Guitar Making Across The Ages

The questions that surround the history of the guitar are many.  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 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.

Hard woods such as ebony and rosewood are often used for the fret board of the guitar. In addition to being very dense these materials are also hard wearing and will last a lifetime. Fret boards may be made to last a little longer if the surface is planed to produce an even surface again.

The simplest 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.The guitar tuner is also a large contributing factor that allows guitar players everywhere to be in tune all the time.

The history of guitar was changed forever with the development of the electrical pickup. At first crude and simple, the pickup evolved into a precise affair with identifiable sounds. The invention of the pickup lead immediately to the solid body electric guitar much as we know it 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. A small pickup changed the history of the guitar for all time.
The basic design and construction of the guitar has not changed despite the advances that have been made.