is a part of the body that's been removed so it's easier to
reach the fingerboard's top notes. Most electric guitars have at least
one cutaway. Some have two (one on each side of the neck). Acoustic
guitars don't feature cutaways as often as electric guitars, since
cutting away from the body affects its tone, plus the body is so deep,
from front to back, that it often doesn't make it much easier to play
high on the neck.
Fingerboard
Made of hard woods such as maple, ebony, or rosewood, it's the part of
the guitar under the strings that the frets are set into. The
fingerboard is often a separate piece glued onto the front of the neck.
Dots or other shapes made of pearl, metal, or wood are inlaid into or
along the edge of the fingerboard as markers to guide your fingers.
Frets
Thin metal strips called frets are inlaid across the fingerboard. When
you push down on a string, the fret acts as a contact point, setting
the length of the string's vibrating portion and, therefore, the exact
note that you hear. There's no "official" number of frets, but most
electric guitars have 20 to 24, and acoustic guitars have 18 to 24.
Head
Also called the headstock or peghead, this part is actually the end of
the neck, and on the vast majority of guitars it's where the tuning
machines are attached. A few guitars have no headstock, and therefore
the strings must be anchored behind the nut and tensioned by tuning
machines built into the bridge.
Machine Head (see Tuning machine)
Neck
The neck is the guitar's backbone, a stiff piece of wood or
graphite-composite (like the stuff used for many tennis rackets, golf
clubs, and fishing poles). It withstands the pull of the strings and
gives your hand a place to grab onto and play. It may be glued into a
slot in the body, bolted on, or built into the body, passing through
its entire length.
Nut
The nut (who knows why it's called that?) is a piece of bone, plastic,
or metal that is at the end of the fingerboard, right where the neck
and head meet. It has tiny slots or rollers that guide the strings so
that they're spaced a uniform distance apart. Only the section of
string between the nut and the bridge is important to making a sound.
Output jack
This looks like a headphone jack that you find on the front of a
stereo. It has a diameter of 1/4", and lets you plug in the "phone
jack" on the end of a cable that takes the signal to an amplifier.