Wikipedia
Guitar
The guitar is a musical instrument of the chordophone family. The standard guitar has six strings but four-, seven-, eight-, nine-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars are also available. The two primary families of guitar types are the electric guitars and the acoustic guitars. The three main types of acoustic guitar are the classical guitar, the steel-string flattop guitar, and the archtop guitar.
Guitars are recognized as one of the primary instruments in flamenco, jazz, blues, country, mariachi, rock music, and many forms of pop. They can also be a solo classical instrument. Guitars may be played acoustically; the tone is produced by the vibration of the strings which is amplified by the body of the guitar which acts as a large hollow resonating chamber, or they may rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Such electric guitars were introduced in the 1930s, and they have continued to have a profound influence on popular culture since then.
Traditionally guitars have been constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut, or more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers.
History
Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides".Kasha, Dr. Michael (August 1968). "A New Look at The History of the Classic Guitar". Guitar Review 30,3-12 The term is used to refer to a number of such related instruments that were developed and used across Europe in the modern era.Wade, Graham A Concise History of the Classic Guitar Mel Publications, 2001 Some types of guitars, which are themselves related to these European instruments, originated in the Americas. origin of stringed instruments once known in central Asia and India. For this reason guitars are distantly relat read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar