What to Look For In Your Local Guitar Shop

If you do not know your guitars very well it can be hard to find your way around your local guitar shop. It is easy to get lost in a sea of guitars and being able to distinguish them quickly and easily can really help. There are four main types of guitars people look for.

Acoustic Guitars

Acoustic guitars are probably what most people will recognise first. These are distinguished by the larger body used to create the sound as they do not require amplification. They are also made from wood but will often have a coloured lacquer applied to give them a glossy finish. This helps protect the wood from damage. Acoustics feature a sound hole which will be under the strings in the centre of the body. Usually they will be grouped together in the guitar shop, so if you have found one you have found them all.

Electric Guitars

Electric guitars are possibly the easiest to identify, as they use small pickups underneath the strings to pick up the sound, they do not need the large body required by the acoustic guitars. The pickup will be two or three black strips on the body with 6 metal circles on each. This allows the electric guitar to be shaped in a variety of ways. These will will be made from a solid piece of wood, so no holes are required, and will usually be finished with a shiny, coloured coating.

Bass Guitars

Bass guitars are easy to identify as typically they have only four stings. The strings are also much thicker than those on their counter parts as they are designed to produce much lower tones. Bass guitars are available in both electric and acoustic and will usually be grouped in the respective sections in your local guitar shop.

Classical Guitars

The main feature of classical guitars is that they have nylon stings (although 3 look like metal) whereas acoustic guitars use steel strings,this gives the guitar a softer tone. In many ways they look similar to acoustic guitars however they have a few very distinct differences to help you differentiate them. For one classical guitars are a little bit shorter than acoustics, this makes them good for children to learn on. Another difference is that the fret board, or neck, of the guitar is a little bit wider and flatter. These are also referred to as Spanish, Flamenco or Nylon stringed guitars; although whatever term you use the staff in your guitar shop will know what you mean.

This should give you a better idea of what you are looking for next time you head into a guitar shop and help you find the right guitar quickly.

Steve Parker is an enthusiastic writer on a variety of subjects including guitar shop information which he has chosen to write about here. Through a variety of experiences on the subject Steve endorses websites which he has experienced positively. Improve your skills with this ranges available at this guitar shop online.

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