What a guitar is made of: the main parts of acoustic and electric guitars

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The guitar is a magical instrument. Her parts can be heard in any style of music - from classical to modern rock compositions. The history of this plucked stringed instrument goes back to ancient times. After all, for more than 4000 years, mankind has been using related cithara, zither, lute. Often in our homes you can find this beautiful instrument, but not everyone wonders what the guitar consists of.

History of occurrence

Translated from Persian "chartra" - four-string. It was the instruments with four strings that came to the countries of the Middle East and Europe from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Then a fifth string was added to the guitar. It happened in Italy during the Renaissance. At this time, the number of frets on the fretboard increased from eight to twelve. The six-strings familiar to us appeared in the middle of the 17th century, and since then the structure of classical guitars has remained practically unchanged. In the 30s of the last century, a kind of guitar revolution began, and electronic components, amplifiers were added to musical instruments, and in the following decades, various sound effects.

Design and features of classical guitars

Forerunnersclassical instruments were "Spanish". They had five double strings and a shape that was not quite familiar to a guitar. Then, in the 18-19 centuries, a sixth string was added to the Spanish one, musical masters experimented with forms, scale length, and invented new peg mechanisms. The result is a classic that has come down to us.

So what does a classical guitar consist of? The main parts of the instrument are the head, neck and body. Strings are attached and stretched on the head of the neck with the help of pegs, and it is equipped with frets and frets to change the length of the vibrating string and thereby the frequency of the sound. The body of the instrument consists of a top soundboard, a back soundboard with a shell, a sound hole and a stand - the place where the nylon strings are connected to the body. Next, consider what an acoustic guitar consists of.

The device and features of acoustics

What does this kind of guitar consist of? Acoustics on the device is almost no different from classical instruments. The difference lies in the size of the body and the strings - in an acoustic guitar they are metal. Depending on the size, such instruments are divided into dreadnoughts, jumbo and folk guitars. Widely used in music styles such as blues, rock, bard, and many other song genres.

Different types of wood are used for the production of tools. Despite the fact that guitars made from exotic woods are not uncommon, acousticsmade from certain breeds. After all, every wooden element from its design affects the sound.

The device and features of the electric guitar

Electric guitars differ from acoustic and classical guitars by the presence of pickups and an electrical circuit with control knobs and switches. These guitars require sound amplification equipment. For playing at home, tube and transistor combo amplifiers with a power of 4-35 watts are the most popular.

Magnetic pickups appeared in the mid-20s of the last century at Gibson. And the guitar revolution happened a decade later, when jazz musicians discovered the wide range of possible electric guitar tones.

If we talk about the appearance of instruments, then the most original and popular forms are:

• Fender Telecaster;



• Fender Stratocaster;



• Gibson SG;



• Gibson Explorer;



• Gibson Firebird;



• Gibson Les Paul;



• Gibson Flying V;

Other models of guitars from various manufacturers somehow borrowed the features of these instruments.

Materials for making

Above it was considered what parts it consists ofguitar. What are they made from? The top deck has the biggest impact on the sound.

The traditional material for it in classical and acoustic guitars is spruce. High-level instruments have a body made of red spruce. For simpler models, cheaper varieties are used. Used for the production of the upper deck and cedar. Cedar and spruce instruments sound different, but beautiful in their own way: the former have a brighter sound, while the latter are softer and more enveloping.

Mahogany is the most popular back and sides material. The same material is used for the production of these guitar parts. In addition to mahogany, you can find instruments made of rosewood, maple, walnut, bubinga and koa.

Acoustic guitar neck is most often made of mahogany. The second most popular are maple necks. The most common fretboard is rosewood. Higher-end ebony acoustic and electric guitars.

Electric guitars, like acoustic and classical instruments, are made of wood, although there are metal guitars and models made from artificial materials. "Classic" Gibson layout: mahogany body and neck, maple topboard, mahogany fretboard.

Fender instruments: alder body, maple neck, maple or rosewood fretboard.

Next, let's look at what the bass guitar consists of and what its features are.

The device and features of bass guitars

Bass guitars are differenttypes of instruments with string thickness, increased scale and, as a result, large dimensions.

This guitar is a relative of the double bass. There are usually four or five strings, although six or more stringed instruments are found. They play with the fingers using a specific technique, or with a pick.