Acoustic guitar

Lore & Background

The guitar likely originated in Spain in the early 16th century, deriving from the guitarra latina. Gitterns, small plucked guitars with a round back, appeared during the Spanish Middle Ages. Modern guitar-shaped instruments emerged in the Renaissance era. Vihuelas were common string instruments in 16th-century Spain, later distinguished into vihuela de arco (mimicking the violin) and vihuela de Penola (played with a plectrum or by hand).

Reader's Guide

The acoustic guitar's significance lies in its evolution from early string instruments to a standardized design that remains essentially unchanged since the mid-19th century. Its acoustic properties rely on the soundboard, cavity air resonance, and coupling modes that color the sound and affect loudness. Innovations such as steel strings and larger body sizes (e.g., the dreadnought by C.F. Martin) allowed it to compete with banjos in jazz bands. Amplification methods, including piezo and magnetic pickups, were developed to address feedback issues, with Ovation introducing parabolic bowls and the Adamas model with multiple small sound-holes. The acoustic guitar's legacy is its enduring role as a versatile instrument in various musical genres, shaped by material and design choices that influence timbre and projection.

Did You Know?

• The term 'acoustic guitar' is a retronym used to distinguish it from an electric guitar.
• The guitar's six strings are tuned (low to high) E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 in standard tuning.
• The soundboard increases the vibrating area through mechanical impedance matching, producing a louder sound.

From Gut Strings to Steel

The steel-string acoustic guitar represents a pivotal shift in instrument design, evolving from the softer, warmer gut-strung Romantic guitar into something with a distinctly brighter and more projecting voice. Steel strings began appearing on guitars in the United States toward the close of the nineteenth century, and over the following decades they became the standard for what we now simply call the acoustic guitar or, in some circles, the folk guitar. The most widespread form is the flat-top, a name that separates it from archtops and other specialized variants. Unlike its classical cousin, the steel-string guitar was shaped by the demands of popular and roots music—acoustic blues, country, bluegrass, folk, and eventually rock—genres that dominated the instrument's role until the 1960s. The steel strings gave players the volume and clarity needed to cut through ensemble settings, making the flat-top a workhorse of American musical life for well over a century.

The Solo Guitar Awakening

For most of the twentieth century, the flat-top steel-string guitar was heard primarily as an accompaniment instrument within blues, country, bluegrass, folk, and rock ensembles. That changed in the early 1960s when a small group of players began presenting the guitar as a solo concert instrument. Davey Graham and John Fahey drew on country blues fingerpicking techniques to craft original compositions whose structures echoed European classical forms. Fahey's contemporary Robbie Basho wove elements of Indian classical music into his playing, while Leo Kottke took a Faheyesque approach and produced what is regarded as the first solo steel-string guitar hit record. In parallel, the flatpicking tradition flourished through artists like Clarence White, Tony Rice, Bryan Sutton, Doc Watson, and David Grier, whose rapid, percussive style pushed luthiers to rethink the instrument's design. Some builders began voicing guitars more for classical-like fingerpicking than for chordal strumming, and a growing number focused specifically on the needs of fingerstylists, crafting unique instruments tailored to that demanding style.

Anatomy of a Soundbox

The tonal character of a steel-string acoustic guitar is largely shaped by body geometry. The soundbox functions as two mating chambers—the upper bouts near the neck and the lower bouts near the bridge—meeting at the waist, the narrowest point near the soundhole. Proportions of these sections, combined with size, depth, and bracing, determine the instrument's native sound; in general, a larger body produces greater volume. At the small end, the parlor is the thinnest and most compact, comfortable but limited in projection, best for intimate settings and younger players. The concert or 0 adds a longer scale for heavier strings and often a rounded back to aid projection. The grand concert or 00, most directly descended from the classical guitar, offers enough volume for small audiences. The grand auditorium, wider and deeper with a standard 25.5-inch scale, delivers dreadnought-like low-end in a more comfortable frame. At the top, the dreadnought pairs a deep soundbox with a smaller upper bout, yielding the powerful voice behind its naval-inspired name.

The Luthier's Art & the Vintage Revival

Luthiers have long pushed the boundaries of what a flat-top steel-string guitar can do. In response to the demands of flatpicking and fingerstyle players, some builders began voicing their instruments more for classical-like fingerpicking than for chordal strumming, and a growing number developed entirely unique guitars tailored to the needs of fingerstylists. A separate and equally passionate movement centers on recreating the instruments of C.F. Martin & Co.'s Golden Era. He was followed by a generation of builders—Bill Collings, Marty Lanham, Dana Bourgeois, Randy Lucas, Lynn Dudenbostel, and Wayne Henderson—each crafting instruments inspired by pre–World War II Martin models. As prices for original vintage Martins have climbed exponentially, upscale guitar enthusiasts have increasingly sought faithful recreations, and these luthiers continue to meet that demand with meticulous attention to period-correct construction and tone.