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Acoustic guitars remain as popular as ever, but what exactly is an acoustic guitar, and what makes it different to other popular guitars today? Very simply, it is the word acoustic which is significant in understanding what sets acoustic guitars apart from others. Almost every other kind of guitar available today relies upon some sort of external device being used in order to make the sound audible, or at least properly audible from a reasonable distance.
Since many guitars are played alongside other instruments – often quite noisy ones, it is usually necessary for these guitars to have devices attached to them to allow the sound to be heard, but it is not just the volume of the sound which is affected by these external devices. It is the actual sound, or voice, of the guitar which is affected, and there can be no one who could ever be in any doubt when listening to music, which is an electric guitar and which is not, since the sound style or voice is completely different. Electric guitars owe their distinctive voice not to the design of the guitar or the strings, or even the fret board, but to the combination of these factors and the external devices which give the instrument its fully formed voice. Acoustic guitars on the other hand are those that do not require or use any external devices, and can simply be picked up and played straight away.
They provide a far more natural, and often gentle tone, using the physical structure, design and properties of the guitar, and the material from which it is made, to give it its character and tone. The voice of an acoustic guitar is reliant entirely on the combination of the design, the actual materials used in its construction, and of course the person who is playing the instrument. The materials used in the construction of an acoustic guitar are of significance, since certain types of wood will be more elastic, and softer, which provides a dampening resonance to the sound, and the strings themselves will provide a particular tone and resonance of their own. Because there is a limit to the volume reasonably achieved using an acoustic guitar, often it is necessary when playing in a large hall, or with other instruments and musicians, to amplify the sound coming from the acoustic guitar as otherwise its sound would be lost. Simply trying to play harder or louder will only cause the voice to be stressed, and lose its character and tone.
Instead, external amplification devices are often used to increase the overall volume without affecting the tone and intricate characteristics of the instrument and the music being played. Acoustic guitars therefore may either be played on their own without any other devices attached, or with an amplification unit attached, but this in no way affects the style or tone of the guitar’s voice, and therefore should not be confused with other styles of guitar which rely on these electronic devices entirely.
However, there are different types of acoustic guitar, and these provide quite contrasting voice styles. For example, there is the classical guitar, which is the most often considered, and the flamenco, which provides a very Mediterranean feel to the music, honouring the strong Spanish influence in the guitar’s history. Additionally there are steel string guitars which use steel rather than nylon to provide a sharper, crisper sound to the individual notes played. Steel string guitars are most often found being used in traditional folk guitar music, or flat top styles. There are also twelve string guitars in the acoustic family, and one mustn’t ignore the bass guitar, which whilst often seen in an electric form has an acoustic version too, although the tuning of these is very much more similar to that used in electric bass guitars.

The Acoustic Guitar
As was mentioned in our article on “the History of the Guitar,” guitars have been around for centuries. The original guitars were Acoustic guitars, which changed in shape over several hundred years. Since you’ve already been given a timeline of the evolution of the guitar, in this article we’ll go into greater depth discussing the Acoustic guitar itself.
History
The Acoustic guitar is essentially a descendent of the Classical guitar, which, in its current form, has been around for over 100 years. The main difference between the Classical and Acoustic guitars are that one is strung with nylon strings, while the other is strung with steel strings. Since the Acoustic guitar is strung with steel strings, it has a louder, brighter sound which is appealing to folk and blues players.
Another difference between the Acoustic and Classical guitars is that the Acoustic guitar has a bigger body size, stronger structure, and a narrower neck than does the Classical guitar. The structure of the Acoustic guitar is stronger so that it can withstand the immense tension placed on it by the heavier steel strings.
Acoustic-Electric guitars haven’t been in existence for nearly the amount of time that their Acoustic counterparts have. These guitars, which have the ability to be both plugged into an amp and played unplugged, have been around for roughly 70 years.
All about the Acoustic guitar
The bodies of cheap Acoustic guitars are typically made from laminated tonewood. More expensive Acoustics are made from higher cuts of solid spruce top wood On an Acoustic guitar, the material which the body is made from really matters, so those looking for a rich sound will want to choose a guitar with a body made from nicer wood such as spruce top wood.
The neck of the Acoustic guitar is usually made from maple, mahogany, or rosewood. However, some guitar necks are comprised of different woods. Yet again, the quality of wood does matter. Generally speaking, Acoustic guitars with necks made of a high quality maple or mahogany and bodies made with solid spruce top are quality guitars with great tone. These guitars usually cost $250 on up.
The vibration of the strings is amplified by the soundhole of the guitar. This is where all sound that you hear comes from.
If you look inside the soundhole of the Acoustic guitar, you’ll see the construction of the body. There are braces and linings, all essential to keeping the guitar intact and playable. X-bracing, a strong, durable bracing, is typically used on Acoustic guitars because it is heavy and strong enough to withstand the pressure of steel strings.
On the body of the guitar, you’ll find the bridge. This is where one end of the strings goes. The strings are inserted into the little holes and the bridge pegs hold them there.
On the neck of the Acoustic guitar is the fretboard. Most fretboards on the Acoustic guitar are made of rosewood or ebony. More expensive Acoustic guitars have fretboards made of higher quality woods.
The headstock of the Acoustic guitar features six tuning pegs (three on each side of the headstock) and six tuners (three on each side of the headstock). Good Acoustic guitars will have die-cast Grover tuners which usually stay in tune longer than other brands of tuners.
Like their Electric counterparts, Acoustic guitars are tuned in the standard E A D G B E tuning. Most Acoustic guitars have six strings, while some have twelve. If you are curious as to the difference between the two, check out our article on “Twelve string vs. Six string”.
The Acoustic guitar still remains a very popular instrument. It is used in virtually every style of music-rock, pop, country, blues, you name it. Acoustic guitars are wonderful instruments for both beginners and professionals.

