6 Different Types Of Acoustic Guitars – Acoustic Guitar Body Types
Hello, so let’s talk about the different types of acoustic guitars. The common ones are the Dreadnought guitars (6 and 12 strings), Classic, and Parlor. Every type of guitar is created to help all musical styles.
You can see every different type of guitar in the pictures below. So let’s review each one of these styles.
Table of Contents
Dreadnought Style Acoustic Guitar
Even though there are many types of dreadnought guitars, it is the first model that comes to mind when talking about “guitars.” Sometimes called the western guitar, the dreadnought is an excellent instrument with a full bass sound. The battleships are loud guitars made to keep up with the singers or fit a wide range of musical language. This is a must-have guitar for the average guitarist.
The different dreadnought guitar styles include the standard dreadnought, made from a wide range of the most common woods, such as mahogany and pine, and the most exotic woods, such as rosewood, more commonly known as lancewood. Some guitars don’t use wood completely, a material composed of carbon fiber. These montage material changes vary the instrument’s sound a bit.
Dreadnought Of 12 Strings
This type of guitar has 12 instead of the six strings you get with a standard guitar, but they are very similar in design. The strings of this guitar work in fine-tuned pairs with the same notes. The first two pairs are adjusted to the same tone, while the others are fine-tuned with the same notes one-eighth apart. The extra tension on this guitar string makes it less suitable for beginners. Without a doubt, it is an excellent guitar for fingerpicking, but the bending is almost impossible.
Cutaway Dreadnought
This type of dreadnought style has a cut on its body which affects the guitar’s sound, but you need to reach the frets if you want to play them. The assumption is that there is a loss in response to the bass because of the reduced internal volume. Again, a well-made guitar will have a great sound anyway.
The Different Types Of Acoustic Guitars – Parlor
The term “guitar parlor” goes back to when songs were not even recorded. Shows were performed live and often in saloons for the luck of those that could have them. Now, the term describes the style and size of the guitar. Parlor guitars have smaller bodies than dreadnoughts and, in many cases, are smaller than classical guitars.
Against popular belief, its smaller size is not to help the smaller musicians but to ensure that acuteness, bass, and all the frequencies between them have the same volume. This frequency response is still necessary if the music is not overcharged with bass sounds in an almost acoustically perfect environment such as a “lounge” or a concert hall.
Many times (in fact, generally), the neck of a Parlor guitar (salon) is more significant than a battleship. Parlor guitars are often the choice of many musicians that use the “fingerstyle” technique. A more oversized neck fits this playing style because it gives more space to get the individual fingers between the strings.
Among the different types of guitars, the medium frequency of this guitar is compelling and pleasant, making this instrument a good option for everyone but especially those who play flamenco or folk music.
Classic Guitar (Nylon Strings)
Classical guitars use nylon strings (known before as catgut). Usually, these instruments have long, flat necks. Some “old school” instructors think this is a guitar only for beginner students because they consider the tension of the strings softer and a larger caliber to ease the fingers (today, even low-cost instruments could be excellent and help when playing. So get a guitar that suits the style of music you want to play).
Classical guitars are more for classical music, erudite, folk, MPB (Brazilian popular music), etc.. and leave the steel strings for other popular styles. But this is not a rule, of course!
The Different Types Of Acoustic Guitars- Jumbo Acoustic Guitar
The jumbo guitars are made to be loud and full of bass. It’s the same functionality and use as the dreadnought. If well done, they are great guitars. In some situations, the medium frequencies get lost, dominated by the bass. Be careful if you buy this guitar style and listen well in different rooms and environments.
I think I gave you a good foundation for the different acoustic guitars, right?
Until the next article!
