Question. Often when I am reading about guitars on the internet I hear about different parts of the guitar, can you give a brief description of the different parts of a guitar?

Answer. Here is a brief description of some of the more commonly misunderstood parts of the guitar.

Headstock

The headstock is the part of a guitar at the end of the neck opposite to the body.

The headstock is generally used for supporting the tuning pegs used to wind the strings. There are many shapes that headstocks can come in depending on the type of guitar.

The headstock usually displays the brand of guitar.

Machine Heads

The machine heads or tuning pegs are found at the headstock.

The machine heads tighten or loosen the strings so the string can be tuned.A basic gear mechanism is used to wind the strings.

Winding tools are available and can be used to rapidly unwind and wind strings for quick changing.

Frets

Are the bars or ridges (usually made of metal) that sit on the fingerboard or neck of a guitar; when the string is depressed by your fingers at the metal bar it will make a note of the desired pitch.

Frets are arranged on guitars to produce specific musical pitches. On the typical guitar or bass each fret represents one semitone or half step.

Fretless guitars do exist.

Bridge
The bridge is found down on the body. The function of the bridge, in addition to simply holding the strings in place, is to transmit their vibrations to the top of the guitar, to the instrument’s soundboard or pickups.

There are many different types of bridge and they can be made from a variety of materials depending upon the type of guitar. For example electric guitars usually have metal bridges and acoustic guitars usually have wooden ones.

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