There are hundreds of choices in buying a new guitar, but not all of them are good. I’m sorry to all you folks out there looking for great bargains, but you get what you pay for. You aren’t going to find a great guitar that a professional would even think about owning for $100 at your local guitar center, it’s just not the way the market works.

If you are a beginner with a normal pocketbook, you should buy a medium priced guitar. You don’t know if you’re going to say “Screw it!” after a few weeks or months, so it is best that you don’t put too big of a dent in your wallet for something that ends up collecting dust in your closet. I won’t tell you to buy a cheap one because if your guitar is absolute shit, you’re much more likely to give up because you aren’t getting that sound/playability that you should have. Also, cheap guitars lose their resale value pretty much as soon as you pay for it, but more medium/high priced guitars do not. Some may even grow in value over the years.

If you are planning to get an electric as your first guitar, I highly discourage you from doing so. Guess what you need with an electric? An amplifier. A good one will cost you a pretty penny. A bad one will make a crappy sound, which may lead you to give up. So, what’s the solution? Learn on an acoustic. That’s right folks, you heard right, learn on an acoustic. Acoustics are usually more difficult to play than electrics (yes, that is IN DEED a good thing!). Your fingers will hurt, but that’s a sign of building those finger muscles that any guitarist should have. Those finger muscles are harder to obtain when learning on an electric, because they’re easier on you. If you learn on an acoustic, your first words when playing an electric will be “Holy crap! This is easier than I thought!”…maybe not that much excitement, but you hopefully get the point. Now, I know that some are reading this who are completely devoted to getting an electric as your first. I’d just like to remind you that virtually all forms o f music utilize the acoustic guitar in them. Yes, that includes rock.

Another benefit of acoustic guitars is their portability. You can take the acoustic guitar anywhere you want, and you don’t need a power source…or to lug around an amplifier with a bunch of cables. An acoustic guitar is an all-in-one learning machine, while an electric is a semi-complex system.

Now, if you unfortunately have a habit of giving up as soon as you’ve determined that you “can’t do it”, then you may want to learn on an electric.

Acoustic Guitars – Acoustic guitars, besides being a better choice for learning with, are easier to choose from in that there aren’t so many options. With an electric, you can change things out to radically change the sound. Plus, if the amplifier you try it with sounds terrible, a great guitar will sound terrible along with it…leading you to make an incorrect choice.

Acoustic Guitar Size – There are many sizes of acoustic guitars. How the size affects the sound is quite simple: larger guitars have more bass (they sound deeper).

Steel Stringed versus Classical – Two main categories of acoustic guitars exist: steel stringed and classical. Steel string guitars have steel strings, classical guitars have nylon strings. They both make different tones, which you will have to hear for yourself at a guitar store. The necks on classical guitars are generally wider, also – which should affect your choice if you have small hands.

