Acoustic guitars, tonewoods and strings

An acoustic guitar makes its sound with its body. The strings drive the bridge, the bridge drives the top, and the air inside the body reinforces the result. Size, construction, wood and strings each play a part, and the setup decides how easy the instrument is to play.

Body shapes

Larger bodies move more air and give more bass and volume. Smaller bodies tend to sound more even, respond quickly to a light touch and are easier to hold. Body depth matters too: a shallower body is more comfortable and somewhat quieter.

Cutaways and pickups

A cutaway removes part of the upper body beside the neck so the fretting hand can reach the highest frets. It removes a little air volume, though the effect on sound is usually small.

An acoustic-electric guitar has a built-in pickup, usually a piezo strip under the saddle, sometimes combined with a soundboard sensor or a small microphone. A preamp with volume, EQ and often a tuner sits in the side of the body. Plugged into a PA or acoustic amplifier it can be heard in a band or on a stage; unplugged it behaves like any acoustic guitar.

Solid and laminate tops

A solid top is made from single pieces of wood, usually two book-matched halves joined down the middle. A laminate top is made of thin layers glued together, like plywood.

The usual explanations for a solid top "opening up" are that the wood continues to dry and stabilize and that the top settles in under years of vibration. The change is gradual and varies from guitar to guitar. Many guitars combine a solid top with laminate back and sides, which keeps most of the top's benefit and adds durability.

Tonewoods

The descriptions below are tendencies, not rules. Bracing pattern, wood thickness, body size, build quality and setup change the sound as much as the species does, and two guitars made from the same woods can sound quite different. The top has the largest effect, because it is the main vibrating surface; the back and sides color what the top produces.

Strings

Steel-string acoustic

The alloy names describe the wound strings; the unwound treble strings are plain steel.

Lighter gauges are easier to fret and bend, which helps while fingertips toughen. Heavier gauges give more volume and bass but need more finger strength. A large change in gauge can alter the neck relief and how the strings sit in the nut, so it may need a setup adjustment.

Nylon-string

Classical strings are sold mainly by tension. Normal tension is easier to press and suits most players, including beginners; high tension gives more volume and projection in exchange for more effort. The bass strings are wound with metal, commonly silver-plated copper, over a core of fine nylon filaments. Steel strings must never be fitted to a classical guitar, which is not built for their tension.

Why setup matters more than the wood

How easy an acoustic is to play depends less on its woods than on its setup: the string height, the bow of the neck, the nut slots and the intonation, each explained in the guitar setup guide. New acoustics often leave the factory with the strings set high, and the extra effort is easy to mistake for a lack of talent.

Getting advice

Body styles, woods and strings come up in lessons often, and the guitar you bring each week is the one worth talking about. Twelve-string, flamenco, archtop and resonator guitars are covered in acoustic guitar types; lessons in folk and acoustic and classical guitar have their own pages.

Questions