Choosing An Acoustic Guitar

By Elizabeth Kirkpatrick

DO NOT RE-STRING A CLASSICAL GUITAR WITH STEEL STRINGS

The main difference between an acoustic guitar and a classical guitar are the type of strings used. The classical guitar uses nylon strings therefore projecting a warm deep sound. It also has a wider neck allowing solo tunes to be played clearly with harmonies. It is more commonly used for playing classical and flamenco music. The steel strung guitar is a direct descendent of the classical guitar but is more commonly used for folk, blues, jazz or rock. The narrower neck is designed for playing with a pick.

Consideration

There are two things to consider when buying an acoustic guitar, the shape and the materials used. These effect the quality of sound, or tone, and the feel of the guitar. You’ve chosen an acoustic guitar because of the type of music you want to play, now you need to decide what tone the guitar should have.

Guitar Shapes


Dreadnought

The Dreadnought shape has been the most popular since the 1930’s and was named after the the gigantic warships of the 1920’s. It probably gives you the best tone out of all the acoustic shapes. It has a rich low end frequency and plenty of volume.

The OM or Orchestral Model

The OM or Orchestral Model, has nothing to do with playing a steel strung guitar in an orchestra. It came about when bandleader and banjoist Perry Bechtel wanted to switch between 4-string banjo and a 6-string guitar with ease. Martin, the first manufacturers of the OM, narrowed the neck, and shortened the body, particularly the upper part or bout. They produce a strong lower midrange and sparking trebles in a smaller more comfortable guitar.

Materials

The next thing to consider is the material used for the soundboard, or top of the guitar. The backs and sides of guitars are less crucial and therefore tend to be made of hardwoods like rosewood or mahogany. At the lower end of the market, many guitars have a laminate top. These are several layers of thin pieces of wood glued together at right angles. This makes them very resilient and less responsive to changes in temperature and humidity. However, because they are so rigid the top does not vibrate very well diminishing both volume and tone.

If your budget can stretch it is best to go for a solid top, and they come in 2 types of woods, Spruce and Cedar. The first most notable difference between the two is that Spruce is light blonde in colour, whilst Cedar is much darker. Within these two types of wood there are many varieties producing different tones and strength.

German Spruce	Very rich bright tone with a wide range of colour. Takes 1-2 yrs to break in but becomes more responsive and mellow throughout its life.
Engelmann Spruce	Has very similar tonal characteristic to German Spruce but is much quicker to break in or become more responsive.
Sitka Spruce	Has a bright, neutral tone, but has less tonal colour than German or Engelmann Spruce. Takes more time to develop like the German Spruce.
Cedar	Is richer over a narrower range than spruce. It has a warm full tone. Is more responsive initially than Spruce, but does not improve with age to the same degree.

What's An Electro-Acoustic?

Electro-Acoustic guitars tend to be cut-away versions of their acoustic counter parts, allowing access to the higher frets. If you are intending on recording or playing live then an electro-acoustic guitar is the best option. A pickup can be fitted to an acoustic guitar, but by the time you’ve paid for a descent pickup (we’re talking another £100) you might as well have bought one already built in. It would also require drilling holes in your guitar. Of course there are options for pickups producing different tones.

Under The Saddle

Under the saddle is the most common type of pickup and as the name suggest sits between the saddle and the bridge. It uses Piezo crystals (piezo from the Greek word piezein for "to squeeze"). When vibrational pressure is applied to the crystals they produce an electrical current which the amplifier turns into sound. Although they are highly feedback resistant, they are amplifying the sound of the strings rather than the guitar. Great for high volumes but not if you want a true representation of the different tones your guitar makes.

Magnetic Pickups

These are the oldest types of pickups as they are very similar in design to an electric guitar pickup. It consists of one or more magnets wound in copper wire and placed in the soundhole. The strings pass through the magnetic field so when they vibrate the pickup turns them into sound. Some higher end models also allow you to adjust each individual string (the bottom 3 strings or plain strings tend to be much louder than the top 3 strings or wound strings). Again it is highly feedback resistant but the least representative of the guitar because the sound is produced directly from the strings interaction with the magnetic field.

Soundboard Transducers

Are mounted on the underside of the bridge and takes vibrations directly from the guitar’s top. It gives a more accurate representation of the guitar’s natural tone, but is more likely to give feedback so high volumes are not recommended.