Glossary of Luthier Terms
Confused about all of the terminology used with guitars? Come here to learn what all the the terms means so you can talk like a pro guitar player right away.
We will start out with the basics glossary for the main components and add to the list as time goes on.
Action: You will often hear the word action with reference to the playability of the guitar. The real term more closely relates to how high the strings are at the nut and the saddle of the guitar. The lower the height, the lower the action and thus, the easier a guitar can be to play. Too low action can result in buzzing strings.
Adjustable Truss Rod: Since the neck of the acoustic guitar is rather long and slender and has a high tension placed on it with the steel strings, the neck can bend or deform quite easily. The Adjustable Truss Rod is placed in most necks to counteract this pulling or tension on the neck and brings equilibrium to the neck to keep everything in balance.
The truss rod can be either single action or dual action. Dual action permits adjustment to both forward bow and backward bow.
Back Plate: The back wood of the guitar.
Backward Bow: Whenever you deal with Neck Relief will will hear the term Backward Bow. Backward bow is not desired in a guitar neck. It will cause the strings to be too high to play comfortable and also can cause the strings to buzz on the frets.
When you sight down a neck from the nut to the saddle you will see backward bow as a hump or a rise in the neck.
Binding: Bindings are placed on guitars to protect the edges of the guitar from impact blows. The are also used to prevent moisture from entering the open pores of the top and back plate end grain. Bindings are made from several different materials including plastic and wood, which are the most common binding materials.
Bridge: The bridge is located on the guitar top. The bridge is usually just glued to the top, but on less expensive guitars there can be metal fasteners that help hold the bridge down. The bridge is almost always made from wood, usually exotic, such as ebony or rosewood.
Bridge Pins: Bridge pins are used almost exclusively for acoustic guitar bridges. The pins are made from plastic, wood or ivory. They are used to wedge the string ends against the underside of the bridge plate, directly below and inside the guitar.
Fret: Frets are the narrow metal bars that are spaced along the fretboard. Usually there are from 19 to 22 frets on the typical guitar. Frets are made from metal alloys, the most important of which is silver, which is about 10% of the metal makeup.
Fret Crown: The distance that a fret protrudes above the fingerboard. The measurement is made from the base of the crown, where it joints the wood fretboard to the top of the fret crown.
Fret Tang: The metal tendon that extends into the wood of the fingerboard. Tangs usually have barbs to prevent them from easily pulling out.
Forward Bow: Forward Bow is the opposite of the term backward bow. If you sight down the guitar fretboard from the nut to the saddle, the fretboard will cup very slightly. You desire a little bit of forward bow. To find out how much you should have, refer to the term Neck Relief.
Fretboard: The fretboard is the wood slab of wood that is glued to the top of the guitar neck. It is used primarily to hold the frets and provide comfort for the fingers in playing the guitar. Fretboards are usually made from Ebony or Rosewood, but always certainly a hardwood to keep from wearing from constant abuse from fingernails.
Headstock, Peghead or Headpiece: Used as the attachment point for the tuning machines. Also call the Head of the guitar or the guitar head.
Heel: The heel is part of the guitar neck. It is the portion of the neck where it joints the guitar body. It can be configured in many different shapes according to the guitar makers preferences, but it usually extends the full width of the guitar side.
Heel Cap: Some Guitars have a heel cap which is a contrasting colored piece of wood that trims off the bottom of the heel were it joins the back of the guitar. Sometimes guitar builders extend the back of the guitar over the heel to form a cap from the back wood.
Lining: The lining is either solid wood, small wooden blocks or segmented tapered or rounded wood that is glued to the inside of the guitar. It is used to join the top to the sides and the back to the sides.
Lower Bout: The guitar body has three distinct shapes. The upper bout, the waist and the lower bout. The Lower Bout refers to the lowest bulbous portion of the guitar which would relate to the waist of a human.
Luthier: A person involved with the construction of stringed instruments.
Neck Relief: Neck Relief is a slight downward curvature in the neck when sighting down the neck. Proper neck relief should measure about 0.01″ to 0.015″ halfway between the 1st and 12th frets. Refer to the article on How to Measure Neck Relief.
Nut or Guitar Nut: The Guitar Neck is a small section of ivory, bone or plastic that supports the guitar strings at the guitar peghead. The nut signifies the beginning of the guitar string total span.
Peghead, Headstock or Headpiece: Used as the attachment point for the tuning machines. Also call the Head of the guitar.
Pick or Plectrum: This is a small, usually triangular shaped piece of plastic or other composite material that is used to strum or pick the strings. Pick vary widely in shape, color and materials and are often the subject of much scrutiny of many a guitarist because of the wide variation of tone each different pick exhibits.
Pickguard: The pickguard is placed beneath the soundhole of the guitar and serves to protect the fragile guitar top from abuse from the pick. Pickguards are most often made from plastic or celluloid, but more recently there are beautiful wood pickguards place on fine instruments.
Purfling: Purfling is a decorative piece of multi-colored wood, plastic or sea shell that is used to decorate a guitar. Purflings can be used around the guitar body, down the center of the back, along the edge of the fretboard and around the peghead.
Rosette: Rosettes are a decorative element that is used around the sound hole of the guitar. They are typically concentric rings of either wood or plastic, often multicolored and sometimes include decorative wood or abalone shell.
Relief: The amount of Forward Bow, cupping or convex shape that a guitar neck possesses. Also see Forward Bow and Backward Bow.
Soundhole: The guitar soundhole is the round or oblong opening in the top or face of the guitar. It serves to allow tone to emit from the body of the guitar through top vibrations.
Saddle or Bridge Saddle: This is opposite end of the nut or the ending of the guitar string length or scale length. The Saddle is constructed from plastic, bone or ivory. The height of the saddle helps determine string Action.
Strings or Guitar Strings: Slang term is also Wires. Guitar strings used on acoustic guitar consist of both plain stainless steel for the 1st and the 2nd strings and bronze windings around a steel core for the remaining four strings. Strings can additionally be classified as phosphor bronze or 80/20 bronze.
Top Plate: The top plate is the top of the guitar or the top wood. The wood can be any number of species of wood including, spruce, mahogany, koa, cedar or redwood.
Tuning Machines: These are the mechanical devices that are responsible for loosening or tightening the strings. They are fastened to the guitar Headpiece. Classical Guitar Tuning Machines are manufactured with 3 per side, all connected together. Acoustic Guitar Tuning Machines are usually manufactured separately or individually.
Upper Bout: This is the upper wide part of a guitar, equivalent to the chest or bust of a person.
Waist: This is the thin mid-section of a guitar, equivalent to the waist of a person.
