Knowing the name of every part of a guitar matters more than it seems — it’s the vocabulary you need for buying, maintenance, reading reviews, and talking to guitar technicians. Here’s the complete reference.
When you walk into a guitar shop, read a spec sheet, or watch a setup tutorial, guitar anatomy vocabulary comes up constantly. “The nut slots are too wide,” “the saddle needs to be lowered,” “the truss rod is under-adjusted” — these descriptions are meaningless without knowing what each part is and what it does.
This guide covers every major component of both acoustic and electric guitars, organized by section of the instrument.
The Headstock
Headstock: The widest part at the top of the neck, where the strings terminate after passing over the nut. The headstock’s shape is often distinctive to the brand — Fender’s offset (asymmetrical) headstock, Gibson’s open-book shape, and PRS’s bird-wing style are all immediately recognizable.
Tuning machines (also: tuning pegs, tuners, machine heads): The mechanical gears mounted on the headstock that tune each string. Turning the tuning peg increases or decreases string tension, raising or lowering pitch. Locking tuners — an upgrade common on many guitars — include a clamping mechanism that prevents string slippage and improves tuning stability.
String posts: The cylindrical metal posts on each tuning machine that the strings wind around. String gauge (thickness) and the number of windings around the post affect tuning stability.
Truss rod access (sometimes headstock): Some guitars provide access to the truss rod (the adjustable metal rod inside the neck) at the headstock, under a small cover plate. Others provide access at the body end.
The Neck
Neck: The long wooden section between the headstock and the body, which the fretting hand wraps around. The neck’s profile (its cross-sectional shape — C, D, U, V) significantly affects playing comfort. See our neck profiles guide for detail.
Nut: A small piece of bone, synthetic material, or metal at the junction of the neck and headstock. The nut has slots (grooves) for each string, determining the string height at the lowest fret and string spacing at the headstock end. Nut slot depth is a critical factor in how the guitar plays at low fret positions.
Truss rod: A metal rod running inside the length of the neck, adjustable to counteract the tension of the strings and set the neck’s relief (the slight forward bow that provides clearance for string vibration). Not visible on the outside except at the adjustment point.
Fretboard (also: fingerboard): The flat face of the neck where the strings are pressed. Usually a separate piece of wood glued to the neck, most commonly rosewood, ebony, maple, or pau ferro. Fretboard material affects feel and tone subtly.
Frets: The thin metal wires embedded across the fretboard at specific intervals. Pressing a string down behind a fret and picking it produces the note for that fret’s position. The space between frets (called a fret space or fret slot) is where the finger presses.
Fret markers (also: position markers, inlays): The dots, diamonds, or decorative inlays on the fretboard (and usually also on the side of the neck) that visually mark fret positions. Standard positions are typically marked at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (double marker), 15th, 17th, 19th, and 21st frets.
Scale length: Not a physical part, but a key measurement — the distance from the nut to the saddle, which is the vibrating length of the string. Fender-style guitars typically use 25.5”; Gibson-style guitars use 24.75”. Scale length affects string tension, tone character, and fret spacing. See our scale length guide for detail.
The Body
Body: The main resonating chamber of the guitar. On acoustic guitars, the hollow body amplifies sound acoustically. On solid-body electric guitars, the body contributes to resonance and sustain but the primary amplification comes from the pickups.
Soundhole (acoustic): The circular opening in the top of an acoustic guitar body. Sound waves produced inside the hollow body project outward through the soundhole.
Top (also: soundboard): The face of the guitar body, particularly the upper surface facing the player on acoustic guitars. The top is the primary acoustic resonating surface — it vibrates with the strings and amplifies the sound. Solid tops produce better tone and improve with age; laminate tops are more stable but less resonant.
Back and sides: The remaining wood of the acoustic guitar body. Solid back and sides improve tonal quality; laminate is more common on entry-level instruments.
Bracing: The internal wooden struts glued to the inside of the top (and sometimes back) of an acoustic guitar. Bracing patterns (X-bracing, fan bracing, scalloped bracing) significantly affect the acoustic character of the instrument.
Waist: The narrowest section of the guitar body, where it curves inward. The upper bout is above the waist; the lower bout is below.
Cutaway: A section removed from the upper bout of the body near the neck, allowing the fretting hand easier access to the higher frets. Single cutaway (Les Paul style) removes one side; double cutaway (Stratocaster style) removes both sides.
Strap buttons (also: strap pins, end pins): Small metal posts at the base (and sometimes the heel of the neck) where a guitar strap attaches.
The Bridge
Bridge: The component anchored to the guitar body at the opposite end of the string from the nut. The bridge holds the strings, transmits string vibration to the body, and on electric guitars houses the saddles.
Saddle(s): The points where strings make contact at the bridge end. On acoustic guitars, a single strip of bone or synthetic material (the saddle) sits in a bridge slot. On electric guitars, individual adjustable saddles allow intonation and action to be set for each string independently.
Bridge pins (acoustic): Small pins (usually plastic, bone, or wood) that anchor the strings through holes in the acoustic bridge.
Tremolo system (also: vibrato, whammy bar): A bridge system that allows pitch to be raised or lowered by moving a lever (the tremolo arm or whammy bar). Types include the Stratocaster-style synchronized tremolo, Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo, Bigsby vibrato, and others. See our tremolo guides for detail.
Tailpiece: On some guitars (Les Paul, ES-335), a separate component behind the bridge that anchors the strings. The Tune-o-matic bridge combines with a stopbar tailpiece on Gibson-style guitars.
Electric Guitar Specific Parts
Pickups: Electromagnetic transducers that convert string vibration into an electrical signal. Types include single-coil (Strat, Tele), humbucker (Les Paul, SG), and P-90. See our pickup guides for detail.
Pickup selector switch: A switch that selects which pickup(s) are active. Strats use a 5-way switch (5 positions); Les Pauls use a 3-way switch (bridge, both, neck).
Volume and tone controls: Potentiometers (pots) that adjust the output volume and the treble frequency content of the pickup signal. Most electric guitars have at least one volume control; many have separate volume and tone for each pickup.
Output jack: The socket where the instrument cable plugs in to connect the guitar to an amplifier or audio interface. Usually located on the lower bout of the body (Strat style) or the side (Les Paul style).
Pickguard (also: scratchplate): A plastic plate attached to the body, originally designed to protect the finish from pick scratches. On Strats, the pickguard also holds the pickups and controls. Not present on all guitars.
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