Parts of the Electric Guitar – Blackstar

When it comes to understanding how a guitar works, you have to look at the various parts of the guitar and know what they all do. Each element of the guitar contributes to how it sounds and how it feels to play.

Some parts of the guitar are purely aesthetic, and others serve valuable purposes.

Let’s break the guitar up into three main areas, the headstock, the neck and the body.

Headstock

The headstock of the guitar is the area at the top of the guitar that typically houses the branding of the instrument. This can include company logos, model names and numbers and any serial numbers and factory information. This information can sometimes also be found on the rear of the headstock. Many brands will have their own signature headstock shapes and designs.

Tuning Pegs (Tuners)

The headstock also houses one of the most important parts of the guitar, the tuning pegs. The tuners on the guitar are used to tune each string to the desired pitch. They work by loosening or tightening the string until it matches the pitch you need it to. Each string has it’s own tuning peg for this purpose.

Neck

The neck of the guitar is the long area that extends from the body up to the headstock.

Nut

The nut is located at the top of the neck, it is a small, slotted piece of material which is often made from plastic, bone or graphite. It has multiple jobs, the main of which is directing the strings in a straight line down the neck.

It can also control string height. If a nut is badly cut, strings can be too high or too low.

The Fretboard

The fretboard is the slab of wood that sits on top of the neck. It is sometimes carved from the same piece of wood as the neck. The fretboard is the area of the guitar where you’ll find all the notes you need.

Frets

Frets at the individual metal strips that run along the fretboard. They are essentially like keys on a piano. Each fret is a different note and they are activated by pressing down the string until it contacts the relevant fret.

Fret Markers and Side Dots

The fret markets, and side dots, are to show you which fret you are on or near. The side dots main purpose is for playing stood up as it is difficult (and bad practise) to look around at the fretboard.

Truss Rod

Inside the neck is a metal rod known as the truss rod. It’s job is to apply reverse tension to the neck to counteract the string tension. The truss rod should only be adjusted by a qualified professional or someone experienced.

Body

The body is the main area of the guitar that gives it the visual look we associate with certain brands. The shape of this large lump of wood can be iconic. It also houses multiple things that give the guitar it’s sound and feel.

Bridge

The bridge is where the strings start. The strings are fed through the body or through the bridge and over a series of saddles. The saddles control the intonation of each string which is the overall tuning of the note. If the open string is in tune but a fretted note is not, the intonation needs to be adjusted.

The strings produce notes between the contact points at the nut and bridge saddle.

Scratch Plate

The scratch plate is mostly aesthetic, the main purpose is to prevent scratches forming from picking the strings, but the presence of a scratch plate does not impact the guitars playability. Some guitar brands will also use a scratch plate to cover any cavity routing on the body or even to house electric components.

Binding

The binding is a thin strip of material that runs around the edge of the body, and sometimes the neck and headstock. It’s purely aesthetic.

Output Jack

The output jack, sometimes referred to as the input jack, is a socket on the underside of the guitar where the guitar cable is plugged.

Pickups

The pickups are magnets which have a wrap of copper coil around them. There are various styles of pickups that serve different tonal purposes, but the main job is to pickup the string vibration and convert it to the sound we hear from the amplifier.

Volume/Tone Knob

The volume knob of the guitar controls the guitars volume. If you set it to zero there will be no sound, and on 10 the guitar is maximum volume. You can clean up an overdriven amplifier by slightly backing off the volume.

The tone knob on the guitar is often left set to 10 which renders it useless. At 10 the signal just passes through. A tone control works by reducing the high frequencies as the control is backed off. This allows you to get a range of sounds from a single pickup.

Strap Buttons

The strap buttons are where you connect your guitar strap for playing stood up.