Types of Guitars: An Introduction

May 14, 2010 - PRLog -- Guitars are different in terms of playability, overall appearance and sound quality. Always will be a guitar for everyone but you have to decide what kind of music you are gonna play.

Xaviera Arata Editor of the  Learn To Play The Guitar  website -- http://www.LearnToPlayTheGuitar.tv -- pointed out;

“…These are some of the basic types of guitars that are available for everyone. Guitars are made to fit the preferences of the player in terms of playability and sound. Choose the guitar that best fits your preference…” Added Xaviera Arata

Here are some of the types of guitars that guitar players or aspiring guitar players can choose from:

Acoustic

Acoustic guitars are dependent on their structures and body shapes for resonating sounds. Unlike the more modern electric guitars, they don’t rely on other external devices to enhance sounds. The natural vibrations of the strings are resonated by the body of the guitar.

Acoustic guitars are generally made out of wood. The neck is usually made from mahogany and the fret board is made of maple or rosewood. There are many kinds of acoustic guitars, here are some of them:

1) Classical

Classical guitars are very popular and are usually the choice guitar for beginners. The strings are usually made from nylon. They are usually played in a standard sitting position and used in playing classical music.

Flamenco guitars are similar to classical guitars, however, they produce crisper and thinner sounds than the  other classical guitars.

2) Steel-top

Steel-top guitars are much similar than the classical guitar but are constructed to be more resilient. The parts of the steel-top guitar are reinforced and their bodies are significantly larger than the classical guitars.  

3) 12-String guitar

A normal guitar usually has 6 strings, but the 12-string guitar, as its name implies, has 12 strings. Each string is accompanied by another string with the same note but is usually tuned in a higher octave.

4) Resonator

This type of guitar is similar to the steel-top guitar, but the steel in the middle of the soundboard is used to amplify the sound from the vibration of the guitar strings to produce a very thin and distinct sound. These guitars are generally used when playing the blues. There are also variations of the resonator guitar: the square-neck resonator guitar is played on the lap like a piano or organ; and the round neck resonator guitar is played like a common guitar.

5) Archtop

The archtop guitar was inspired by other instruments such as the violin and the cello. An archtop guitar usually has the f-hole design. Jazz players prefer archtop guitars. Some archtop guitars can command a price of about  $25,000.

6) Acoustic Bass

Acoustic bass guitars are bass guitars without electronic pick-ups. The body of the guitar is used to produce the sound. They are usually 4-stringed guitars but there are acoustic bass guitars which have 5 or 6 strings.

Electric

Electric guitars make use of electronic pick-ups to amplify the vibrations of the guitar strings. They are usually connected to electric amplifiers. Electric guitars  have a solid or semi-solid body type and they don’t use the body for sound resonance so usually make very little or no sound when played without an amplifier.  

Electric guitars usually have control knobs for changing the volume or the tone of the guitar. There are also pick-up selectors in electric guitars and many electric guitars use multiple pick-ups to achieve the best guitar sounds. These pick-ups gather and produce different tones from the guitar.

“…Some electric guitars also have whammy bars. These bars are attached to the guitar to shift notes without changing the finger positions on the fret board. Whammy bars are used to produce “crying” guitar sounds and are a very useful tool when performing rock and roll songs or even ballads…” Added Xaviera Arata

Further information, resources and reviews of the best learn to play the guitar guides you can get online by visiting: http://www.LearnToPlayTheGuitar.tv