Acoustic Guitar Parts & Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Acoustic Guitar Parts
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Here is a picture of a typical acoustic guitar with its parts marked. Scroll down for detailed information on the acoustic guitars parts.
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On standard acoustic guitars, the large body makes it difficult to use any frets above the 12th fret. Some guitars have a Cutaway section to allow your hands to reach the 14th fret easily, however this does affect the sound as it disrupts the shape of the guitar. You strum (or pick) the strings over the Soundhole, which is where the vibrations from the strings are acoustically reflected out providing the sound from the instrument. Acoustic-electric guitars have an Pickup inside the soundhole, note that you can also buy add-on acoustic pickups and turn any acoustic guitar into an acoustic-electric. Most acoustic guitars have a Pick Guard, that protects the finish on the top of the guitar body from mis-directed picking. The strings terminate in the Saddle which is glued onto the top of the guitar body. The Bridge raises the strings and establishes the Action of the guitar. Note most accoustic guitars have "fixed" bridges, the only way to lower the action is to shave or cut down the saddle (or replace the bridge) - there is no way raise the action. Some newer models provide adjustable bridges simliar to electric guitars.
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 There are three main sections zoomed in the picture; the Headstock, the Neck, and the Body. The headstock holds the Tuner Posts around which the strings are wrapped and terminated. The Tuners are knobs that increase or decrease the tension on the string wrapped around the tuner posts (tuning the sound made by the strings). Note that some acoustic guitars may have different looking tuners, and some may even have all six tuner keys on the same side. Even though they may look different, they work in the same manner. The Nut guides the strings to the tuner posts and maintains the height of the strings. The length of the Neck depends on the scale of the guitar and the number of frets it has. The back of the neck could be "C" shaped, or "V" shaped (sideways < if you compare it to the letter C). The front of the neck is the Fingerboard or Fretboard, that contains the Frets embedded in notches along its surface. The Strings run down the neck over the frets. The height of the strings over the frets is called the Action; if the action is too high the strings are harder to press down, if the action is too low the strings may rattle against the frets muffling the notes. The neck usually has "dot" markers on the top and the side facing the player, showing the position of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (which has two dots) and 15th fret.
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Note that as an acoustic guitar ages, a pronounced "belly" or bump will appear on the top of the body, just below the saddle. Since the strings are constantly pulling on the saddle, over time and with humidity changes the wood will begin to bow where the pressure is being applied. There are "ribs" or "struts" inside the body to prevent the saddle from being ripped out, so a small belly is perfectly normal as the guitar is broken in. If the belly gets too large you (or them) will have to have the ribs inside the top repaired, they may have popped out or broken. Many musicians claim the belly improves the sound of the guitar, which may contribute to the theory that acoustic guitars sound better as they grow older. Guitar Types<<<Previous
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Electric Guitar Types & Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Electric Guitar Types
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Electric guitars usually have solid wood bodies, and always use steel strings since they have electro-magnetic "Pickups" that send the string vibrations to an amplifier (amp). The wood used in the body and neck as well as pickup types used, provide the distinctive sound to each electric guitar. Click for information on how to Buy Electric Guitar, or for Acoustic Guitar Types. Some brands/models are synonymous with certains kinds of music; such as the Fender Stratocaster for Rock'n'Roll (Eric Clapton), or the Gibson "Lucille" for Blues (BB King). Some electric guitar models also have hollow or semi-hollow bodies, and they come in many shapes and sizes. The shape in itself does not affect the quality of sound (unlike acoustic guitars), but it is a matter of comfort while playing that guitar (along with its size).
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The "pickups" detect the vibration of the strings on an electric guitar, and send the signal to an amplifier (amp) that produces the actual sounds. Electric guitars usually have one, two or three pickups - positioned from close to the neck, to close to the bridge. There are two kinds of pickups, the "Single Coil Pickup" provides the vintage guitar sound - but is susceptible to hum and interference. The "Humbucker" or "Dual Coil Pickup" has two electro magnetic coils wrapped in opposite directions - this eliminates the hum and interference but it also reduces the quality of the sound. Electric guitars may have a combination of single-coil and humbucker pickups in the three pickup positions, and most have a selector switch to choose which pickup (or combination of pickups) is active. Volume and tone controls are also present on the electric guitar body, cheaper guitars tend to have lower quality "Pots" (potentiometers, the electronic device that regulates the sound) which wear out quickly and can make crackling sounds. The pickups largely contribute to the type of sound an electric guitar can make, but this is often supplemented by effects pedals and the amplifier (amp).
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The neck on an electric guitar is either glued or bolted to the body. Electric guitars are much heavier than acoustic guitars since they use heavier wood and have electronic parts inside - the neck must take a lot more stress. While wood type for the body, neck and fingerboard is less of a factor in electric guitars; it does contribute to a guitar's distinctive sound and "feel". Expensive electric guitars are usually made from high quality solid wood, while cheaper models may use laminates (plywood) or pieces of wood glued together. Some plastic and metal body electric guitars are also available. There are variations in the length of the neck scale, with shorter scale electric guitars having their frets closer together. Electric guitar necks comes in two types, the "C" neck (rounded back shaped like a C) and the "V" neck (sharper back shaped like <). The shape of the neck does not affect the sound of the guitar, it is a matter of choice and comfort based on the size of your hands. The width of the fingerboard affects the spacing between the six strings, and should also be considered for comfort based on your hand size and finger length. Electric guitars have more frets than acoustic guitars; 17, 19, 21 or 24 frets. The smaller size and default cutaway body shape makes it possible to play every fret on an electric guitar. Heavy metal and rock music loves the high frets (upto the 24th fret), but this does reduce the spacing between all the frets to accomodate the extra frets within the length of the neck (making these harder to play).
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Electric guitars have two kinds of bridges (where the strings terminate on the guitar body side). The "Fixed Bridge" is quite simply fixed to the body; and the "Floating Bridge" is spring loaded and often has a "Whammy Bar" (or Tremolo bar) attached to it. The fixed bridge tends to stay in tune much better, but most guitarists prefer the quality of sound from a floating bridge. Since it is spring loaded, the floating bridge does cause the strings to go out of tune much more often - and as it has moving parts, it does require maintenance such as adjustments or spring replacements. The whammy bar is a rod that sticks out of the bridge, when pressed (or pulled) it changes the tension on the strings and the sound being produced. Rapidly pushing (or pulling) the whammy bar adds a tremolo effect to the note being played. String action and intonation adjustments can also be made on the bridge of an electric guitar (which cannot be done on most acoustic guitars). The quality and thickness of the string contribute to the playability of an electric guitar. While electric guitars always use light strings (or super-light), always use the recommended thickness string for a specific guitar. Lighter strings are easier to bend with, but they do tend to break faster. Electric guitar strings are rated by "gauge", such as 0.08, 0.10 or 0.12 - this number corresponds to the gauge of the THINNEST (E) string with the lower number being the lightest (super light). Guitar strings are like shoes, you wouldn't know how they feel until you try them out. Keep trying different gauges and manufacturers till you find one that feels "just right" and don't break with your style of playing. The next section has information on Electric Guitar Effects, or click for information on how to Buy Electric Guitar. Acoustic Guitar Types<<<Previous
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