Glossary · Guitar Studio

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Action: Action refers to the height of the strings above the frets, measured at a given point along the neck. Lower action generally makes a guitar easier and faster to fret, but if it's too low the strings can buzz against the frets, while action that's too high makes the guitar tiring to play and can push notes out of tune.; See also: truss rod, fret buzz, guitar setup
Alternate Picking: Alternate picking is a picking-hand technique in which downstrokes and upstrokes are used one after another in a steady, consistent pattern rather than picking every note in the same direction. It's one of the most fundamental techniques for building speed and evenness on both single notes and fast passages.; See also: sweep picking
Arpeggio: An arpeggio is the notes of a chord played one at a time in sequence, rather than sounded together as a strummed or plucked chord. Arpeggios are used both as an accompaniment pattern and as a source of melodic ideas for solos, since each arpeggio outlines the sound of its underlying chord.; See also: chord, sweep picking
Barre Chord: A barre chord is a chord shape played by laying one finger, usually the index, flat across all the strings at a single fret to act as a movable nut, while the other fingers form the rest of the chord shape further up the neck. Because the whole shape can be shifted to any fret, barre chords let a guitarist play the same chord shape in every key without relying on open strings.; See also: open tuning
Blues: Blues guitar centers on expressive phrasing, including string bends, slides, and vibrato, typically built around the pentatonic and blues scales over repeating chord forms like the twelve-bar blues. It originated in African American communities in the American South and became a foundational influence on rock, jazz, and countless other guitar-based genres.; See also: pentatonic scale, string bending
Bridge: The bridge is the part fixed to the guitar's body, opposite the neck, that anchors the strings and transfers their vibration into the top of the instrument. On acoustic guitars it usually holds bridge pins; on many electrics it also houses the saddles that set each string's length and height.; See also: saddle, sound hole
Busking: Busking is performing music in a public place, such as a street corner or subway station, usually for tips or donations from passersby rather than a booked fee. It's a common way for guitarists to gain performing experience and build confidence playing in front of an audience.; See also: gig
Capo: A capo is a clamp-like device that fastens across the neck at a chosen fret, pressing all the strings down at once the way a barre chord would. It effectively shortens the guitar's playable length and raises the pitch of the open strings, letting a player use familiar open-chord shapes to play in a different key.; See also: open tuning, barre chord
Chord: A chord is a group of three or more notes played together at the same time to create harmony. Most common chords are built by stacking notes a third apart from a scale, and the specific notes used determine whether a chord sounds major, minor, or something else.; See also: triad, chord progression, power chord
Chord Chart: A chord chart, sometimes called a chord diagram, is a small grid representing a section of the fretboard, with dots showing where to place each finger to play a given chord. It's one of the most common ways beginner guitar material shows how to form chords at a glance.; See also: tablature, barre chord
Chord Progression: A chord progression is a planned sequence of chords played one after another to create the harmonic backbone of a song. Certain progressions, such as moving between the first, fourth, and fifth chords of a key, recur across countless songs because they create a familiar, satisfying sense of tension and resolution.; See also: chord, key signature
Chorus Effect: The chorus effect duplicates a guitar's signal, slightly detunes and delays the copy, and blends it back with the original, creating a shimmering, thickened sound similar to several guitars playing the same part slightly out of sync. It's commonly used to add width and movement to clean or lightly overdriven tones.; See also: reverb
Chromatic Scale: The chromatic scale includes all twelve pitches available in Western music, each one a half step, or one fret, apart from the next. It doesn't define a particular key or mood on its own but is used for chromatic passing notes, exercises, and building an ear for every available pitch on the fretboard.; See also: scale
