Glossary

Quick definitions for the terms you'll run into.

The height of the strings above the fretboard. Lower action is easier to press but can buzz.

Setup & Care

Allen key (hex key)

The small L-shaped tool for truss rod and saddle adjustments. Guitars use metric or imperial sizes and they are not interchangeable — forcing the wrong one rounds the socket off.

Alternate picking

Strict down-up-down-up picking, the fastest and most even way to play single notes.

A guitar with a curved, carved top and f-holes rather than a round soundhole, associated with jazz.

Guitar Types

How hard and how suddenly a note starts. A pick gives a sharper attack than a fingertip.

A chord where one finger presses several strings across a single fret.

Pushing or pulling a fretted string sideways to raise its pitch.

The thin strip of trim wrapped around the edge of the body or neck, covering and protecting the join.

The pattern of wooden struts glued inside an acoustic top. X-bracing and fan bracing are the two classic layouts.

The fitting on the body that anchors the strings and passes their vibration into the top.

The tapered pegs that hold the string ends in an acoustic bridge. Push the string down and pull the pin at the same time, or you will bend it.

Strings & Tuning

A system that maps five open chord shapes up the neck so you can play any chord anywhere.

A clamp across the neck that raises the pitch of every string, letting you play in a new key with familiar shapes.

A percussive strum where the fretting hand lifts just enough to kill the notes as the pick passes, giving a dry click instead of a chord. Also called a dead strum. Combined with palm muting it is the backbone of funk and reggae rhythm.

Strumming & Rhythm

Circle of fifths

A diagram arranging the twelve keys by fifths, showing which chords and keys sit naturally together.

An amplifier with the electronics and speaker in one cabinet, as opposed to a separate head and cab.

An effect that evens out loud and quiet notes, adding sustain and a consistent level.

The scoop carved out of the body where the neck joins it, letting the hand reach the upper frets. A single cutaway has one, a double cutaway has both.

A popular alternate tuning (low to high: D A D G A D), common in folk and fingerstyle playing.

The large, square-shouldered acoustic body shape, loud and bass-heavy, named after a battleship.

Lowering the sixth string from E to D, giving a heavier low end and one-finger power chords.

The howl or squeal when an amplified sound is picked up again and re-amplified. Controlled deliberately it is an effect; unwanted it is a problem of position and volume.

Feeler gauges

A stack of thin metal blades of known thickness, used to measure neck relief and string height when setting a guitar up.

Fingerboard radius

How curved the fretboard is across its width, given as a radius in inches. A flatter board suits fast lead playing; a rounder one feels more comfortable for chords.

Playing the strings with the fingers and thumb rather than a pick, sounding bass and melody at once.

Metal or plastic picks worn on the fingertips for volume and bite. Standard on banjo and resonator, and an acquired taste on guitar.

Playing single notes and melody lines with a pick, as in bluegrass.

Strings wrapped with a flat ribbon rather than round wire. Smooth, dark and quiet under the fingers.

The metal strips across the fretboard that divide it into notes.

A rattling sound caused by a string vibrating against a fret, often from low action or an uneven fretboard.

Fret dressing

Levelling, reshaping and polishing worn frets. Cheaper and less drastic than a refret, and it cures a lot of buzzing.

Fretboard (fingerboard)

The thin strip of hardwood glued to the front of the neck, carrying the frets. Usually rosewood, maple or ebony.

How hard the amp’s input stage is driven. More gain means more distortion, not simply more volume.

The thickness of a string, measured in thousandths of an inch. Heavier gauges sound fuller and fight back harder.

A note strummed but muted so it registers as rhythm rather than pitch.

Sounding a fretted note by tapping the string with a fretting finger, without picking it.

Bell-like overtones produced by lightly touching a string at specific points, such as over the 12th fret.

How loud an amp gets before it starts to distort. High headroom stays clean at volume.

The top of the neck, holding the tuners. Angled back on most acoustics and Gibsons, flat on Fender-style guitars.

The block where the neck meets the body, taking the pull of the strings.

A two-coil pickup that cancels hum, giving a thicker, warmer tone than a single-coil.

Hybrid picking

Holding a pick and using the free fingers at the same time, so you can pick a bass line and pluck chords together.

A small gauge that measures humidity. Keeping a guitar between roughly 45 and 55 per cent relative humidity prevents most cracking and shrinking.

Decorative material set into the fretboard or headstock, usually marking fret positions.

Whether a guitar plays in tune with itself all the way up the neck. Adjusted at the bridge saddles.

A maker or repairer of stringed instruments. The word comes from the lute. A good one is worth finding and keeping.

Machine head

The whole tuner assembly — post, gear and button. Sealed, lubricated ones hold tune better than open-gear types.

