Electric Guitar Bridge and Whammy Bar

The electric guitar is made up of three basic elements – the body, neck and headstock.

The Body

The body is the main part of the instrument and may be solid, hollow or a bit of both. Hollow bodied guitars usually have f-shaped holes, like a cello.  Shapes vary widely ranging from the standard ‘Stratocaster’ and ‘Les Paul’ shapes to the ‘Flying V’ and ‘Explorer’ shapes.  In essence they can be virtually any shape.  Think of Dave Hill’s guitar.  The top of the instrument may be flat or curved.  The protrusions either side of the neck are referred to as ‘horns’.

The Neck

The neck of the guitar may be made of a single piece of wood or two or three pieces glued together.  The point where the neck joins the body is known as the neck joint.  Necks may be bolted, glued, or may be part of the same piece of wood as the body.  The fingerboard or fretboard may be made from ebony, maple or rosewood.  The wire divisions set into the neck are called the frets.  They are usually marked at set places with mother of pearl or ink inlays.  Most electric guitars have an adjustable rod running through the neck for added strength.

The Headstock

The end of the neck is called the headstock.  It usually displays the make of the guitar and houses the tuning pegs or machine heads.

The Hardware

The switches, knobs and all ‘added on’ elements of the body and headstock are referred to as the hardware.  The point where the strings are held on the body is known as the bridge.  It may be equipped with a whammy bar or tremolo arm for that ‘Hank Marvin’ effect.  Some guitars are designed in such a way that the strings go across the bridge and are anchored onto a tailpiece at the end of the body.

The Nut

At the other end of the neck the strings pass over another bridge where the neck is joined to the headstock.  This is called the nut and may be made of metal, ivory, wood or bone.

Pickups

Electric guitars have one, two or three pickups whose job is to pick up the vibrations of the strings and send them to the amplifier. The player can select which pickups are being used at any one time by use of the pickup selector or toggle switch located on the body.  Naturally, this affects the sound.

Although the guitar itself is quite a simple, straightforward piece of kit, its construction requires the hands of a skilled luthier.  Electric guitars do need to be maintained and so electric guitar parts are readily available.  Some you will be able to fit yourself and others will need the skill of a professional guitar repairer.

Photograph by Andres Rueda

The Main Components of the Electric Guitar is a post from: Fat Finger Music Electric Guitar Blog, click to read more.