Parts of an Electric Guitar: Labeled Diagram and Part Names

Knowing the parts of your electric guitar helps you follow lessons, set your sound and talk to a repair person. A teacher might say "switch to the neck pickup and roll the tone back," and a setup might involve the truss rod, the saddles and the nut. This guide walks down the guitar from top to bottom, the same way the diagram does, then explains the parts that make an electric guitar different: the pickups, the selector positions, the controls and the bridge.

The headstock

• Headstock. The flat piece at the top of the neck. Many electric guitars have all six tuning pegs in a row on one side, as in the diagram; others have three on each side.
• Tuning pegs. Also called tuners or machine heads. One for each string. Turn a peg to tighten a string and raise its note, or loosen it to lower the note. The string wraps around a metal string post on the front of the headstock.
• String trees. Small metal guides on the face of some headstocks. On a six-in-a-row headstock, the thin strings would sit too loosely in the nut, so string trees hold them down at the right angle.
• Nut. The small slotted strip where the headstock meets the fretboard. It spaces the strings and holds them at the right height. It can be bone, plastic, graphite or a bone substitute.
• Truss rod adjustment. Inside the neck is a steel truss rod that keeps the neck straight against the pull of the strings. It is adjusted with a small wrench, either at the headstock just above the nut or at the base of the neck where it meets the body. A small turn changes how much the neck bows; if you are not sure, leave it to a guitar tech.

The neck

• Neck. The long piece between the headstock and the body. On many electric guitars it is bolt-on: screwed to the body through a metal neck plate on the back. Others have a set neck glued into the body, or a neck-through design where one piece of wood runs the full length of the guitar.
• Fretboard. Also called the fingerboard. The strip of wood on the front of the neck that you press the strings against. Maple fretboards look light, like the one in the diagram; rosewood and other dark woods look brown or nearly black.
• Frets. The metal bars across the fretboard. Each fret raises a string's note by one half step. Electric guitars usually have 21, 22 or 24 frets, and a cutaway in the body lets your hand reach the highest ones.
• Fret markers. The dots on the fretboard, usually at frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 (a double dot), 15, 17, 19 and 21. Small matching side dots on the edge of the neck let you see them while you play. Some guitars use blocks or other shapes instead of dots.
• Strings. Six steel strings. Electric guitar strings are lighter than acoustic strings; sets whose thinnest string is .009 or .010 inch are the most common.
• Scale length. Not a part you can point to, but you will see it in specifications. It is the length of the vibrating string, from the nut to the saddle. The two most common are about 25.5 inches and about 24.75 inches; the shorter one feels a little looser and easier to bend.

The body

• Body. The large wooden part. Most electrics are solid-body: a solid piece of wood such as alder, ash, mahogany, basswood or paulownia. Semi-hollow and hollow-body guitars have air chambers inside for a warmer, airier sound.
• Cutaways. The curved scoops beside the neck. A double-cutaway body, like the one in the diagram, lets you reach the high frets from both sides; a single-cutaway body has one scoop on the treble side.
• Pickguard. The plastic plate on the front. It protects the finish from your pick, and on many guitars the pickups and controls are mounted on it.
• Strap buttons. Two metal knobs that hold a guitar strap: one on the end of the upper horn, as labeled in the diagram, and one on the bottom edge of the body. Some players add strap locks so the strap cannot slip off.
• Output jack. The socket where you plug in the instrument cable that goes to your amplifier. It takes a standard 1/4 inch plug. It may sit on the front of the body, as in the diagram, or on the edge.
• On the back. Turn the guitar over and you will usually find the neck plate (on a bolt-on neck), a plastic cover over the tremolo springs if the guitar has a tremolo bridge, and on some guitars a cover over the control wiring.

Pickups: how an electric guitar makes sound

A pickup is a magnet wrapped in thousands of turns of very fine copper wire. When a steel string vibrates above it, it disturbs the magnet's field, and that creates a small electric signal in the wire. The signal travels through the volume and tone controls to the output jack, then down the cable to the amplifier, which makes it loud. That is why an electric guitar is quiet unplugged.

• Single-coil pickups. One coil of wire, in a narrow cover. They sound bright, clear and glassy. Because a single coil also picks up hum from nearby electrical devices, you may hear a little buzz, which is normal.
• Humbuckers. Two coils side by side, wired so that the hum from one cancels the hum from the other. That is where the name comes from: they "buck" the hum. They sound thicker and stronger, and are popular for rock and heavier styles.
• P-90s. A wider single-coil pickup with a sound between a single coil and a humbucker.
• Coil splitting. Some guitars let a humbucker run on just one of its two coils, usually with a push-pull knob. You get a single-coil sound from the same pickup.
• Pickup position. Where a pickup sits changes its sound. The neck pickup is warm and round, the bridge pickup is bright and cutting, and the middle pickup sits in between.
• Passive and active pickups. Most pickups are passive and need no power. Active pickups use a small battery inside the guitar to boost the signal.

