How many times have you wondered how a guitar was made or what it was made from?. Guitar making is an art and a science. Wood has always been king of the guitar but composite materials have also now come into play. The metal parts of the guitar also have progressed to a very sophisticated level. The guitar construction has changed but little over hundreds of years. Woods from around the world make up most of the guitars that exist today.
The guitar neck must be made from a very hard wood to resist twisting and maple has always been the choice for fine guitar necks. The truss rod is now used to resist the twisting force applied to the neck.
The fret board is also made from maple as well as ebony or rosewood. In addition to being very dense these materials are also hard wearing and will last a lifetime. Fret boards can also be planed as they wear to produce an even surface and allowing them to last even longer.
The most basic tuning mechanism for the guitar is a wooden peg with the string wrapped around it. With modern tuning mechanisms exact tuning adjustments are possible. Bridges are also adjustable now as well. With machine heads and adjustable bridges it is now possible to get in tune and stay in tune.We also now have the guitar tuner which helps all guitarists to be in tune all the time.
The electrical pickup was a major landmark in the history of the guitar. At the beginning the electrical pickup was a very crude instrument if you will. From the simple beginnings of the pickup came the electric solid body guitar of today. The pickup now allowed the guitar to be used in situations it could never have been heard prior to this, such as with a drummer. The pickup altered the guitar forever.
Even though the materials and technology have changed, the guitar remains much the same as it has from the beginning.
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