Types of Guitars: A Breakdown of 10 Guitar Styles

A guitar is a string instrument that can vary in sound, from the twangy sound of a solid body electric guitar to the natural sound of an acoustic guitar. Different factors impact the guitar’s sound, such as the type of wood and the player’s strumming style. You play the guitar with two hands, using fingers or a pick to strum the guitar strings. Fingerstyle describes the technique of fingerpicking, in which players pluck the strings with their fingernails or fingertips.

The different parts fall into three main categories: the headstock, the neck, and the body. The headstock is the top portion of the guitar, consisting of the tuners and tuning pegs. The neck is the long, thin piece of the guitar that contains the fretboard, which guitar players use as a guide for placing their fingers.

The body is the largest portion of the guitar, and it consists of three main pieces: the soundboard, the sound hole, and the bridge. One of the most important parts for generating sound, the soundboard is the top piece of the guitar body. The sound hole is an opening in the guitar body that enhances the vibration and sounds while the bridge holds the ends of the strings in place. The scale length is the distance between the bridge and the top of the fretboard.

Although the origin of the guitar is unclear, historians believe the musical instrument originated in Spain during the sixteenth century. Before this time, the lute was a popular string instrument, so the guitar is often viewed as a descendant of the lute family.

Some of the earliest guitars had narrow shapes and consisted of four strings. Today, the number of strings on a guitar can vary. In general, the most common type of guitar is a six-string guitar; however, there are four-string, eight-string, and even 12-string guitars. Most 12-string guitars are double-neck guitars, which means they have two separate necks attached to the body of the guitar. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page often played a double-necked guitar for concerts.

There are many different types of guitars, each with its own sound, style, and body shape. While some songwriters prefer the natural sound of a steel-string acoustic guitar, others gravitate to the look and sound of an archtop guitar. Whether you’re picking out your first guitar or you’re a more experienced musician, finding the right guitar for you depends on the music you’d like to play as well as your skill level.

1. 1. Classical guitar: The classical guitar, also known as the Spanish guitar, typically has six strings and a flat top. Musicians originally used classical guitars to play classical or flamenco music, as the nylon strings create a mellow, woody sound. Today, musicians use these guitars to play a variety of music, from folk songs to bluegrass to country music.
2. 2. Acoustic guitar: Acoustic guitars have wide bodies and look similar to classical guitars. However, acoustic guitars have steel strings instead of nylon strings and produce a louder sound. There are many different types of acoustic guitars, such as the dreadnought, jumbo, parlor, and resonator guitar. Each type of steel-string acoustic guitar has its own look and shape, as the dreadnought has a wide body and large internal cavity while the parlor has a smaller body.
3. 3. Flamenco guitar: Similar in style to classical guitars, flamenco guitars—made specifically for playing flamenco music—have a thin top piece that produces a lively sound to match the flare of flamenco dancing. Rhythmic tapping is an important aspect of flamenco music, so flamenco guitars have tap plates built into the top of the guitar.
4. 4. Electric guitar: Though many types of electric guitars exist, all electric guitars require amplification. Built with amplifiers, the pickup can turn the sound vibrations into electricity. Some common types of pickups include the humbucker, magnetic pickup, single-coil pickup, and metal pickup. Unplugged, electric guitars make no sound. Electric guitars often have flashy designs compared to acoustic guitars. The Gibson Les Paul is a solid-body electric guitar made of vintage wood. Today, Gibson guitars are among the best-known electric guitars in the world. The Fender Stratocaster, or Strat, has signature double-cutaways that give the guitar a horn shape.
5. 5. Electro-acoustic guitar or acoustic-electric guitar: A cross between an acoustic and electric guitar, electro-guitars look like a traditional acoustic guitar, but you can plug them into an amp or PA system. When plugged in, the sound of the guitar becomes louder. You don’t have to worry about holding electro-guitars near a microphone when performing live.
6. 6. Bass guitar: The bass guitar has the lowest-pitched sound out of all the guitar types. When rock ’n’ roll took off in the 1950s, the bass guitar replaced the string bass. While the acoustic bass has a natural tone, the electric bass has a nasal sound. A versatile guitar, musicians use the bass guitar to play across music genres, including rock, heavy metal, Latin, jazz, and bluegrass.
7. 7. Hollow-body guitar or semi-acoustic guitar: As the name implies, hollow-body guitars have nothing inside them. Unlike the solid electric guitar, the hollow-body guitar is essentially an acoustic guitar without a sound hole. Known for their soft and natural acoustic tone, hollow-body guitars are often used to play jazz music. However, hollow-body electric guitars can produce a lot of feedback, so more experienced jazz guitarists usually play these guitars.
8. 8. Semi-hollow guitars: Semi-hollow guitars are not fully hollow. Usually, only the top portion of the guitar is hollow in semi-hollow guitars. You can recognize a semi-hollow guitar by its F-holes, swirl-shaped cutouts above the hollow portions of the guitars. Semi-hollow guitars vibrate longer, creating a cleaner sound than solid body guitars. Made with a wooden center block, semi-hollow guitars have mounted pickups to avoid the feedback often created by hollow body guitars. These guitars are great for rock and blues music.
9. 9. Lap steel guitar: The lap steel guitar, also known as the Hawaiian guitar, has a narrow and rectangular shape. This guitar is unique in that players press a steel bar against the strings to change the pitch of the guitar. In most cases, these guitars are fretless because the strings don’t touch the fretboard. The lap steel guitar has a distinct portamento sound, in which the notes slide into one another, creating the tone of traditional Hawaiian island music.
10. 10. Pedal steel guitar: The pedal steel guitar looks different than most guitars, as the fingerboard rests on a console. Players use pedals and knee levers to create different sounds. Like the lap steel guitar, the pedal steel guitar produces sliding notes. Pedal steel guitars are often used for American country music and Hawaiian music.

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