What are Guitars made of?

A Guitar is an important and attractive instrument in the music field. For a music-loving person, it is a very pleasant sensation to hold and play the guitar.

If you are a music lover and are enthusiastic about guitars, then there might be different questions spinning in your mind like which type of acoustic guitar you should learn to play? Or, where can you find the best Acoustic Guitar within the range of 100?

But, in addition to all of these, lots of beginners are found to be curious about “What are Guitars made up of?”

We have organized this article to get a chance to know what are guitars made of? What happens in the guitar factory and how they manufacture your favorite models?

Let’s go!

Table of Content:

1. Some Important facts about guitars

2. The forming of Body material

3. Does the Neck of an acoustic guitar have the same type as the body?

4. Other accessories included in a complete guitar starter kit

Some Important facts about guitars

· Electric guitars use only a single type of wood, whereas acoustic guitars have multiple types of wood

· Not every guitar is handcrafted

· Mahogany, Ash Maple, Walnut, and spruce are the common types of wood used for manufacturing purposes

· The tuners, frets, and pickups are made up of metals or plastic

· The saddles are generally made of a bone or ivory

The forming of Body material:

Mostly, guitar bodies are made up of wood. The vibration of the wood sets the tone when strings of the guitar are plucked. The top of the acoustic body is made of spruce which has an outstanding resonant quality. This type of wood is lighter and mostly produced in North America.

The back and sides of the acoustic bodies comprise heavier wood such as mahogany or rosewood produced in southern parts of the world.

Unlike Acoustic bodies, only a single type of wood (generally a heavier wood) is used in electric guitar bodies. Acrylic and Graphite are also used to make electric and acoustic guitar bodies respectively.

Looking for a cheaper guitar?

Guitars made of solid wood have a more stable sound and this attribute may term them a little bit expensive. A guitar made of laminates (thinner wood sheets glued together) can be alternative to this. You can find different types of guitars made of laminate with a consistent sound.

Does the Neck of an acoustic guitar have the same type as the body?

Guitar necks are made up of softwood. Mostly, the same kind of wood is used to make the neck as used in the body. The neck either may be glued onto the guitar body, or some acoustic models have a neck-through structure which means the entire frame is made up of the same wooden piece.

Fingerboard/Fretboard is the neck area under the strings and is normally made of smooth wood like maple or rosewood. The frets are raised wires made up of metal like “nickel”, running across the width of the fingerboard. Some manufacturers make whole acoustic guitars with the same wood which makes them a little bit costly.

Other accessories included in a complete guitar starter kit

Pickups

Pickups play a vital role in guitars by carrying string sound electronically to an amplifier. Pickups are comprised of coils of copper wires and magnets.

The Bridge and saddle

The bridge which is commonly made of wood is placed at the bottom of the guitar just below the sound-hole, upon the bridge, a saddle generally made of a bone or ivory, is fitted which holds the string.

The Nut

The nut is a hard strip made up of wood, bone, or plastic. It is located on the upper side just below the headstock. It contains grooves that hold strings as they pass to the tuning machine.

The Headstock

The headstock usually made of wood is located at the top of the neck, holding the string tuners. Acoustic guitars mostly have tuners made of ivory while electric guitars have metallic tuners.

Conclusion

A guitar is a significant tool in the field of music. Music-loving persons often want to know about different components of guitars and what are these components made up of. Most of the guitar’s structure is made up of wood such as the guitar’s body, neck, and headstock. While components like frets and pickups are made with different types of metals. Bones and ivory are also used to make parts such as Saddles or Nuts.