‘Guitar speak’ can be a little confusing, especially to non-guitarists and beginners. This article describes the various parts of the electric guitar and some of the terminology used in describing these parts. This is part 1 of a 2-part series.

The 3 main parts of the electric guitar are called the body , the neck , and the headstock .

The body of the guitar is the largest part and where the strumming hand is positioned and can be made of various types of wood. Electric guitar bodies can be solid, hollow, or semi-hollow. Solidbodies are usually 2-3 shaped pieces of solid wood glued together . Hollowbodies , like acoustics, have a completely open resonance chambers usually with f-hole shaped openings. Semi-hollowbodies look like hollow bodies from the outside, however, will have a solid block of wood through the center of the resonance chamber. Body shapes can vary widely from the classic ‘Stratocaster’ and ‘Les Paul’ shapes to the radical ’flying v’ and ’explorer’ shapes. The sides that make up the body of a guitar are referred to as the top , back , and sides . The top of the body can be flat or carved (curve shaped). The upper bout and lower bout of the body refer to the head-facing or feet-facing halves of the body, respectively, when in the playing position. The horns of the body are the wooden protrusions found on either side of the neck on a Stratocaster shaped guitar. Many guitars will have a plastic plate called a pickguard or scratchplate that provides a protective surface for picking and covers the compartment housing the electronics. Guitars may contain a binding made of celluloid, plastics, or wood that outlines the sides of the body, headstock, and sometimes neck.

The neck on a guitar is the long midsection where the fretted hand is positioned and can be a single piece of wood or 2-3 glued pieces. The neck joint is where the neck joins the body. Neck joints are categorized as either bolt-on , set neck (glued in place), or neck-thru style where the neck continues through to the body in a single solid piece. The heel describes the flattened area on the back of the neck that rests right next to the neck joint. The fretboard or fingerboard refers to the wooden face on the top of the neck usually made from maple, rosewood, or ebony. The f rets are the wire dividers on the fingerboard. Fretmarkers are placed at set positions on the fingerboard and are commonly made of mother-of-pearl or ink inlays. These inlays are most commonly shaped like round dots or trapezoids. Most electric guitar necks will have an adjustable truss rod running through the center of the neck as a reinforcement and counterbalance to the string tension.

The headstock is the portion at the end of the neck. The shape and markings on the headstock are indicative of the brand of guitar. Guitar brands can be instantly recognized by the signature shape of their headstocks. Furthermore, headstocks will usually have the guitar brand name imprinted or inlayed on the top and have the serial number and other company information on the back. The headstock may have a plastic truss rod plate covering the adjustable end of the neck’s truss rod. The tuners , pegs , gears , and keys all refer to the string winding hardware located on the headstock.