Guitar/Different Types of Guitars
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There are many different kinds of guitars, and each has its own particular sound. The only true way to understand the difference between each style of guitar is to try playing them. And, since everyone plays a guitar differently, often you will find that one guitar sounds great to one person and terrible to another.
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[edit] Acoustic guitars
Acoustic guitars are used in a variety of different genres across the globe. Because of the long history of the acoustic guitar, there are many different kinds; some kinds are rarely considered guitars, such as the ukulele, which was based on the four-stringed braginho or cavaquinhos from Portugal. The guitar is one of the most popular instruments in today's society.
When we refer to acoustic guitar, we usually think of a 'flat top' ('top' refers to the face or front) guitar, with a distinctive round sound hole. However, there are many different shapes and styles, and each provides a different sound. There are two general kinds of acoustic guitar: steel stringed, which have smaller necks and use metal string; and classicals, which have wide necks and use nylon strings. Steel strings have a distinctive sharp sound and can be strummed for playing rhythm in a wide range of popular music genres, including country, pop, and rock. Classical guitars are designed to enable full musical arrangements to be performed on a single instrument and are usually played fingerstyle, where the fingers are used to pluck the strings. However, both types of guitar can be played using a plectrum (pick) or by using fingerstyle.
The body of any acoustic guitar is large and hollow, allowing the sound of the strings to resonate. Large body guitars with big curves tend to have deeper or heavier tone, while guitars with a smaller body tend to sound brighter. Acoustic guitars can also feature cutaways, which also changes the sound. An acoustic guitar provides its own means of amplification, unlike an electric guitar. Acoustic guitars are also characterized by a weak sustain, meaning notes will fade after being struck. However, some master-built classical guitars, or "concert guitars", feature very good sustain and excellent overall performance.
Acoustic guitars are often used in performance. When the performance is in a personal setting or in an amphitheater, an acoustic guitar can often be heard with no additional amplification. This is because the shape and resonance of the guitar itself creates acoustic amplification. In most other performance scenarios amplification is required for the audience to be able to hear the guitar well. An acoustic guitar can be amplified by placing a microphone within several inches of the sound hole, or by installing an electric pickup in the guitar. Some guitars are sold with electronic pickups installed, but these are not considered electric guitar, they are acoustic electrics.
[edit] Electric guitars
The electric guitar is the workhorse of rock music, but it is used in other genres such as blues, jazz and pop music. While an acoustic guitar can be played without an additional amplifier, electric guitars require one to be adequately heard. Some electric guitars are archtops, meaning that they have hollow bodies, making them have some acoustic resonance (see below). However, no electric guitar is comparable to an acoustic guitar, and electric guitars are never played unamplified in performances. Amplified electric guitars sound very different from an acoustic guitar, even when no effects or distortion are used. Pickups and amplifier used with a solid-body electric guitar, create a sound that is metallic with a lengthy decay (sustain).
Electric guitar design is not limited by the deep resonating body of the acoustic guitar shape, and this had led to the development of contoured and thin electric guitars which can be more comfortable to play. The multitude of variations amongst electric guitars allow them to have a vast variety of tones. The two most popular basic shapes of electric guitar are the Fender Stratocaster style and the Gibson Les Paul style. Typically the strings are thinner than on an acoustic, because the strings do not need to resonate as much. They are also closer to the neck, requiring less force to press them down.
Obviously, the amplifier itself also makes up the sound; in fact, it is actually a better idea to consider the amplifier as the second half of the guitar. See the buying an amplifier section for details.
There are also seven stringed electric guitars, which have another thicker B string above the thickest E string. These are most commonly used in metal music.
[edit] Twelve string guitars
The twelve string guitar is usually an acoustic instrument, but electric twelve string guitars exist. Some people consider double neck guitars to be twelve string guitars, but they are essentially two guitar necks bolted onto one body. Twelve string guitars have strings like a regular six stringed guitar, but they also have a second set of thinner strings, usually tuned an octave higher, beside each regular string.
Twelve string guitars produce a more ringing tone, however they are harder to play and maintain than a standard six string guitar. They are usually confined to niche roles, such as rhythm guitar. They are played in the same fashion as a six string guitar, but each string is paired with another string, usually tuned an octave higher. Playing is more difficult, because the additional strings require more pressure to depress, and bending notes is also tougher. Twelve strings are usually more expensive than the average acoustic or electric, and tend to wear out faster due to the additional strain on the neck.
[edit] Archtop guitars
An archtop guitar is typically a hollow or semi-hollow body acoustic or electric guitar which uses steel strings and has an arched top which creates unique resonance. The hollow body archtop is a guitar whose form is much like that of a mandolin or violin family, meaning that the body of the guitar is hollow, or semi-hollow with a sound block in the middle; they also tend to have f-holes on the top.
Archtop guitars may be acoustic or electric and can look very similar, the only certainly distinguishing feature being an electromagnetic pickup. The electric hollow body archtop guitar has a distinct sound among electric guitars. One problem with hollow body is that when played amplified, they tend to generate feedback, which is one reason why semi-hollow is developed, as compromise between solid-body and hollow-body. Archtop guitars have been particularly popular in jazz music, usually because their thicker strings add tone.
Some solid body electric guitars are also considered archtop guitars based strictly on their body shape which includes an arched top, although usually 'archtop guitar' refers to the hollow/semi-hollow body form.
[edit] Steel guitars
The steel guitar is distinctive in being played horizontally, either across the players knees or on its own stand. There are two main varieties of the instrument, which is played using the metal slide, or 'steel', from which the guitar takes its name. The steel is held in the left hand, when used by a right-handed player. The two main variations are the lap steel guitar, which typically has six strings, and the pedal steel guitar, which can have more - and sometimes two or even three separate sets, each tuned differently. Pedals and knee levers are used to alter the tuning on particular strings whilst playing which, along with the sliding action of the steel, gives the pedal steel its distinctive voice, most often heard in country music and western swing.
[edit] Resonator guitars
Often also called 'steel' guitars due to some models possessing metal bodies and as an acoustic lap steel, the acoustic resonator guitar is distinctive in not having a regular soundhole, but a large—usually circular—plate which conceals the resonator cone. The cone closely resembles an audio loudspeaker, though made from spun aluminium. The bridge of the guitar is connected either to the centre of the cone or to the edge by an aluminium 'spider', and the strings' vibrations are thus amplified and projected outwards through the perforated plate on the guitar's top. The most common resonator guitars have a single cone, although the original model has three. Resonators possess a loud, bright voice, making them easily heard in a large room or in the open air. They are popular with blues musicians and country players, and they can be played in the conventional style, or with a metal or glass slide.
[edit] Bass guitars
Bass guitars have a longer scale length (and thicker strings) than six-string guitars, enabling them to play very low notes. The bass is pitched an octave lower than the guitar. Most often the bass is considered part of the rhythm section of a band, but there are some players who take it to new levels. There are both acoustic and electric bass guitars, but the electric bass is more common. The most common bass is the four string bass, but five and six string basses are also used. The four strings of the bass correspond to the lowest four strings of the guitar.
[edit] Double neck guitar
The Double neck guitar is basically two different kinds of guitar sharing one body, allowing the guitarist to easily access and switch between two different guitars. Made famous by Jimmy Page, the double neck guitar typically have a standard six string and a twelve string guitar; however, other combinations exists, such as a six-string and bass, a six string with fret and its fretless version. Steve Vai had been known to play a triple neck guitar.
