Acoustic Guitar

The acoustic guitar may be the most familiar type of guitar for most guitar players. With its curved sides and steel strings, the acoustic has a look and sound that makes its presence known in folk, country, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and even some popular music. Many guitar players, however, are not as familiar with the beauty of the acoustic guitar design, or the varieties of acoustic guitar that are available.

Martin GCBC Backpacker Nylon-String Travel Acoustic Guitar (With Gig Bag and Strap) Martin's Backpacker can accompany you anywhere in the world -- or beyond. One neat little package gives guitar players portability, playability, intonation, and durability. It's all solid wood, but light. You can stow the Backpacker, in the special gig bag that comes with it, in aircraft overhead bins, and play it in armchairs, cars, parachuting, on mountaintops, in canoes.

Design
An acoustic guitar is designed to be heard without any type of external amplification. The woods commonly used for building acoustic guitars, such as spruce, mahogany and maple, are known to guitar makers as “tone” woods because they are more resonant than other types of woods. Inside the acoustic guitar, bracing is placed in such a way as to produce a quality tone, although the bracing style used may vary according to the maker.

An interesting note about acoustic guitar design that is well known to luthiers: You can tell if an acoustic guitar is well made, and will subsequently produce a quality tone, by placing a lit match in front of the sound hole and then tapping the top of the guitar. In a well made guitar, the tap on the top will produce enough air to blow out the match.

Varieties of Acoustic Guitar
Not all acoustics are the same, and the different types of acoustics produce different sounds. The following are a few of the many varieties available:

Flat-top - A flat-top acoustic guitar is the type that is most familiar to most people. The back and sides of the guitar are flat. The tone produced by a flat-top guitar varies according to the maker, and many guitar players find they prefer one brand to another based solely on the tone.

Archtop - An archtop acoustic has a curved, or arched, top, and may have a flat or rounded back. The idea behind the archtop was to increase the amplitude of the sound produced by eliminating the standing sound waves inside the body of the guitar, thereby increasing the amount of sound released from the guitar. Not all those playing guitar will agree that the theory behind the archtop works, but there are many guitar players who prefer archtops.

Martin D16GT Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar (with Case Featuring solid woods throughout, the D16GT and D16RGT are superb, dreadnought acoustics, at affordable prices. With details like herringbone inlays, 2-piece back construction, scalloped (hybrid) bracing, and Spruce tops (solid Spruce on the D16GT!), these instruments make playing guitar sound as great as they look. The D16GT features solid Mahogany back and sides with black binding, a gloss Sitka Spruce top, and satin finish back and sides.

Bass - An acoustic bass is generally designed like a flat-top, but with bass tuning like that of an electric bass.

Classical - The classical guitar is similar to a flat-top, but with a wider fingerboard. In addition, the inside design of the classical guitar does not easily withstand steel strings, so nylon strings are used.

An acoustic guitar has variations in size, tuning, and the amount of strings. In addition, there are many manufacturers who now produce acoustic guitars with pickups that allow them to be plugged into an external amplifier when needed.

Ibanez IJV50 Jumpstart Acoustic Guitar Package Now you can get started playing guitar with a high quality Ibanez guitar at an amazing price! This special Jam Pack Quick Start package comes with everything you need. The Ibanez V50 acoustic guitar in the package features a spruce top for excellent tone. The package also includes an electronic tuner for fast and accurate tuning, a gig bag, a guitar strap and a pouch for your accessories. Start playing guitar & do it right with this great guitar package from Ibanez!

Just as different guitar players prefer different styles of music, they prefer different types of acoustic guitars. The wide variety of acoustics available makes it possible for those of us playing guitar to find something we enjoy. In addition, the design of the acoustic guitar ensures that whatever type guitar players choose, they will enjoy a quality tone that requires no external amplifiers.