Guitar Parts and Functions
The guitar can be divided into two main parts: Body and Neck. The terms front/back/side/etc can get a little confusing. Typically the part that faces the audience and has the strings, pickups, bridge, and controls is the front or face (but sometimes also called the top); and the part that faces your body is the back. All other parts of the body are called the side. All directionality is usually along the neck-body, or more commonly neck-bridge, axis. For example, a pickup is often called the neck pickup or the bridge pickup, based on whether it is the one closer to the neck or to the bridge.
Frets are numbered starting furthest from the body. Thus, "lower" and "higher" in relation to one's position on the neck refer to the numbers associated with the frets. For example, the further your left hand is from the guitar's body, the lower you are on the fretboard.
Higher and lower can also be applied to strings, and this gets confusing. When looking at the fretboard from a playing position, the thicker strings will be closer to the player and appear below the thinner strings. Thus, visually they are lower. Also, they are lower in pitch. Thus, typically the "low" strings are the thickest and high strings the thinnest, which is consistent with the visual layout of the fretboard and tablature. However, strings are numbered from thinnest to thickest, so numerically, the thinnest strings are the "lowest". Typically, low/high refers to the visual layout and pitches of the fretboard, not string number.
Contents
Body
The Body contains the Tailpiece or Bridge, Pickups, Toggle Switch, Knobs, Cutaways and Horns, Neck Heel, and Strap Pins.
Tailpiece or Bridge
The tailpiece/bridge is the part that connects the strings to the body. It is responsible for the guitar's action, intonation, sustain, and tone.
There are numerous types. The Fender Stratocaster's tremolo bridge is one of the more famous. It features individual adjustable saddles and a whammy bar. Some bridges are coupled directly to the guitar body, which claim to increase tone and sustain. Some are only attached to a few points, allowing the bridge to "float".
Also, see Choosing a Guitar and Setup/Adjustments.
Pickups
Pickups are typically bar-like objects that reside between the bridge and the neck, spanning across all the strings; however, they technically refer to anything that converts the string movement into electricity. Typical pickups are magnetic transducers - either single-coil or humbuckers. Humbuckers are usually wider than single-coils because they use two coils. One is reverse wound, which makes any interference being picked up cancel out. Humbuckers are also typically wired in serial, which gives them greater output but also greater impedance, which makes them a bit more nasal-sounding. Single coils are associated with shimmering clean tones while humbuckers are a staple of heavily distorted tones.
In addition to traditional magnetic pickups, there are piezo pickups that detect vibration without using magnetism, useful to get an acoustic-like sound. And there are hexaphonic pickups that analyze each string and are typically used to convert the strings' motion into MIDI data. These are typically built into or reside very close to the bridge.
Also, see Choosing Pickups.
Pickup-Selector Switch
The Toggle Switch or Pickup-Selector Switch is usually the only switch on the front of an electric guitar. This is used to select which pickups are active.
This can be wired in different configurations, but usually a 3 pickup guitar will feature a 5-way selector with neck, neck + middle, middle, middle + bridge, bridge as you move it from pointing towards the neck to the bridge. A 2 pickup guitar usually features a 3-way selector with neck, neck + bridge, bridge.
The switch does not have to be a toggle switch, although it usually is. It can also be a knob-switch, push-pull switch, or a set of buttons. Also, there can be multiple toggle switches on the guitar face, to allow complex selections between magnetic, piezo, and/or hexaphonic pickups, as well as the phase, serial/parallel, or coil tap wiring of magnetic pickups. In cases of ambiguity, you'll have to refer to the switch by its function; ie pickup-selector-switch. If there's only one toggle switch, it's assumed that it is used to select the active pickup(s).
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Electronics.
Knobs/Controls
A guitar does not require, but often has Knobs or other electronic Controls to alter the electric signal produced by the pickups. There are usually 2-4 knobs on the front of a guitar, and they function as either Volume or Tone knobs.
The knobs connect to pots, or potentiometers (aka audio tapers), which add or decrease resistance to certain circuit paths inside the guitar. A Volume Knob functions as expected, reducing electrical output. A Tone Knob filters higher pitched frequencies, which allows the player to adjust the "darkness" or "brightness" of the tone. If the guitar has 4 knobs, this typically indicates that each pickup has its own set of volume and tone controls.
A guitar may additionally include mini-switches, push-pull switches (often built into pots), buttons, or other electronic controls, which can be used for a variety of purposes, often to change the phase or serial/parallel operation of pickups, or different types of pickups when it has more than just magnetic pickups. However, it could also control some form of specialized electronics in the guitar, such as sustainer devices.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Electronics.