Circle of Fifths: The circle of fifths is a diagram that arranges all twelve keys in a circle, each one a fifth away from its neighbors, showing how closely related different keys and their key signatures are to one another. Guitarists use it to find chords that are likely to sound good together, since keys and chords that sit next to each other on the circle share most of the same notes.; See also: key signature, diatonic
Classical: Classical guitar refers to both a specific nylon-string instrument and the tradition of solo, notated repertoire written for it, played entirely fingerstyle without a pick. Players use precise right-hand finger technique to bring out independent melody, harmony, and bass lines at once, drawing on centuries of composed music for the instrument.; See also: fingerstyle
Combo Amp: A combo amp houses the amplifier electronics and one or more speakers together in a single cabinet, as opposed to a separate amp head and speaker cabinet. This makes combo amps simpler to transport and set up, which is a big part of why they're a common choice for beginners and smaller gigs.; See also: tube amp, speaker cabinet
Country: Country guitar developed in the southern United States and is known for its clean, twangy tone, storytelling songwriting, and techniques like flatpicking, fingerpicking, and hybrid picking that mixes a pick with bare fingers. It commonly pairs acoustic and electric guitar with instruments like fiddle, banjo, and pedal steel.; See also: rockabilly, flatpick
DADGAD Tuning: DADGAD is an alternate tuning where the first, second, and sixth strings are each lowered a whole step from standard tuning, leaving the open strings sounding D, A, D, G, A, and D. Because that combination forms a suspended, neither-major-nor-minor chord, it's especially popular in Celtic, folk, and fingerstyle guitar for its open, droning sound.; See also: open tuning
Delay: Delay records a guitar's signal and plays it back after a set amount of time, creating one or more distinct repeats of the original note, similar to an echo. Short, quick delays add thickness and depth to a sound, while longer delays are used for rhythmic repeats or ambient textures behind solos.; See also: reverb
DI Box: A DI box, short for direct box, converts a guitar's unbalanced, high-impedance signal into a balanced, low-impedance signal suitable for a mixing console or audio interface. It's commonly used to send a guitar or bass directly into a PA system or recording setup without needing to mic an amplifier.; See also: effects loop
Diatonic: Diatonic describes notes or chords that belong entirely to a given major or minor key, using only the notes of that key's scale. Most chord progressions in popular music are built from a key's diatonic chords, since they naturally sound related and resolve well together.; See also: circle of fifths, key signature, chord progression
Distortion: Distortion is an effect that clips and reshapes a guitar's signal much more aggressively than overdrive, producing a thicker, more saturated, and more sustained crunch. It's a defining sound of rock and metal rhythm and lead playing, typically achieved with a dedicated distortion pedal or a high-gain amplifier channel.; See also: overdrive, humbucker, power chord
Drop D Tuning: Drop D tuning starts from standard tuning and lowers only the thickest string, the low E, down one whole step to D, leaving the other five strings unchanged. This makes it easy to play power chords with a single finger across the bottom three strings, and it's popular in rock and metal for a heavier low end.; See also: standard tuning, power chord
Effects Loop: An effects loop is a send-and-return connection point on an amplifier, usually placed between its preamp and power amp stages, that lets outboard effects be inserted at that point in the signal chain rather than before the amp's input. It's most often used for time-based effects like delay and reverb, which tend to sound clearer when placed after the preamp's gain and distortion.; See also: di box, distortion
Feedback: Feedback is a loud, sustained tone or squeal that happens when a guitar's sound is picked up by its own pickups or a nearby microphone and re-amplified in a loop, building on itself. While it's often an unwanted noise problem at high volumes, controlled feedback is also used intentionally by electric guitarists for long, sustained, howling notes.; See also: distortion, humbucker
Fingerstyle: Fingerstyle, or fingerpicking, is a way of playing where the thumb and fingers pluck the strings directly instead of using a flatpick. It allows a player to sound multiple independent parts at once, such as a bass line, chords, and melody, which is why it's common in solo acoustic and classical playing.; See also: strumming
