Acoustic Guitar Structure

The top half of the acoustic guitar is made up of the neck and the headstock. The headstock consists of tuners (or machines)that allow you change the tension on the strings to get the guitar in tune. At the bottom of the headstock is the “nut”. A nut is a piece of material where there are grooves carved out as a guide for the strings to the tuners.

The neck joint or “heel” is where the neck is glued and sometimes bolted to the body. The neck is an important part of the guitar’s feel and how well it plays to you. You don’t want the neck to be too big for your hands. A fretboard (or fingerboard) is wood that is embedded with the metal “frets” that make up the top of the neck.

There’s a metal, what’s called a truss rod, which is inside the neck and runs the length of the guitar. The truss rod is there to keep your neck from bowing caused by the tension your strings put on it.

The fretboard runs down the front part of the neck. It’s a really thin piece of wood that’s glued to the neck and embedded with metal “frets”. The most common wood used for fretboards is rosewood and ebony.

Next is the body of the guitar. The body of a guitar will be different depending on what type of acoustic guitar you use. In an acoustic guitar the body of the instrument determines the quality of the sound. The vibration of the strings is passed through the bridge and saddle through a sound board. A sound board is usually made of spruce or cedar and is about 3mm thick.

The sound hole of an acoustic guitar is designed to project the sound of the instrument. The sound hole is usually a round hole on the front of the guitar, under the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected through the sound hole. The air inside the body of the guitar vibrates as the guitar’s body and top is vibrated by the instrument’s strings.

And finally the strings. A normal guitar has six strings. These strings come in different sizes and you have to determine which is best for you. I suggested you get the lightest ones at first because they are easier to press down. The benefit of the thicker strings is they give you a little more volume.

The bottom string is the skinniest and has the highest sound. It is an E note. The bottom string is also known as the first string. The second string is a little thicker than the first string and is the B note. The third string is G, the fourth string is D, the fifth string is A, and the final, sixth string is an E. It has the lowest sound and is the one that is closest to you. If the guitar is tuned correctly, the first string and the sixth string are the same note but in different pitches. An easy way to memorize the string position and values you can use a mnemonic devise such as Eat All Day Get Big Easy.