Buying an acoustic guitar is just a necessary step to playing it. Here are 8 important facts about acoustic guitars that impact the way your play and the sound you make.
Body Style
Acoustic guitar’s body style impacts both the sound and comfort. Bigger sizes usually have more resonance and can project richer sounds. However, large size may not be comfortable to play with, and if you are not comfortable, you’ll have a hard time enjoying the way you play. A larger guitar also makes it more difficult to reach upper frets and impact your technique.
A cutaway in the guitar helps you get a larger guitar that is still comfortable.
Electronics
In a large environment especially outdoors, built-in pickups and preamplifiers are a must.
If you are planning to play in larger venues, even if it is a beach party and a few friends, check out the preamplifier, microphone, piezo pickups, EQ, and tuners that may come with the guitar.
Neck
Small hands cannot easily reach around a thick neck. Also, a 14-fret guitar and a 12-fret guitars change your reach. You need to hold the guitar in your hand and see how it feels.
The construction of the neck also impacts the spacing between the frets and your strings. A poorly constructed neck or damaged neck could create that annoying buzzing sound.
Intonation
The tuning guitar is usually done on open strings. Intonation, however, has to do with notes remaining in tune as you move up the neck. If the distance between the frets is off you could be playing out of tune even if you have tuned your guitar perfectly on open strings.
Tonewood
The wood material determines how sound resonates through your acoustic guitar.
Many guitar makers believe the top wood plays the most significant role. The spruce is the standard wood for the top. Using rare woods such as rosewood may have a significant impact on the sound and the price.
Higher demand for inexpensive guitars with high-quality drives guitar makers to find alternative materials that are cheap but still produce great sounds.
Tuning Mechanism
A high-quality guitar needs to hold its tune and with increased expertise, you would recognize the need for high precision tuning.
Your acoustic guitar tuning mechanism determines how accurately you tune your guitar and how long your guitar holds its tune.
The tuning machine, tuner, machine head, or gear head are different names for the geared mechanism responsible for tuning your guitar.
Also, enclosed tuners resist weathering better than open-gear tuners.