The most common and widely reputed Acoustic Guitar is an essential musical instrument that produces music via its vibrating steel strings just above the hollow chamber in the middle of its body. One of the key differences between classical guitars and acoustic guitars is their strings. The strings of a classical guitar are often made from nylon whereas acoustic guitar strings are steel.
Did you know that it wasn’t just a story when they said the strings of the ancient guitars were made from the intestines of sheep? Well, that history runs as far back as 3,300 to 3,500 years from now.
Conventional acoustic guitar has a hollow wooden body and six strings. The body shape and size of acoustic guitars vary commonly as below, which creates impact to the tone and notes of the instrument.
A-Range / Small Body / Travel Guitars
B- Parlor
C- Grand Concert
D- Auditorium
E-Dreadnought
F-Jumbo
Just as the shape of the guitar, every body part of it serves a competitive purpose to produce most exhibiting tones. When you are intending to learn to play guitar, if you haven’t yet, the below terminologies will be a great gear to start w. And definitely, a super supportive tool if you are shopping to buy your dream acoustic guitar.
Headstock
The head or headstock is where you tune your guitar, loosening (tune-down) and tightening (tune-up) of the tuning pegs/tuning keys allow you to tune the guitar to adjust the pitch. The strings are inserted in cylinder-shaped capstans or string posts that are located on the headstock.
The Nut
Nuts can be made of either ebony, plastic, cow bone, Corian, graphite, ivory, brass, etc… Thin piece of material that supports the seating of the strings on the end of the neck of the guitar closest to the headstock. Term Nut comes from the German Nut meaning “groove” or “slot”.
Neck
The vast majority of acoustic guitar necks are made of Mahogany. Your thumb will be positioned behind the neck while holding the guitar. Mechanically the neck supports the strings, and it also supports the main playing surface.
Fretboard/ Fingerboard
Guitar frets are held raised on the fingerboard or the fretboard where you press the strings to create notes and chords. This part is glued on to the neck. Position markers are inlaid into the fretboard providing a visual aid to the player.
The Sound Hole
The sound-box. Some hold the misconception of considering this to be the main mechanism, but the responsibility of this hole is to amplify the sound of the strummed/picked strings as the Guitar Bridge transfers the string vibrations to the guitar body. Saddle supports this process by lifting the strings to the desired height, while bridge pins position the strings precisely on the bridge itself.
Most basically the summarized three fundamental parts of an acoustic guitar can be named as Neck, Headstock and Body, which work together along with other prime details and create this sumptuous music machine.
