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Home > Buying Guide > Acoustic Guitars
Buying Guide for Acoustic Guitars


The acoustic guitar is a great instrument to begin learning on. It allows the student to focus on the basics of making a proper sound without the distractions of knobs, amplifiers, whammy bars and all the fun noise-making aspects of the electric guitar that can often be an entertaining distraction to the beginner. It’s also more portable and allows students to practice anywhere with no need for an electrical outlet.

If you would like a standard, steel string acoustic guitar and you’re ready to get started, your best bet would be an All-inclusive Acoustic Guitar Pack . It provides you with everything you need to get started and saves you money!

Recommended Acoustic Guitar Packs

There are 2 basic types of acoustic guitars:

Steel String Acoustic
This is the guitar you see most often in rock bands, folk groups and country music. Acoustics come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the most common shape of the steel string guitar is called the “Dreadnought”. It can be played with fingers or strummed with a pick and projects a bright, full sound.

Classical Guitar
This type of guitar has a deeper, completely hollow body, with “F” holes in the top, allowing the guitar to resonate acoustically. An example of this would be the Gretsch 6120. Certain models may have a wood block through the center, behind the pickups, to give more sustain and minimize feedback. These are also known as Semi-Hollow Body Guitars. An example of this would be Gibson’s ES-335.
Recommended Classical Guitars

Accessories

There are a number of accessories that will help you enjoy and maintain your acoustic guitar. These items are important to fully experience your instrument.

Recommended Acoustic Guitar Accessories

One myth that persists is that the classical guitar is easier for the beginner to learn on because of its nylon strings. This is not necessarily true. Year’s back, entry-level steel string acoustics were often very difficult to play. This was due to “high action” which meant the strings were very far from the fret board, making it difficult to press them down hard enough to cleanly “fret” the note.

Today’s instruments are of a different caliber. Recent technological developments and the use of modern manufacturing techniques have greatly improved the quality and consistency of entry-level instruments. The bottom line: There are now a variety of affordable entry-level instruments that are of very good quality and easy to play.

You should also note that the fretboard on a Classical guitar is much wider than the fretboard on a steel string acoustic and can be very difficult for the smaller hands of younger students to reach across.

Our site has a complete and varied selection of acoustic guitars for every playing level, all backed by our 45/45/100 Guarantee. Call and speak with one of our Product Specialists to help you find the instrument that’s right for you.



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