Guitar Necks

Guitar Necks

The guitar neck is defined as the part of the guitar between the headstock and the body. The strings run down the neck and across the sound hole or pickups. Frets along the guitar neck serve as a guide for players to produce particular notes. Although an integral part, players can find guitar necks to repair a broken guitar or just customise their beloved instrument. Keep in mind, the headstock and the neck is often a single piece of wood and therefore sold as one item.

Electric and Acoustic

Electric guitar necks and headstocks are distinctly different from acoustic guitar necks and headstocks. The more obvious differences are in the headstocks. Electric guitar headstocks tend to have all six tuners to one side while acoustic guitar headstocks have three tuners on either side. As for differences in the necks, electric guitar ones are usually thinner. The smaller diameter of electric guitar necks suit beginners or guitar players with smaller hands.

Left-handed Necks

Among the many reasons guitarists have for customising their guitars, a common modification is to accommodate left-handed guitarists. Left-handed guitar necks are essentially mirror images to right-handed ones. They can help make guitar playing for left-handed people easier as they can control the fingering with their dominant hand.

Blanks

For those looking to build their guitar from the ground up or looking to design a guitar neck truly unique to them, there are guitar neck blanks available for this purpose. These premeasured planks of wood with no marks or details provide a blank canvas. They do require more work from the luthier as you would need to measure and calibrate the frets, add other guitar parts and varnish the wood for a smoother finish.

Other Parts

When customising or building your own guitar, other small parts play big roles in sound production. These include the frets and the nut between the headstock and the neck of the guitar.

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