Table of Contents
Introduction
This guide explains the different types and sizes of guitar available and gives general tips on what to look for when buying a new guitar.
There are many different makes of acoustic guitar in each price range and, as a general rule, the build quality tends to be comparable within a given price range.
The first thing you need to decide is what type of acoustic guitar you are looking for.
The Different Types Of Acoustic Guitar
The Steel Strung Acoustic Guitar
This is a very common guitar used by all styles of guitarist at all levels and is extremely versatile for playing in a wide variety of musical styles. It may come in several different shapes and styles.
The Dreadnought guitar is probably the most commonly used type of guitar for styles such as rock, pop and blues, having a large body and producing a full, rich tone.
The Jumbo guitar is similar in style to the Dreadnought but has an even larger body making it ideal for big sounding chords with great low-end tones.
The ‘Parlour’ style acoustic guitar generally has a smaller body and a sweet, rich tone and is often used for folk styles and finger picking. Its smaller size may make it preferable to Dreadnought or Jumbo models if these feel too bulky to play comfortably.
Summary
- Steel Acoustics are the most popular of all the acoustic style guitars, and have been used by everybody from The Beatles to Coldplay
- The Dreadnought’s larger body is suitable for teenagers and adults
- Steel Acoustics are versatile and let you play many types of music: including jazz, rock, pop, folk, blues and Latin
- Steel strung guitar packs are available from under £50 and so represent a “great value” first instrument
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