The sounding string vibrates between the saddle and nut but most of the energy is lost at and beyond those points and it is those points reflecting the energy back down the string that dictate it's tone and timbre. It is whats added by the materials beyond the sounding string that colour the sound and why what a guitar is made of makes a difference. When the vibrations in the string bounce back from the saddle and lesser extent the fret, it is the harmonic partials that it picks up that give us the tone.
Yeah to hell with all that. I'm just gonna plug in and go.