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A guitar may be acoustic, electric, or some combination of acoustic and electric. In an acoustic guitar, the vibrations of the string are picked up and amplified in the instrument's body. In an electric guitar , the string vibrations are picked up and amplified by electronic components. An electric-acoustic is a hybrid instrument that has a hollow, resonating body, but also an electronic pickup, which amplifies the sound from both the strings and the body.
If you would like some idea of the variation in sounds that different guitars get, here are audio examples of a (nylon-string acoustic) classical guitar , a (steel-string acoustic) twelve-striong guitar , a (steel-string) electric-acoustic (minimal distortion) , and an electric bass guitar , all playing the same short riff.
There are several different types of acoustic guitar. The modern classical guitar or Spanish guitar uses nylon strings (the lower three strings are wrapped in metal wire) and has a fairly wide neck. It has a large, waisted (hourglass-shape) body with a flat back. This is the modern instrument used to play "classical" guitar music from any era, as well as Flamenco and many other folk styles.
The steel-string acoustic guitar has the same basic shape as the classical guitar. The metal strings give it a brighter, less mellow timbre than the classical guitar. It may have a narrow or wide neck, and the back of the body may be flat or rounded. This instrument is used for some types of popular music, for example American "country", and also for some types of folk music, including some blues.
Some acoustic steel-string guitars are twelve string guitars. Twelve string guitars have six courses , or groups of strings (two strings in each course, in this case) that are strung very close together and played (held down and plucked or strummed) together, as if they are one string. The highest (pitched) two courses are simply two e' and two b strings. The other courses consist of one string tuned as it is in a regular guitar plus one string tuned an octave higher. The total effect is a bright, full sound that is particularly useful for acoustic accompaniments.
The steel-string guitar should not be confused with the steel guitar , which is often more box-shaped than hourglass-shaped. Also called Hawaiian guitar (it was developed in Hawaii), the steel guitar is rested flat on the lap or on a stand, and may include floor pedals and knee levers for changing the string tunings while the instrument is being played. Resonator guitars, which do have the typical guitar shape, have a metal resonator rather than a sound hole in the body, and are typically played with a sliding steel bar, like the steel guitar. Besides being common in Hawaiian music, the steel guitar is also found in some blues and American "country" music. Many modern steel guitars are electric instruments.
In the true electric guitar, the body is not hollow and does not act as a resonator. The vibrations of the strings are picked up and amplified electronically. This is the guitar most commonly found in all kinds of rock and pop bands, and it is also common in jazz.
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