If you love music or stay around people that do, an acoustic guitar is one musical instrument you should know a little about. It is handy and can be used to spice up music very easily. While an acoustic guitar is indeed a piece of amazing musical equipment, it can be quite challenging to shop for one. This is because of the various types of acoustic guitars and the many factors that should be put into consideration before purchasing an acoustic guitar.
Will you be purchasing an acoustic guitar anytime soon? This page can help you make the right choice of an acoustic guitar.
Some of the factors that you should consider when shopping for an acoustic guitar are;
Your Budget
Acoustic guitars are of various prices and these different prices are of different qualities. Although it is great to consider the guitar brand and styles while shopping for an acoustic guitar, the first thing you have to think about is your budget. The amount of money you are willing to spend is a strong determinant of the type of acoustic guitar you will end up buying.
How Skillful are you?
Your skill level is a major factor when shopping for an acoustic guitar. If you are just beginning to play the acoustic guitar, it might not be a very wise decision to spend so much money on getting a guitar as you might not be doing more than learning with your guitar. While learning to play an acoustic guitar, you do not need to spend so much money on getting a top-quality guitar before you can learn properly.
On the other hand, if you are not buying your first acoustic guitar and are already an expert, to get the right guitar for you, it is important that you have a good idea of the effect of soundboards on resonance and how tonewoods differ.
Why Do You Need an Acoustic Guitar?
The reason you want to get an acoustic guitar has to be considered when shopping for one. The type of guitar you will need when all you do is play at home will differ from the type of acoustic guitar you will have to buy if you play at events or are a part of a band. If you play with a band or play at events, you will get more benefits from purchasing an acoustic-electric guitar.
Acoustic-electric guitars differ from basic acoustic guitars because they feature built-in preamplifiers and pickups. Due to this, you can connect them to an amplifier and still enjoy the acoustic sound they produce. You can enjoy an acoustic-electric guitar just like any other acoustic guitar when it is not connected to a sound system.
You Need to Understand the Design of Various Guitars
If you must make the right choice when getting an acoustic guitar, you must understand the design of acoustic guitars. This way, it will become very easy to discover the difference in the sound of various guitar types and know the exact type of guitar you need.
While most acoustic guitars have the same basic design, there are certain ways they differ. These differences are responsible for their different sounds. Some variables which affect the way different guitars sound are tonewood, Nylon vs. steel strings, neck width and length, tops, and body styles.
Consider Their Body Styles
Various guitars have different body styles. These body styles do not only affect the sound that a guitar produces, but they also go a long way in determining how comfortable you are when playing them.
You should pay extra attention to the soundboard of whatever acoustic guitar you buy. As the size of the soundboard of an acoustic guitar gets bigger, the sound of the acoustic guitar becomes deeper and louder.
Guitar Shape
There are various acoustic guitar body shapes. Some of these body shapes include; Auditorium and Grand Auditorium: This guitar is sometimes called an orchestra body. It is a perfect blend of comfort, tone, and volume. It has a lower bout that has the same width as its dreadnought.
The grand auditorium, on the other hand, has a lower bout that is broader than the dreadnought of the classic. This guitar has a broad range of volume. It also has a tone that is very balanced.
Jumbo: From the name of this guitar, you can tell that it is a big guitar. It is a guitar body style that is more popular among cowboys. Their lower bout is sometimes as broad as 17 inches. Due to this, they are louder than a lot of other guitars.
Cutaways: If you have watched Phil Keaggy play the guitar, then, chances are you already know what cutaways are. This is because he is a famous guitar player in the United States and makes use of cutaways. If you are not just a player of an acoustic guitar but a lead guitarist or you have any plans of becoming a lead guitarist, the cutaway acoustic guitar body style is one you can take advantage of.
Travel and Mini Acoustics: These types of acoustic guitars are ideal for children, small-statured musicians, and musicians that are always on the road. Although they are smaller than your average guitar, they do not have any issues with the quality of sound that they produce.
Concert and Grand Concert: Concert acoustic guitars have been around for a very long time. They are quite small and can be played very comfortably by musicians that are not big in size. Grand concert body styles are larger than concert body styles. Due to this, they have a stronger sound.
Tonewoods
While shopping for an acoustic guitar, you will come across various guitars that were produced with different woods. If you do not have any issues knowing the type of sound guitars with a particular type of wood produced, you will not have a challenge discovering the type of guitar you want to buy.
Some woods used in making guitars are Cocobolo, Cedar, Koa, Ebony, Granadillo, etc.
