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The top of the guitar consists of a slim neck and the “headstock”. The headstock’s main function is to hold the guitar strings. The headstock is placed at the end of the guitar and is furthest from your body. |
The headstock consists of tuners that allow you to change the pitch of your guitar strings. At the bottom of the headstock is the “nut”. A nut is a piece of material where there are grooves carved out. These grooves guide the strings to the tuners. |
The nut is usually made of plastic, bone, brass, stainless steel, graphite or other material. The nut is found where the fret board meets the headstock. A fret board or fingerboard is wood that is embedded with the metal “frets” that make up the top of the neck. |
The guitar neck will be the focal point as you begin to learn how to play the instrument. The neck joint or “heel” is where the neck is glued or bolted to the guitar body. The majority of acoustic guitars have necks that are glued while the majority of electric guitars have glued and bolted necks. Your fingers will be placed on different parts of the neck and this will create various notes. Solid body electric guitars have a neck through body construction. These types of necks are built so the head down through the bridge is on the same piece of wood. |
 Next there is the body of the guitar. The body of a guitar will be different depending on what type of guitar you use. In an acoustic guitar the body of 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. |
There is a sound hole in the body of the acoustic guitar. The sound hole is designed to project the sound of the instrument. The sound hole is typically 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 body and top is vibrated by the instrument’s strings. |
The bodies of most electric guitars are |
typically made |
of wood. It is rare to find a piece of |
hardwood that |
is wide enough to create the entire guitar so it |
is hard to find |
a guitar made of one piece of wood. Most |
guitars are |
created with two pieces of wood and have a |
seam going |
down the center of the body. Maple, ash, |
mahogany, |
basswood, alder, and poplar wood are |
commonly |
used to create the body of an electric guitar. |
Many guitar |
bodies consist of cheap wood such as ash |
glued on top of |
a wood such as maple. Guitars that are made |
in this way are |
called “flame tops”. Some electric guitars |
are made of |
such materials as carbon composites, aluminum alloys, or a plastic material such as poly carbonate. |