[Ultimate Garage Band]

As earlier mentioned, acoustic guitars can be broken down into 2 distinct groups, steel string and nylon string. Let’s look at them in greater detail.

Steel string acoustics are, by far, the most commonly played acoustic guitars. What’s funny is most actually use a bronze alloy string but they’re called ‘steel’ string anyway. There are several different kinds of steel string guitars and they are probably best described by the name given to the body style. The most common are:

The Dreadnought
The Jumbo
The Grand Auditorium
The OM
The 000
The 00
The 0
The Folk
The Parlor

And many, MANY others some being copies or variations of the above.

Now, for the sake of this thread, in order to not overwhelm with too much data, let’s sort of group these into 3 categories we can generally call, big, medium, and small. There is going to be a bit of overlapping but in very general terms, the dreadnought, the jumbo, the grand auditorium and the OM could be called ‘big’ guitars. They generally have large bodies, the necks join the bodies at the 14th fret, and they are ‘full scale’ guitars coming in somewhere around 25 inches in very broad terms. The dreadnought and Jumbo are the biggest of that group and by far and away the most popular steel string body style sold is the dreadnought. It a very large, loud guitar made for solid rhythm strumming and is best played standing up. It’s very commonly used in Rock, Country, and Bluegrass.

In the medium group we could have the Grand Auditorium, the OM, the 000 and the Folk. These guitars will handle rhythm strumming but are probably best suited for finger picking. Many in this group do not have a pickguard. These guitars are also typically full scale and usually have the neck join at the 14th fret. They are more comfortable to play sitting down than a larger guitar and are often found in Rock, Country, Blues, and ‘fingerstyle’ jazz.

In the small group we have the 00, the 0, and the parlor. Another type of guitar we could put in this group are ‘scaled’ guitars such as a ¾ size dreadnought. Small guitars usually feature a shorter scale, the body and neck join at the 12th fret, there’s usually no pickguard, and these guitars are best suited for finger picking and they are incredibly comfortable to hold and play sitting down. They are typically found in Blues and some fingerstyle jazz.

There is another category of steel string acoustic and that would be the jazz guitar, either a ‘gypsy’ jazz or an archtop. These models typically exceed the entry level price point of a first time player so I’m not going to address them.

The nylon string guitar is basically placed into 2 groups, the classical guitar and the flamenco guitar. There is not near the selection of body styles and sizes. Typically there is a full size and a scaled size as in a ¾ classical. There are some other models out there such as 2 models of Parlor sized bodies from the Godin company, but the focus is really on the full size models.

I’ll use this opportunity to highlight some major differences between steel string and nylon string guitars. As I mentioned in the other thread, to just identify them by string type is shortsighted.

Most nylon string guitars do not have an adjustable truss rod because the necks are under so much less tension from the nylon strings. This is one of the most attractive reasons many new players opt for a nylon string; they are much easier on the fingers in the beginning. The necks are wider and flatter than steel string guitars. They are played with the fingers not a pick. The guitar is held over the left leg and the left foot is usually on a footstool. They are never played standing up. They always join the body to the neck at the 12th fret. They often do not have as many side position dot markers and never have dot markers on the fretboard itself. The construction method is different than a steel string typically using a ‘fan brace’ method as opposed to the ‘X’ brace method of steel string acoustics. The strings tie onto the bridge whereas steel string guitars use a ball end string with bridge pins. Can you see how different these guitars are from steel strings? Here’s another remarkable difference.

In the classical guitar market there is really no middle ground of models and prices. There are basically 2 groups; student models and performer models. Understand that in this realm, a $2000 guitar is still considered a ‘student’ model! Any classical guitar by a major guitar company like Washburn, Fender, Ibanez, etc. would be considered a student model. 99% of student models sell from $100-$1000. A serious performance instrument begins at around $4000. In the lower end of product offerings, nylon string guitars are not as loud as steel string guitars.

Things to look for in ANY acoustic guitar:

A solid top will have a more pleasing tone and a louder tone than a laminate top. Guitar companies do many things to make the unobservant purchaser think they are purchasing a solid top guitar when the top is actually a laminate. For instance:

All spruce top
100% spruce top
Vintage toned spruce top
Beautiful spruce top
Spruce top

All of the above are LAMINATE tops! Unless the word ‘solid’ is next to the word ‘top’, it’s a laminate top. ‘Solid spruce top’ is a solid top. Anything else is a laminate. In an entry level instrument, expect to purchase a guitar with a laminate back and a laminate body/sides. I’m also not inferring that a laminate top does not have a place in the guitar world. They are more durable for kids that tend to knock them around a bit more, they hold up better to abuse/knicks when camping, etc. They fight feedback better when used in a louder, amplified environment. If your first guitar has a solid top, you’ll probably keep it longer. The longer you keep a guitar, the more value it imparts to you.