Flamenco: Flamenco is a fast, rhythmic Spanish guitar style traditionally played on a nylon-string guitar, built around intricate fingerstyle patterns and percussive techniques like tapping the guitar's body. It developed alongside flamenco singing and dance in southern Spain and is known for its rapid melodic runs and driving rhythmic energy.; See also: fingerstyle
Flatpick: A flatpick, or plectrum, is a small, usually triangular or teardrop-shaped piece of plastic, nylon, or other material held between the thumb and fingers to pluck or strum the strings. Its thickness and shape affect tone and playing feel, with thinner picks generally suited to strumming and thicker ones favored for single-note picking.; See also: fingerstyle, alternate picking
Folk: Folk guitar generally favors acoustic instruments and simple to moderately complex chord accompaniment, played with fingerstyle or flatpicking patterns that support a song's melody and lyrics rather than overshadowing them. Traditional and contemporary folk guitarists often draw on open and alternate tunings to create a fuller sound from a single instrument.; See also: fingerstyle, dadgad tuning
Fret Buzz: Fret buzz is a rattling sound that occurs when a vibrating string makes contact with a fret it isn't being pressed against, usually because the action is too low or the neck doesn't have enough relief. It's typically fixed by raising the action slightly, adjusting the truss rod, or having uneven frets leveled by a technician.; See also: neck relief, action, truss rod
Fret Markers: Fret markers are the dots or inlaid shapes placed on the fretboard, and often along the neck's side edge, to help a player find a fret quickly without counting. They typically appear at the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and twelfth frets, with a double marker usually showing the octave at the twelfth.; See also: fretboard, frets
Fretboard: The fretboard, or fingerboard, is the thin strip of wood glued to the front of the neck where a player presses the strings down to change their pitch. It is divided into sections by the frets and is often made from a different, harder wood than the rest of the neck.; See also: frets, neck, fret markers
Frets: Frets are the thin metal strips embedded across the fretboard that divide it into fixed pitch increments, usually a half step apart. Pressing a string down just behind a fret shortens its vibrating length and raises its pitch to that note.; See also: fretboard, fret markers
Funk: Funk guitar is a rhythm-focused style built on tightly muted, syncopated single-note or chord stabs that lock in with the bass and drums to create a danceable groove. It emerged from African American musical traditions and typically leaves plenty of space in the rhythm, letting the groove breathe rather than filling every beat.; See also: palm mute, rhythm guitar
Gain: Gain is the amount a signal is boosted or driven before it reaches an amplifier's output stage, and turning it up is what pushes a clean tone into overdrive and eventually distortion. Guitarists often talk about 'high-gain' amps or channels specifically because of how much extra drive and saturation they're capable of producing.; See also: overdrive, distortion, tube amp
Gear Acquisition Syndrome: Gear Acquisition Syndrome, commonly abbreviated GAS, is a tongue-in-cheek term for a guitarist's urge to keep buying new instruments, amps, or pedals beyond what they actually need. It's used self-deprecatingly within guitar culture to describe the appeal of collecting gear as much as playing it.; See also: rig
Gig: A gig is a scheduled live performance, whether it's a small local show, a wedding, or a full concert tour date. The word is used broadly across the music industry for any booked playing engagement, not just guitar performances.; See also: busking
Guitar Setup: A guitar setup is the overall process of adjusting a guitar's action, neck relief, intonation, and other elements so it plays comfortably and sounds correct. Because wood and hardware shift over time and with the seasons, most guitars benefit from a fresh setup every so often, especially after changing string gauge.; See also: action, truss rod, intonation, string gauge
Hammer-on: A hammer-on is a fretting-hand technique where a player sharply presses a finger onto a string that is already ringing, sounding a new, higher note without picking it again. It's commonly paired with pull-offs to create fast, smooth-sounding note runs called legato phrases.; See also: pull off
Headstock: The headstock is the flat, shaped piece at the top end of the guitar neck, opposite the body. It holds the tuning pegs that the strings wrap around, and many brands use its shape and logo as a visual signature for identifying a guitar model.; See also: tuning pegs, neck
