Acoustic Guitars

Acoustic Guitars

Everyone knows the image of musicians wandering the country with guitars hanging down their backs. The acoustic guitar is the instrument of choice for so many musicians because you can play it anywhere. Music can move the world; all you need is a place to stand.

Whether you are drooling over that high-end Martin or just looking for an inexpensive Yamaha to start your child off with music, you cannot go wrong with an acoustic guitar. It and the piano are two of the best single instruments to play, and a guitar is a lot more portable than a piano. It's also much easier to tune. That matters a lot when you pick up one that's been sitting in the corner for a couple of years.

All acoustic guitars, from 6-string to 12-string, follow the same basic design. They have strings to produce sound, a hollow body to amplify it, and a neck to extend the strings. Frets on the neck let you vary the effective length of the strings to change the sound they make. Most acoustic guitars have steel strings. The hole in the body is called the sound hole, and is the source of most of the sound. Some guitar makers experiment with different designs of sound hole to increase volume and reduce feedback when used with an amplifier.

Strung with nylon, formerly gut, the classical or Spanish guitar is a closer relative to the earliest guitars than the modern acoustic guitar. These guitars are often smaller than most modern acoustics, and normally have twelve frets instead of fourteen.

Don't forget your guitar when you think of accessories. Add a strap and it's not only easier to carry, but you can play standing up. You also have to find the right pick for the sound you want to create, and that feels comfortable in your hands. After all, not many people were willing to strum a steel stringed guitar with their bare fingers. Strings don't last forever, either, so always carry spares. Finally, there's the case. Hard or soft, the case is where your guitar lives when you aren't playing it, so be sure you get the right one.