New to guitars? See what makes a guitar tick, and what is important to consider when buying a used guitar. We’ll show you, and explain each part of the guitar to give you the edge.

• Body - The body is probably the most important part of your guitar. After all, your guitar is basically a chunk of wood with some strings attached to it and electronics in it. So why should you care what wood it’s made out of? The wood controls how the vibrations from your strings sustain and sound. Certain woods give dark warm tones, while other woods are brighter. We will talk about the types of guitar woods comprehensively in the future, but for now, just understand that bodies of electric guitars normally are fabricated from Alder, Basswood, Ash, Swamp Ash, or Mahogany. There are certain other types of rare woods that sound better than these, but if you are unable to figure out what kind of wood a body is made out of, it’s best to stay away. Cheap woods produce cheap sounding tones, leaving your pickups to struggle with picking up tones and making you sound like you’re playing a cardboard guitar.

• Neck - The neck is another extremely important piece of equipment, seeing as how it is the other part of the wood that makes up a guitar. The neck can be attached to the body with screws (Bolt-on) or can be attached to the body in one piece of wood (Neck-through). The most common of these two variations is the bolt on neck, like the strat pictured above has. On top of the neck there is a lot going on, with the Fretboard. The fretboard is literally a board (usually rosewood which is dark, or maple which is light) that has metal Frets embedded into it. Rosewood fretboards are associated with darker tones and a firm feel, where maple is brighter and smoother. The type of fretboard you want on your guitar is almost entirely personal preference, and you must take into account the effect it has on the sound of your guitar overall. Sometimes the choice of a fretboard comes down to preference in looks, but in most cases, guitars will already have a neck on them, and you won’t have much choice in fretboard anyway unless you replace the neck. Another important point to notice when you pick up a guitar is the Thickness and Shape of the neck. The way a neck is formed can give mass to the guitar, changing its sound, but ultimately, you want to choose a neck that is comfortable to your hand, and allows you easy access to the frets. Depending on the size of your hands, some guitars with fat necks might not be as easily playable as thin ones.

• Frets - There are a few different sizes of frets you can have. Most guitars come with jumbo sized frets, or medium-jumbo. Make sure you pick up a guitar before you buy it, and look at the frets to make sure they aren’t falling off, super worn, or damaged, because this could be cause for repair. Play the instrument a bit to make sure the frets feel good, and they aren’t too big or small for your playing style.

• Headstock - The headstock is the top end of the neck, where the Tuners are located. The headstock primarily is a matter of visual appeal, but certain companies try to enlarge headstock in order to give a good balance or add extra mass to your guitar. When you pick up a guitar, see how it feels, and see if the headstock is too heavy to hold the guitar comfortably, or too light to balance it when you don’t have a good grip on the neck.

• Tuners - Also referred to as tuning pegs and machine heads, the tuners are where your strings get wrapped and turned to change the tuning. When picking up a used guitar, make sure to check the integrity of the tuners. Jiggle the knobs lightly without turning them and see if any of them move. Tuners that aren’t in place securely can cause buzzing problems when you play, or can come loose and pull your guitar out of tune. If you can, try tuning the guitar to find out how sensitive the tuners are. You don’t want them too sensitive, but then again, you don’t want to turn them three times to tune a half step away.

• Truss Rod - The opening for the truss rod is usually on the headstock of a guitar and is sometimes covered with a metal plate, but if it’s not, there’s a good chance it is on the opposite end of the neck where it meets the body. What the truss rod does is adjusts the curve of your entire neck, to counter the bending that the tight strings cause. We will cover more on adjusting the truss rod in later articles, but for now, it’s good to make sure that the neck has a truss rod, and there is no visible damage. Also, check the top of the rod to make sure the notches inside aren’t stripped. This could cause major problems in your neck, but would be a very rare problem to encounter, so don’t insist on taking the plate off if the seller swears it’s still intact.

• Nut - The nut is a small but very important part of your guitar. The nut is a piece of plastic or bone that holds the strings in place. If the grooves in the nut are damaged or poorly cut, your strings could move, causing tuning problems and playability issues, so give it a quick glance to make sure it looks and feels secure. However, a nut can be replaced more easily than an entire fretboard or neck, so if it is the only problem with the neck, the guitar could be a quick fix at a local shop.