Humbucker: A humbucker is an electric guitar pickup built from two coils wired together with opposite magnetic polarity, which cancels out the background hum that a single coil naturally picks up. This design, developed to solve that noise problem, also tends to produce a thicker, warmer, higher-output tone than a single-coil pickup.; See also: single coil pickup, overdrive
Interval: An interval is the distance in pitch between two notes, described both by a number, such as a third or a fifth, and a quality, such as major or perfect. Intervals are the building blocks used to construct scales and chords, since a chord is really just a specific stack of intervals.; See also: scale, triad
Intonation: Intonation describes how accurately a guitar stays in tune with itself as a player moves up the fretboard, compared to how it sounds when played open. A guitar with poor intonation might read in tune at the open string but drift sharp or flat higher up the neck, usually fixed by adjusting the length of each string at the saddle.; See also: saddle, action
Inversion: An inversion is a chord voiced so that a note other than its root is the lowest-sounding note. Inverting chords lets a guitarist keep a melody or bass line moving smoothly between chord changes instead of jumping around, while still playing the same underlying chord.; See also: triad, chord
Jazz: Jazz guitar is known for rich, extended chord voicings, melodic improvisation, and a warm, often clean or mildly overdriven tone. Jazz guitarists typically improvise over complex, fast-moving chord progressions, drawing on scales and arpeggios that fit each chord as it passes.; See also: arpeggio, chord progression
Key Signature: A key signature is the group of sharp or flat symbols placed at the start of a piece of written music to show which notes are consistently raised or lowered throughout, rather than marking each one individually. It tells a musician which key, and therefore which set of diatonic notes, the piece is built around.; See also: circle of fifths, diatonic
Lead Guitar: Lead guitar refers to the guitar part in a band that plays melodies, riffs, and solos, typically standing out as the more prominent, soloistic voice. In many bands one guitarist focuses mainly on lead parts while another handles rhythm, though the two roles often overlap.; See also: rhythm guitar
Metal: Metal guitar emphasizes heavy distortion, fast alternate picking, palm-muted riffing, and technically demanding lead playing that often includes tapping and sweep picking. Guitars are frequently tuned lower than standard to add extra weight and heaviness to the sound.; See also: distortion, palm mute, alternate picking, tapping
Mode: A mode is a scale built by starting a familiar scale, most often the major scale, on a different one of its own notes, which shifts the pattern of whole and half steps and changes its character. For example, starting a C major scale on its second note, D, produces the D Dorian mode, a scale with the same notes but a different tonal center and mood.; See also: scale
Natural Harmonics: Natural harmonics are chime-like, bell-toned notes produced by touching a string very lightly, without pressing it to the fretboard, directly above certain frets such as the twelfth, seventh, or fifth, then picking it. Lifting the finger away right after picking lets the string's overtone ring out instead of its full fundamental pitch.; See also: pinch harmonic
Neck: The neck is the long wooden arm that extends from the guitar body to the headstock and forms the base the fretboard is attached to. Its width, shape, and thickness strongly influence how comfortable a guitar feels in the fretting hand.; See also: fretboard, truss rod, headstock
Neck Relief: Neck relief is a slight forward bow built into the neck, so the strings sit further from the middle frets than from the frets near the nut and body. A small, correct amount of relief gives a vibrating string room to move without buzzing; too much or too little relief throws off the action and playability up and down the neck.; See also: truss rod, fret buzz, action
New Old Stock: New Old Stock, abbreviated NOS, refers to vintage parts or gear that were manufactured long ago but never sold or used, so they remain in original, unopened condition despite their age. Collectors often seek out NOS components, like old pickups or vacuum tubes, because they're considered as close as possible to a piece of period-correct gear in factory-fresh condition.; See also: gear acquisition syndrome
