Terms that you should know about guitar

[Emma]

Almost all new guitarists would feel confused by the guitar terms when they are first picking their guitar online. So here are some common words I listed . Hope this article can help you.

Abalone: Abalone is the hard, internal lining of the giant sea snail's shell that is used for decorative and ornamental purposes on acoustic guitars, such as fretboard and headstock inlays.

Action: The distance between the frets and the strings of an acoustic guitar

Attack: The initial sound a note makes when struck, between silence and when the note reaches maximum volume

Binding: Strips of wood, plastic, or other material used both to strengthen and enhance the look of an acoustic guitar's body, neck, and/or headstock

Bolt-on neck: A guitar neck that is attached to the body with bolts

Bookmatching: The process of matching two pieces of wood for an acoustic guitar's back or top is called bookmatching. Normally, a single piece of wood is butterfly-cut down the middle, and the two pieces are joined down the center of the instrument.

Bout: The curved areas above and below the narrow waist of an acoustic guitar are known as bouts. The curves above the waist are called the upper bout and those below are called the lower bout.

Bracing: This internal wooden support structure inside an acoustic guitar gives the instrument integrity. Well-designed top bracing maximizes the ability of the top to vibrate.

Bridge: On most acoustic guitars, the bridge is a piece of wood placed below the soundhole. It is used to anchor the strings and transfer their vibrations to the soundboard.

Bridge pins: Bridge pins fit into the holes on the bridge, where the strings go in, to anchor them in place. Most often made of plastic; some are made of ebony.

Capo: A capo is a device used to raise the overall pitch of an acoustic guitar. A capo attaches to the neck at a chosen fret and barres all of the strings. It allows guitarists to play songs in different keys without changing chord structures.

Cutaway: A guitar body style with a contoured upper bout that allows the player to reach the upper frets of the guitar more easily

Decay: The level of volume loss from a note's maximum volume to silence

Dovetail: A type of interlocking joint used in guitar-making, most often to attach the neck to the body

Dreadnought: This is a large-body acoustic guitar originally designed by the Martin guitar company in the early 20th century, named after the large dreadnought battleships of the day.

Figuring: The pattern of a piece of wood's natural grain.

Fingerboard (aka Fretboard): The playing surface of a guitar neck is called a fingerboard, or fretboard. Typically a thin piece of wood that is glued onto the neck, it has thin metal strips called frets placed at intervals that divide the neck into half-step increments.

Finish: The final coating applied to acoustic guitar woods is called the finish. Flame and quilt are two examples of figuring.

Flame: A characteristic of a wood's appearance that appears to shimmer and move as light strikes it from different angles - see figuring

Frets: Thin metal strips placed at intervals on the fretboard to divide it into half-step increments

Fret markers: Fretboard inlays on an acoustic guitar that serve as a visual reference of the player's position

Gig bag: A lightweight, soft, padded case used as a more convenient, temporary way to transport an acoustic guitar than a hardshell case

Headstock: The uppermost portion of a guitar neck, where the tuning keys are placed

Heel: The lowest point of the neck, where it widens to attach to the body

Inlay: Designs on the fretboard, headstock, or body of an acoustic guitar for purely aesthetic purposes are called inlays. Typically the inlay design is carved into the wood, then filled with one of many materials such as mother-of-pearl, metal, abalone, or plastic.

Intonation: Intonation is the relationship of tones on different parts of the fretboard. The note of each string on the 12th fret should match the note of the 12th fret harmonic on the same string. If not, the guitar's intonation should be adjusted.

Laminated: As opposed to a solid piece of wood used in acoustic guitar-making, a laminated surface is created by gluing several thin plies of wood together.

Luthier: A woodworker who specializes in making stringed instruments

Marbling: Often used to describe the natural patterns and color variations of ebony

Mother-of-pearl: The inside lining of certain mollusks' shells that is typically used for inlays and other decorative enhancements

Moustache bridge: A bridge whose shape is reminiscent of a handlebar moustache

Neck joint: The point where an acoustic guitar's neck joins the body

Nut: Located at the top of the fretboard, the nut serves to evenly space the strings as they approach the tuners and transfer vibrations to the neck of the guitar.

Pearloid: A synthetic alternative to mother-of-pearl

Pick (aka plectrum): A thin piece of (typically) plastic used to strike the strings of an acoustic guitar

Pickguard: A thin plate located below the soundhole that protects the guitar's top from scratches that may occur as a result of picking or strumming the strings

Pickup: An electronic device that senses the vibrations of the strings and converts it to an electrical signal for amplification

Piezo pickup: A piezo pickup is a crystalline structure that senses changes in compression and converts them to an electrical signal. Often placed under an acoustic guitar's saddle, the piezo senses the changes in compression when the strings vibrate. This is the most common pickup used in acoustic-electric guitars.

Quilted: A visual characteristic of certain tone woods that give it a wavy or folded appearance

Rosette: A decorative inlay around the soundhole of an acoustic guitar

Saddle (aka bridge nut): Like the nut, the saddle spaces the strings at the bridge and, along with the bridge, transfers the vibration of the strings to the top.

Scale length: The total length of the vibrating portion of a string

Set neck: An acoustic guitar neck that is glued to the body

Soundboard (aka top): The piece of wood on the front of an acoustic guitar that is largely responsible for an acoustic guitar's tone and projection

Soundhole: The hole in an acoustic guitar's top that aids in projecting the instrument's sound

Truss rod: A truss rod is a thin, internal rod that runs the length of the neck. It is used to adjust the curve of the neck depending on the tension of the strings being used.

Waist: The narrowest portion of an acoustic guitar's body