Acoustic Guitar Brief History

Acoustic guitars have been around for more than a century, they have evolved over time to what we see as acoustic guitar today but they don't change much in the past 50 years. It's one of those things like clock design that no need for improvement or anymore. They usually involve the following musical instruments:

Nylon and gut stringed guitars:

• Renaissance guitar
• Romantic guitar
• Classical guitar

Steel stringed guitars:

• Twelve string guitar
• Steel-string acoustic guitar
• Archtop guitar
• Battente guitar
• Acoustic bass guitar
• Russian guitar

Other instruments:

• Harp guitar
• Banjo guitar
• Guitar lute

Guitar can be divided into two large categories, they are acoustic and electric guitar

The good thing about an acoustic guitar is that it doesn't need anything to make musical sound, no speaker no amp just a guitar and you can go and play anywhere you want. The worst thing is learn how to play. It is harder to play than an electric guitar. Because strings are harder and to able to play each chord transition smoothly you need a lot of practice and i mean a lot may be years.

The shape and resonance of acoustic guitars have the ability to create acoustic amplification. Today there are many acoustic guitars available with built-in electronics and power to enable amplification, they are called semi acoustic guitar and they can have different shapes to most acoustic guitars we know.

Acoustic electric guitars (semi acoustic guitar)

Since many acoustic guitar player in live sessions or in a gig, they would need to amplify their guitar and that is the reason of semi acoustic guitars. However, most famous acoustic guitars still prefer the good old fashion microphone. Some steel-string acoustic guitars are fitted with pickups and EQs as an alternative to using a different microphone. These are called electric acoustic guitars or semi acoustic guitar and are regarded as acoustic guitar rather then electric guitars. It should not be confused with hollow body electric guitars, which are more of electric guitars fitted with hollow sound chambers.

Free acoustic guitar lessons

There several free acoustic guitar lessons available online for beginners. The free guitar lessons are designed for guitarists of all playing abilities:

Vintage acoustic guitars

Veteran musicians know firsthand that vintage acoustic guitars simply sound and feel better than their contemporary counterparts.

Vintage acoustic guitar body shape:

Steel-stringed vintage acoustic guitars come in two general body shapes.

Flattop vintage acoustic guitars - As the name suggests, flattop vintage acoustic guitars feature a flattop body. If you play blues, folk, bluegrass, or rock, flattops, which were pioneered by Martin, will suit you best.

Archtop vintage acoustic guitars - In contrast, archtop vintage acoustic guitars have a curved top and a hollow body. If youíre a jazz or country player, then look for archtops, which were invented by Gibson. (The most sought-after Gibson archtops are the larger models dating from the early 1930s to 1959.)


Acoustic guitar reviews & prices

Yamaha LLX-500C Acoustic/Electric Guitar

Price ranges from $2,399 or higher (too expensive for any beginners)

Yamaha is known for building decent acoustic guitars for decades. The Yamaha LLX-500C is hand built in Yamahaís Japan factory. Features include a solid spruce top, mahogany neck, and solid rosewood back and sides. The headstock and neck of the guitar are attractive trim in ivoroid binding, and the Yamaha name on the headstock just look great. Unlike many acoustic electric, the Yamaha LLX-500C sides are solid instead of laminated.

Guild F50R Jumbo Acoustic Guitar

Price ranges from $2,499 or higher.

The F50R is based on the original F50 specification from 1960s to 1980s. The Guild F50R features an ebony fretboard and a rosewood bridge. Neck dimensions include a 25.6-inch scale and a slightly narrower-than-normal width of 1.69 inches. The F50R does not lack for fine details - the fret board has eye-catching abalone and mother-of-pearl inlays and two racing stripes that run from nut to sound-hole.

Acoustic Guitar Tabs

Tablature is a form of musical notation, which tells players where to place their fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play. Tablature is mostly seen for fretted stringed instruments, in which context it is usually called tab for short. It is frequently used for the guitar, bass and lute. But in principle it can be used for any fretted instrument includes banjo and viola da gamba.

Acoustic Guitar Strings

Guitar strings are strung parallel to the neck, whose surface is covered by the fingerboard. By depressing a string against the fingerboard, the effective length of the string can be changed, which in turn changes the frequency at which the string will vibrate when plucked. Guitarists typically use one hand to pluck the strings and the other to depress the strings against the fretboard.

The strings may be plucked using either fingers or a plectrum. The sound of guitar is either mechanically or electronically, forming two category of guitar: acoustic or electric.

The Lure Of The Nylon String Guitar

As a fan of the electric guitar and an enthusiastic player of acoustic music, I would like to share some of the most fascinating aspects of the nylon string guitar to give you an idea of the beauty of this instrument as a stepping stone for beginner guitarists or as the subject of a lifelong devotion. Although a nylon string guitar fan can go on and on about the wonderful mellow sound and the potential for extracting new meaning from music, maybe we can focus on the more practical aspects of the nylon string acoustic like the different styles of music played on it and the advantages it can hold for an amateur or professional guitarist.

First let's talk about the types of guitars using nylon strings. Many experts say the flamenco guitar with its dry sound is more typical of what a guitar was like before the emergence of the sonorous and lyrical sound of the classical guitar which evolved in the first half of the twentieth century. The flamenco guitar has always been common in some areas of Spain, and it is simply the musical instrument used by a family or group of friends to play the local folk music.

The classical guitar was developed to play the classical style compositions which became popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A descendent of the classical guitar is the basic nylon string acoustic guitar you see in music stores today. It lends itself to the accompaniment of all types of songs and was made popular in the 1960's folk boom by artists like Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul And Mary. These artists captured the public's imagination with their songs and planted the sound of the nylon string guitar firmly in the realms of popular music.

The sound of the nylon string guitar is much more peaceful compared to the brighter sound of the steel string acoustic. Another major advantage of the nylon string guitar is that it provides musical accompaniment to songs without distracting attention from your vocals.

By the way - did you know that players of electric guitars or steel string acoustic instruments need to develop callouses on their left hand fingers? Nylon strings are generally a little kinder to your hands. You will find that your nylon string guitar is easy to tune and you can just pick your guitar up and play it at any time of day or night without disturbing anybody in the immediate environment. Also the wider fret board allows you to play chords and single notes without accidentally touching the wrong string.

Nylon string guitars are kinder to finger picking guitarists. Anybody can learn finger style guitar on nylon strings without running too much risk of breaking fingernails, plus you will be pleased at how your first finger picking efforts are rewarded by the more beginner-friendly tone of the nylon acoustic.

Now you have some idea of the attractive aspects of the nylon string acoustic guitar, I do hope you will find some time to devote to this beautiful and, in recent times, neglected instrument.