Nut: The nut is a small grooved strip, usually made of bone, plastic, or a synthetic material, sitting where the fretboard meets the headstock. It spaces the strings evenly and sets their height above the first fret, which affects how easy the lowest frets are to play.; See also: fretboard, saddle
Open Tuning: An open tuning is any tuning where the six open strings, played together with no fingers pressed down, already form a complete chord rather than a jumble of unrelated notes. It's widely used for slide guitar and fingerstyle playing because it makes full chords available at a single fret using a barre.; See also: dadgad tuning, standard tuning, slide
Overdrive: Overdrive is an effect that gently pushes a guitar signal past clean into mild distortion, similar to what happens when a tube amp is driven hard. It produces a warmer, more dynamic breakup than heavier distortion effects, and is often used to add grit to lead lines or push an already-driven amp even further.; See also: distortion, tube amp, power chord
Palm Muting: Palm muting is a picking-hand technique where the edge of the palm rests lightly on the strings near the bridge while picking, which dampens the strings' ring and produces a tighter, percussive, chugging sound. It's widely used in rock and metal rhythm playing to give riffs a punchier feel.; See also: strumming
Pentatonic Scale: The pentatonic scale is a five-note scale, built by removing two notes from a standard seven-note major or minor scale to leave the notes least likely to clash with the underlying chords. Its minor form is one of the most commonly used scales for rock, blues, and pop guitar solos because nearly any note in it sounds usable over the associated chords.; See also: scale, blues
Pickguard: The pickguard is a thin plate mounted on the guitar's body near the strings, designed to protect the finish from scratches caused by a pick or fingernails. It is mostly a cosmetic and protective feature and does not meaningfully affect the instrument's sound.; See also: sound hole
Pinch Harmonic: A pinch harmonic is a technique, mostly used on electric guitar, where the picking-hand thumb or index finger briefly touches the string just after it's picked, cancelling out the fundamental pitch and letting a higher overtone ring out instead. The result is a sharp, squealing harmonic often used for accents in rock and metal solos.; See also: natural harmonics
Power Chord: A power chord is a two- or three-note chord made up of just a root note and its fifth, sometimes with the root repeated an octave higher, leaving out the third that would normally define it as major or minor. Because it has no third, a power chord sounds strong and unambiguous even through heavy distortion, which is why it's a staple of rock and metal rhythm guitar.; See also: chord, distortion
Pull-off: A pull-off is the reverse of a hammer-on: a fretting-hand finger already holding a note snaps or plucks slightly sideways off the string as it lifts, sounding a lower note underneath without picking again. Like hammer-ons, pull-offs are used to play fast, connected phrases with a smoother, less percussive attack than picking every note.; See also: hammer on
Reverb: Reverb simulates the natural reflections of sound bouncing around a physical space, like a room or hall, after the original note has been played. It adds a sense of depth and ambience to a guitar's tone, ranging from a subtle, short room sound to a large, washy, cathedral-like effect.; See also: delay
Rhythm Guitar: Rhythm guitar refers to the guitar part that provides chordal accompaniment and rhythmic drive behind a lead instrument, singer, or the rest of a band, usually through strumming or steady picking patterns. It forms the harmonic and rhythmic backbone that a song's melody and solos sit on top of.; See also: lead guitar, strumming
Rig: A rig is the complete collection of gear a guitarist uses to get their sound, typically including the guitar, amplifier, and any effects pedals or other equipment chained together. Guitarists often describe or show off their 'rig' as shorthand for their whole tone-shaping setup.; See also: tube amp, effects loop
Rock: Rock guitar is generally built around riffs, power chords, and driving rhythm playing, often using distortion or overdrive for a heavier edge. It typically anchors a full band lineup with electric bass and drums, and spans a huge range of subgenres from clean, melodic pop-rock to heavily distorted hard rock.; See also: power chord, distortion
Rockabilly: Rockabilly is an early rock and roll style from the 1950s that blends country guitar picking with the energy and rhythm of blues, often featuring fast alternate picking, chicken pickin', and slap-back echo. It's considered one of the earliest forms of rock and roll guitar playing and heavily influenced later rock guitarists.; See also: country, blues
