What is an acoustic guitar?
Simple Explanation
An acoustic guitar is an instrument made of wood, with a hollow body, and equipped with steel strings. Most acoustic guitars have a hole in the body, below the strings. Through this hole, the guitar picks up the vibrations of the strings and resonates inside the hollow cavity of the body. This process projects the sound into open air, negating the need for any kind of amplification.
Acoustic guitars are characterized primarily by completely hollow bodies, whereas electric guitars typically have solid, or partly solid, pieces of wood for their bodies.
Since acoustic guitars have a hollow body, they can produce sound and resonance without the need for amplification.
Acoustic guitars typically have a hole right underneath the strings on the guitar's body, which is also called a soundhole. This allows the vibrations of the strings to resonate inside the body of the guitar, which then projects the sound into open air.
An acoustic guitar is designed with a hollow wooden body, and a soundhole beneath the strings to help the body amplify the vibrations naturally.
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Pieces of an Acoustic Guitar Body
The body of an acoustic guitar is made up of three separate pieces of wood:
- Top piece
- Sides
- Back piece
These three parts are fitted together which gives you the hollow design. In most cases, you'll have different kinds of wood used, depending on the parts.
Solid VS Laminate/Layered Tonewood
Solid tonewood is made of a single, solid piece of wood, while laminate or layered tonewood is several thin sheets of cheaper wood, along with a sheet of more expensive wood. Laminate tonewood is a very common cost-cutting measure that acoustic guitar manufacturers take.
In other words:
The more solid tonewood, the nicer the guitar.
Ideal, an acoustic guitar would have a solid top, back, and sides.
Many acoustic guitars will have a solid top piece, with laminate back and sides. Some of the most popular and well-liked guitars have this arrangement.
The Taylor 114ce is a great example of this type of construction.
Types of Tonewood Used in Acoustic Guitars
There are primarily five types of tonewood used for acoustic guitars.
- Spruce
- Cedar
- Mahogany
- Rosewood
- Maple
Spruce and Cedar are commonly used for the top pieces of acoustic guitars, while Mahogany and Rosewood often show up for the back and sides. Though it depends on the brand and model in question.
Having a solid Spruce top with laminate Rosewood back and sides is an extremely common recipe.
Taylor, Martin, and several other builders have also released guitars made of Koa.
Acoustic Guitar Electronics and Preamps
Most of the acoustic guitars sold these days come with a built-in preamp and pickup. These electronics are designed specifically for acoustic guitars, and allow you to plug them in to send to a PA system or an acoustic amplifier.
These are sometimes called acoustic-electric guitars. But, again, most acoustic guitars now have these.
The alternative, if you want to record or amplify an acoustic guitar, is to use a microphone positioned by the soundhole.
Recording an acoustic guitar with a mic is a topic in and of itself.
Read more: Sweetwater's Article on Acoustic Guitar Recording
Questions or Thoughts
If you have questions about acoustic guitars, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. We answer all comments and have a fairly active community, so it's a good way to keep building on pages like these.
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