Electronics Cavity
There is typically a large hollowed-out section of the body between the pickups and the output jack called the Electronics Cavity that houses electronics, such as the potentiometers for the knobs, the pickup selector switch, connecting wires, and if necessary a battery. Sometimes it also encompasses the pickups and output jack. The cavity may be accessible from the face of the guitar if it has a large pickguard that covers it, like a Fender Stratocaster. Otherwise, it is accessible from the rear and covered by a piece of plastic screwed into the body.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Electronics.
Cutaways and Horns
Cutaways are the areas on each side of the neck where the neck meets the body. On an acoustic guitar, there are typically no cutaways, making it difficult to access the highest frets on the fretboard. On electric, this part of the body is typically "cut away", allowing the player's hand to more easily access those frets.
Depending on the body shape, this may leave Horns - parts of the body that extend away from the body and towards the neck that resemble horns on animals.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Body Sides/Horns and Choosing_a_Guitar#Body/Headstock Shape.
Neck Heel/Joint
The Neck Heel or Neck Joint is simply the "pocket" cut into the body designed for the neck to fit into, where it is then usually bolted on. Some guitars are made mostly from a single piece of wood, where the neck runs through the body (neck-through design). In this case, there is technically no neck heel, although it may still be used to refer to the place where the neck and body meet. A few different types of neck joints exist, designed differently to allow more comfort when reaching the highest frets.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Neck Heel/Joint.
Strap Pins
The Strap Pins are metal studs screwed into the body that allow a strap to be attached to the guitar. One is typically located on ("bottom") side of the guitar, in line with the strings/neck. The other is usually on the tip of the top horn, pointing towards the headstock. On some body shapes, there is no front horn, and the pin is either where the horn would be, or it is on the back of the body by the neck heel.
Some strap pins feature strap-locking technology to prevent the strap from slipping off the strap pin. Alternatively, there are other items, such as plastic disks that attempt the same effect using normal strap pins.
Neck
The Neck has the headstock, tuners, nut, fretboard and fret markers.
Headstock
The Headstock is the part of the neck beyond the nut where the strings attach to the tuners. Some are angled, seeking to have the strings make sturdy contact against the nut. Many use string trees to attain the same effect. Manufacturers often have a signature shape/design for their headstock for aesthetic purposes.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Body/Headstock Shape.
Tuners
Tuners are the metal pieces in the headstock that secure the string ends and are used to tighten or loosen each string's tension, changing its pitch. Most modern guitars use machine heads: the tuner consists of two parts linked together with gears. The part that holds the string is called a peg or post (formally it's called a capstan). The part you turn is called the knob.
Some tuners are locking tuners - they feature an additional screw or other means to clamp the string inside the tuning peg. This makes initially tuning a new string easier and prevents strings from slipping or rewinding differently after a whammy bar dive.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Tuners.
Nut
The Nut is the 0th fret - the last part of the fretboard before the headstock. It is basically a fret that is always active, giving the strings a consistent pitch and means to resonate. Unlike frets, it is usually made of hard plastic or bone; however, locking nuts typically use metal. The nut has grooves carved into it for routing each string. Between these and the bridge saddles, the string cannot slide as it resonates, giving it a consistent pitch.
Some nuts are locking nuts, using hex bolts to clamp the strings inside the nut, so that tension between the tuners and nut remains firm even during a whammy bar dive. Without the locking nut on some guitars, a strong whammy bar dive can cause the strings to slack to the point where they become unwound around the tuning pegs. When the whammy bar is released, the string may wind differently or not at all around the tuning peg, causing the tuning to be off.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Nut Action.
Fretboard, Frets, and Fret Markers
The Fretboard is the piece of wood on the front part of the neck that contains the shiny metal bars called frets. Fretboards are often made of a different type of wood than the neck of the guitar, making them easier to identify. It is glued to the front of the neck.
The frets run perpendicular to the strings are used to sound specific pitches within the chromatic scale by shortening the length of string that is allowed to vibrate (by pressing the string down against the fret - see Basic Technique). They also make performing pitch bends and vibrato (which require sliding the string up and down while retaining pressure against the fret) easier.
The fret markers are usually on the top side of the neck and often on the front of the fretboard as well. They indicate the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 21st, and 24th frets (and sometimes also the 1st fret). The 12th and 24th frets are often marked with double dots, a brand logo, or some other special graphic.
Also, see Choosing_a_Guitar#Playability, Choosing_a_Guitar#Fretboard Radius, Choosing_a_Guitar#Neck Size/Shape, Choosing_a_Guitar#Fretboard Wood, and Choosing_a_Guitar#Inlays.
Strings
Strings are the tense wires or cords that extend from the bridge to the headstock. Their resonance is the primary source of the guitar's sound. They are numbered 1-6 (on a six-string guitar), with 1 being the thinnest and 6 being the thickest. Sometimes they are called by their open pitch in standard tuning (covered in Tuning and Harmonics). Ex. the 2nd string is also called the B string. Since there are two open E strings in standard tuning, they are called "high E string" or "low E string". High/Low refers to pitch, so "high E" is 1st string; "low E" is 6th string.