Saddle: The saddle is a narrow piece set into the bridge that the strings rest on before continuing to the tuning pegs. Its height helps determine the guitar's action, and on electric guitars each string's saddle can usually be moved back or forward to fine-tune intonation.; See also: bridge, intonation, action
Scale: A scale is a set of notes arranged in order of pitch, usually spanning an octave, that forms the basic pitch material a piece of music or a solo is built from. Different scales are created by using different patterns of whole and half steps between notes, which gives each one its own characteristic sound.; See also: chromatic scale, pentatonic scale, mode
Scale Length: Scale length is the distance from the nut to the bridge saddle, which determines the total vibrating length of an open string. A longer scale length increases string tension at a given tuning and gauge, which affects string feel, note definition, and how easily a guitar can be tuned down without the strings feeling too slack.; See also: string gauge, action
Shredding: Shredding is a slang term for very fast, technically demanding guitar playing, typically combining techniques like rapid alternate picking, sweep picking, and tapping. A guitarist known for this style is often called a 'shredder,' and the term is most associated with virtuosic rock and metal lead playing.; See also: sweep picking, tapping, alternate picking
Single-Coil Pickup: A single-coil pickup is an electric guitar pickup made from one coil of wire wound around magnets, converting string vibration into an electrical signal. It's known for a bright, clear, articulate tone, but its simple design leaves it more prone to picking up electrical hum than a humbucker.; See also: humbucker
Slide: A slide is a technique where a fretting-hand finger keeps pressure on a string while moving along the fretboard to a different fret, letting the pitch glide smoothly between the two notes instead of jumping between them. The term also refers to a separate technique that uses a metal or glass tube worn on a finger to glide across the strings for a smooth, singing tone.; See also: string bending
Solid-State Amp: A solid-state amp uses transistor circuitry instead of vacuum tubes to amplify a guitar's signal. Compared to tube amps, solid-state amps are generally lighter, more affordable, more reliable, and require less maintenance, though many players feel they respond and distort somewhat differently under heavy gain.; See also: tube amp
Sound Hole: The sound hole is the circular opening cut into the top of an acoustic guitar's body, positioned below the strings. It lets the sound generated inside the guitar's hollow body project outward, and its size and placement affect the instrument's tone and volume.; See also: bridge
Speaker Cabinet: A speaker cabinet is the enclosure housing one or more loudspeakers that an amplifier's signal is sent to. When separate from the amplifier electronics, a cabinet is paired with an amp head, letting a guitarist mix and match different heads and cabinets to shape their overall tone and volume.; See also: combo amp, tube amp
Standard Tuning: Standard tuning is the most common way to tune a six-string guitar, setting the strings from lowest to highest to the notes E, A, D, G, B, and E. Nearly all beginner instruction and the vast majority of published guitar music assume this tuning unless stated otherwise.; See also: drop d tuning, open tuning
String Bending: String bending is a fretting-hand technique where a player pushes or pulls a fretted string sideways across the fretboard, stretching it to raise its pitch without moving to a different fret. Bends are usually measured in fractions of a whole step and are a signature expressive technique in blues and rock lead playing.; See also: vibrato
String Gauge: String gauge refers to the thickness of a guitar string, usually measured in thousandths of an inch. Lighter gauge strings are generally easier to fret and bend but produce less volume and low end than heavier strings, which push back more against the fingers but can sound fuller and hold tuning stability better under heavy playing.; See also: action, guitar setup
String Winder: A string winder is a small hand-cranked tool that fits over a tuning peg and speeds up turning it many times, which is otherwise slow to do by hand. It's mainly used to make restringing a guitar faster, though some models also include a built-in string cutter or bridge-pin puller.; See also: string gauge
