Steel-String Acoustic Guitar

The steel-string acoustic is usually the first guitar people picture when they hear the word "guitar." It has no pickups or amplifier by default — the strings vibrate over a soundhole and hollow body, and the top of the guitar acts as a speaker, pushing air to create volume and tone on its own. Because the strings are steel rather than nylon, it produces a brighter, louder, more percussive sound than a classical guitar, which makes it well suited to strumming chords and flatpicking.

Types

• Dreadnought — the largest common body shape, loud and full-bodied, associated with country and rock rhythm playing.
• Concert / Auditorium — a smaller, more balanced body that's comfortable for fingerstyle and smaller players.
• Jumbo — an even bigger, rounder body with a booming low end, often favored for strummed pop and singer-songwriter work.
• Parlour — a small, vintage-style body with a focused midrange, popular for blues.
• Acoustic-electric — any of the above shapes fitted with an onboard pickup and preamp so it can be plugged into an amp or PA.

How to use it

1. Sit or stand with the guitar's waist resting on your leg or supported by a strap, keeping the neck at a comfortable upward angle.
2. Rest your strumming or picking hand near the soundhole and let your fretting hand curl around the neck with your thumb behind it, not wrapped over the top.
3. Tune with a clip-on or pedal tuner before every session — steel strings drift out of tune quickly on a new set.
4. Start with open chords and basic strumming patterns before moving on to fingerpicking or flatpicking.

Care

Wipe the strings and body down with a dry cloth after playing to remove sweat and oils, keep the guitar in its case when not in use, and monitor humidity, since dry conditions can crack the top and swings in moisture can warp the neck.