At rock concerts, musicians famously bring out solo parts on electric guitars, and in the courtyard, young people awake neighbors with chords “Stars by the Name of the Sun” in the evenings in the yard to the accompaniment of acoustic. Such a classification of a musical instrument beloved by many is most common among the uninitiated. However, everything is not so simple. If a person wants to connect himself with the world of music or just wants to broaden his horizons, it would be nice to begin to understand the types of guitars. In this case, we will talk about acoustic ones, and the most famous among them is the dreadnought guitar.
First of its kind
Classical and pop are the two most important subspecies of acoustic guitars. How do they differ? First of all, with a neck and strings. "Classics" is also called "Spanish", because its homeland is the southern country of the same name. Already in the XVIII century it had its recognizable appearance and shape. “Classics” is a guitar with a wide neck, made entirely of wood, which is one of its main differences. The second is the strings - they are nylon. It is with her that the musician who is just starting to get acquainted with the instrument should start. Classical guitar prefers fingers, not a pick.
Source materials
For the manufacture of "classics" the same wood species are used as for other acoustic guitars. For some, they are more durable and heavy, for others, they are lighter. And not only familiar, but also exotic. And in recent years, guitars with a synthetic body, based on carbon fiber, epoxy and other resins, are gaining popularity. However, wood is still more familiar material for this tool. For example, the upper deck is made of spruce, which gives a loud, sharp, bright sound, but cedar, in turn, is used to obtain a more delicate, soft, enveloping sound. For the back wall, as well as the sides, rosewood, mahogany or maple are more suitable, which give a deep, soft or sharp sound, respectively. For the neck can be used several types of wood in several layers.
Need to make louder
At the beginning of the last century, in particular, in the United States, new musical trends began to appear, such as jazz, country and others. In this regard, there was a need to make the sound of the guitar more noticeable so that it stands out from other instruments. For a single artist, a classical guitar could remain an ideal option, but something more was needed in the collective. The scene required a loud sound. So the pop, or folk guitar was invented. But since there were a lot of directions in music, for each one their own version of the instrument was gradually selected. How did they differ?
How did the first dreadnought guitar come about?
The man who figured out how to make the guitar louder was called Christopher Frederick Martin. He pondered this question as early as 1883. His idea was metal strings for a guitar, but a standard wooden bar of the “classic” simply could not withstand their tension. Martin began with the springs of the guitar and arranged them crosswise. This move significantly strengthened the upper deck, it became more rigid. But the most important achievement, which overcame the strong tension of metal strings, was the anchor bolt, with the help of which the bar was attached to the enlarged body. Christopher would be the first to come up with this type of guitar and found the now-famous Martin.
Distinctive features
The most popular guitar from the 1920s to the present is the dreadnought guitar, which is distinguished by its massive and heavy body, more “rectangular” due to its wide “waist”. This shape provides loud sound and distinct bass. The neck is narrower, it is thinner than that of the "classic". It is often called a western guitar. The purpose of its creation was accompaniment in folk and jazz bands, later it most often sounded at country concerts and popular pop music, and already in the middle of the century acoustic blues were played under it. And even later, the dreadnought guitar became the darling of the bards and took root in home gatherings and “apartment houses”. In the manufacture of this guitar, the emphasis is primarily on strength and reliability, since the tension of the strings in it is very strong. For the same reason, they play on this instrument only with a pick, and the upper deck is protected by a special overlay - a drop.
Analogs: similarities and differences
Musicians are demanding and resourceful people, they do not stop improving their instrument in order to get this or that sound. So other species appeared.
Acoustic guitar dreadnought with 12 strings - an option for true professionals and virtuosos. The strings are arranged in pairs tuned to one note, with the first two pairs sounding in one octave, and the subsequent ones differ by one octave. This species boasts a rich timbre.
In order for the musician to be able to take a higher tune, another variation was invented - with a neckline. Such a dreadnought guitar loses a little at low frequencies due to a decrease in volume.
Another variant of western guitars is jumbo and superjumbo (from the word "huge"). In fact, they differ from the dreadnought only in a narrower “waist”.
But the parlor is much smaller in size of all the previous species, has a wider neck and prefers fingers to a mediator, like the “classic”, although the guitar strings are metal rather than synthetic, like the Spanish ones. The name "parlor" comes from the word "living room", which in itself speaks of the purpose of this tool, which is more suitable for small rooms. Its balanced sound is not drowned out by unnecessary bass in a cozy home environment.