| Acoustic electric Guitars: this is a term used to | | | | made of nylon rather than steel, to give them a very |
| describe acoustic guitars that have pickups installed in | | | | gentle, warm sound. The best Classical guitars are |
| them so they can be plugged into amplifiers or PA | | | | usually from Spain. Hollow-body Guitars: These are |
| systems. The majority of acoustic guitars you see on | | | | simply traditional electric guitars that have chambers |
| stage are acoustic electric guitars. Structurally, they are | | | | cut in the body to allow for more sonic resonance. |
| identical to traditional acoustic guitars. Electric Guitars: | | | | They come in many different sizes and are favored |
| these types of guitars made out of a solid piece of | | | | primarily by players of blues and jazz music. Steel |
| wood and rely exclusively on their electronic pickup | | | | Guitars: These are the farthest breed apart from |
| systems and amplifiers for their volume. Their unique | | | | traditional guitars so far. While any guitarist can pick up |
| sound lends itself best to rock and roll, but they have | | | | any guitar from the above list and play, a steel guitar |
| also substantially shaped the sound of country music in | | | | requires special training to play. The guitar is played flat |
| the last 50 years. (Think "twang") Classical Guitars: also | | | | on its back, and the strings are elevated approximately |
| called "nylon-string", classical guitars are used almost | | | | half an inch above the fretboard. This allows the |
| exclusively in the classical and folk idioms, but can also | | | | strings to be played using a "tone bar" that takes the |
| be found on more popular recordings. Carlos Santana | | | | place of the fingers on a fretboard and gives the steel |
| makes a lot of use of the classical guitar in his | | | | guitar its classic "crying sound". This is the archetypal |
| recordings. Slightly smaller than a traditional acoustic, | | | | guitar sound. |
| they feature slightly wider necks and strings that are | | | | |