The guitar is one of the most beloved and widely-played instruments in the world, offering a versatile range of sounds, styles, and playing experiences. From soulful acoustic strumming to searing electric solos, from the low-end funk of the bass to the cheerful arpeggios of the ukulele, we’re here to give you a comprehensive look at the wide world of guitars.
Join us as we explore various types of guitars, their unique characteristics, construction, and which might be the best guitar style for you.
Acoustic Guitars
Acoustic guitars are perhaps the most popular type of guitar for musicians of all levels and genres. Designed to produce a big and bright sound through their hollow wooden bodies and steel strings, the warm and rich tones of the acoustic have provided the foundation of many musical genres such as folk, blues, country, rock, and even pop music.
Acoustic guitars come in several variations of shape and size, each with their own characteristics. The most popular and common is the dreadnought style, developed by Martin Guitars way back in the 1930s. Other styles include the smaller concert acoustic and the larger and bassier jumbo acoustic.
The type of wood used to construct the acoustic also plays a major role in its overall sound and tone. Spruce top acoustics typically have a bright and clear sound that is ideal for strumming and fingerpicking. Cedar tops typically have a warmer and richer tone perfect for softer fingerstyle playing. And acoustics built with mahogany bodies provide a more balanced tone. If you’re a singer-songwriter, part of a folk or blues rock outfit, enjoy a campfire sing along, or just beginning to learn, the acoustic guitar will be the perfect fit for your musician aspirations.
Classical Guitars
Classical guitars are a subset of acoustic guitars that boast a smaller, lighter body and wider neck and use nylon strings instead of steel. A classical guitar’s shape, size, and strings give it a warmer, mellower, and less piercing sound than that of a steel-string acoustic, and they are often seen as easier and more comfortable to play. Their construction of a cedar or spruce top with nylon strings is optimized for fingerpicking and intricate melodies typically played in classical, flamenco, and Latin-style genres of music. Classical guitars are also great for beginners due to their light weight and finger-friendly nylon strings.
Electric Guitars
It’s hard to overstate the [impact the solid-body electric guitar](https://moises.ai/blog/inspiration/famous-guitars/] has had on the world of music since its inception in 1941 by Les Paul. (Earlier electric guitars, as played by jazz and blues pioneers like Charlie Christian and T-Bone Walker, were hollow-body acoustic guitars fitted with electric pickups.) It remains to this day the predominant instrument in modern rock music. Unlike the acoustic guitar, electric guitars rely on pickups and amplifiers to generate sound. Guitar pickups, which are made up of magnets wrapped in coils of wire, capture the vibration of the strings and convert them into an electrical signal. This signal is then sent to an amplifier, which produces that electric sound we have all come to know and love. The type of pickup on a guitar (single-coil, humbucker, or P90) and where they are placed, significantly affects the electric guitar’s overall tone and output.
Electric guitars come in three distinct variations; solid body, semi-hollow, and hollow body, each with their own unique characteristics that cater to specific players and genres. Solid body guitars are the go-to instrument for rock, metal, and pop music. Typically built with a single piece of wood, the solid body has a versatile tone, incredible sustain, and resistance to feedback that makes it perfect for these styles of music. A semi-hollow body guitar combines resonance with reduced feedback, making them ideal for jazz, blues, and indie rock. The hollow body guitar delivers a warm, airy tone, perfect for jazz and vintage rock styles.
Bass Guitars
Bass guitars provide the much needed foundation and groove for most musical genres. The rhythm and low harmonious tones of the bass guitar make it an essential element of any band. The bass guitar features a solid wood body, big, thick strings and comes in four-string, five-string, and fretless variants. The four-string bass is the standard choice for most genres of music, the five-string adds a lower B string for extended range, and the fretless offers a smooth, sliding sound that is common in funk, jazz, and R&B music.
If you're the kind of guitarist who’s looking to lock in with the drummer and provide more low-end accompaniment than screaming solos, then the bass guitar is the ideal choice.
“Cousins” of the Guitar
While the guitar reigns supreme in popularity, its cousins share a rich heritage and offer unique sounds that complement or contrast the guitar’s voice.
The banjo, while not officially a guitar, has become an iconic instrument in its own right in the worlds of country, folk, and bluegrass music. It features a drum-like body and either four, five, or six strings, creating a twangy, resonant tone. The banjo is often played with almost rapid-fire finger picks in a rolling style known as “banjo rolls.” If you're a country or bluegrass enthusiast or a guitarist looking to expand your repertoire with stringed instruments, the banjo might be the perfect choice for you.
Another cousin of the guitar that is popular in folk and bluegrass, as well as traditional Celtic music, is the mandolin. With its double strings (tuned in pairs), and small wooden body, the mandolin delivers a bright, shimmering, ringing sound that contrasts beautifully with the warmer tones of a standard guitar.
Lastly, the ukulele is a small guitar-shaped instrument that originated in Hawaii. Typically constructed of Koa wood and bearing four nylon strings, the ukulele has a bright, cheerful sound that is popular in folk, pop, and traditional Hawaiian music. Its portability and light weight make it a great instrument for casual strumming or for musicians on the go. It’s also perfect for aspiring musicians seeking an approachable instrument or for guitarists looking to add a unique texture to their music.
Finding Your Ideal Guitar
Whether you’re a singer-songer in need of a classic dreadnought acoustic, a lead guitarist in a band looking to shred on an electric Stratocaster, or a beginner looking to learn guitar on a classical nylon or ukulele, the options for you as a guitarist are many. By exploring the diverse world of guitars and experimenting with their unique characteristics, you can find the perfect match to inspire your creativity and elevate your playing. So grab your axe, strum a chord, and let the music flow.
●●●Written by Jesse Stanford, Company Cue
