The acoustic guitar is one of the most popular instruments in the world. With so many different types of acoustic guitars to choose from, it can be complex. This article walks you through each of the different types of acoustic guitars, so by the end, all will be clear.
The acoustic guitar is a stringed instrument played by plucking or strumming. The plucked strings resonate with the hollow body to produce a clear and percussive sound. This sound continues to be a staple in many recordings and live performances.
The core design has remained the same over the years. But these days, there are now plenty of options to consider. This includes different string types, shapes, sizes, and tonewoods.
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With that out of the way, here are the three most common acoustic guitar types. We've also included popular subsets, characteristics, and the genres that they fit in.
The last two sections provide information about wood and how they impact sound. These can be helpful when deciding on a particular guitar model of the same type.
The name says it all, these are acoustic guitars with steel strings. It is the most popular among the three main acoustic types, thanks to its versatility. It works great for strumming or fingerpicking and is viable for a wide variety of musical genres.
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There are many subsets under this main type, the dreadnought being the most popular. As long as they have steel strings and an acoustic body, they fall under this guitar type.
Because of its broad scope, we are only going to feature the three main body styles - Dreadnought, OM, and Parlor. These are the ones that you’re going to encounter 90% of the time.
Here's a good rule of thumb: smaller guitars sound warmer with focused mid-range. While large-bodied ones are louder and have more bass.
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The dreadnought/dreadnaught guitar is the most common acoustic guitar body style. It is the shape that most people have in their minds when they think of acoustic guitars.
C.F. Martin & Co developed the design in 1916 and it gained popularity in the 1930s. Amplification back then was still in its infancy. It was well-suited for ensembles thanks to its wide and rich tone. These days it continues to be a crowd favorite, thanks to its loud projection and deep low-end.
Dreadnoughts of different makes and prices flood the market now. This makes it more accessible to musicians regardless of budget and experience.
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There are two main dreadnought guitar types. The most common one is the square shoulder, which has a straight upper and bottom section. The slope shoulder dreadnought has rounded upper and lower bouts.
Aside from these two, many of today's acoustic body shapes can be traced back to the dreadnought design. This includes the grand auditorium, grand concert, jumbo, and more.
For easier access to upper frets, there are Cutaway versions of the dreadnought and other shapes. Cutaways have since been the standard for acoustic-electric guitars. Some are not happy with the cutaway look. But when it comes to acoustic sound quality, there's no clear winner between cutaway vs dreadnought.
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An OM (Orchestra Model) body style is the middle ground between a dreadnought and a parlor guitar. It sounds good both while strumming and while fingerpicking. The tradeoff is that it doesn’t excel at either. However, a well-built OM (like the Martin OM-28 for example) is still going to be a very good-sounding instrument regardless of how it’s played.
Having owned acoustic guitars of different shapes, I prefer the clarity and note definition of the OM. It's one of the best acoustic guitar styles for fingerstyle playing. And it's a perfect fit for singer songwriters.
Distinguishing features of the OM include longer upper / lower bouts, and a small waist. Other manufacturers also have OM style guitars, often with specs and labels.
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A parlor guitar is a small body acoustic defined by a focused high-end midrange tone. Because of its smaller body, the resulting sound is a bit boxy and gritty, especially when played hard. And this particular tone makes it viable for blues, folk, rock, and similar styles.
This is well suited to fingerstyle, because of its smaller dimensions it’s easy to activate the top. “Activate the top” means playing your guitar with enough force to vibrate the top for a fuller sound. This is why a light string attack produces a weak and anemic tone. You need to apply the right force to get a full representation of the bass, mid, and treble frequencies.
Note that there are no agreed standard specifications for parlor guitars. So, it encompasses a lot of traditional and modern shapes, including 0, 00, and sometimes even 000 body styles. But these body styles are very small and have a similar response.
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Nylon string guitars are the most student-friendly of the 3 types. Nylon strings are soft, making them ideal for beginners and kids. And they are the preferred string material of serious classical guitar students.
Nylon string guitars have a much warmer sound than their steel string counterparts. They don't sound harsh in the upper register, but they don't have the sustain and zing of a steel string guitar.
Classical guitars and Flamenco guitars are the two most common subsets of nylon string instruments. While the hybrid subset covers non-traditional builds like travelers, 3/4 size, and silent guitars.
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Classical guitars are nylon stringed instruments generally used to play classical music. They have a clear piano-like glassy tone with plenty of volume.
To appease its intended market, classical guitars retain much of the old design. But they now employ modern production methods and materials.
These guitars generally have smaller dimensions than a dreadnought. But they are slightly bigger than your standard parlor guitar in width. Its small size makes it ideal for smaller framed musicians.
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They’re closer in size to an OM but are shaped differently. String action is a bit higher to help with different techniques. Nut width is around 0.2 to 0.3 inches wider than regular steel stringed acoustic guitars. This means that your fingers will have to stretch a bit more to play wide chords and passages.
Flamenco guitars are built to play flamenco music. They have tap plates for rhythmic tapping that’s an integral part of flamenco music.
These guitars generally have low action, suitable for fast riffs and percussive strumming. When played hard, the lower action also allows for the growly and passionate tone that Flamenco is known for.
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These guitars let you play with nylon strings, without the usual traditional body and neck specs. Tim Henson's acoustic-electric nylon string guitar is a good example. He uses it in progressive metal playing with his band Polyphia. Other examples include mini and 3/4 size nylon string guitars for beginners.
There are so many types of hybrids and crossovers that it’s hard to pin them down to specific specs. But the same rules apply to them, bigger bodied guitars will be louder and have more low end. While thinner and smaller ones will have more mids and highs.
The defining trait of acoustic archtops is their warm punchy tone and lack of sustain. This lack of sustain makes them ideal for complex and intricate jazz passages.
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Archtops are also great for guitar comping, an accompaniment style used in jazz music. This rhythmic playing employs advanced muting, strumming, and fingerstyle techniques.
Its distinct sound makes it a great guitar for jazz gigs, the downside though is that it's a one-trick pony. So unless you want to play jazz (or potentially finger style blues guitar) you are better off with a regular flat top guitar. But if you are into jazz, acoustic archtop guitars could be a huge asset to your collection of gear.
If you're looking for a versatile acoustic that can do folk, pop, rock, and more, then the archtop guitar is not for you. Archtops also have bulky bodies, which aren't as portable and as comfortable as many of today's sleeker acoustic guitar designs.
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In this section, we will give special mentions to non-mainstream yet noteworthy acoustic guitar types. First is the Gypsy jazz guitar, a distinct acoustic guitar type dedicated to jazz music. It is based on the instrument that Django Reinhardt used in Gypsy jazz music.
It has a larger than average body and a longer neck. It stands out with its distinct D-style sound hole, while other models sport a small oval sound hole. Gypsy guitars sound similar to an archtop but are more percussive and snappy. Most Gypsy guitars have steel strings, but there are some models that use nylon. So it's hard to pin this one down into a main category.
Next is the 12-string acoustic guitar, it is a steel string guitar that as the name implies, has 12 strings. These extra strings result in a fuller voice but make it harder to do techniques like bends and slides.
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Kids and beginners will most likely encounter 3/4 size acoustic guitars. These are miniature acoustic guitars that are easy to play. Some manufacturers made their own small guitar categories called Mini and Junior. Note that these types of guitars fall under the parlor guitar category.
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