Parts Of An Electric Guitar
There are certain characteristics in all guitars, which make them guitars and not violins or any other musical instrument. Some of the main parts of an electric guitar have been discussed below, to help you get a better understanding about this musical instruments.
Main parts of an electric guitar
Body
The guitar body is the part, which provides an anchor for the bridge and neck and holds playing surface. For an electric guitar, the housing also doubles up as the housing for the electronics and the bridge assembly. There are three basic types of bodies. The first category, which is the most common, is the solid wood body. The second category is the hollow body, meant for low volume performances. Semi-hollow bodies are similar to the hollow, but with a piece of solid wood in the middle.
Pickups
Pickups are the components of the electric guitar that get the vibration from the strings and converts them into an audio signal, which can then be magnified by the amplifier. The electric guitar pickups are usually electromagnetic. They consist of magnets and wire coils at the core. The magnetic field in the pickup is altered by the vibration of the strings above them, creating an electrical signal that is sent to the amplifier.
Fretboard/fingerboard
This refers to the neck area that lies directly underneath the strings. It is usually marked and shaped to allow a player to depress the strings at certain points and achieve the desired notes. It usually has raised bits of wires running across it, known as frets. The frets enable shortening of the strings by pressing them down. The materials used for the fingerboards are countless, but the most common ones are maple and rosewood.
Headstock
The headstock is located at the edge of the neck. It is where all the strings of the guitar end, and holds the tuning heads/tuners/machine heads, to which the string is wound. The tuners will tighten or loosen the string tension, resulting in a change of pitch.
Bridge
The bridge is the part that supports the strings over the body of the guitar. It is the component, which transfers the string’s vibrations to the guitar body. The bridge height is usually adjustable, changing the distance between the fingerboard and the strings is known as playing action.