• Pickguard - The function of the pickguard varies based on the kind of guitar you own. On some guitars, the purpose is quite literally to guard the finish from stray picking. On some guitars, like the Fender Stratocaster and other Fender models, a pickguard is what holds the Pickups, and conceals the routing and wiring done in your guitar. If a guitar is missing a pickguard, a new one can be purchased for around $15 or less, but make sure you aren’t getting a guitar with no pickups that would normally be in a pickguard. A lot of places that part out guitars sell “loaded pickguards” which are loaded with pickups in them.

• Pickups - Pickups are the most important electronic equipment on your guitar in terms of tone. They quite literally pick up the sound that resonates from your strings and the body of the guitar, and send it to the Input Jack so it can be amplified. Pickups can be replaced and upgraded to better ones, but even a great pickup cannot mask a bad tone from a poorly crafted guitar or poor quality wood. Pickups can be raised and lowered as well to maximize tone. There are two types of pickups that fall into two different categories. The first, Single Coil pickups, look like the ones pictured above, and are wrapped by themselves. Single coil pickups are generally brighter, crisper, and more jazzier/bluesier than the other kind of pickups, Humbuckers. Humbuckers are wrapped in pairs, and can sometimes function as single coils when controlled via a Pickup Selector Switch. A guitar with humbuckers will sound darker and muddier than one with single coils, and give you a heavier metal sort of sound. Some guitars feature a mixture of the two pickups, and allow for different versatility. Just make sure you play the guitar before purchasing it and see if you can get the style you want out of it. Pickups come in Passive or Active categories as well. Passive pickups use magnets that require no electricity, while active pickups are powered by batteries, and are generally louder, and more powerful. The choice between these two kinds are a matter of preference in most cases. More on pickups will come in later articles.

• Pickup Selector Switch - A selector switch allows you to switch between the pickups you are using. On some guitars this is a 5 position switch, on others, a 3 position. Some guitars don’t even feature a selector switch but use knobs to allow you to adjust the EQ of your guitar. This feature probably isn’t a deciding factor in whether a guitar is right for you, but rather a necessity to control the factors that are important.

• Tone and Volume Knobs - The tone and volume knobs are standard on most guitars, and may not always be clearly labeled. The knobs do what they are named after, and control the volume of the output from your guitar, or the EQ of the tone coming out of your guitar before it reaches the amplifier. Some guitars have on-board preamps, which can be useful in adjusting tone, and will come with knobs to control EQ that way. Ask the seller about these features to find out more.

• Input Jack - The input jack is where you would plug your guitar cable into your guitar, and is either located on the front like in the picture above, or on the side of the guitar. Before buying a guitar, make sure the input jack is firmly in place and is wired correctly, or else your pickups won’t be giving off any sound to your amplifier.

• Strap Locks - There should be strap locks on the arm and bottom of the guitar, and hold your strap securely to the guitar while you play. Poor strap locks could risk dropping your guitar, but they are inexpensive and easy to replace, so don’t sweat too much over them.

• Bridge - The bridge of the guitar holds the strings in place and controls intonation through the Saddles that the strings rest on. Adjusting the saddles can allow you to fix intonation by controlling the length of the strings, or allowing you to adjust the height of the strings, known as the Action, which governs how hard you have to press to fret a note. Some bridges contain Tremolos which are basically a pivot point, allowing the strings to be temporarily stretched or slackened, changing their tuning. A good bridge is important in keeping your intonation good throughout your whole fretboard, but can be replaced if it is low-end.

• Whammy Bar - A whammy bar, or tremolo arm is what controls your tremolo by pulling it up or down. Don’t panic if a guitar doesn’t have a whammy bar, this just means it probably doesn’t have a tremolo bridge, or the owner has removed it. The whammy bar is easily removable if you don’t like it, and a certain degree of sounds produced by tremolos can be accomplished by bending strings.

• Strings - Last but not least, strings are the heart and soul of the sound from your guitar. Don’t base your decision on the strings on the guitar when you buy it, or the absence of them, because they will need to be replaced eventually anyway. They come in a wide variety of thicknesses and styles that will allow you to shape your tone to how you like.