The slotted ridge at the top of the neck that spaces the strings and sets their height at the first fret.

The filed grooves the strings sit in at the nut. Cut too high they make the first frets hard work; too low and the open strings buzz.

A tuning where the open strings themselves form a chord, common in blues and slide playing.

A gentle, valve-like distortion that thickens the tone without obscuring the notes.

Resting the side of the picking hand on the strings near the bridge to shorten and dampen the sound.

Pentatonic scale

A five-note scale that forms the backbone of most rock, blues and pop guitar solos.

See plectrum.

A small adhesive or clip-on holder for spare plectrums, usually stuck to the headstock or the side of the body.

The plate below the strings that protects the finish from the pick. Also called a scratchplate.

The component on an electric guitar that turns string vibration into an electrical signal. The magnet inside is usually alnico (an aluminium, nickel and cobalt alloy) or ceramic. Alnico is the softer, warmer of the two, with a rounder top end and a gentler response — the traditional choice, and what most vintage-voiced guitars use. Ceramic is a stronger magnet: louder, brighter and tighter, with more attack and a harder edge, which suits high-gain and heavier playing. Neither is better; they simply lean in different directions.

A pickup that senses vibration through the saddle rather than magnetically. Standard on electro-acoustics.

Pot (potentiometer)

The variable resistor behind a volume or tone knob. A scratching noise when you turn one usually means it needs cleaning, not replacing.

A two- or three-note chord of root and fifth, common in rock and punk.

Sounding a lower fretted or open note by flicking a fretting finger off the string.

The fine decorative inlay line running just inside the binding on better acoustics. Purely cosmetic, and a fair sign of how much care went into the build.

The very slight forward bow deliberately left in a neck so the strings clear the frets. Set with the truss rod.

A guitar whose sound comes from a spun metal cone rather than a wooden top. Loud, metallic, and the sound of Delta blues.

The effect of a room’s natural echo, recreated electronically. A little adds space and depth; a lot sounds like a cathedral.

The decorative ring around an acoustic soundhole.

The standard string construction, wrapped with round wire. Bright and grippy, with more finger noise than flatwound.

The part of the bridge each string rests on, setting its length and height.

Scale length

The distance from nut to bridge saddle. It affects string tension, fret spacing and feel.

The set of adjustments — relief, action, intonation, nut height — that make a guitar play its best. The single biggest improvement most guitars can have.

A pickup with one coil, giving a brighter, clearer tone but more prone to hum.

A tube of glass, brass or ceramic worn on a finger and pressed lightly against the strings to glide between notes.

The opening in an acoustic top that lets the body’s resonance out.

Strap button

The stud the strap loops over. Acoustics often have only one, the other end tying at the headstock.

A locking fitting that replaces the strap button so the strap cannot slip off. Cheap, and worth it the first time it saves a guitar.

String tree (string retainer)

A small guide on the headstock that holds the thinner strings down behind the nut, keeping the break angle right.

String winder

A cranked handle that fits the tuner button, turning a slow restring into a quick one. Most have a bridge pin puller and a cutter built in.

How long a note rings before it dies away.

Tab (tablature)

A way of writing guitar music using six lines for the six strings and numbers for frets, instead of standard notation.

Printable Tab Sheets

Sounding notes by striking the fretboard with either hand’s fingers, without picking at all.

A pick that clips round the thumb, leaving the fingers free. The usual choice for Travis picking, where the bass needs weight.

A timber chosen for its sound as much as its strength. Spruce, cedar, mahogany and rosewood are the common ones.

Travis picking

A fingerpicking pattern named after Merle Travis: the thumb keeps a steady alternating bass while the fingers pick melody between the beats. The engine behind a great deal of folk, country and ragtime guitar.

An adjustable metal rod inside the neck that corrects bow and sets relief.

Truss rod cover

The small plate on the headstock hiding the truss rod nut. Two or three screws, and worth removing gently — the screws are tiny.

The geared post the string winds onto. The whole assembly is a machine head or tuner.

A slight, repeated bending of a note up and down to add expression.

Volume and tone controls

The knobs on an electric. Volume sets the level; tone rolls off treble. Backing the volume off slightly also cleans up an overdriven amp.

A pedal that sweeps a filter with a treadle, producing the vocal sound it is named after.

The narrow part of the body, between the upper and lower bouts. It is what rests on your leg when you sit down.

Whammy bar (tremolo)

A lever on some electric guitars that bends the pitch of all strings at once by shifting bridge tension.

The small piece of plastic, nylon or shell used to strike the strings. Thin ones flex and suit strumming; thick ones are firmer and better for single notes.