Classical guitar vs Acoustic Guitar - Which one is right for you?
Nylon String guitars vs. Steel String Acoustic
So you’ve decided to start playing guitar! First of all, congratulations, you’re about to embark on a rewarding musical journey that will undoubtedly change your life for the better – yes, guitar is that good! The journey begins at deciding what type of guitar you want to start with though, a tough decision! Of course you can start with any type of guitar, whether electric, acoustic or classical, and once you’ve learned the basics you can swap between all of them at your own pace, but today we’re going to be talking about the most common starting points for guitarists; acoustic and classical guitars. But which one is right for you?
The differences:
The fret board
The fret board of a classical guitar is a lot wider than that of an acoustic and quite often classical guitars will not have inlays along the fingerboard.
Strings
First of all, let’s clear something – both these guitars are in fact acoustic guitars, except one uses nylon strings (classical) and the other uses steel string (acoustic). Confusing, yes but the differences between the two are pretty big.
A classical guitar uses nylon strings whereas the modern acoustic uses steel string, hence it’s often referred to as a “steel string acoustic”. These strings both sound and feel very different indeed. The nylon strings of a classical guitar are a lot thicker and mellower or softer sounding than those of a steel string. With steel string acoustic guitar strings you get a very twangy and bright sound that resonates (lasts longer) than a classical guitar. They also feel very different too. Nylon strings are thicker and because the treble strings (G,B, high E) are nylon and the bass strings are nylon cores with metal or use a nylon winding technique on the E, A, D strings, it can be a lot more comfortable to play when you’re a beginner. Steel string acoustic guitars use a variety of metals for strings, including nickel and bronze and they are closer to the likes of electric guitar strings i.e. thinner and somewhat sharper on fingers. Don’t worry though, with enough practice your fingers won’t hurt as much.
The Sound
The difference in strings and shape plays a huge part in how the two guitars sound which will also be a deciding factor when it comes to choosing one over the other. If you like flamenco style classical slightly blunt sound - then a classical guitar is the way to go. However, if you like a sharp, clear and more full sound, then you can't go wrong with a good acoustic.
These three factors should be researched intensively before you pick your guitar. So go to you guitar store and try a bunch of both of these types of guitar and pick the one that best suits you.
So you’ve decided to start playing guitar! First of all, congratulations, you’re about to embark on a rewarding musical journey that will undoubtedly change your life for the better – yes, guitar is that good! The journey begins at deciding what type of guitar you want to start with though, a tough decision! Of course you can start with any type of guitar, whether electric, acoustic or classical, and once you’ve learned the basics you can swap between all of them at your own pace, but today we’re going to be talking about the most common starting points for guitarists; acoustic and classical guitars. But which one is right for you?
The differences:
The fret board
The fret board of a classical guitar is a lot wider than that of an acoustic and quite often classical guitars will not have inlays along the fingerboard.
Strings
First of all, let’s clear something – both these guitars are in fact acoustic guitars, except one uses nylon strings (classical) and the other uses steel string (acoustic). Confusing, yes but the differences between the two are pretty big.
A classical guitar uses nylon strings whereas the modern acoustic uses steel string, hence it’s often referred to as a “steel string acoustic”. These strings both sound and feel very different indeed. The nylon strings of a classical guitar are a lot thicker and mellower or softer sounding than those of a steel string. With steel string acoustic guitar strings you get a very twangy and bright sound that resonates (lasts longer) than a classical guitar. They also feel very different too. Nylon strings are thicker and because the treble strings (G,B, high E) are nylon and the bass strings are nylon cores with metal or use a nylon winding technique on the E, A, D strings, it can be a lot more comfortable to play when you’re a beginner. Steel string acoustic guitars use a variety of metals for strings, including nickel and bronze and they are closer to the likes of electric guitar strings i.e. thinner and somewhat sharper on fingers. Don’t worry though, with enough practice your fingers won’t hurt as much.
The Sound
The difference in strings and shape plays a huge part in how the two guitars sound which will also be a deciding factor when it comes to choosing one over the other. If you like flamenco style classical slightly blunt sound - then a classical guitar is the way to go. However, if you like a sharp, clear and more full sound, then you can't go wrong with a good acoustic.
These three factors should be researched intensively before you pick your guitar. So go to you guitar store and try a bunch of both of these types of guitar and pick the one that best suits you.
Comments
Post a Comment