What Are the Different Types of Guitars?

Buying a guitar that you love is a huge part of playing the guitar.

There are dozens of different guitar brands and styles out there. For a beginner, it can be overwhelming to walk into a music shop and select one that you’re going to have for the next few years. Whether you’re spending $200 or $2,000, it’s important to know what you’re getting.

In this post, we’re going to explain some of the different types of guitars that will be available to you. Which you choose will depend on what kind of music you want to play and guitar prices. Keep reading and get an ax that’ll be great to learn on.

Acoustic Guitars

If you purchase an acoustic guitar, you probably have a special interest in learning the guitar with chords and songs. Most seasoned guitarists and songwriters will pick up their acoustic when they’re trying to write a tune.

There are two main types of acoustic guitars: steel string and nylon string. Steel-string is what you’d see your favorite songwriter playing, while a nylon string is predominantly used in flamenco and classical playing.

When you choose a steel-string acoustic guitar, you can select between several body types. The bigger the body, the bigger the sound, but the best beginner guitar is probably the dreadnaught body.

Electric Guitars

Are you more into playing your guitar through an amplifier and making some noise? You’ll probably prefer an electric guitar with a good set of pickups.

Pickups take the mechanical energy of the vibrating string and convert it into electrical energy. Through the electronics in the guitar, the pickup sends a signal into your amplifier via your instrument cable.

Solid-Body

The most popular and widespread type of electric guitar is the solid-body electric, of which there are countless models. They’re made of solid pieces of wood, so rather than the body of the guitar amplifying the string sound like with acoustics, electric guitars have pickups to do that.

Popular solid-body electrics include the Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster, as well as the Gibson Les Paul and SG.

Hollow Body

Hollow body guitars are the closest thing to acoustics, which makes them great for more laid-back electric guitar sounds. They’re constructed like semi-hollow guitars, but don’t have the center block that gives the semi-hollow more aggression.

These are favored by jazz players, but the most famous hollow-body electric is probably the Epiphone Casino that John Lennon played.

Choosing Between Types of Guitars

These are the main types of guitars that you’ll be choosing from when you start playing. If you’re wondering how to buy a guitar, look at guitar players in your favorite bands and see what they’re using.

Angus Young is famous for the Gibson SG, while Jimi Hendrix played a Fender Stratocaster. If you like country music, a Telecaster might be for you, but if it’s rock music you favor, get yourself a Les Paul.

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