Choosing Your First Guitar. Acoustic or Electric?

Most guitarists start learning the guitar with an acoustic guitar. Sometimes, it would be hard for a newbie to decide which type of guitar is best to start with. Here’s some detailed information about acoustic guitars, and guitars in general. I hope this information will help you for choosing your first guitar.

Acoustic Guitars

A guitar where the sound produced by strumming on its strings is projected only by acoustic methods is called an acoustic guitar. The term acoustic guitar is a fine example of a retronym. This term acoustic came into being only after electric guitars were created and attained popularity. The sound in an electric guitar becomes audible through electronic amplification.

The origins of the acoustic guitar which happens to be a stringed musical instrument can be traced back to Spain.

Acoustic Guitar body parts

The acoustic guitar has the following constituent body parts:

• 6 strings running along a neck
• The neck is also called fretted fingerboard
• A sound hole circular in shape
• A flat body with a waist
• The guitar looks like the digit 8 with the bottom very heavy and more bulbous than the top slim portion.
• The top of the fingerboard is fitted with tuning screws.
• The latter fasten the strings.
• The sound board of the acoustic guitar is called its belly.
• The belly holds a bridge that is glued to it.
• The guitar strings are also fastened to the bridge.
• Steel is the usual material with which the acoustic guitar strings are made.

In case of classical guitars however, the bottom 3 strings are constructed out of metal whereas the top 3 strings are constructed out of gut or nylon.

The tuning of the strings is done in the following way –
E
A
D
G
B
E

The backs and sides of acoustic guitars are made of mahogany and rosewood.  The tops are constructed out of cedar or spruce. This should ideally be the case with superior quality acoustic guitars.

Types of acoustic guitars

Endless variety in construction and design is the distinguishing feature of both modern and historical acoustic guitars that separates them from electric guitars. Electric guitars cannot boast of such variety in extremity. Lap steel guitar, steel string acoustic guitar and nylon stringed classical guitar are a few of the more significant varieties of acoustic guitars. Below you will find a complete list of different types of acoustic guitars.

Novelty Guitars

Guitar lute
Banjo guitar
Harp guitar
Russian guitar
Acoustic bass guitar

Steel stringed guitars

Lyre guitar
Lap steel guitar
Battente guitar
Archtop guitar
Resonator guitar - for e.g. the Dobro
12 string guitar
Steel string acoustic guitar – the other names for it are country guitar or folk guitar or western guitar

Nylon or gut stringed guitars

Flamenco guitar
Classical guitar – this one happens to be a nylon strings attached modern edition of the guitar original.
Romantic guitar
Baroque guitar
Renaissance guitar