 Alternatively
called the fingerboard, the fretboard
is a long plank of wood embedded with
metal frets that comprises the top of
the neck. It is flat on classical
guitars and slightly curved crosswise
on acoustic
and electric
guitars. Pinching a string
against the fretboard effectively shortens
the vibrating length of the string,
producing a higher tone (a string,
unfingered, will vibrate from the saddle
to the nut;
once fingered, it will vibrate only
along the distance between the saddle
and the fret
directly before the finger). Fretboards
are most commonly made of rosewood,
ebony, and maple.
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