Acoustic Guitar Construction – One of the first things to look at is common sense structual integrity. If the guitar seems as though it will far apart as soon as you drop it (you will eventually), don’t buy it. In guitars, it is better to be safe than sorry. Cheaper guitars have plywood (AKA laminate) backs/sides/tops. Most of the sound from an acoustic guitar comes from the top, so it is best to get a guitar with at least a solid top (plywood doesn’t sound as good). The more expensive the guitar is, the more solid wood it has, generally speaking. If you have a deep wallet, go ahead and buy an acoustic guitar with all solid wood.

Make sure that the neck is straight by looking down it from the headstock.

Then, make sure that the guitar is tuned (if you don’t know how to, ask a salesman…they will help, they want you to buy their guitars). Strum it a few times, and even to the untrained ear it should be apparent as to if it has a good tone to it. Be careful with this though, don’t strum one guitar and say that you’ll buy it because you happen to like it. You need to compare it to all the other guitars, in all price ranges, so that you get a good idea as to where it stands among them.

What’s it for? – Now, decide what the hell you are going to do with the guitar. Are you going to record with it? Play live with it? Or just sit on your porch and play songs with your friends? For recording, it is best to get a guitar with a bright tone (high pitched), as bassy guitars will sound very muffled through a microphone. For playing on a stage, you want to double check that the guitar is made well. A guitar that is played live often takes a beating, so you don’t want it to snap in half in the middle of a show. For playing just for fun, it’s pretty much up to you: what sounds the best to your ears?

Hey, guess what? You’ve (hopefully) bought yourself a good guitar that will become one of your closest friends through the years. Don’t forget to name it!

This Starcaster® by Fender® Pack delivers a great-sounding dreadnought acoustic guitar and all the essential accessories a starting player needs! Accessories include strings, picks, a strap, a tuner, a gigbag and an instructional DVD!

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This is a 41″ Full Size guitar for the beginner to intermediate user. The guitar features: – Solid Spruce Top, Mahogany Colored Back and Sides with white trim, Rosewood Fretboard and Bridge, Dot Inlay on Fretboard, Stainless Diecast Tuning Pegs, Traditional Headstock w/ Inlay, Fully Bound with Abalone Trim on Perimeter, Mahogany Neck with Truss RodIt includes the following accessories. A $25 value, absolutely free: Free Nylon Gig Bag and Free Strap. The Steel String Acoustic Gui (more…)

Interested in learning to play guitar? Yamaha presents the Gigmaker Standard. This is a great package that includes an F325 acoustic guitar, gig bag, digital tuner, DVD guitar lessons, strap, strings, and picks. Basically everything you need to get started. All you need to do is add self-motivation. Finishes – Natural Package Contents – Protective gig bag, digital chromatic tuner, guitar lessons DVD, guitar strap, extra strings, guitar picks

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This Acoustic Guitar is 38 inches in length. It has Linden Binding and wood construction with geared tuning. Each Guitar comes with a Guitar Stand, full set of extra strings, pick, tuner, gig bag, and pick guard. The Acoustic Guitar is perhaps the most versatile and common guitar type. Perfect for the beginner or intermediate player. The tuning pegs are made of brass and steel for easy tuning and to keep the tuned string held in position. This Guitar also makes a great gift!

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This is a 41″ Full Size guitar for the beginner to intermediate user. Suggested Retail for this item is $249.99, without the accessories. The guitar features: – Solid Spruce Top, Mahogany Colored Back and Sides with white trim, Rosewood Fretboard and Bridge, Dot Inlay on Fretboard, Stainless Diecast Tuning Pegs, Traditional Headstock w/ Inlay, Fully Bound with Abalone Trim on Perimeter, Mahogany Neck with Truss RodIt includes the following accessories. A $25 value, absolutely fr (more…)

The Rogue Starter Acoustic Guitar is an amazing deal for a small-bodied guitar. The smaller profile is very playable for kids, has nice tone, and can be yours for chump change. It has a maple neck and rosewood fretboard and comes set up with Martin strings.

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The Acoustic Guitar Starter Pack For Dummies is the easiest and most convenient way to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. This pack provides everything you need to start playing guitar–all in one box! Included in the pack are a Kona acoustic guitar, gig bag, digital tuner, 3 picks and the top-selling “Guitar Basics For Dummies” book with CD. Everything you need to start playing guitar–all in one box. Click to enlarge. Pack includes Kona aco (more…)