Electric guitar strings are typically made from nickel-plated steel. A typical set of electric strings has 6 strings - 3 wound and 3 unwound. Wound strings have a straight "core" string with another string wound/wrapped around it - this adds mass and lowers the string's resonant pitch while maintaining higher elasticity than simply using a single thicker solid string. Strings typically have one end with a metal or plastic "ball" ending with the other side being simply cut. The ball ending is used to hold the string in place in the guitar's tailpiece/bridge, while the cut end is placed through the tuner and wound tight.
Also, see Strings.
Non-Guitar Parts
This covers common parts that, while not absolutely essential to learning or playing guitar, are used very often.
Pick or Plectrum
The Pick (or Plectrum) is a small, flat, usually triangular piece of plastic (or other materials) used to excite the strings. They generally have a tip used to make contact with the strings. There are a large variety of picks; I recommend you follow the instructions in the Choosing a Pick section to determine what you are most comfortable with.
Tuner
Unlike the tuners attached to the guitar and used to change each string's pitch, a tuner is an electronic device that detects and displays pitch. It is used to help tune all the strings to the desired pitch.
Tuners typically use one of the following sensors to determine pitch: electrical, vibrational, or audial. Electrical tuners are connected to the guitar via an instrument cable, using the electrical signal generated by the pickups. Vibrational tuners clamp or stick onto the guitar and use the vibrations induced by the resonating string. Audial use a microphone to listen to the sound produced by the resonating string.
I like electrical best, but this only works if you have an electric or acoustic-electric guitar. For more info, see Tuning and Harmonics.
Cables
Professional audio typically makes use of analog Cables with 1/4" diameter jacks. Cables are generally described by how many lines they hold or how much power they can carry, which generally describes what they are used for. The jacks on each end of a cable have to be compatible with the cable, but can have much wider variety.
- Instrument - Designed to handle single low-level signals generated by sensors or transducers, such as guitar pickups. Typically connects the guitar to an amplifier or pedal and uses 1/4" male TS (Tip/Sleeve) jacks.
- Line-Level - Designed to handle medium-level signals generated or amplified by electronic equipment before power amplifiers. Typically connects pedals or effects units to each other and to an amplifier's front input or effects loop and uses 1/4" male TS jacks if mono, TRS if stereo.
- Speaker or Power - Designed to handle high-level signals generated by power amplifiers. Connects power amplifiers to speakers. Uses 1/4" male TS jacks.
- Balanced - A balanced cable uses 2 lines instead of 1 to send and recieve a mono signal, which reduces noise or other interference found in unbalanced cables. Note: a balanced cable may be used to carry a stereo signal instead of a single balanced signal, losing its noise-reduction properties.
- XLR - Usually a line-level cable, but uses 3-prong XLR jacks. Typically used as a balanced cable, but is also capable of 2 independent signals, such as a stereo signal.
- TRS - Same as XLR but uses a 1/4" jack with 3 connections - tip, ring, sleeve (hence, TRS). More commonly used as a stereo cable instead of a balanced mono cable.
- Coax - Looks similar to a standard RCA A/V cable, but uses a different resistance. Used to connect digital devices using SPDIF encoding.
- Optical - Basically a flexible mirrored tube used to transport bursts of light as digital data. Used to connect digital devices using SPDIF encoding. Not subject to electrical interference.
- Y-cable - uses a stereo jack on one end to connect to two mono jacks on the other end.
- MIDI - a 5 or 7 pin connector used to communicate MIDI information.
Also, see Choosing Cables.
Amplifier
In essence, an Amplifier simply amplifies a signal. A guitar amplifier typically does much more, however. In addition to bringing the signal up to a level capable of driving a speaker, it will filter or EQ the signal, distort, and/or compress it. How this is done is usually controllable using provided Bass, Mids, Treble, Presence, and Gain/Drive controls. Most amplifiers have their own distinct tone/response, particularly in regards to distortion. They may have additional features such as a noise gate, reverb, and an effects loop. Also, most modern amps feature multiple channels, often with their own indepedent controls, used to switch sounds instantaneously using a foot controller.
Since amplifiers have become synonomous with particular tones, some products may be marketed as amplifiers without being able to actually drive a speaker. They simply transform the tone of the signal but must be routed into an additional power amp to deliver performance level volume.
Also, see Choosing an Amp.
Speaker Cabinet
A Speaker Cabinet (or simply cabinet or cab) refers to a speaker enclosure designed specifically for use with guitar amplifiers. Amplifiers with the speaker cabinet built-in are called combo amplifiers. The term cabinet typically applies to only those that are physically separate from the amplifier. Common cabinets are 1x12's, 2x12's, and 4x12's, which contain 1, 2, or 4 speakers respectively. The "12" refers to the diameter of each speaker, with 12" being the most popular choice. Occasionally, a 2x15 will be seen paired with a 4x12. Also, some cabinets may feature 10" speakers.
