Main Guitar Types and Features – Body Shapes

I mentioned briefly about the basic guitar types under the title of “Choosing the Right Guitar” in my previous article, and today I will explain this topic in detail. As I said in my previous article, basically guitars are divided into three groups as acoustic, classical and electro, but there is another type of guitar called bass guitar which I will talk about in this article and these types are divided into sub-types among themselves. Let’s get to know these types and their sub-types in detail.

Acoustic Guitar and Types

Acoustic guitar is a type of guitar that looks similar to classical guitar, but uses a steel strings differently than classical guitar in terms of the type of strings, and can make louder than classical guitar without the need for a certain electronic system. There are also electro acoustic guitars connected to the amplifier.

In terms of type, it differs from electric guitar style, but it is very close to classical guitar. It can be mixed with classical guitar by most people. It has a slightly more fat structure than the classical guitar, its strings are more sharp because the type of string is steel. The steel wire increases the tension thanks to the pressure, thus enabling higher and clearer cleaner sound. Usually a 6-string acoustic guitar is used. Acoustic guitar also has 2 sub-types as electro acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar.

1.1. Electric Acoustic Guitar

All features are the same as acoustic guitar. The electric acoustic guitar has the feature of connecting to the amplifier thanks to the electronic circuit on it.

1.2. 12 Strings Acoustic Guitar

It is the same as acoustic guitar in terms of type and general characteristics, but it has 12 strings, not 6. Having 12 wires provides richness in tone and timbre, while allowing us to play different styles more easily. The extra 6 strings on it give us the chance to hear the octaves of the main voices, and besides providing comfort in different styles, it can preferably be used in any music.

2. Classical Guitar

Classical guitar can be defined as the ancestor of all guitar types. In the middle of the body of the guitar, there is a round gap called the sound threshold. When the strings of the guitar vibrate, the air inside the body vibrates and emerges as a sound out of this round space, which is the only exit point. On classical guitar; 3 strings are thick, steel wrapped on silk and 3 strings are nylon. It is usually played with a finger. In classical guitar, the task of the right hand is more. Using the right hand, many different rhythms and harmonics can be created on the guitar. It is generally used in classical and flamenco style music.

3. Electric Guitar

Electric guitar is a type of guitar that converts its voice into electric current through its magnetics and allows to obtain sound from this current with an amplifier. Due to the fact that the signal it creates is changeable, and it has a loud sound that is a revolution in time, it is a very widespread type of guitar.

With the developments in electronics, electric guitars, whose features and types increased after 1960s, have become one of the most familiar instruments of today, especially the superstrate models produced since the early 1980s.

3.1. Hollow-Body Gitarlar (Archtop Gitarlar)

Hollow body guitars, also called Archtop, with their curved upper surfaces, are the guitars played without the need for an amplifier, with the sound reverberating through the gap in the guitar, producing a rich tone. Although they have this feature, these guitars can also be used with magnetics. This type of body can have “f” holes like the violin family. You can see guitars with this body type mostly in music genres such as jazz, rockabilly, blues.

3.2. Solid Body Electric Guitars (Flat Top Guitars)

Solid body guitars are guitars with a massive body that have the type of bodies that do not let the sound rise naturally. It is a body type that minimizes feedback where there are sound sources with high output power.

4. Bass Guitars

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument that often has four strings and gives a loud sound. It is one of the indispensable instruments of today’s music. Bass guitar is used extensively in music genres such as rock, metal, jazz, blues, funk, punk and R&B. It was first produced by Fender in the early 1950s with the Fender Precision Bass model. The sound of the bass guitar is thicker than normal guitars.

4.1. Electric Bass Guitar

The vibrations coming from the strings in the electric bass are converted into electrical signals by the magnets and sent to the amplifier that will turn this signal into sound. Classical electric bass guitar is generally fretted and four strings.

4.2. Acoustic Bass Guitar

The wide and hollow body, like an acoustic guitar in acoustic bass, enhances the sound coming from the strings to an audible level. Some acoustic bass have a quartz crystal piezoelectric sound receiver called piezo to transmit the sound to the amplifier.