Guitars are often described by their pickup layout, read from the neck to the bridge: SSS is three single coils (the diagram), HSS is two single coils and a humbucker at the bridge, and HH is two humbuckers.

The pickup selector switch: what each position does

The selector switch chooses which pickup, or which pair of pickups, you hear.

• Five-way switch (common on guitars with three pickups). From the position closest to the bridge to the position closest to the neck: bridge pickup alone; bridge and middle together; middle alone; middle and neck together; neck alone. The in-between positions have a hollow, bell-like sound that many players love for clean rhythm parts.
• Three-way switch (common on guitars with two pickups). Bridge pickup, both pickups together, or neck pickup. It may be a blade switch on the pickguard or a toggle switch on the upper body.

An easy habit for beginners: bridge pickup for lead lines and crunchy riffs, neck pickup for warm, smooth chords and solos, and the in-between settings to explore.

Volume and tone knobs

• Volume knob. Sets how loud the guitar sends its signal to the amp. Turning it down a little also cleans up a distorted sound, so players use it as a quick way to go from crunchy to clean.
• Tone knobs. Turning a tone knob down softens the high frequencies for a darker, rounder sound. On guitars with two tone knobs, each one usually works on different pickups.
• Other layouts. Some guitars have one volume and one tone for everything. Others, like many two-humbucker guitars, have a volume and a tone knob for each pickup.

Bridges and saddles

The bridge anchors the strings on the body. On an electric guitar each string has its own saddle, which can be raised or lowered with small screws to set the string height (the "action"), and moved forward or back to set the intonation, so notes high up the neck stay in tune. The main types are:

• Tremolo bridge. Also called a vibrato bridge. It pivots on the body and is held in balance by springs in a cavity on the back. Pushing the tremolo arm, or whammy bar, lowers the pitch of all the strings for a wavering or dive-bomb effect. The diagram shows this type.
• Locking tremolo. A tremolo bridge that clamps the strings at the bridge and at a locking nut, so the guitar stays in tune through big bends of the arm.
• Fixed bridge, or hardtail. It does not move. The strings often pass through the body from the back. It is simple and holds its tuning well.
• Tune-o-matic and stop tailpiece. Two separate parts: an adjustable bridge carrying the saddles, and a bar behind it that anchors the strings. Common on two-humbucker guitars.
• T-style bridge. A flat metal plate with the bridge pickup set into it, and usually strings through the body. Known for a bright, snappy sound.

Guitar string names

In standard tuning, the six strings are:

E · A · D · G · B · E

That runs from the thickest string, closest to your face when you play, to the thinnest string, closest to the floor. The thin high E is string 1 and the thick low E is string 6. A favorite way to remember the order is Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.

What else you need to play

An electric guitar needs an amplifier and an instrument cable to be heard properly. A small practice amp is all a beginner needs at home. Add a strap, picks, a tuner and a gig bag or case, and you are ready to go. Our guide to choosing a Laney amp can help with the amp.

Electric guitars to learn the parts on

Every guitar below has the parts described in this guide, and between them they show each pickup and bridge type. Prices and stock update automatically.

Browse all our electric guitars. Learning acoustic too? See the parts of a guitar. Bass player? See the parts of a bass guitar. Buying for a child? Our guide to choosing the right size guitar for a child explains which size fits which age, and our gift ideas for guitar players covers the extras.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main parts of an electric guitar?

The headstock with the tuning pegs, the neck with the fretboard and frets, and the body with the pickups, pickup selector switch, volume and tone knobs, bridge and output jack. The pickups are what turn the strings' vibration into a signal for the amplifier.

What is the difference between single-coil and humbucker pickups?

A single-coil pickup has one coil of wire and sounds bright and clear, with a little background hum. A humbucker has two coils wired to cancel that hum, and it sounds thicker and stronger.

What does the 5-way switch on an electric guitar do?

It chooses the pickups. From the bridge end to the neck end: bridge pickup, bridge and middle, middle, middle and neck, and neck pickup. The bridge setting is brightest and the neck setting is warmest.

What does the tone knob do?

Turning it down softens the high frequencies, so the guitar sounds darker and rounder. Turned all the way up, the guitar sounds its brightest.

What is the whammy bar called?

It is the tremolo arm, also called a vibrato arm. It attaches to a tremolo bridge. Pushing it lowers the pitch of the strings, and releasing it lets them return to pitch.

What is a truss rod on an electric guitar?

A steel rod inside the neck that counteracts the pull of the strings and keeps the neck straight. It is adjusted at the headstock or at the base of the neck. Small adjustments make a big difference, so many players leave it to a guitar tech.