[John Spaul]

Thanks for the information on acoustic guitars. Do you have any advice on nylon strung guitars with internal tranducers/pick-ups. Regards John

[krisling]

I am a beginner and I'm looking for an acoustic guitar. I have my sights set on a Yamaha 730s. Any opinions on the Yamaha brand? I don't want the cheapest guitar, but I don't want to spend over $300 on it either. What would be my best choice between Takamine, Ibanez, Washburn or Yamaha (under $300). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kris

[allthumbs]

Ebay each brand in your price range to get an idea of what is out there. Research the results. You will find lots of reviews for your choices if you google for them. Take Harmony Central reviews with a grain of salt. For some reason they are usually really skewed towards the plus side. I have not bought a guitar for under 400 or so i have limited hands on experience. Take a look at some Tanglewoods and Garrisons. I'm sure some of our members will give you their choices.

[Ultimate Garage Band]

I think your best choice under $300 is Walden, if they have a model to suit you. Amazing guitars for the money.

[rocketman]

Where does the Grand Concert size fit in with all of the above sizes?

[Ultimate Garage Band]

I'm going to guess somewhere around a 000/OM and a Grand Auditorium. There's a guide to sizes on Martins' web site.

[Europa]

Thanks for posting, have an Ibanez Concord myself, and its quite hard gettin information about Concords

[figwold]

I have a Fender Strat (almost never used) and a classical Admira Sevilla which I have been using under the guidance of a tutor who insisted that I needed to learn to read music. This has worked and I find myself now playing the melodies in simple songs rather than the chords. But I want to do both and realistically my preferred direction is to be able to play without an upright (classical) stance and methodology, ideally on an acoustic guitar.

I have just moved and will be finding a new tutor (non-classical). My question is should I buy a steel-string acoustic or "make-do" with the nylon string classical guitar? Money is not an issue here.

There is a fab guitar shop round the corner and they are keen on selling me a Faith acoustic. Sound sensible ..?

[allthumbs]

I never heard of Faith guitars till now. The reviews look good though. Getting a steel string is a good idea if your expanding your musical tastes. Nice to have at least one of each.

[Stratrat]

If money's not an issue, a new guitar is always a great idea!

[knight46]

Gosh, I remember before I was married saying money is not an issue, kinda forgot what that sounded like...

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by knight46

Gosh, I remember before I was married saying money is not an issue, kinda forgot what that sounded like...

I forgot what that sounded like, but it is good to hear it, I think a steel string would be a good addition to your collection Figwold and give the Fender a run out deserves to be played.

[DRDS93]

Originally Posted by krisling

I am a beginner and I'm looking for an acoustic guitar. I have my sights set on a Yamaha 730s. Any opinions on the Yamaha brand? I don't want the cheapest guitar, but I don't want to spend over $300 on it either. What would be my best choice between Takamine, Ibanez, Washburn or Yamaha (under $300). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kris

I was in the same boat as you about a month ago, buying my first decent guitar.

I read a bunch of reviews on the various web sites and narrowed it down to the brands you mention. I then went to the music store and played them all. I played the tak GS330, the Yamaha, 730, 720, Washburn D10 and the Ibanez in my price range which was also $300. I also played some other cheaper models and some of the more 500-600 dollar ones that I knew I wouldnt buy but wanted to see how they sounded.

The Takamine and the Yamaha stood out as sounding much better than the others. I ended up going with the Takamine, because it just felt a little better to me. IT's a solid Cedar top while I think the Yamaha is a solid spruce top. The Yamaha 730 was definately better looking as the Tak, is really plain.

My advice would be to go and play them all and take your time. When I went to the guitar store I thought I wanted the Washburn, but it didn't take long for me to decide that the Takamine and the Yamaha sounded better to my ear.

[Mind Bender]

Originally Posted by Stratrat

If money's not an issue, a new guitar is always a great idea!

Buying a good used acoustic may have the advantage of having the solid spruce top aged a bit already. Won't take so long for it to get the beautiful effects they do get from aging.