Guitar Making Across The Ages
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
How is a guitar made and what is it made from? How has the advance of time affected the guitar?. A guitar is made from partly science and partly art. The guitar has always been made from wood but these days composite material also plays a role. All of the metal parts of the guitar have also benefited from technology. The making of a guitar has not altered very much over many centuries. The entire world contributes to the guitars we have today in the woods that come from these countries.
The neck of the guitar is most often made from maple, a very hard wood. Before the truss rod was used in guitars it was even more paramount to have a hard wood for the neck of the guitar.
Rosewod and maple are used for the guitar neck as well. A lifetime of use can be had from the wearing of these woods. Fret boards can also be planed as they wear to produce an even surface and allowing them to last even longer.
The simplest tuning mechanism for the guitar is a wooden peg with the string wrapped around it. Now more precise adjustments are possible with machined tuning heads. Bridges are also adjustable now as well. The combination of these improvements made an unbeatable combination.Now we also have the guitar tuner which helps all guitar players be in tune with each other as well as in tune with themselves.
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.