Strumming: Strumming is a rhythm-hand technique where a pick, thumb, or fingers are brushed across several strings in a single downward or upward motion to sound a chord. Varying the strumming pattern's rhythm and accents is one of the main ways a guitarist shapes the feel of a song.; See also: fingerstyle, palm mute
Sustain: Sustain is how long a note continues to ring out audibly after it's picked, before it fades below the threshold of hearing. Factors like a guitar's body material, string quality, and amplifier gain all influence sustain, and high-gain amp tones are often prized partly for the way they extend it.; See also: feedback, tone
Sweep Picking: Sweep picking is a picking technique used to play arpeggios quickly by dragging the pick smoothly across several adjacent strings in one continuous motion, rather than picking each string individually. The fretting hand lifts each finger off its note just after it sounds so the notes stay separated instead of ringing together like a strummed chord.; See also: alternate picking, arpeggio
Tablature: Tablature, or tab, is a way of writing guitar music using six horizontal lines to represent the strings, with numbers placed on them showing which fret to press rather than showing pitches on a musical staff. It's popular because it maps directly onto the fretboard, making it easier for beginners to read than standard notation, though it doesn't show rhythm as precisely.; See also: chord chart
Tapping: Tapping is a technique where the picking hand also frets notes directly onto the fretboard, usually by tapping down with a finger, in combination with hammer-ons and pull-offs from the fretting hand. It allows very fast, wide-interval runs that would be difficult to play with a single hand alone, and is especially associated with rock and metal lead guitar.; See also: hammer on, pull off
Time Signature: A time signature is the pair of numbers written at the start of a piece of music that shows how many beats are in each measure and which note value counts as one beat. For example, in 4/4 time each measure contains four beats, and a quarter note gets one beat.; See also: chord progression
Tone: Tone refers to the overall character and quality of the sound a guitar and its gear produce, shaped by factors like the instrument's wood and pickups, the amplifier, any effects, and even a player's touch. Guitarists spend enormous amounts of time and money chasing their ideal tone, which is why the word comes up constantly in gear discussions.; See also: gain, humbucker, single coil pickup
Triad: A triad is the simplest common type of chord, made up of exactly three notes: a root, a third, and a fifth stacked above it. Depending on the size of those intervals, a triad can sound major, minor, augmented, or diminished.; See also: chord, interval, inversion
Truss Rod: The truss rod is a metal rod running inside the neck, beneath the fretboard, that counteracts the pull of the strings' tension. Turning it lets a technician add or remove slight curvature in the neck, which is one of the main adjustments used to correct a guitar's action or fret buzz.; See also: neck, neck relief, action
Tube Amp: A tube amp, or valve amp, uses vacuum tubes to amplify a guitar's signal before sending it to a speaker. Many guitarists prize tube amps for the way they naturally compress and add rich harmonic overtones when pushed hard, producing the warm breakup associated with classic rock and blues tones.; See also: solid state amp, combo amp, overdrive
Tuning Pegs: Tuning pegs, also called machine heads, are the geared knobs mounted on the headstock that a player turns to tighten or loosen each string. Turning a peg changes the string's tension, which raises or lowers its pitch until the string is in tune.; See also: headstock
Vibrato: Vibrato is a technique where a fretted note's pitch is repeatedly nudged slightly sharp and back to its original pitch in a fast, controlled wobble, usually by rocking the fretting finger or bending and releasing the string in small motions. It adds warmth and expression to sustained notes, similar to vibrato used by violinists or singers.; See also: string bending
Wah Pedal: A wah pedal is a foot-operated pedal that sweeps a narrow frequency filter up and down as it's rocked back and forth, creating the vocal-like 'wah' sound the effect is named for. Rocking the pedal forward emphasizes higher frequencies while rocking it back emphasizes lower ones, and it can also be set to a fixed position for a permanent tone shift.; See also: overdrive
Woodshedding: Woodshedding means retreating to focused, often solitary practice to work intensively on a piece, technique, or repertoire until it's mastered. The term comes from the idea of shutting oneself away, as if in a woodshed, specifically to practice without distraction.; See also: gig