Here is the third topic of my series " The Basics of Guitar_Part I"...Go through the document carefully...Hope you will understand the topic easily...Follow my Facebook page (Any Body Can Play Guitar) for more guitar lessons...Thanks...

1. Parts of your guitar
- Biswarup Majumder

2.  Common types of guitars.
 Choose the best first guitar.
If you thoroughly read my previous two lessons it is clear that either you can buy
an acoustic (here I consider electro-acoustic as an acoustic guitar) or an electric
guitar for your practice. Now we have to know about the parts of our chosen
guitar.
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3. Parts of an Acoustic Guitar

4. The Body
 Bridge : The bridge is a thin strip of material where the strings are clamped to the body
of the guitar. Although usually made from woods such as Rosewood, on cheaper guitars
the bridges may simply be constructed of plastic. The material used will impact the tone
of the guitar to a degree, so it is preferable to have a good quality wooden bridge to help
transmit the sound.
 Saddle : Slotted into the bridge is a slim strip of material known as the saddle. Its
function is to hold the strings at a certain distance from the body. Saddles are most
commonly made from either bone or plastic, with the former generally being preferred.
 Bridge Pins : Although not used on every guitar, bridge pins are the most common
method of securing strings into the bridge. Simply insert the string into the bridge hole
and then insert a pin to hold it in place. They are commonly made from plastic or bone,
with ebony being another popular choice.

5.  Soundhole : It plays a large part in the type of tone that your guitar will produce. The size and
shape of the hole will affect the balance of bass and treble tones emitted. Although most
commonly a large circular opening in the center of the guitar, many other designs are utilized by
different companies.
 Pickguard : Also known as a scratchplate, most acoustic guitars will come with a pickguard
applied. As well as being an aesthetic feature of the guitar, it also helps to protect the body finish
from scratches made by over-zealous picking and strumming. The most common styles are either
plain black, or a tortoise-shell pattern as shown in the image above.
 Electronics : If buying an electro-acoustic guitar, youll also get an Equalizer (EQ) to allow you to
shape the plugged-in tone of the guitar. Often a built-in tuner will be added to allow you to easily
tune without the need for an external tuner*.
 Strap Pegs : These are found on the bottom of a guitar and on the back in the upper body region
toward the headstock. They allow you to hook the guitar to a strap and play it while standing up.
The decoration around the sound hole is known as “Rosette”

6. Top, Back and Sides : The three main sections which form the body are known as the
top (or soundboard), the back, and the sides – shown below in a handy diagram. These
parts can either be made from laminate or solid woods.
Laminate Versus Solid Wood Guitars
On budget guitars, all of the three sections will generally be made from laminate, i.e. multiple thin layers of wood
fused together. As we move up the price ladder we start to see guitars with solid wood tops and laminate back and
sides. And eventually, on higher-end instruments, all sections will be constructed of solid wood.

7. The Neck
 Fretboard : Also known as the fingerboard, it is a long strip of material (usually
wood) which sits on top of the neck. The most common types of fretboards are
made from rosewood or ebony.
 Fretwires : The small strips of metal that go across the fingerboard.
 Fret s : Actually means the spaces in between the fretwires.
 Fret Markers : Most guitars will feature fret markers (also known as position
markers or inlays) at certain intervals on the fingerboard so that you can quickly tell
which fret you are playing on. The design can be anything from simple dots, to
extravagant sprawling vines covering most of the fretboard. The dots on the fretboard
are a handy indicator of the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th frets. The 12th fret has two dots; then
the pattern repeats.
Poorly leveled frets will cause unwanted string buzz, so it is important that all frets should be level and
also smooth at the edges.

8.  Nut : The nut is a thin slotted strip of material between the fretboard and headstock
which the strings rest on. Its purpose is to keep the strings separated at the correct
distance, as well as at the correct height from the fingerboard. An acoustic guitar nut is
most commonly made from bone or plastic blends.
 Truss rod : It is a steel rod or a steel bar which runs inside the neck along its length. It
usually begins right beneath the soundhole where guitar neck begins. It is used to
adjust the tension of a guitar neck by increasing or decreasing its curvature
(lengthwise). It is adjusted with an allen key.

9. The Headstock
 Tuning Pegs : Also called tuning knobs, tuning keys or machine-heads, the purpose of
the tuning pegs is to tighten and loosen each string in order to obtain correct pitch.
Good quality tuning pegs will make tuning much smoother when compared to cheaper
options where string breakages are also more likely.
 Tuning Posts : This is the parts of an acoustic guitar tuning mechanism which
protrude on top of the headstock. The strings are inserted into a small hole in the
middle of the post and then wound round several times until correct pitch is achieved.
On cheaper guitars the sharper, unfinished edges on these might lead to excessive
string breakages, so it is worthwhile investing in a good set of tuners as it may end up
saving you money in the long term.

10. Parts of an Electric Guitar
Electric Guitars contain some special parts that
are not present in acoustic guitar. We only
emphasize on these parts.

11.  Pick-up (s) : A pickup is found under the strings of an electric guitar, and picks up'
the sound. They contain magnets, and measure the changes of the magnetic field made
by the moving strings. They come in two basic types: single coil (as found on most
Fender guitars) and humbucker (found on most Gibson guitars). humbuckers have a
fatter sound, and create less hum (hence the name).
 Pick-up Selector : Most electric guitars have more than one pickup, and the selector
will allow you to choose which is being used. You can often choose to use more than one
at a time.
 Input JackSocket : This is where you will plug your guitar in if you use an amplifier.
 Volume Knob(s) : These control the volume of the electric signal of your guitar. If
you've got more than one pickup, you'll usually have more than one volume knob (this is
more often the case with Gibson-type guitars rather than Fenders).
 Tone Knob(s) : Most guitars have one or two tone controls. These control the amount
of bass (low) and treble (high) sounds that the guitar makes.

12. • Whammy' Bar : This is a metal bar that comes out of the bridge in some
instruments and by pushing it down will lower the pitch of the notes being played.
They can make your guitar go out of tune, and in my opinion are not a very useful
attribute on a beginner's guitar.
• Floating tremolo : A type of bridge system whammy bar that locks the strings so that
they don't go out of tune, a common problem when you use a whammy bar on a
regular guitar.

13. Common Parts Electric Only Acoustic Only
Headstock Pickup Sound Hole
Tuning Machine Pickup Selector Bridge Pin
Fret Input Jack Sounding Board (Guitar Top)
Nut Volume Knob
Neck Tone Knob
Fretboard (Fingerboard) Whammy Bar (bar)
Position Marker (dot)
Body
Bridge
Saddle
String
End Pin

14. Acoustic Guitar
Electric Guitar

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