Types of Guitar

Various blends and flavors of guitars.

There are many types of guitars. Amongst them the most common forms of guitar includes the following:

• Classical Guitar - Normally called as Spanish Guitar are typically strung with nylon strings, played in a seated position and are used to play a diversity of musical styles including classical music. The classical guitar is designed to allow for the execution of solo polyphonic arrangements of music.
• Acoustic Guitar - Acoustic guitar is basically has steel strings and it has no pickup or means of amplification. However, some acoustic guitar comes with a pickup and its sound can be amplified. They could be kept in the category of Semi-Acoustic guitars. An acoustic guitar is one not dependent on an external device to be heard but uses a soundboard which is a wooden piece mounted on the front of the guitar's body. The acoustic guitar is quieter than other instruments commonly found in bands and orchestras so when playing within such groups it is often externally amplified. Many acoustic guitars available today feature a variety of pickups which enable the player to amplify and modify the raw guitar sound.
• Electric Guitar - Electric guitars can have solid, semi-hollow, or hollow bodies, and produce little sound without amplification. Electromagnetic pickups convert the vibration of the steel strings into electrical signals which are fed to an amplifier through a cable or radio transmitter. The sound is frequently modified by other electronic devices or the natural distortion of valves in the amplifier. There are two main types of pickup, single and double coil each of which can be passive or active. The electric guitar is used extensively in jazz, blues, and rock and roll. The lower fretboard action and its electrical amplification lend the electric guitar to some techniques which are less frequently used on acoustic guitars. These include tapping, extensive use of legato through pull-offs and hammer-ons, pinch harmonics, volume swells, and use of a tremolo arm or effects pedals.
• 12 String Guitar - This is mainly a vocal accompainment instrument, long used by folk artists. It has characteristic, jangly sound of its own which you may or may not find attractive. The source of this different sound are the twelve strings, which are grouped in pairs. This means that what would sound as a single note in a normal guitar is automatically doubled up on the twelve string instrument. The intervals of the tuning are the same for the standard six string guitar, so that the normal fingering for scales and chord shapes can be used.
• Bass Guitar - This is a four string instrument pitched an octave lower than the standard guitar. Bass guitars are usually solid, similar to electric guitars, but the body shape can vary according to the whim of the designer. The bass guitar has largely taken over the role occupied by the conventional string bass because it has several advantages over that instrument under modern conditions. The bass guitar normally plays a single note bass part, rather than chords, supplying the fundamental harmonic and rhythmic basis to the group. This, coupled with the nature of its tuning, means that any competent guitarist who knows his chords, should be able to find his way around a bass guitar within a very short time and produce a reasonable sounding bass part.