Cabinets can have open or closed backs, which affects their audible frequency response and resonance, as well as loudness.
Also, see Choosing a Speaker Cabinet.
Pedals/Effects
A wide variety of digital and analog devices exist to process a guitar signal in some way. These typically appear in either a rack or pedal form factor. Pedals typically have one function and are engaged or disengaged by stepping on them (which led them to be called stomp boxes). Rack effects are generally more complex, tackling multiple types of effects simultaneously, and are controlled by MIDI.
Here's a list of common effects:
- Compression/Limiting
- Distortion/Overdrive/Boosting
- EQ/Filtering
- Modulation (Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Tremelo)
- Pitch Shifting
- Synth/Waveform Processing
- Delay
- Reverb
- Noise Gate/Expander
- Wah-wah
- Volume control
Also, see Choosing Effects.
Capo
A Capo is a device that uses a spring or screw to clamp the strings against the fretboard at any particular fret desired, effectively acting like the nut. This simply raises the pitch of the strings when played without being fretted. It's useful to play in different keys, using the open position chord fingerings but with the root notes that fit the desired key. For example, if you know a song in C and want to play it in D, you would either have to learn how to play it using different chord fingerings or voicings, tune each guitar string up a whole step which takes time and may make the strings too tense to play, or simply put the capo on the 2nd fret.
Advanced Parts
Let's quickly discuss more advanced stuff. This will help you identify these parts, but we save adjusting them for a more advanced lesson.
Truss Rod
The neck has a Truss Rod under the fretboard or embedded through the length of the neck, connected to the headstock and end of the neck by the neck heel. It is a metal bar, with adjustible tension used to straighten or allow it to bend. This is used to put tension on the neck to counter the tension of the strings, preventing the neck from becoming concave. The ideal neck is somewhere between perfectly flat and slightly concave, which allows each fret to sound with minimal as well as near-equal fret buzz across the entire fretboard.
Also, see Setup/Adjustments.
String Tree
Some headstocks have one or more string trees, which reside between the nut and tuners. These route the strings at a sharper downward angle on the nut, for cleaner tone and better sustain on open notes. An angled headstock often replaces the necessity for these.
Tremelo System - Whammy Bar and Bear Claws
Some bridges incorporate a Tremelo System, which encompasses a number of additional guitar parts. It allows the pitch of the guitar to be altered, usually by a whammy bar - pushing on the bar moves/pivots the bridge closer to the nut, causing the strings to slack and lowers their pitch. Some bridges allow the bar to be pulled as well to raise the strings' pitch.
For bridges that use a whammy bar, the bridge needs counter-tension to prevent the strings from pulling the bridge away from its neutral position. Usually this is done inside a rear cavity where the bridge connects to bear claw springs. The springs are afixed to a metal clasp which is screwed into the body. Screwing the clasp further into the body increases the tension on the bridge.
Tremelo systems also usually include or require a locking nut or tuners. These prevent the strings from unwinding and rewinding differently during a heavy whammy bar dive, which would change the strings' tuning in the bridge's neutral position.
Also, see Setup/Adjustments.
Bridge Saddles
All bridges have Bridge Saddles where there strings first touch the bridge - kind of like the nut. Most of the time these saddles are adjustable in some way. They can be raised or lowered to change the "action" of the guitar (which makes it more or less difficult to play at the expense of less or greater fret buzz). They can also be moved forward/backward to shorten/lengthen the string, which allows the instrument to be intonated (meaning it is in-tune across the entire fretboard). The tension/distance/mass relationship's effect on pitch is not as perfect as a simplistic model may assume - it is common for the thickest strings to require greater length than thinner strings, which is why it is favorable for the instrument to have a bridge with individual adjustable saddles.
Also, see Setup/Adjustments.
Miscellaneous
Polepieces
Polepieces are the visible metal cylinders inside the pickups. Some pickups have covers that hide these, while others don't have individual pole pieces for each string but a single "rail" that spans all the strings. Some pickups feature adjustable height on the polepieces, or come preset with various heighths. I haven't found adjusting them has much effect on the tone, other than getting them close enough to acheive "pole pull" which is undesirable.
Pickguard
The Pickguard is the plastic area on the face of the body that prevents you from scratching the finish on the body. These aren't that expensive and can find various designs/colors for most of the common guitar body shapes. The pickguard or "pickup rings" are usually how the pickups connect to the guitar body, and features screws to adjust pickup height. In some guitars, there is no pickguard or pickup rings and the pickups are screwed directly into the guitar body - they may or may not have springs underneath and be adjustible in this case.
Homework
Study your guitar and try to identify every single piece of it.