If you’re new to guitar playing, defining your needs and budget is essential before searching for an acoustic guitar. This will help you find the guitar that fits your playing style and physical comfort.
Beginner guitars often come in packages that include small amplifiers, strings, and sometimes digital tuners and capos. This makes the process much simpler and less stressful.
Body and Neck
When a string is plucked on an acoustic guitar, vibrations are transmitted through the bridge and soundboard to the body. This complex air coupling, the resonant properties of the wood and its components, and the string’s natural acoustics combine to produce an instrument’s sound. Buy acoustic guitar here now!
An acoustic guitar’s body comprises the top, back, and sides. The top, also known as the soundboard, plays a crucial role in producing the tone of an acoustic guitar and is made from various wood species (read more about how acoustic guitar tops affect tone in our article, Your Tone Begins with Your Top). The back and sides are also crucial acoustic guitar parts and are often constructed from a lighter, less dense type of wood than that used for the soundboard.
The neck is a long, thin piece of wood extending from the base of the headstock to the guitar’s body. The channel is typically made from a different type of wood than the body and is usually shaped to fit the style of the guitar. The fingerboard is a flat strip of wood that runs across the top of the neck and is typically covered with frets. The frets are spaced apart to allow the strings to be tuned to various notes.
A guitar’s body and neck can influence its sound and feel, so choosing a body and neck that complement each other is essential. It is also helpful to try out different necks and bodies before deciding. This will help to ensure that the instrument feels comfortable in your hands and sounds like it should.
Another consideration is whether you will use an amplifier with your acoustic guitar. If so, you will need acoustic guitar accessories such as a stand, picks, and cables to complete your setup. Some acoustic guitars include these items in the package, while others require that you purchase them separately. Either way, it is best to budget for these additional costs before buying an acoustic guitar. Buy acoustic guitar here now!
Electronics
The sound that washes over you when you play acoustic guitar alone in your room is lovely. But sharing that sound with a crowd in a concert hall or a coffee shop requires amplification. Without it, you risk feedback and are unlikely to rise above the noise of a group or other instruments.
Acoustic-electric guitars look like regular acoustic guitars but have built-in pickups and preamps that send sound to an external amplifier. These pickups use piezo-electric transducers to convert string vibrations into electrical signals that can be amplified. They’re often mounted in the soundhole, but some acoustic electric models feature them built into the body. These pickups require a battery, and they may also have onboard preamps that let you control tone controls, equalizers, and tuners.
Various effect pedals will work with acoustic-electric guitars if you want to add effects to your acoustic tone. These include reverb, delay, chorus, and digital multi-effects. They can help you find a unique sound that complements the natural style of your acoustic guitar.
Some acoustic-electric guitars have a built-in microphone allowing you to plug into an amp and create a fuller sound. However, they tend to be more prone to feedback than other microphones. Using an internal mic can also be a challenge for beginners who don’t have the skills to avoid picking up unwanted sounds.
If you’re interested in buying an acoustic-electric, make sure it comes with a high-quality pickup tested to resist feedback and other problems. Many acoustic-electric guitars come with multiple kinds of pickups so that musicians can experiment with different options and determine which provides the best sound. A common choice for an acoustic-electric guitar is a soundhole pickup that sits directly inside the hole in the instrument’s body and provides the most natural-sounding acoustic guitar. Other popular choices include an external mic that mounts in the soundhole or a piezo pickup underneath the strings at the bridge.
Hardware
Many acoustic guitar models come with onboard electronics–pickup systems built into the guitar’s body that make it easy to plug into an amplifier for live performances and recording. As a result, they are commonly referred to as acoustic-electric guitars. These pickup systems use a piezo sensor, crystals to translate the strings’ vibrations into an electrical signal, and an onboard preamp that boosts the call for a louder sound. Some acoustic-electric guitars also feature a microphone mounted inside the body that lets you blend the direct guitar pickup with the mic for a more natural sound. Buy acoustic guitar here now!