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Description:

The acoustic guitar is a wooden stringed instrument that is traditionally played by either strumming or plucking the strings. There is a variety of body styles available to be selected by the potential guitar fanatic, and the woods chosen for the body, neck and fret board all contribute to the final elements of the sound produced by the vibration of a string through the resonant cavity of the body's hollow innards. The tuning of the guitar is achieved through tension of the strings, which can be adjusted to produce a different register.

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Guitar Types:

The quality of the wood used in the construction of an acoustic guitar greatly affects the final sound produced, as does the skill of the Luthier that creates the instrument. Cheap plywood guitars tend to be less suited to the experienced player capable of appreciating individual tones sound qualities, but are perfectly suitable for beginners. More experienced players, that can emulate the stylings of John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, tend to migrate towards steel string type guitars, and have leaning towards guitars that have individual sounds, rather than cheap mass produced items.

Tuning the Guitar:

Traditionally the tuning of a guitar is carried out by matching the bottom E string to the pitch of the Top E string, and then tuning it upwards. The first four strings are all tuned on the fifth fret. That means that the bottom E string is fretted at the fifth fret, and then the string above this is tuned to the same pitch. This exercise is repeated up to the fourth string. This string is then fretted at the fourth fret and the resultant pitch used to tune the fifth string. The fifth string is fretted at the fifth fret, and this should be the same note as the top E string. If its not, then check the harmonics. If you don't know what the harmonics are, it’s probably time to do some reading up on them. They are REALLY useful.

How to Choose a Guitar:

When choosing a guitar, play all of them. One of the instruments will resonate well with your body mass and bone density, your stature and the sounds that your brain appreciates. An acoustic guitar is often a person’s prize possession, with years of love being poured into the care and maintenance of the instrument. When playing someone’s guitar, treat it with careful respect and beneficence, for a broken guitar plays no song.

Guitar String Types: 

Acoustic Guitars come in two standard styles, a nylon string and a steel string style. Both of these guitars have their merits and downfalls. Nylon strings are lightweight and often highly responsive to strumming. They are easy to fret, and don't require the same strength of finger or hardened fingertips that a vicious steel string may demand. Steel stringed guitars can be played very loudly, aggressively and produce amazing sounds. The sound can be a magical fire dance of fingers upon flashing metal, or a soft dulcet melody plucked on the back of a gentler rhythmic strum. The added weight of a steel string guitar is required to hold the body and neck of the guitar together, as the tension of the metal strings is far higher than that put through a nylon string guitar. It is a sad sight to see, a nylon string guitar that has been broken with steel strings far too strong for its lightweight frame. Only the cruelest of instrumentalists are known to do this, claiming pursuit of musical inspiration as their cause.

Amplification: 

Often an Acoustic Guitar will come installed with a battery powered pickup and tuner allowing the instrument to be amplified with ease. This is the same amplification technique as for an electric guitar, but the mechanism that actually picks up the sound from the string is different. In an electric guitar, magnetic pickups are used that are just below the strings. In an Acoustic guitar, the pickup is mounted inside the hollow body and the pickup is affected by all of the strings simultaneously.