What Types of Guitars Are There?
A quick perusing of a guitar store can reveal myriad guitar shapes, sizes and sounds. From the iconic six-necked electric guitar to the Flamenco acoustic style, an array of guitars exist, but they can be categorized into four basic types. Within each of these broad categories are many subcategories.
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Steel
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Steel guitars are one of the most unique kinds of guitars, both in terms of how guitarists play them and what they sound like. A guitarist plays a steel guitar with the instrument's back facing the lap of the guitarist. A guitarist often plays a steel guitar with a metal slide, which gives the guitar a twangy and tinny sound. Sometimes the word "dobro" is used synonymously with guitar, while other times it is used to denote a steel guitar that has a wooden body.
Acoustic
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Acoustic guitars are composed of wood and have thick bodies. Although guitarists can plugs some acoustic guitars into amplifiers, they can play all acoustic guitars without any additional electronic equipment. Acoustic guitars have a very full and clean sound. Semiacoustic guitars and hollow-bodied guitars may be categorized as either acoustic or electric guitars, because they achieve the fullness of an acoustic guitar with a more jazzy and sharp tone of an electric guitar.
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Electric
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Guitarists must plug electric guitars into some sort of amplifier in order to play them. They can have various sounds, from the clean and smooth sounds of jazz to the distorted fuzz of blues or rock 'n' roll. In addition, a bass is a form of guitar, and it has its own varieties. Some electric guitars, as well as acoustic guitars, may have 12 strings -- thus their name, twelve-string guitars.
Classical
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Classical guitars, although they look a lot like acoustic guitars, differ from other guitars in that they have nylon strings. Other guitars may have strings made of copper, nickel or iron. The sound of a classical guitar is very warm and wholesome, with softer notes and rich tones. A lot of Spanish music, particularly Flamenco music, utilizes classical guitars, but classical guitars may also be used in folk music.
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References
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